Blogging watching an anime is different then writing a review... I hope I do this entertainingly enough.
My first impression of Sword Art Online took two episodes two put my mind around. In short, I want to watch a third, but not as enthusiastically as some anime have been able to pull me in.
The world of Sword Art Online is intriguing. Its much like dot Hack - so we've seen the premise before. Players get stuck in a virtual world. Thematically it appears that its going to go fairly dark; How is it that people react during a social experiment in which their lives are on the line in a fantasy world.
Soooo... First episodes neh? The first episode seemed to attempt to lay the premise out and let you meet the main character. He is the archetypal loner nice guy. He enthusiastically embraces the alternate reality of Sword Art Online and directly says so to another character. He appears like he is going to represent the idea of someone who is an expert of fantasy; In his journey through the fantasy world I wouldn't be surprised if he discovers a great deal about friendship, relationships and reality.
To further the theme, and so as to not get into too much spoilers, I want to bring up a sight gag at the end of the episode. Upon being thrown into the world, the players are all returned from their game avatars into their real life forms. There were quite many female players that revealed male avatars (expected but humors none the less.) Additionally older players appeared where younger ones were moments before. And of course physique wise much the same.The secondary character didn't change much at all; Makes me think he is going to represent honesty, forthrightness and such later on.
The second episode continues themes of relationships and social experimentnessishes. The beta- testers of the game, with their previous experience, are painted as bad guys. The beta testers have used their knowledge to get a leg up and not die during the game. Our main character, Kirito, was a beta tester and until the end of the episode hides this fact.
The plot is moving slowly, while the episodes themselves are fairly slow, so I'm interested in episode three because I don't feel like I've watched much and I"m wondering where else they are going to take this fairly already done story. We'll see.
Think I got anything wrong? Get a different impression? Let me know in the comments!
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WE'RE WATCHIN DA ANIME
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Anime Reviews by Fusegu
On my other blog: Life at 1000% I dabble in writing what's on my mind. No specific topic. Because of that, I have only 2 followers - a friend and my dad. Marketing geniuses would tell you a lack of brand message and all that. The most hits I've ever received was on an anime review I did. So I'm going to do the smart thing and separate out the reviews I do and keep them on a separate blog. I'll copy and paste the first intro I did on my love for anime here to get us started. Straight from Life at 1000%:
I luvs me some anime.
Ok So I can't help but cut in on myself. アニメが大好きですよ！
If you don't love you some anime, I can't say I blame you. The typical american pallette for entertainment hasn't made it easy for good anime to make it in the states.
For one, the stuff we get over here in the US that gets any attention at all is aimed at younger audiences. If you are reading this and above the age of 13, well there just isn't much for you that also plays on TV. I happened to get into anime when I was about that age, and grew with it. Japanese animation is so diverse in its selection that as I grew into an adult, I could find age appropriate stuff of any genre. Unless you had a reason to look for it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an anime you would love, but would never have found.
The very reason that anime is aimed at younger audiences here in the US and doesn't cross over to other demographics is because of the stark differences between Japanese culture and Amercian. Its these very differences I find entertaining. Their views on good vs evil, sexuality, spirtuality, and life in general are differant. For many people, the slight changes to common plot devices we find in our general programing are foreign, alien and uncomfortable. The juvenile stuff crosses over easier, partially because it just doesn't have to get into the deeper themes and values and so never shocks the younger audiences. In the end Pokemon is about a kid who makes friends, works hard, and love his pets. Who can't find that valuable? In the older targeting genres, japanese writers may skew good guys and bad guys and everything is a morale shade of grey; In typical american style we prefer our contrasts of black and white. This and many other small thematic changes, is where anime finds it loses its would be viewers this side of the pacific.
Ok ok ok, I say all that, not to change your mind about watching cartoons. Cartoons are funny little shorts we laugh at. I say all that to open yourself to the idea, of possibly, maybe taking a suggestion from one of your friends you may have that recommends an animated movie or series. Find a genre you like: Horror, psychological thriller, comedy, action - and if that recommendation fits your normal tastes, maybe you try it and not shoot it down right away just because its animated...
Looking back, I think now that animation kind of does have a special place in this generations hearts and this isn't as true today as it was even five years ago. Other factors have been both beneficial to anime coming stateside and hurting it. My powers of speculation suggest that rampant fan subbing (where a fan you know translates and subtitles a work themselves) and illegal streaming have caused anime to become less profitable. Even the legit streaming model can't be as profitable as selling hard copies (though I'd love to see actual $$$ statistics on this). Likewise, the advent of faster internet connections and the stereotypical anime lovers penchant for fast, free and now has caused all the anime providers to go to a streaming model - through their own sites, hulu and Netflix. The production costs must be much lower in my estimation, which one would think would be a good thing for brining anime over.
Anyways, I'll post the current anime I'm watching, some initial feedback and then a review once I'm done. If you like my thoughts and prose, or just want to watch with me: follow, leave a comment and join me @fusegu on twitter, #latenightotaku.
じゃね
I luvs me some anime.
Ok So I can't help but cut in on myself. アニメが大好きですよ！
If you don't love you some anime, I can't say I blame you. The typical american pallette for entertainment hasn't made it easy for good anime to make it in the states.
For one, the stuff we get over here in the US that gets any attention at all is aimed at younger audiences. If you are reading this and above the age of 13, well there just isn't much for you that also plays on TV. I happened to get into anime when I was about that age, and grew with it. Japanese animation is so diverse in its selection that as I grew into an adult, I could find age appropriate stuff of any genre. Unless you had a reason to look for it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an anime you would love, but would never have found.
The very reason that anime is aimed at younger audiences here in the US and doesn't cross over to other demographics is because of the stark differences between Japanese culture and Amercian. Its these very differences I find entertaining. Their views on good vs evil, sexuality, spirtuality, and life in general are differant. For many people, the slight changes to common plot devices we find in our general programing are foreign, alien and uncomfortable. The juvenile stuff crosses over easier, partially because it just doesn't have to get into the deeper themes and values and so never shocks the younger audiences. In the end Pokemon is about a kid who makes friends, works hard, and love his pets. Who can't find that valuable? In the older targeting genres, japanese writers may skew good guys and bad guys and everything is a morale shade of grey; In typical american style we prefer our contrasts of black and white. This and many other small thematic changes, is where anime finds it loses its would be viewers this side of the pacific.
Ok ok ok, I say all that, not to change your mind about watching cartoons. Cartoons are funny little shorts we laugh at. I say all that to open yourself to the idea, of possibly, maybe taking a suggestion from one of your friends you may have that recommends an animated movie or series. Find a genre you like: Horror, psychological thriller, comedy, action - and if that recommendation fits your normal tastes, maybe you try it and not shoot it down right away just because its animated...
Looking back, I think now that animation kind of does have a special place in this generations hearts and this isn't as true today as it was even five years ago. Other factors have been both beneficial to anime coming stateside and hurting it. My powers of speculation suggest that rampant fan subbing (where a fan you know translates and subtitles a work themselves) and illegal streaming have caused anime to become less profitable. Even the legit streaming model can't be as profitable as selling hard copies (though I'd love to see actual $$$ statistics on this). Likewise, the advent of faster internet connections and the stereotypical anime lovers penchant for fast, free and now has caused all the anime providers to go to a streaming model - through their own sites, hulu and Netflix. The production costs must be much lower in my estimation, which one would think would be a good thing for brining anime over.
Anyways, I'll post the current anime I'm watching, some initial feedback and then a review once I'm done. If you like my thoughts and prose, or just want to watch with me: follow, leave a comment and join me @fusegu on twitter, #latenightotaku.
じゃね
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