What are you watching? (television thread)

Olivier Hague said:
That one was basically Lost in manga form

Agreed, though I found it more bearable than Lost since I got easily attached to the characters. Pluto is no exception to his talent of destroying the plot completely. Great start, terrible conclusion. But in this case, since it's so small, the impact isn't so strong (plus, I had read 20th Century Boys before, so it didn't come as a surprise).


I've been watching The Shield. Third season now.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Eluvei said:
Pluto is no exception to his talent of destroying the plot completely. Great start, terrible conclusion.

Excuse me but how exactly was it terrible? It's perfectly in line with Tezuka's own works, which I'm sure is what Urasawa was going for.
 
Aazealh said:
Excuse me but how exactly was it terrible? It's perfectly in line with Tezuka's own works, which I'm sure is what Urasawa was going for.

It may have been in line with Tezuka's works, but not with the rest of Pluto itself. The change of focus was too sudden; from a mistery plot to the epic fight against hate we see in the last episodes. The themes he focused on in the end may have been there since the beginning (and we all expected it), but not nearly as strong as they appear after
Gesicht's death
. Since he was going for that, he should have prepared us sooner instead of telling a completely dark, bitter story full of terrible, sad deaths and then just turn it around with a heart-warming life message. It seemed out of place to me.
 
You guys actually liked Battlestar Galactica that much? It was entertaining enough, but it could've become one of the best Sci-Fi shows in history with some actual planning ahead and thought. I could barely stand the last two season of it.

They came up with a load of cool ideas, but just suddenly plopped them in as they went along, and had no idea where to go with them, by the writers own admission. They jumped the shark over and over and over again as the series went on, and relied on Deus Ex Machina ever more heavily, the latter serving as pathetic resolutions to the former as well.

And now LOST is going in that direction as well. Sigh.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Eluvei said:
It may have been in line with Tezuka's works, but not with the rest of Pluto itself.

That is, in your humble opinion. I didn't have a problem with the story's conclusion, personally.

Eluvei said:
The change of focus was too sudden; from a mistery plot to the epic fight against hate we see in the last episodes. The themes he focused on in the end may have been there since the beginning (and we all expected it), but not nearly as strong as they appear after
Gesicht's death
. Since he was going for that, he should have prepared us sooner instead of telling a completely dark, bitter story full of terrible, sad deaths and then just turn it around with a heart-warming life message. It seemed out of place to me.

I thought it came about gradually enough myself, with Atom keeping a limited role until the end. And you're aware that Pluto is essentially a remake of the "Greatest Robot on Earth" story arc from the original Tetsuwan Atom series, right? I mean there's a limit to how much it could deviate from the original and I think Urasawa did a great job on that front. And it's not like the series has a Hollywoodian Happy Ending™ either: a lot of people die, Pluto dies, Bora dies, and even the true mastermind bad guy dies as well. It just has a positive outlook, which is again really what you should expect out of an Atom/Astro Boy story. I don't see what's out of place.

A.C said:
You guys actually liked Battlestar Galactica that much? It was entertaining enough, but it could've become one of the best Sci-Fi shows in history with some actual planning ahead and thought. I could barely stand the last two season of it.

No, I was also disappointed by BSG. It had a lot of potential but didn't manage to live up to it. Comparing it to Lost is mean, though.
 
Aazealh said:
That is, in your humble opinion. I didn't have a problem with the story's conclusion, personally.

Yup, in my humble opinion, like the rest of the post. :iva:

Aazealh said:
I thought it came about gradually enough myself, with Atom keeping a limited role until the end. And you're aware that Pluto is essentially a remake of the "Greatest Robot on Earth" story arc from the original Tetsuwan Atom series, right? I mean there's a limit to how much it could deviate from the original and I think Urasawa did a great job on that front. And it's not like the series has a Hollywoodian Happy Ending™ either: a lot of people die, Pluto dies, Bora dies, and even the true mastermind bad guy dies as well. It just has a positive outlook, which is again really what you should expect out of an Atom/Astro Boy story. I don't see what's out of place.

Yeah I understand about it being a remake, and I didn't think it was a ridiculous, cheap happy ending either (I wasn't making fun of it when I mentioned "heart-warming life message"), but I felt the overall sad atmosphere that he created for the whole series made the themes surrounding the conclusion appear out of place, even if I knew they would show up since the beginning.
 

Aazealh

Administrator
Staff member
Eluvei said:
I felt the overall sad atmosphere that he created for the whole series made the themes surrounding the conclusion appear out of place, even if I knew they would show up since the beginning.

Well what can I say, what you're saying seems pretty contradictory to me. And from the beginning to the end, you have both negative and positive elements in the story, from Brando's family and his friendly rivalry to Heracles, to North #2's little story with the composer and so on. Even Uran meeting with Pluto and seeing the good in him. It's only made sad and dark because the characters die one after another, but short of letting the catastrophe happen in the end there was obviously going to be a point where it'd stop. And you mentioned that it gets too "happy" after Gesicht's death, but Epsilon's death after that is one of the most tragic ones out of the whole story, and at that point it's already almost over. The most emotional moments after that, like Gesicht's adoption of Robita, are bittersweet because we know what's happened since. Then the story ends on Atom reminiscing over the dead, which I think is very fitting.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Olivier Hague said:
'Finally watched the first episode of Yojôhan Shinwa Taikei / The Tatami Galaxy, and I think it's safe to recommend the series.
Ah, I haven't got a chance to watch that just yet, did you check out House of Five Leaves as well? I liked the first episode of that even if the fight scene was a bit horribly animated... still need to watch the second one.
 
Currently watching some anime (which I haven't done in quite some time).
"Le chevalier D'Eon" which is absolutely incredible. A lot of historical inaccuracies [although it doesn't really strive for that, since it incorporates lots of supernatural elements] doesn't change the fact that it's a fantastic series full of political intrigue, mystery, great animation, a rather unique protagonist, tragic characters that you love and hate and a well written story overall. Highly recommend this one.

I've also been watching "Shigurui: Death Frenzy" which is similarly brilliant. Not finished that one yet, but so far it is, as one Amazon reviewer put it, "Poetic Nihilism".
 
X

Xem

Guest
Recently finished watching Sasuke (Ninja Warrior)and boy was it a nail-biting competition this year.
Nagano, returning champion, getting crowned Mr. Ninja Warrior and making it to the final stage again(!) along with a newcomer! It was really great to see the veterans back in their realm alongside the younger generation.
I was a bit put-off that the Americans didn't compete this year, they seemed to mesh with the Japanese competitors really well and it made for more entertainment. Hopefully they'll be back, but I get a feeling that may have just been a stunt G4 pulled to bring in more viewers.

Currently watching my good ol' HBO series: Treme and The Pacific. Really diggin' Treme. Highly suggest that one.

Guilty pleasures: Top Chef Masters and Party Down.

There's also LOST, of course... ugh.
 

Dar_Klink

Last Guardian when? - CyberKlink 20XX before dying
Olivier Hague said:
'Finally watched the first episode of Yojôhan Shinwa Taikei / The Tatami Galaxy, and I think it's safe to recommend the series.
I've been watching this now as it airs. I really like it so far, and I wasn't expecting the story structure really. Some people have speculated about a
Fight Club
ending with Ozu. I'm not sure if anybody talking about it is caught up on the novel though. The Opening and Ending are both really nice too. :guts:

I've also been following Arakawa Under the Bridge, House of Five Leaves, and Rainbow - Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin
 
X

Xem

Guest
http://www.amazon.com/Studio-Ghibli-Movie-Collection/dp/B0016RO6X8

Studio Ghibli Movie Collection

Absolutely amazing, as I'm sure any fan of Miyazaki can imagine. About to finish Gedo Senki, which has been an amazing medieval fantasy so far. To be honest, after I got into Berserk, I absolutely abandoned all manga/anime, knowing nothing could compare. But Studio Ghibli is like my last hurrah, and Gedo Senki just happens to sorta fit into the genre. Highly recommended.

Check it out. :griffnotevil:

EDIT: I should probably note, Gedo Senki is actually done by Hayao Miyazaki's son, so it doesn't have nearly as much of that "friendly-lovey-sappy-awesome" feel to it that most expect. It's a little darker and more .... erm, sad, than his movies. I don't imagine Berserk fans having a problem with that though!
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Just watched the latest Breaking Bad tonight. Needless to say, I am pumped for the season finale next week. Holy living crap.

That ending.
 

Oburi

All praise Grail
New season of Entourage starts soon! :guts: Can't wait :guts: Though I'll admit, from the previews it doesn't look to be all that amazing.
 

Walter

Administrator
Staff member
Gobolatula said:
Just watched the latest Breaking Bad tonight. Needless to say, I am pumped for the season finale next week. Holy living crap.

That ending.
I watched the first season of Breaking Bad, and it didn't hook me. Should I give it another shot, or if I haven't been hooked by now, should I just give up?
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Walter said:
I watched the first season of Breaking Bad, and it didn't hook me. Should I give it another shot, or if I haven't been hooked by now, should I just give up?
If you got time, sure! I'd at least check out the beginning of season 2 to see how the Tuco story wraps up...
 
Just picked up The Wire complete collection.

We burned through the first season over the weekend and man.... great show so far.
What a depressing ending to the first season. Yeesh.
The show doesn't pull any punches that's for sure.
 

Gobolatula

praise be to grail!
Vampire_Hunter_Bob said:
Who else is excited for the new season of Futurama?
I certainly am. The 3 movies were fantastic, but it's been a long, long time since we've been treated to some episodic goodness.
 
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