You see, they never actually addressed the ethics of the matter. Indeed no picking up of girls takes place in the dungeon (unless one counts physically picking up injured girls to get them to safety).
I'm going to have to go back and watch the whole thing again.
To my considerable astonishment though, the answer to the more relevant question "Was the show any good?" is "Yes. Definitely!"
As expected from the ending of the last episode, the finale is one huge fight.This could have been tedious, but the episode is crammed with an extraordinary amount of world building, character development and genuine surprises.
This was a remarkably satisfying ending to a show that has been way more enjoyable than it had any right to be.
Towards the end of the episode the god Hermes, who has been sort of hanging around for the last two episodes, acting suspiciously, climbs a tree and gives a rather exuberant soliloquy which leads me to believe two things...
1: A sequel may be in the works.
2: This is not actually a harem show, or at least only secondarily so.
1
It's a bit muddled in the anime, but Lili is definitely a halfling by birth, and a doggirl (Franco-Greekish 'chienthrope') by magic.
As far as haremettes go, the author seems to be going for the form but not the substance. More girls keep showing up, and for various reasons they're interested in Bell, but most of the competition is in Hestia's imagination.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jun 29 18:13:53 2015 (ZlYZd)
2
Ah...
Nod to form to get published..write about awesome D&D campaign instead.
I take it you've read the LNs?
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Jun 29 18:26:44 2015 (ohzj1)
3
Translations of the first two are out on Amazon US; I bought the Kindle editions. The story quickly zoomed past them, though, so I've only read up through Lili's arc. The rest is from scattered paragraphs on the wiki.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jun 29 19:56:28 2015 (ZlYZd)
This Time For SureLast week's out of the park finale was NOT the end of Fate Stay Night. Tonight's episode was.
In stark contrast to the white knuckles action of the climax, this epilogue is a mostly quiet affair which takes place a few years later in England. Flashbacks that serve to wrap up loose ends are woven into the story which involves Rin and Shirou taking a day off, contemplating what they've been through and how what they learned during their ordeal will impact their decisions for their future.
Aside from from one momentary digression it's pretty much sublime.
I think they added the three minutes concerning the blonde with a crush on Shirou just to give the fanfic writers something to do.
...and also so they could have a completely gratuitous magical catfight.
I'm kind of surprised that they did this. The episode was in some ways completely unnecessary, but it provided a very nice (if slightly bittersweet) denouement for what has been a superb (if occasionally quite dark) show.
1
I'll admit to feeling a sense of disappointment for this episode. It
was perfectly competent, but I got no real sense of emotional attachment
between Rin and Shiro. There were eps during the season that had more.
Damn shame, that.
I don't know if you watched Fate/Zero,
but if not, the guy Shiro talked to in the halls of the school towards
the end of the episode was Waver Velvet, master of Iskander (Rider) in
the previous Holy Grail War...
Posted by: Wonderduck at Mon Jun 29 19:53:17 2015 (jGQR+)
2
Neither of them are particularly expressive, Shirou is fairly introverted and Toshaka os the high priestess of the church of Tsundere. The episode showed them both quite at ease with one another and Rin's last line indicated that not only are they close, but they've got quite a future...and its not impossible that it will be a happy one.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Tue Jun 30 15:46:38 2015 (ohzj1)
In the latest episode of IIW2T2PUGIAD there was a brief bath scene but they didn't sell any blue rays with it. The episode was mostly character exposition and shopping. Also: stupid criminals and a fight...then something else happened but I have no idea what....it looks exciting though.
This is not high art by any means but it remains an interesting show in spite of itself. The heroines are all particularly well deve ...well realized and the portrayal of the gods is, despite all the anachronisms, actually faithful in tone to the classical myths.
I've enjoyed it so far, though it remains to be seen how they wrap it up.
1
My immediate response was, "well, now we know why
they don't let gods into the dungeon". It's also obvious that Welf's special delivery is going to feature prominently in whatever happens next episode; they made too big a fuss about it, and of course it's in the opening credits.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Jun 21 01:42:12 2015 (ZlYZd)
2
J, for me and those others who haven't watched the show, care to let us in on the secret? Why don't they?
3
Because
mere moments after Hestia unseals her divine power (to rescue Bell from a fight he's already won, but she didn't know that at the time), the ground starts shaking and a Really Big Monster apparently smashes its way into what was supposed to be a sanctuary level in the dungeon. So it looks like there's going to be a boss fight.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sun Jun 21 15:23:23 2015 (ZlYZd)
Well...what he said but I'm not sure that all the things were connected in that way (though it seems likely).
The show has a side plot regarding gods who are trying to wipe out Bell's little party and capture, kill, molest or possibly eat Bell. There was some indication as well that when Hestia went into the dungeon this was seen as an excellent opportunity to take her out too. Thus, this may not be an automatic response, it may be a trap/ambush. Which is why I said I had no idea what happened.
I started this show WAY late so a regular episodic review is pointless.I'll give a somewhat more in depth review of the series after it ends next week.
I am curious what those who are watching it think.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Sun Jun 21 18:14:03 2015 (ohzj1)
The writing, the production values and the characterizations of this show remained above par for all of the 25 episodes, and the pacing was exemplary for 23 and a half . Even that brief pacing glitch worked in retrospect as it was conveying a somewhat surreal plot point.
In the game this was based on, a story similar to this was one of several alternate paths one could take...It turns out that this is not simply a re-imagining of the old show with the alternate plot, rather, in this series the original 2006 version of Fate Stay Night IS CANON...specifically, that show represents a different timeline that someone was unhappy with and has come back in time to alter to their liking.
Of course once one starts altering a timeline (even just a little), the differences begin to cascade out of control.
Rin was awesome but underutilized in the first series, but in this one she truly shines as one of the best SFF heroines in recent years, smart, gutsy and principled. Shiro, the male lead from the previous series, lacks much of the plot armor and 'designated hero' perks he enjoyed in that show, and is a much better character for it.
In a major break from the first series, it is not Shiro who saves the day...but Rin who saves the whole frickking world (the stakes are higher in this series due to the motivations of a particular villain)Shiro fights a delaying action while she does so.
Fate Stay Night added to its many good points, a particularly rare quality; a satisfying ending (which was doubly so for those who saw the first series).
UPDATE: Wait. What?
Watching the episode again, I'm reminded that It's important when doing these reviews to sit ALL the way through the credits.
Edith Hamilton LIED to Me!
For one thing, she gave a completely inaccurate and quite possibly actionable description of Hephaestus.
From episode 2 of Is it OK to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon?. I did not expect to be following this, but, despite some harem overtones (and undertones...and sidetones), is a surprisingly clever and eminently enjoyable yarn thus far.
1
I'm enjoying it, but I'm starting to wonder how they're going to wrap it up. The title for episode 12 is ominous, but that may just be the revelation of Ryu's past.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jun 15 13:52:20 2015 (fpXGN)
2
Yeah. Ryu is awesome though. I got caught up last night. HOW many episodes is this supposed to be?
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Jun 15 16:13:07 2015 (ohzj1)
3
13, last I checked, which is good, because they're in book 5 now, and book 8 just came out Friday. Unless they wanted to switch to the Aiz-PoV set of novels or go original, they're done for a while.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jun 15 17:43:08 2015 (fpXGN)
4
Well then, they only have two episodes left in which to screw this up.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Jun 15 18:42:13 2015 (ohzj1)
5
As far as I can tell from the scattered entries on the Danmachi wikia pages, there are really only two more things that happen in book 5: Ryu reveals her past to Bell, and the girls bathe. Both should be interesting, but neither one really wraps up the show.
Unless the last ten minutes is set to Yakety Sax.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Mon Jun 15 19:07:48 2015 (fpXGN)
6
Higgins!
That's why Ryu is so awesome. She's a female, elven Higgins (from Magnum P.I.). She's this side character who is just a quiet, professional and not very sociable Maître d' at an inn, who is in her deadpan, aspergery way, helpful, despite an occasionally intimidating visage, and who has very useful thoughts on things that a waitress ought not to. Of course then you find out when they've put together the dream team rescue party that "WAIT! We need some legendary talent! Someone go get the waitress." Yeah...She's seen the elephant...many times.
Unless the last ten minutes is set to Yakety Sax.
LOL
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Mon Jun 15 19:47:59 2015 (ohzj1)
Wait...I Have a Question
Said inquiry is not about what may be the most annoying version of Bad Apple ever, but the video here, IS there actually a licensed Touhou series?
Several fanmade anime had been made for Touhou. An unofficial dÅjin anime project by the dÅjin circle Maikaze, titled A Summer Day's Dream (æ±æ–¹ 夢想å¤éƒ·?), is a fan-made anime adaptation with an original plot featuring Touhou characters, with two episodes released in 2008 and 2012. Albeit created by an amateur studio, the animation project notably featured high-ranking professional voice actors. Another dÅjin anime by the circle Manpuku Jinja, titled Fantasy Kaleidoscope ~ The Memories of Phantasm (幻想万è¯é¡?), was released at Comiket 80 in 2011, with one episode released based on the storyline of Perfect Cherry Blossom. A short derivative animated project, Anime Tenchou x Touhou Project (アニメ店長 x æ±æ–¹Project?) was produced by Ufotable in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Japanese goods chain, Animate, as a promotional video for the store combining the world of Touhou with Animate's mascot, Meito Anizawa.
I found a copy of "Memories of Phantasm" on Youtube and some of the images in your AMV came from it.
It would be interesting to find the one done by Ufotable, since that's pro.
1
Just finished reading my wife's copy of this a few days ago. (She was fortunate to get her copy signed when Weir made a swing through JSC, so kid gloves and all that.) We've both expressed skepticism about Damon as Watney. We shall have to see how he handles it. Hopefully, they don't dumb down the science too much. That's a huge part of what drew us to the story.
I do see a few changes already just in the trailer. No idea how much of an impact that may have on the whole arc.
Posted by: Will at Tue Jun 9 06:54:24 2015 (1EtXn)
1
I've backed a lot of Kickstarter projects, and I've yet to have any of them outright fail. One came close - I won't mention who - but in the end they made a deal with an established company in their industry and I got the promised goods as professionally produced as you could ask for.
But running behind schedule seems to be almost mandatory.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at Mon Jun 1 20:32:32 2015 (2yngH)
How Times Have Changed
While channel surfing, I recently discovered that Kill-La-Kill is playing on Cartoon Network. Now it's running after midnight, but there seems to be little or no censorship of this show, at least in what I saw.
Those unfamiliar with the show may wonder why this is surprising. For those people, I have linked to this comprehensive and NSFW overview of what Kill-LaKill does not sound like.
Despite what some commentors have suggested the ribbon appears to be completely explainable using basic engineering without any allowances being necessary for quantum mechanics special relativity or Fortean phenomenae.
The ribbon is tied around the arms between the elbow and shoulder and spaced so that it passes directly beneath the wearer's bosom. This does not provide any meaningful orthopedic support as tension varies widely with arm position and has considerable potential to chafe over time. Rather its purpose is accentuating and display that part of the anatomy in a way that is similar to a push-up bra but can be turned on and off at the whim of the wearer (See Figure A) .
Figure A
Furthermore, this arrangement makes it visually quite obvious that the displayed anatomical region has a certain minimal volume. Unlike with the aforementioned push-up bra this cannot be faked as the ribbon simply will not serve its accentuation purposes if the cup size is below a certain level , dependent only to a limited degree on the amount of tension kept on the ribbon (see figure B)
Figure B
"Next time I'm going as Queen Emereldas."
That physical limitation makes this attire choice of particular use to young ladies who have been blessed in a certain way and wish to make this abundantly clear to certain individuals and at times of their choosing.
As to the precise method by which the ribbon is tied, see Figure C
Figure C
As you can see the ribbon is....not actually tied, it just sort of is looped and there is no way to regulate it's position on the upper arm....
OK Figure C is probably inaccurate, because...physics, so we'll go to the original source material...
Figure D (Pun Inevitable, But Not Intended)
OK as one can see from Figure D, Figure C does seem to be an accurate representation of the way in which the ribbon is tied. This indicates that the ribbon material is one that has a very high elasticity and may need to be similar to bungee cord. This arrangement also requires some awareness and discipline on the part of the wearer to keep tension on the ribbon .
Additionally, the wearer, for obvious reasons cannot raise her arms over her head as in Figure E
Figure E
That can't...
If it's not tied...
...
...
OK. Ignore everything prior.
The ribbon is a cosmetic application of a technology that is sufficiently advanced to achieve the observed effects.
I hope this was helpful and answers your inquiry.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Jun 3 11:12:51 2015 (ohzj1)
5
Sacred honor requires that I mention that Figures A & B above were by Ueyama Micherou.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Wed Jun 3 11:20:59 2015 (ohzj1)
6
It must be glued to her arms. It can't be glued to her arms.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at Wed Jun 3 16:38:31 2015 (RqRa5)
9
Figure C's "how to cosplay Hestia even if you haven't got the rack" offers a plausible way of emulating her Divine Gravity, but I suspect frequent re-taping will be necessary. Describing the less-gifted as "oppai ga samishii" seems a bit harsh, though.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Thu Jun 4 00:37:03 2015 (ZlYZd)
I think it's been Don who has posted pictures of cosplayers from conventions he's gone to. (I don't think he's done so for a long time, though.)
My main impression from looking at those pictures usually is that the women doing it (I don't look at the guys) usually are totally miscast, particularly in the figure department. Usually they just don't have what it takes in terms of natural equipment to pretend to be the characters they aspire to. It's sad.
A lot of Japanese cosplayers, on the other hand, really are outstanding, especially somewhere like Comiket. But... most of the really good ones are models, hired by someone or other to do it, or they're aspiring idols hoping to get scouted. In both cases it means they're the top bracket of an extremely deep bench, the Japanese equivalent of Hollywood starlets. They ain't hobbyists, that's for sure.
Even so, I doubt there will be many willing to try to do Hestia, and damned few who will do it well, for reasons I think should be obvious.
Actually, a lot of them are. While Comiket has a lot of booth babes they tend to be inside where photography is disallowed. Most of the photos are of people in the "Photos Allowed" enclave and the vast majority of them are hobbyists, often quite serious ones. They may sensibly be looking to monazite their hobby by parlaying it into a career in film, gravure, or (more likely) an internet following, but a lot of them do like the source material.
American fangirls get a bum rap. Comiket has half a million people and the photos that get passed around are the top percent of a percent of a pool that is orders of magnitude bigger than any US con. The few big US cons (far smaller than Comiket) produce some impressive cosplay displays and while Comicon is mostly booth babes and aspiring actresses, shows like Dragon Con have cosplayers that are truly impressive hobbyists. Like Japan, many of the fangirls that can do so attempt to monetize their hobby like Jennifer Nigiri did (which is perfectly rational and appropriate. You're only young once.) In my experience many of them also genuinely like the source material.
The other thing to remember is that one reason many people go to cons to have fun and be around people who won't judge them too harshly if they dress a bit goofy.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 09:31:58 2015 (ohzj1)
Figure C's "how to cosplay Hestia even if you haven't got the rack" offers a plausible way of emulating her Divine Gravity, but I suspect frequent re-taping will be necessary. Describing the less-gifted as "oppai ga samishii" seems a bit harsh, though.
Tape and spirit gum can only do so much, and yeah, that was indeed harsh...
I'll take this moment to apologize to all of my female readers, not for posting some morphologically unlikely cheesecake (that's how this blog rolls) but rather for having the comments section devolve into DFC bashing, "fake fangirl inquisitions", just a touch of yellow fever, and the oppression that is spirit gum....all because I gave a snarkily technical tl;dr response to what was a rhetorical question.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 09:50:33 2015 (ohzj1)
There was one American girl, maybe ten years ago, whose website I found who was doing cosplay, and she really did have the figure and the looks for it, and it was outstanding.
She eventually switched to a membership site and started doing soft-core porn.
15
Yes.
That is what it does mean, and it is mean.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Thu Jun 4 21:43:17 2015 (ohzj1)
16
It will be interesting to see if fan artists and cosplayers embrace Hestia's
Clark Kent look as enthusiastically as they have her ribbon. And we now have a new look for Bell's dishwashing mentor Ryu, which opens up a DFC possibility for group cosplay, at least based on her initial appearance (the book 5 illustrations disagree).
Oh, and the description of book 5 includes a full-service hot springs adventure.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 5 15:31:39 2015 (ZlYZd)
17
On topic, a quick image search for "hestia cosplay" turns up a number of qualified women, a disturbing number of men, several young ladies suffering from ribbon failure, and at least one Very Little Girl. I'm sure we'll see a lot more before the year is out.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Fri Jun 5 16:52:53 2015 (ZlYZd)
18
I think I'm about to get my heart broken. Is Hestia
a switchhitter?
19
Steven...Hestia is...well...
Hestia is a cartoon character. She's...Well, she's not real. It gets worse. If she were real, she probably wouldn't talk to us. Furthermore....How do I put this?....Boobs don't work that way. I'm sorry you had to find that out.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 5 22:37:04 2015 (ohzj1)
20
On the bright side
Moon Pies are quite real and easily obtained!
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at Fri Jun 5 22:40:05 2015 (ohzj1)
21
The trick is for us to become cartoon characters. Then by the laws of harem anime, we'd immediately have a Strange Cute Girl move in with us, with more on the way. The house would get destroyed on a regular basis, but the way to solve that problem is to move into Tokyo Tower; they've gotten pretty good at rebuilding it.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sat Jun 6 00:56:12 2015 (ZlYZd)
22
Yeah, but also by the laws of Harem anime, if we ever DID get the notion in our noggins to sample the wares, all of the rest of the haremettes would take great exception to it and do everything possible to interfere.
There's a reason most of those heroes try to ignore the bounty around them.
You're better off with a Broken Doll, because then everyone's cheering for you to work it out, only she's really dysfunctional until you finally get to that point, and then poof, the series is over.
Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jun 6 04:09:44 2015 (TJ7ih)
23
Well, yes, but even without being able to seal the deal, we'd still be surrounded by flirtatious eye candy with whom we constantly end up in Compromising Positions. And unless Lum is involved, the consequences aren't nearly as bad as real-world college boys face; sending someone to prison for consensual sex is too wacky for anime. Now those dolls are really broken!
-j
Posted by: J Greely at Sat Jun 6 11:21:04 2015 (ZlYZd)
24
I dunno about those consequences being not that bad. Explosive Nosebleeds at the moment you accidentally cop a feel is pretty worrying. I had a nosebleed once that required two applications of Silver Nitrate to stanch, and that is an agony I wouldn't wish on anyone (well, maybe with a few exceptions...).
Posted by: Mauser at Sat Jun 6 22:24:45 2015 (TJ7ih)
25
You know... I don't think those are moon pies at all. Croquettes?
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at Tue Jun 9 18:45:05 2015 (pWQz4)
Hobby Space News of the commercial space industry A Babe In The Universe Rather Eclectic Cosmology Encyclopedia Astronautica Superb spacecraft resource The Unwanted Blog Scott Lowther blogs about forgotten aerospace projects and sells amazingly informative articles on the same. Also, there are cats. Transterrestrial Musings Commentary on Infinity...and beyond! Colony WorldsSpace colonization news! The Alternate Energy Blog It's a blog about alternate energy (DUH!) Next Big Future Brian Wang: Tracking our progress to the FUTURE. Nuclear Green Charles Barton, who seems to be either a cool curmudgeon, or a rational hippy, talks about energy policy and the terrible environmental consequences of not going nuclear Energy From Thorium Focuses on the merits of thorium cycle nuclear reactors WizBang Current events commentary...with a wiz and a bang The Gates of Vienna Tenaciously studying a very old war The Anchoress insightful blogging, presumably from the catacombs Murdoc Online"Howling Mad Murdoc" has a millblog...golly! EaglespeakMaritime security matters Commander Salamander Fullbore blackshoe blogging! Belmont Club Richard Fernandez blogs on current events BaldilocksUnderstated and interesting blog on current events The Dissident Frogman French bi-lingual current events blog The "Moderate" VoiceI don't think that word means what they think it does....but this lefty blog is a worthy read nonetheless. Meryl Yourish News, Jews and Meryls' Views Classical Values Eric Scheie blogs about the culture war and its incompatibility with our republic. Jerry Pournell: Chaos ManorOne of Science fictions greats blogs on futurism, current events, technology and wisdom A Distant Soil The website of Colleen Dorans' superb fantasy comic, includes a blog focused on the comic industry, creator issues and human rights. John C. Wright The Sci-Fi/ Fantasy writer muses on a wide range of topics. Now Read This! The founder of the UK Comics Creators Guild blogs on comics past and present. The Rambling Rebuilder Charity, relief work, roleplaying games Rats NestThe Art and rantings of Vince Riley Gorilla Daze Allan Harvey, UK based cartoonist and comics historian has a comicophillic blog! Pulpjunkie Tim Driscoll reviews old movies, silents and talkies, classics and clunkers. Suburban Banshee Just like a suburban Leprechaun....but taller, more dangerous and a certified genius. Satharn's Musings Through TimeThe Crazy Catlady of The Barony of Tir Ysgithr アニ・ノート(Ani-Nouto) Thoughtful, curmudgeonly, otakuism that pulls no punches and suffers no fools. Chizumatic Stephen Den Beste analyzes anime...with a microscope, a slide rule and a tricorder. Wonderduck Anime, Formula One Racing, Sad Girls in Snow...Duck Triumphalism Beta Waffle What will likely be the most thoroughly tested waffle evah! Zoopraxiscope Too In this thrilling sequel to Zoopraxiscope, Don, Middle American Man of Mystery, keeps tabs on anime, orchids, and absurdities. Mahou Meido MeganekkoUbu blogs on Anime, computer games and other non-vital interests Twentysided More geekery than you can shake a stick at Shoplifting in the Marketplace of Ideas Sounds like Plaigarism...but isn't Ambient IronyAll Meenuvians Praise the lathe of the maker! Hail Pixy!!