#over...flash animations about talking objects. i dont think its that serious

[bigtimefreq]

dare i say its extremely fucking weird for people to shit on object shows for being "childish" when the majority of people who make/enjoy them are autistic

[fipindustries]

bojack horse bad again

you know, i was thinking back to this show again, i watched three seasons of it and that was all that i could tomach and you know what? no.

i dont accept it

i dont care, it was a bad show, it was an objectively bad show and i dont accept that everyone else decided that it was good, i dont care, it was a bad show and im going to tell you why.

emotional terrorism

maybe im a simpleton but i am someone who cares quite a lot about catharsis in my stories. this show refused to grant that, adamantly and violently. im not saying i need a happy ending, i am more than capable of enjoying bittersweet or even tragic stories, but i need a sense of completeness, some satisfaction, some release, some sense that things matter or meant something. this show insisted on refusing to give that. all this show was interested in was get an emotional reaction out of you. it was the emotional equivalent of a jump scare. it was convinced that if it made you feel bad enough people would confuse that with beeing powerful and deep. you could get the same reaction by walking up to someone on the street and kicking them in the nuts. and it would take about as much subtlety or artistry.

2. writer led rather than animator led

you could tell this was one of those shows that were made on the writer's room, not by storyboarders or artists, by "comedians". by people with english degrees. so many scenes of characters just standing around and talking. so many "jokes" that were clearly meant to be funny as something you read on a piece of paper or on a tweet and chuckle as you read it but as animation it just gave limp, stagnant scenes. so much dialog that were references and quips and puns and fast witticisms of the type you come up in the shower when thinking of clever comebacks.

there were so many fucking scenes where everything would stop and a character would launch on some stupid profound monologue about life and philosophy and psychology and relationships. it was like the writers were trying on for size paragraphs of their future memoirs or self help books. so much dialog that was begging for an award for writing. so many "mic drop" moments that were designed to be quoted. i find that the best writing is not the one that you can just quote out of context as a cool pithy phrase. a lot of the best writing ive seen in my life is meaningless when devoid of context, is inextricable of the scene and indeed of the entire story surrounding it but in here i can almost see the seams where the writers look at the camera waiting to see if you are impressed

3. inconsistent tone

this show wanted to eat its cake and then still have it. there are stories that manage to deftly weave in and out of comedic moments into serious moments. everything everywhere all at once does an amazing job jumping from the stupidest, most childish jokes into the most profound commentary about human nature, sometimes doing both at the same time and it worked, one didint cheapen the other.

in here though, it wanted to both have a completly absurd world with the stupidest characters ever and then somehow make us care for it all as if the show hadnt shot itself in the foot. it wanted us to see caroline being in love with what is clearly three children in a trenchcoat and then take her seriously as an adult, to treat any forther relationship drama she has as if it werent completly farcical.

4. ugly animation

it continued the blight that is take over adult animation by doing that disgusting repugnant paper puppet rigged interpolated quasi flash animation that only gives you stiff poses and movements and incredibly boring shots of characters standing in 3/4 perspective in front of the camera. it dull and flat and clunky and ugly, and the character designs were ugly. the noses were ugly and the mouths were ugly and the hairs were ugly and the eyes were ugly. it was all ugly. the backgrounds were fucking ugly and the colors were ugly and it was an ugly show to look at. unbearably so. and even the obligatory "weird" stylized scenes put in to shake things off and try to pretend that it was visually interesting (for like one scene per season) were also fucking ugly.

5. it had not interesting point to make

all it could do was insist and belavor and extemporize about how this one guy sucks and also most people kind of suck but specifically this one guy really sucks and he is not going to get better, or maybe he will? eh maybe, but not really, because he sucks. and we are going to make you like him because we are the writers and we are going to make him relatable and charismatic and sympathetic but actually no he sucks, you fell for it! and what does it say about you that you almost kind of liked him eh????. season after season of him, and in case you almost found anything redeemable about him, we are going to make him even worse, painfully unsubtly so, we are going to make him look at the camera and say that he sucks, because that is the level of nuance we think you can handle, dear viewer. this is called "self aware writing" and its postmodern and meta, which means its clever.

i fucking hate this show and the more i think about it the angrier it makes me, and what makes me more angriest of all is that people like it. its popular. it won awards i think. its largely recognized as a good show and its not! it sucks and its bad and if you like it you are stupid.

[tribow]

So I watched Blade of the Immortal

Specifically the 2019 ONA release of this story by LIDENFILMS. This anime probably flew under literally everyone's radar because this anime was on Amazon of all places. I haven't read the original series or watched the original anime, but I have heard of its legacy. People seem to hold up Blade of the Immortal to high regards.

The 2019 adaption of Blade of the Immortal is certainly good. I wouldn't call it masterclass storytelling, but the anime can become very compelling to watch. Multiple characters go through some really cool development, especially for the main character, Rin. The actual immortal in the story plays a supporting role in the narrative most of the time, which was surprising.

Speaking of which, this story does some really unique stuff with the immortality trope that I haven't seen anywhere else. The animation is also really detailed. The advantage of animating an ONA is that you don't really need to adhere to the schedule of a television broadcast. There's some real complicated character designs that need to be animated here and it looks great.

HOWEVER, this is not an anime I can easily recommend despite how good it is. There's some hurdles you will need to be able to get over to watch this anime and it warns you at that start of each episode. For a little bit of context, this anime takes place in medievil Japan. I know enough about japanese history to know that being a woman in that era was not a good time.

There's plenty of rape and sexual assault in this anime. The good news is that this anime does not glorify it and is condemning it more than anything. It's used as a narrative tool and to shock you into understanding that medievil Japan is fucked up. This isn't like other anime/hentai where the offender just gets away with it and the women get treated like an object and it doesn't have an effect on the characters or narrative. I can praise this anime for not glorifying sexual assault like so much japanese media does, (Side note: This is a SERIOUS problem with Japan) but it is going to make you uncomfortable. In fact, it wants you to be uncomfortable, the anime clearly communicates that rape and sexual assault is terrible and you need to be okay with watching characters experience these horrifying scenarios.

The second hurdle is the gore in this anime. It's not just blood spraying everywhere, there's some very detailed depictions of very severe injuries. The brutality is used as a narrative tool of course, but I mean it when I say it's detailed. The animation really sells the impact of what's happening. I'd compare it to how Mortal Kombat depicts its violence, just without the bones shattering.

The third hurdle is whether or not you have epilepsy. The animation is great, but the animation direction has some red and white flashing going on. It's not super frequent, but it's enough to make me concerned about it.

If you can get past these hurdles then I'd recommend this anime for sure, however, this isn't a masterpiece. The biggest issue the anime has is the lightning fast pacing. You need to memorize the names and faces of characters because they will change their appearance without warning. Many characters have 0 introduction and will absolutely be relevant later on. The anime is not going to make sure you understand what's happening, so you might have to pause and take a minute to digest what is going on at times.

Also, the first 3 episodes actually suck. The 1st one is edgy as hell and the 2nd episode has very awkwardly timed comedy that does not contrast well with the 1st episode. (Side note: The comedy is usually timed well to break up the terrible shit the characters have to go through and some characters are clearly just trying to cope). 3rd episode brings back the edge, but the rest of the anime picks itself up and does great without stumbling too hard.

Sitting through it is worth it, the anime ends off on a really good note that wraps up everything very nicely. It's really cool to see an anime that actually has an ending that doesn't ruin anything. Seriously, the final episode has some incredible shit in it. Many characters have amazing developement as well (a couple dont, but they dont drag the story down at all). There's a lot of great things I can say about the characters that I won't elaborate on because this post is long enough already.

I do need to talk about Manji a little bit though. This anime isn't some kind of power fantasy, Manji is not overpowered in the slightest despite being immortal. My guy gets his ass kicked several times even if he ends up winning. I love that he isn't written to be the most powerful like most immortals would be. It's really interesting to see an immortal go through a lot of physical struggles instead of asserting their immortal dominance on the rest of the cast.

This is a real good anime and it's worth the watch, just, be aware of what you're getting into. Blade of the Immortal won't pull its punches and it's not going to be a casual watch. It gives you a lot to think about over its runtime. This anime will be in my head for a while.

[tegwin]

The Counterfeit - Chapter Five

The stranger seems to be rather handy, when it comes down to drawing. And he seems not so in love with that painting anymore, if you look what´s inside his bag. So he might be a kind of painter after all? Let´s see.

*******************************

"You must think me really obsessed." he said over the rim of his cup. "Always in front of the same image, day after day.". He grinned. "Well, as I said, you are just an art lover. Or a student." I objected as a possible explanation for his behavior. Probably also to stop that nagging voice inside of me and to relieve my doubts by his answer. But he said nothing. "So, you  are a student?" I asked. After a long silence he said, "Yes. I am.". But his voice was rough as he said it and I couldn´t help but wonder why that had taken him so long. We looked at each other for a while. He had a broad face with a nearly square forehead. Strong eyebrows. His chin graced by a three-day beard. And that boyish grin that lit his green eyes and that was so contagious. Without even noticing it I began to smile back at him. "I'm James by the way." he introduced himself. And again he flickered another smile at me. "James, the Manet man," I said. He tilted his head. While I just gave a wave of my hand. "The Manet man?". "Yes, that is the nickname Hannah, the lady from the Museum staff, has given you." I hastened to explain myself. "James the Manet man.". He laughed. Deep and melodic. "That's good. That's really good. I think I'll write that into my CV. That could be good for my reputation.". Then he was suddenly serious again. "Some day maybe." he said. "And now, who and what are you, when you´re not bound to play the kindergarten teacher?". "Grace. My name is Grace. And I'm museum educator. I'm doing tours for visitors and for special occasions." I explained. He took a sip of coffee. "That sounds like a responsible position." he said. I nodded slightly. "Then you have studied art?". "History of art." I answered. He looked at me admiringly. "History of art. That's ..." "A rather unprofitable study field, yes." I interrupted and laughed. He joined in. "Thats not what I wanted to say." he hastened to say. "That would have been rather impolite, if I would have said so.". "Yes." I meant. "It would have been.". We laughed for a few minutes more.

 "What drove you towards the art?" I asked. He choked on his coffee. "I .." he trailed off. "You really have to have a story." I insisted as he made ​​no attempt to answer. "Do I?". Now he seemed reluctant and I regretted it almost to have been asking the question. "Yes, everyone has one. I mean, no one does simply decide out of thin air one day to study such a thing like art. If you decide to study something so philosophical, so non profit, then there is always a story behind that decision." When he still gave no answer I added: "At least in my experience. I think its a bit the same with all of us. Isn´t it? After all one must have a good reason for straying of the path and to give to the rest of the world, that will surely ask why someone would study anything so useless, a good explanation."  He nodded and replied: "Yes, that's true.". "So, what's yours?". "You're not curious at all?" he replied, but his eyes flashed now coltish again. I knew he wasn´t mad at for me asking such questions anymore.  "Let's make a deal." he offered. "Show me yours and I´ll show you mine.". He waited for my reaction. "Good, o.k." I relented. "I mean, although I have nothing exciting to say, but if you want to hear it.".

 "My grandmother was an artist. When I was little. And I loved the smell that always hung in her house. From the colors and solvents. ". He looked dreamily. Then he laughed without forewarning. "Most people would have probably said it stank like the plague. But that's like the smell of petrol.". He paused and then said, and I fell in: ". Either you like it or you hate it." We both laughed. "I love the smell of petrol." I said cheerfully. "No wonder. Otherwise you would have hardly survived your study years." he thought. "Oh, it really has nothing to do with painting. It's more about the how, as for real painting.". He was surprised. "That means you have not painted while studying?". "No." I said. "I always thought that you would have to do that.". Now he was really confused. "How are you able to understand what you see and to cherish what you see, if you know nothing about how it was made and with what kind of problems the artist had to deals? How will you understand, if you do not know what it meant to the master?". I laughed. "Pretty sure you where the professors pet then.". He swallowed. "Yes sure." he said gruffly. Somehow I could not shake the feeling that it was unpleasant to him to talk about his studies. That's why I came back to the story he´d just begun telling me. "And your grandmother was a great artist. She lived alone in a romantic house, that was canary with green shutters. You were with her ​​every summer when the poppies bloomed all  around and admired her for her wonderful pictures." I teased him. He twisted his mouth. "No. I hated her for what she painted and how she did it.". He wrinkled his nose. "I found that it wasn´t doing justice to art. Besides painting she had in fact a soft spot for baby animals. And she then painted those in all possible poses and with all sorts of backgrounds. Do you know those terribly sweet kittens? That are set among balls of wool and such stuff? ". I laughed. "You can not be serious!". "Yes. Unfortunately I am." he sighed. He looked at me with big sad eyes. "Oh you poor thing." I gave him a wide smile  and made a decision. About him, about me,us and about that portrait and us having a coffee. So I reached out across the table to him. He winced when I fleetingly touched his arm and laid my hand on it. But he did not pull it away.

 "So that's how I got my first lessons about art.". He nodded and took a sip of coffee. "But, in hindsight it was not so bad. After all, I already knew something I did not want to do.". "Not bad.". "Oh, and she neither had a house surrounded by poppies." he informed me. "She lived in a social housing. Dirty and run down. Her pension was just enough to pay the rent.". "Oh." was all I could say. "Yes, that's why I have long struggled with whether I should really start studying art and start painting or not. People have always said I had a talent for it and a good eye. And those are known to be the most important, or at least some of the key pre-requisites for it. But my family did not like that I´d take that route. Like you said earlier. Why would anyone in his right mind make a job that´s not making any money?". He shrugged his shoulders and looked at me apologetically. "I know that one too." I reassured him.

 "Well, that's why I started with a real profession. In the Insurance business.". Now I was stunned. "Insurance business? Really? And that´s worth it? Do you actually make money with that one?". "Yes, well not in the beginning. But once you have enough experience and are specialized then you can find a job in the higher ranks. With the important people and the important stuff. Which is good paid as well as interesting.". A smirk graced his face as if he had won the lottery. And I felt a sudden heat on the back of my hand. When I looked down, I saw his fingers gently sweep over mine. "I didn´t know that." I said uncertainly. I watched him how he was on fire for something that was such a bleak job to me. "Is it not it rather boring and much paperwork?". "Not if you are dealing with the right people and the right insurance objects." he suggested. Now he´d hooked me. "I'm sorry, but I can not give details of prices. Just this, art is much valubale to a lot of people. And some sleep better if they knows that his stuff is in good hands." he said mysteriously. "You insured paintings?" I blurrted out. "Amongst other things.". "Well, now it is clear to me, why are you raving about your job that way.". I thought about it. "And so you can make that much money with that that you dont have to work anymore?" I remembered when I asked that he spent more time at my working place than rather at his. He laughed. "You have no idea, do you?" he said, and now I felt a little silly. "Of course, you can live well by the commission. So I did what I had to do." He winked at me. "I've worked good, like my family wanted me too. I managed to save a good deal for bad days or for projects. In order to pursue my own plans, my studies.". He laughed again and squeezed my hand. I looked puzzled. "Oh." I said in amazement. "You should see your face right now. What do you think I've done? Do you think I made an insurance first in order to steal and sell them. later on after having gained some insight into the security measures they'd taken? And that I'm rich right now? A millionaire, made by stealing?". He burst out laughing,his green eyes shining like a lake in full sunlight. He loosened his grip on my hand and let go of it. In one fluid motion he bent down, grabbed his sketch block and pencil from his pencil case. And before I could count to three he was busy scribbling. "Stop it." I said a little upset because I had a vague idea what he outlined there. It was enough to me that he thought I was naive. But I thought it unnecessary to put it forever on paper. It was more than I could bare. "Don't worry. You're not the only and first one to make that kind of face when you're told about what I'm doing for a living." he just joked and scribbled on.