Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler So what are you watching tonight?

I watched Rashomon the other day, and highly recommended.

I finished Eden of the East. It was pretty decent. I like the concepts, though I think there was more potential for it.

I did read the books that are out for that series, although it is still not finished. I found it very engaging and somewhat different from most fantasy series. Saw a preview a while back for this program and while I do want to see it, I'm a little unsure as, usually, these types of things don't translate so well to live action. Hopefully, that can change?

Yeah, the only reason I hold out any hope is because HBO is doing it. However, I'm sure it's a tall order even for them.

I just finished watching “Popotan” 12 x 23 minute episode comedy, drama, supernatural anime. Be warned this is a very ecchi anime heavy on fanservice a good half of which is lolicon. If you can’t deal with that then skip this title.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/popotan/dvd-2

http://www.denbeste.nu/Chizumatic/reviews/Popotan.shtml

This is probably the most reviewed anime I’ve ever looked up on the internet. And boy does it run the gamut. It goes from getting 7/10 and a “B” on and A-F scale to a .5 on a 1-10 scale. All the reviews marked it down for excessive fanservice the poor ones more so than the good ones. I think one of the best commentaries about this show is the addendum at the end of the second review linked above.

The format for this show is 16x9 2.0. The drawings are colourful and characters distinctive but the actually animation is . . . well not very animated. Very heavy use of still shot pans and not showing character’s mouths when they are talking. However, since there’s not a lot of action it doesn’t seem to matter.

Ok, the fanservice. The reviews above describe it in enough detail but not until reading the addendum to the second review above did it click that the fanservice was the necessary price for getting this story told. Since it’s primarily a drama with a good amount of comedy there needed to be something to catch the young male audience and because of the story it couldn’t be action. Also, since much of the story is told by the characters sitting around and talking what better way to keep they guys tuned in than to have the characters always sitting around in the bath talking rather than around say the dining room table. In many ways like the review above comments this is like “Divergence Eve” an interesting, even unique, story that wouldn’t otherwise have been told if not for the fanservice.

So what about the story. Well it’s surprisingly good if a bit confusing at first. Unlike “Divergence Eve” “Popotan” in the end seems much more coherent and makes since. Even though some things don’t get fully explained you don’t mind because by the time it’s over you realize they were just a vehicle for telling the real story. This is also a rare series in two ways. There is absolutely no filler, though you might think so if you’re not paying attention. It’s also a series that gets better as it goes along probably because the mystery deepens as more of the plot is revealed.

Being only 12 episodes and having a tight plot this was a breezed to marathon watch. I give it a “B” or 4/5 overall.

Did someone post a link to it here?

I remember seeing a behind-the-scenes snippet and it looks like the author is involved in the filming. To what extent, I do not know?

I just finished watching “Stratos 4” a 13 x 23 minute episode action, comedy, science fiction anime. And also the 2 episode OVA that takes up where the series leaves off.

http://www.denbeste.nu/Chizumatic/reviews/Stratos4.shtml

It’s only a 4x3 presentation but it is 5.1. Most of the 5.1 in the series is just music but there is a lot of it going to the surrounds. In the OVA there is actually some LFE even below 40Hz.

Over all the animation is pretty good. And the backgrounds look very much like the real places depicted which are shown in some of the extras on the DVDs.

The story is fairly familiar with the young underdogs saving the day, but because the characters are so likeable the show is just plain fun to watch. One character of note is the cat which has to be the fattest cat real or animated I’ve ever seen. The cat, whose thoughts and communications with other cats get subtitled, plays the straight “man” for some of the best comedy in the show.

There is also a bit of an X-Files type mystery to the show that is slowly exposed. It goes so far as to have it’s own version of “The Lone Gunmen” one of whom can be seen holding a folder marked “X File” on it at one point. Another reoccurring character is patterned after “The Smoking Man.”

Like the review mentions there are also some fun extras worth watching on the series DVS including a filming of the Japanese voice actresses vacationing on Shimojo Island were the story is based. However, the best extra is a short animation of a stand-alone comet intercept where the animators go pull out all the stops and even parody an anime genre. The best part of this clip is the very end where the punch line to a joke running through the whole series is delivered. Well worth watching and good for a laugh. \

Like “Popotan” I watched earlier the science fiction and mystery aspect of this show is more of a vehicle for telling a story and not really the story it self. I’m glad they did it this way rather than try to do to much. It seems from the ending that they may have planed to flesh out the hard core part of the story in a follow up series but never got to it.

As much as I like this show I can only give it a B- or about 3.5/5 because there are a few to many filler scenes.

I watched a Nuremberg Trial Documentary: U.S. Army Version (1950) . It was pretty interesting. There's lots of excellent videos on thefilmarchive Youtube channel.

I went to the theater tonight with my sister and watched "The Dawn Treader - 3D". I was impressed with this movie. Very well done. Similar to book, but it didn't follow the story exactly. I think the movie was better. Now that's something you don't hear everyday. I watched all of the Narnia movies made back in the 80's and they were very poorly made, but followed the books very closely if I remember correctly. This is one Blu-ray I'm looking forward to. I think the 3D added a lot of visual impact to it as well.

Kaley Cuoco on Letterman is always a good time. I really like her, but she needs to star in a better show. Sheldon can be entertaining, but does anyone even like Leonard?