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| |  "Random Thread Nongaming Edition VIIr" , posted Mon 1 Jun 12:21:  
A really interesting thing that a pal linked me to is this modern folk hero, a protest dog in Chile:
long twitter thread full of images
I did not know about this at all, and it really makes me wonder about what sorts of other folk heroes have come to be in the past decade or two in various parts of the world. There are folk heroes of all kinds, ranging from anti-authority vigilantes like Robin Hood, resisters against foreign occupiers like Wong Fei Hung, to those who united countries and became symbols of authority like King Arthur, but most of the ones I do know of are at least a century old, if not many centuries old! I know very little of the folk heroes of South America and Mexico and India and the many nations of Africa, to say nothing of Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world! If any of you do know of ones local to your region, do name them for me so that I can look them up!
[this message was edited by Spoon on Mon 1 Jun 12:38] |
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| "Re(1):Random Thread Nongaming Edition VIIr" , posted Tue 2 Jun 00:04
quote:
A really interesting thing that a pal linked me to is this modern folk hero, a protest dog in Chile:
long twitter thread full of images
I did not know about this at all, and it really makes me wonder about what sorts of other folk heroes have come to be in the past decade or two in various parts of the world. There are folk heroes of all kinds, ranging from anti-authority vigilantes like Robin Hood, resisters against foreign occupiers like Wong Fei Hung, to those who united countries and became symbols of authority like King Arthur, but most of the ones I do know of are at least a century old, if not many centuries old! I know very little of the folk heroes of South America and Mexico and India and the many nations of Africa, to say nothing of Southeast Asia and many other parts of the world! If any of you do know of ones local to your region, do name them for me so that I can look them up!
Aw man, this story made my day. Love it. There are also 3 other dogs in Chile with a similar story and I think one still alive.
Favorite picture of matopacos is the three version of him. One of himself as normal, one in flames, and one with full of green grass. To show that although a dog, powerful when resisting but down to earth once peace is restored.
Comments mentioned dogs similar in Turkmenistan and Greece. Definitely would like to see somemmore of this.
Long Live I AM!
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| "Re(1):Random Thread Nongaming Edition VIIr" , posted Thu 4 Jun 12:08
quote:
A really interesting thing that a pal linked me to is this modern folk hero, a protest dog in Chile
While I can't be sure, I like to think that our favorite Chilean, Toxico, would approve.
As for non-canine folk heroes, Spoon, you should probably look into Ishikawa Goemon---no, not his supposed successor Ishikawa Goemon XIII of Lupin III---the real-life virtuous thief who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, and tried to assassinate the mighty daimyou Toyotomi Hideyoshi and maybe even Wakamoto Norio Oda Nobunaga. Unlike his English Robin Hood counterpart, he was unsuccessful and boiled alive, but the legend lives on in kabuki and in the hearts of all virtuous thieves.
The other guy who came immediately to mind is souhei warrior monk Benkei, famous for roaming the land and attempting to collect 1000 swords from samurai. Famous for dying standing up, and staying that way, even after being pierced by arrows. He's the model for the Final Fantasy series' Gilgamesh, to bring it back to games.
The most famous American outlaw hero, of course, has to be Billy the Kid, another bandit figure and a famous train robber, also based in fact. Famed composer Aaron Copeland (who essentially established modern American-style classical music as differentiated from the centuries-old European composers and thus ensured that classical music would one day become the soundtrack music of choice for movies) wrote the Billy the Kid suite, a magnificent score for a ballet about Billy the Kid that totally evokes the wild prairie and Sega blue skies before they were Sega.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| "Re(1):black anime" , posted Fri 12 Jun 22:18
quote:
Woah! Brandon shared a cool article on the first black-owned anime studio in Japan. You'd better believe I had no idea this existed! Every so often, you'll hear a tale from a non-Japanese person who worked in the industry, like at Gainax or Ghibli or somewhere, but this is cool and brand-new to me.
Edit: more interesting still, they've also contributed not only to MMCafe's favorite series, Dracula, in the form of the Netflix TV show, but also to Gintama, which is hot hot hot
Impressive! It's even more impressive when you remember how absurdly underpaid most people in the anime industry are, so traveling to the other side of the world just to get paid peanuts is a real labor of love.
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| "Re(3):Pollyannime" , posted Tue 16 Jun 10:38:
quote:
There's this tribute book edited by Itoi for MOTHER and it's named Pollyanna
And it made me miss Pollyanna  I hope she's doing well!
And here Iggy and I were so sure that our strategy of leaving friendly stalker-ish notes on her Steam profile would somehow catch her attention to lure her back! Who knew?
I think of her whenever I think of Tales of the Abyss, which was pretty good and all thanks to her! Along with many other interesting observations and conversations, of course. Sometimes I think of creating a Bring Back POLLY thread after the success with ONSY, but I figure that if the Toxico tribute thread didn't naturally summon her, nothing would. 
On the subject of Itoi, who might be one of the finest writers around today (I can't tell if writing PR copy was a waste of his time, or whether he elevated the already excellent Japanese PR world to new levels with the Ghibli ads he's famous for), it's always good writing at his site, the Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun, the Almost-Daily Itoi Newspaper.
...or at least it was before, though I find it too cluttered now. I was super-confused to find there was an English version of the Japanese store, but then realized it's probably because it's now this Muji(rushi)-like design shop. I take it as a problem that I literally could not even find the book section without an internet search. That's too bad, because there are some great collections from his pithy daily journals, and his press also published this book on dearly departed Nintendo president Iwata Satoru that collected his Iwata Asks columns and also had special interviews with Itoi.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Tue 16 Jun 10:48] |
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| "Mortal Kinema" , posted Fri 11 Sep 08:50
I'm never one to pass up multimedia tie-ins to fighting games, so I was curious about Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. Not curious enough to buy it, mind you, but curious. Luckily, my local public library had a copy(!) so I got to check out the latest adaptation of our favorite kombatants.
When I say "favorite" that's pretty accurate, because while this is yet another retelling of MK1 it shifts the focus to also being the origin story of MK's poster boy Scorpion. While the nominal MK heroes are off doing an "Enter the Dragon" pastiche yet again the movie spends an equal amount of time reinventing Scorpion as a sympathetic lone wolf who realizes the error of his ways in time to save the day. It's certainly a shift, but not necessarily a bad one. No matter how beautiful his hair is, poor Liu Kang isn't engaging enough to carry the story by himself.
The character designs reminds me of the chunky, stiff style of a syndicated cartoon series for kids from the 1990's. It even feels that way at points, with Raiden continuously burping out platitudes about destiny and heroism to anyone within earshot. After Raiden a one-to-grow-on lesson the movie would then immediately cut to Scorpion punching the head off a demon in hell. That juxtaposition was cheap amusement but nevertheless worked.
Speaking of which, the main selling point of the show is the violence. Unlike those 1990's cartoons where everyone had to wave weapons at each other in a non-threatening manner, people in MKL are getting chopped apart constantly. Unlike the gruesome fatalities of modern MK games, the violence in MKL is quick and kinetic, with people flying apart in sprays of neon red blood and salami slices of body parts. It's overdone and delightfully ridiculous. Watching the film put me in mind of MK: Shaolin Monks, where you could perform fatalities but other times you could be fighting a group of enemies and some guy's head would suddenly go bouncing off mid-combo. I miss Shaolin Monks, that was a fun game.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, the MK OVA. In the end it's MK so it's ridiculous but this particular outing is the good sort of ridiculous. Even the outlaw movie critic Vern agrees with me.
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| "Re(2):Mortal Kinema" , posted Sat 12 Sep 08:46:
quote:
I somehow managed to see The Killing Joke one time on HBO, and now I'm curious as to what people thinking about these "matured-up cartoons from my childhood" or if its trying too hard
I'm probably going to get in trouble with Onsy's ghost, but the way I see it, American superhero comics trying to be mature is always going to be a losing battle because the century-old basic premise is so childish. And I say this as someone who loves good fantasy and mythology, so that's not the problem! It's that at the core, you have a collection of characters originally designed for children, where the creative process was literally indistinguishable from what small schoolchildren might've said back and forth: "Oh, check this out, I'm inventing a character who has spider power!" "Ah, but mine is invincible!" "Mine dresses like a bat!" "Mine has the power of the birds!" "Mine has water power!" You see what I mean.
That said, the Gotham aesthetic and bat theme might've made Batman less ridiculous when made darker later on, and the animated series is a nice mix of approximately Shounen Jump-level drama that's fun with some actual adult themes. But in the end, it's still a challenge working with a guy wearing tights and underwear outside his pants with a big bat symbol on his chest in a world of secret identities and villains in elaborate villain costumes.
I've got another theory, though! Maybe the issue with "grown up" superhero media is that people think Alan Moore's gritty Killing Joke style is the only way to go, and it becomes too much like self-parodic self-seriousness. Like, Monkey Punch was once asked if he disliked Miyazaki's more chivalrous take on Lupin that makes the main character less of a pervert, and which was in turn influential on later material. He answered that he was not at all against Miyazaki's take, only that so many other people were slavishly trying to do the same thing as Miyazaki, and not as well, rather than doing something else different. I think there's room for an adult take on silly superheroes, but Alan Moore noir can't be the only way.
quote:
everyone who isn’t Warren Ellis is doing pretty good thanks to their association with Castlevania.
It certainly applies to the Cafe and its successful and attractive clientele!
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
[this message was edited by Maou on Sat 12 Sep 08:51] |
| | "Re(1):Mortal Kinema" , posted Sat 12 Sep 22:35
quote:
I'm never one to pass up multimedia tie-ins to fighting games, so I was curious about Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge. Not curious enough to buy it, mind you, but curious. Luckily, my local public library had a copy(!) so I got to check out the latest adaptation of our favorite kombatants.
When I say "favorite" that's pretty accurate, because while this is yet another retelling of MK1 it shifts the focus to also being the origin story of MK's poster boy Scorpion. While the nominal MK heroes are off doing an "Enter the Dragon" pastiche yet again the movie spends an equal amount of time reinventing Scorpion as a sympathetic lone wolf who realizes the error of his ways in time to save the day. It's certainly a shift, but not necessarily a bad one. No matter how beautiful his hair is, poor Liu Kang isn't engaging enough to carry the story by himself.
The character designs reminds me of the chunky, stiff style of a syndicated cartoon series for kids from the 1990's. It even feels that way at points, with Raiden continuously burping out platitudes about destiny and heroism to anyone within earshot. After Raiden a one-to-grow-on lesson the movie would then immediately cut to Scorpion punching the head off a demon in hell. That juxtaposition was cheap amusement but nevertheless worked.
Speaking of which, the main selling point of the show is the violence. Unlike those 1990's cartoons where everyone had to wave weapons at each other in a non-threatening manner, people in MKL are getting chopped apart constantly. Unlike the gruesome fatalities of modern MK games, the violence in MKL is quick and kinetic, with people flying apart in sprays of neon red blood and salami slices of body parts. It's overdone and delightfully ridiculous. Watching the film put me in mind of MK: Shaolin Monks, where you could perform fatalities but other times you could be fighting a group of enemies and some guy's head would suddenly go bouncing off mid-combo. I miss Shaolin Monks, that was a fun game.
What was I talking about? Oh yeah, the MK OVA. In the end it's MK so it's ridiculous but this particular outing is the good sort of ridiculous. Even the outlaw movie critic Vern agrees with me.
I watched it, too. Your assessment is very accurate. The animation is very violent but it feels goofy rather than uncomfortable like the MKX/MK11 fatalities.
The story is very different from both the original game and the 2011 reboot, with many deaths that didn't occur in either of them (at least not during the first tournament). Then again, Boon has said that there is an entire multiverse of MK alternate realities (that's what happens when you get involved with Warner/DC, I guess), so this animation is just another one of them.
That reminds me that there is a live-action MK film being produced (though I suppose the production was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic). The few details about it made it seem like they were taking a lot of creative liberties...
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
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| | "Re(2):An even better TvC" , posted Thu 17 Sep 02:57
quote:
I'll post it in the Non-gaming section for now, but if this doesn't graduate to being an actual game, I'll riot in my living room.
https://www.cinra.net/news/20200915-tezuka
I'm really puzzled by the collaboration, because I can't remember Capcom ever doing a game with Tezuka characters...? Maybe Tsujimoto have invested money in the museum. Or the Tezuka heirs funneled all the money from their horrible plan for AI-generated Tezuka volumes into Californian wineries.
This is awesome and also very puzzling indeed! What is the missing link between Capom and Tezuka productions? Hyogo prefecture is too far away for casual museum travel, but it's going to be very interesting to see how both Capcom and Tezuka artists will draw each other's various characters in this project.
I think I'm more interested in the Capcom depictions of the Tezuka characters, because the Tezuka style is extremely well-established and because it's an institutionalized house style from a dead artist, it by design will not be changing. Capcom has multiple styles established for its games, to say nothing of the multiple styles of the artists used as exemplars of Capcom to the artists who were previously more unknown. It doesn't have a single institutional style, even if there are styles associated with particular Capcom titles.
So in that sense, there's multiple possible directions any particular one of the Capcom renditions of the Tezuka characters could take: character as if they were from game X in game X's contemporary time frame, character as if they were from game X but through the studio style of 2020, character through artist Y's idiosyncratic style, etc.
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| "Dragon Ball Z in UK and Spanish DUB" , posted Sun 27 Sep 04:08
Recently saw an video about the UK experience of Dragon Ball Z. During it's on air run, it went through nearly 5 different voice studios. Which also includes the movies and TV specials. It was an confusion time for those who grew up with the show. Ocean studios did the majority but sadly, none of the studios who did the UK dub is available at home media. Home media releases are only available by the recent Funimation studios, yes that corny cast of voices.
I know everyone has heard there taste on Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z. All I will say is poor execution and unnecessary extra lines and cheap comedic punches. I hated.
Ocean dub, pioneer , who did the first 52 I my opinion did a fantastic job. Even with the music. Yes, they may have censored the show to an extreme that I agree was not cool. But, again, execution is a key factor here. They still executed there style in a more positive note.
I did notice some voice actors, who continued the dub in UK, acting sort of fell down a bit. Although, they where in a more rush deadline for the airing in the UK. So I can see that the voice acting did seem low compared to the first episodes. It did seemed rush and it was noticable.
Anyways, how can I find the Spanish dub of dragon Ball Z? Would like to buy that if it's available.
Long Live I AM!
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| | "Re(4):New Evangelion: Thrice Upon A Delay" , posted Thu 22 Oct 10:30:
quote:
I haven't been keeping up with latest retelling of the Eva cycle so I have no idea what is going on in these trailers. Is this worth watching?
Those vacuum-sealed pants were hilarious. Putting those on must be quite the sensation!
As with all series whose sequels and remakes wear out their welcome, I wonder what the new Eva is hoping to accomplish. The production issues seem to tragically mirror Anno's same psychological problems that led to a seeming collapse of the latter half of the show in the 1990s, but somehow it's even more uncomfortable when the breakdown is a massively budgeted production rather than the increasingly bare-bones original Eva. Auteur films are interesting, but I'm trying to figure out how much more we need to see of Anno's conflicted relationship with his own creation.
I guess it's giving fans more of what they want? But like all the dumb Star Wars sequels that focus too much on swordfights and recreating the originals, I can't help but wonder if a lot of Eva superfans were more interested in their imagining of the show as seen in the "fun with high school mecha" from the merchandise rather than what actually aired on TV.
Here's kind of an amusing thought I had about EVA:
In terms of raw imagery/designs/etc. it is enormously influential. For many people it was frankly the coolest thing they had ever seen.
For all the young people who were teens or thereabouts when seeing it, the angst and pain the show expressed with protagonists not so far in age from themselves was deeply relatable. It was a show where the hero wasn't just often cowardly, but was excoriated for it constantly, and actually performing acts of heroism only led to fleeting success. Which ultimately would loop back to how as a depressive it was emotionally difficult for him to get his ass in gear, and the fleetingness of that success would just play back into his deep angst.
So now that all those people who were teenagers and felt to strongly about EVA back when they were Shinji's now are adults and still love EVA, to say nothing of an entire generation of studio artists who have grown up admiring EVA, they don't just want to make something with all the cool stuff of EVA... they want fulfillment for the characters who were all so famously unhappy. They want them to be able to be able to heroic and cool in an unqualified way. Many of these artists are no longer angsty teenagers, but adult professionals. They might not be rich, famous, and beautiful, but they crucially no longer have the sadness and anger that has a sharpness you can't really when you aren't still within a stone's throw of puberty. As such, the work tends towards something warmer/nicer/happier with potential for happy endings for everyone.
[this message was edited by Spoon on Thu 22 Oct 10:31] |
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| "Re(3):A cat is fine, too" , posted Tue 27 Oct 02:28
quote:
Kinu's art is enough to launch us into a glorious eternal celebratory dance in space aboard the Nyan Cat. The risk with including her, of course, is that you draw attention to how mediocre a lot of the CG-jammed anime industry has been for the past twenty years while she's been doing better things. Just imagine a series where she does the artistic direction, though...I never thought I'd be asking for Street Fighter V-2 (not 5, but the V for Victory anime), directed by her, until now...
That reminds me of a new anime that aired last season and tried to be a masterpiece featuring character designs by the great Yoshitaka Amano! ...And it came out being... oh boy... .. .
phew, looks like the standard design quality we’ve been seeing for 20 years, with no trace of Amano. I guess only the legendary Vampire Hunter D has pulled off using a Serious Outside Designer that effectively.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| | "Toei Animation and Saudi Arabia" , posted Mon 4 Jan 22:37:
While we were talking about MiSK Foundation's planned majority stake on SNK, they (through Manga Productions) have partnered with Toei Animation for a while, and it was confirmed recently that their co-produced anime, "Asateer -- Future's Folktales" is renewed for a second season.
The first season was kind of successful reaching 70 million in viewership in various platforms.
They have partnered with them for a while. Staring with "The Woodcutter's Treasure" and last year, they released an anime movie called "The Journey". (Note: I am not sure what happened to this after the pandemic struck.)
IIRC, Saudi Arabia had some involvement with One Piece: Stampede.
I did made a small research if Toei Animation is listed in the Japanese Stock Market. (And yes, they are)
I won't be surprised if they suddenly had an investment (at least, a 10-15% minority stake) with Toei Animation in the future.
Then this question again, "If you quit KOF (or any SNK games) because of Saudi Arabia, will you do the same with One Piece or Dragon Ball (or any anime from Toei animation) if Saudi (even a minority stake) is suddenly involved with the ownership of the company like SNK?"
But then again...
"And now my enjoyment of said product has to be tied to a political statement?"
"Lasciate ogne speranza"
[this message was edited by Yuki Yagami on Mon 4 Jan 22:40] |
| | "Re(1):Sumo wrestlers and tasteless pots" , posted Wed 6 Jan 04:54
quote:
I'm not sure how the nongaming edition thread turned into a gaming thread but turning things back, here's a news bit that caught my attention today the way it sort of symbolizes how things are right now in Japan: Hakuho, the top honcho in the wacky world of sumo wrestling, was diagnosed with covid today and a good number of people are thinking this may as well lead to his retirement. He noticed that he's tasteless and discovered himself to be positive after testing, not that he's missing much on his daily chanco/sumo pot considering it's not really a tasty dish.
There's no question that sumo wrestlers are overweight and generally have diabetes and hypertention, so I do wonder where this will lead to, especially since the current season is just 5 days away and the wrestlers have been going full-contact at their small sumo gyms.
On a trivial note, Japanese pro wrestlers also had a tendency to have diabetes since their roots stemmed from sumo and they used to have a same diet in the yesteryears. Things are better now and they take protein instead. M-U-S-C-L-E-! 
I just want to point out that there's a twitch channel which regularly streams sumo, and the twitch chat participants are often both very knowledgeable and demand civility from the chat! I often have it on in to provide background in the evening!
It is also the English broadcast, and the English commentators provide a lot of background on things.
I think sumo is interesting in that it is extremely different from most other combat sports in the extreme shortness of its matches. I know I've talked about this before in fighting game threads, but it's really interesting how sumo wrestling is a seconds-long sprint while fencing/boxing/mma/judo/greco-roman wrestling/TKD/etc. are all marathons playing with many points or rounds in comparison.
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| | "Re(1):New Mortal Kombat Live Action Film" , posted Tue 23 Feb 04:40:
quote:
What do the cafe members think of the new MK film announced? I am actually quite happy and excited. However, I have one big doubt.
I have not watched movies in years. Seems to be repetitive in nature. And nothing innovative. This new character shown in the trailer, a young clueless guy with no ties, has a huge impact on how this film turns out.
If it's the same scenario, "oohh.....I am involved, so I will tag along and try my best...and in the end I save the day...."
If that happens again, I will be enraged. This movie looks awesome to have another repetitive Hollywood script kill it.
Its plot seems to be similar to the first film, only with focus on the new guy instead of Liu Kang, and with much more blood and violence.
Johnny Cage's absence can sorta be justified by this new guy taking his spot. One thing I don't get, however, is why the team behind this film thought it would be a good idea to use Mileena (a.k.a. Kitana's clone)... but not Kitana. I read somewhere that apparently they intend to only add her in the sequel - problem is, there is a good chance that this film won't get one. And even if it does, it's unlikely that Mileena will survive the events of this film, so the two of them won't even meet each other, ignoring their huge rivalry in the games...
That said, the characterizations do look pretty good.
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
[this message was edited by Just a Person on Tue 23 Feb 05:00] |
| | "Re(2):From Mortal Kombat to Stone Ocean" , posted Tue 13 Apr 01:04:
quote:
He likely will, but it's more important that he finish Jojolion first before the anime catches up to him. The last thing this series needs is an anime-original ending that riles up everyone Game of Thrones-style.
True. I guess both SBR and JJL being such long stories can kinda help Araki to finish JJL in time for the anime - then again, Part 9 (if he ever decides to make it) will definitely have this problem.
That reminds me that I finally managed to start watching the JJBA anime (I'm currently in the first half of Stardust Crusaders), and wow, it's SO GOOD!!! The team behind it is definitely full of fans of Araki's work; the way they captured his style, with the onomatopoeias constantly appearing, the hammy way most characters shout and pose, the colors, the detailed animation... the first two chapters from the first season were a bit boring, but after Dio becomes a vampire in chapter 3, it became the most enjoyable experience with animes I had in years.
It's just a pity that Midler didn't get her Heritage for the Future look in the anime, though; that outrageous skimpy belly dancer outfit would fit perfectly with the crazy tone the other characters have, in comparison with the boring look she got instead... and I don't think the team behind the anime would need to ask permission from Capcom to use it, would they?
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
[this message was edited by Just a Person on Tue 13 Apr 09:44] |
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|  "Re(3):From Mortal Kombat to Stone Ocean" , posted Sun 25 Apr 23:18
MORTAL KOMBAT! Do do do du do do do do du do
Anyway, I managed to catch the new MK movie. As per MK tradition, my thoughts will be hidden behind toasty man spoilers:
Spoiler (Highlight to view) -
What was the purpose of the new character Cole? His role as the audience surrogate could easily have been filled by Liu Kang or Johnny Cage. This wouldn't have been as much of a problem if the actor hadn't been such a bore and the character so uninteresting. Cole seemed so out of place that he reminded me of those educational shows for children where someone from the modern day is transported into the middle of a history lesson or a work of literature. Cole is basically Wishbone the dog except not nearly as engaging.
Kano was amoral, violent and the only engaging character in the film. Small wonder he seems to be the one element of the film everyone is responding to. They should spin Kano off into the Fast & Furious franchise and have him join La Familia. That sounds idiotic, but when you remember that someone made the film Hobbs & Shaw is it really that much of a stretch to imagine a buddy movie where Kano and Kabal drive around in muscle cars?
There were places where MK looked really cheap. Kabal looked like cheap cosplay and some of the sets barely looked like a step up from the gravel quarry pits tokusatsu shows film in. On a low budget film like this I don't expect it to be a visual wonder. However, that means everyone making the film has to be clever in how they light, shoot and edit the film to suggest more than the budget will allow. MK wasn't up to the challenge. Then again, nothing could have made Shang Tsung's lousy wig look good.
This is the sort of movie where a character can get horrible gashes across their face and instead of treating it with stitches or bandages spends the rest of the film walking around with open wounds on their head.
At one point Jax tried to exercise while wearing hilariously tiny robot arms. He looked like a t-rex trying to work a punching bag. The actors went through the scene like it was a legitimate bit of character development but nobody told them that the special effects crew were going to replace his arms with sticks.
It was amusing how Sub-Zero kept popping up like he was the monster in a slasher movie. Since New Line Cinema is the home of Freddie that seems appropriate.
I remember reading once that in the 1980's a lot of R rated movies - such as the output of Stallone and Schwarzenegger - were made for 12 year olds. This was a hyperviolent movie for children in the same tradition.
Was it me, or did the movie not make much sense? When Sonya first meets Cole she doesn't recognize him but a moment later she shows off a giant wall of information she had collected about Cole throughout the years. Raiden declares that he worked to hide the Hattori Hanzo bloodline, which apparently meant he sent them to Chicago and ignored them for generations. When Kano's organic eye suddenly short-circuits in a shower of sparks you know the Rewrite Fairy was on set.
End of Spoiler
Although the film had a few moments of life, I found most of MK to be a slog. That said, I am happy that B-grade shlock is making it to the theaters. For the past several years everyone has wanted to make the next mega-franchise. But for every Avengers or Harry Potter there are a dozen tentpole movies that fall apart under their own weight. Hollywood needs to get back to making cheap, crass movies like this where their faults are much more forgivable.
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| | "Re(4):From Mortal Kombat to Stone Ocean" , posted Mon 26 Apr 03:19
quote:
MORTAL KOMBAT! Do do do du do do do do du do
Anyway, I managed to catch the new MK movie. As per MK tradition, my thoughts will be hidden behind toasty man spoilers:
Although the film had a few moments of life, I found most of MK to be a slog. That said, I am happy that B-grade shlock is making it to the theaters. For the past several years everyone has wanted to make the next mega-franchise. But for every Avengers or Harry Potter there are a dozen tentpole movies that fall apart under their own weight. Hollywood needs to get back to making cheap, crass movies like this where their faults are much more forgivable.
It's impressive how much this new film managed to mess up. And about the B-film thing, well, it seems they intend to turn MK into the next mega-franchise, as they already planned the sequel (one of the people behind this film has stated that both Johnny Cage and Kitana weren't used in this film because they were saving them for the sequel)...
Oh well, I hope the Resident Evil reboot film in the end of this year will turn out better than this one.
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
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| | "JoJo Lands..." , posted Sat 21 Aug 08:13
...that's the tentative title for Part 9 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
It's not starting now, as Araki is taking a short break... and who can blame him? JoJolion has just ended this month, and after all the decades he's been working since this series started, I'm surprised (and kinda envious, to be honest) that he still has enough inspiration and creativity to keep the story going. The man deserves some time off to rest.
That said, I'm curious to find out what will be this part's theme, who will be the next JoJo, and whether or not this will have references to Parts 1-6. Both Steel Ball Run and JoJolion were very interesting in the way they show the series' new universe; there are plenty of echoes from the old (erased?) universe, yet things feel different enough that even in the few occasions when a counterpart appears (like Johnny to Jonathan, Gyro to both Will and Caesar, Kira to both Jotaro and the original Kira, or especially Yasuho to Koichi), they're still basically new characters. Part 9 will probably take place in this same new universe, which makes me wonder whether the old universe will ever return and whether this new universe may eventually be replaced by a third one.
It's such a crazy, complicated story... and I love it.
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
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Rare Customer   | "Re(1):JoJo Lands..." , posted Sat 21 Aug 17:33
quote:
...that's the tentative title for Part 9 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
It's not starting now, as Araki is taking a short break... and who can blame him? JoJolion has just ended this month, and after all the decades he's been working since this series started, I'm surprised (and kinda envious, to be honest) that he still has enough inspiration and creativity to keep the story going. The man deserves some time off to rest.
That said, I'm curious to find out what will be this part's theme, who will be the next JoJo, and whether or not this will have references to Parts 1-6. Both Steel Ball Run and JoJolion were very interesting in the way they show the series' new universe; there are plenty of echoes from the old (erased?) universe, yet things feel different enough that even in the few occasions when a counterpart appears (like Johnny to Jonathan, Gyro to both Will and Caesar, Kira to both Jotaro and the original Kira, or especially Yasuho to Koichi), they're still basically new characters. Part 9 will probably take place in this same new universe, which makes me wonder whether the old universe will ever return and whether this new universe may eventually be replaced by a third one.
It's such a crazy, complicated story... and I love it.
I would have never guessed in a million years that bizarre and delightful OVA series my friend's got me hep to one time I ordered Jojo Fries from a local take-out place back in the 90's would become localized, and popular in America.
Buying the Japanese tankouban years ago at anime conventions and Kinokuniya, and poring over Araki's artwork. I was certain only anime club nerds would ever know of this. :b
On Miura's passing - it is unfortunate, but I don't malign the manga industry in Japan. Going purely off of old data from Frederik L. Schodt and Dan Kanemitsu, comic culture in Japan is massive. At one point, and it still may be, 40% of all printed materials were comics. Everybody reads them.
Best of all, given what little scholarly information in English is available; the Japanese publishers are far more equitable to creators than the American comic market has ever been.
Yes, Miura, Oda, and Takahashi have to work hard; but to my knowledge - it's not the absolutely corrupt upward transfer of intellectual property, wealth, and gains to the publisher alone as Marvel and DC are here in the United States. Rumiko Takahashi was a millionaire back in the 90's from making comics. Comic book millionaires are rare in the United States, and I'm hard pressed to think of a woman that has reached Takahashi's level of success.
That's crazy to consider when the market I grew up with and love despite the corruption, is rife with tales of aged creators who need to rely on charities to live comfortably in their twilight years, or when illness befalls them.
I can't speak to the Japanese culture, or opinions of work culture; but I can tell you American comics has a long history of being anti-creator and exploitative, and 42% of workers in the US are just working for a paycheck and take no pleasure from it (I count myself among that unlucky lot). Only in the American comic market could a creator make more money from an incidental character than one of the most well known comic characters in this market.
Yes the manga market is terrifying, Felipe Smith has tales to tell; but it is also more equitable than the American comic market has ever been. Ignoring the mainstream publishers in Japan, in the 90's there were tales of dojinshi artists earning impressive side incomes via Comiket (a fan comic convention that draws more attendees than the San Diego Comic Con which is propped up by Hollywood and video games).
Making comics isn't for everyone, but for some people it's a calling; and I'm happy the Japanese market exists to allow them to tell their stories and live comfortably from the fruits of their labors.
Unlike.
So many.
American.
Comic.
Creators.
"We don't rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training." - Archilochus
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| "Re(2):Farewell to the Duke" , posted Thu 28 Oct 17:30
Man, so many legends leaving us. Really is signalling an end of an era...
Onto less dreary topics, I came back from watching Dune (Part One). I'm starting to become a fan of Denis Villenneuve's film directing, but at the same time I couldn't help but think that as a movie that only cover's half the book it feels lacking, and I'm curious as to how they're going to make it work with the second half. The issue is that a Part Two wasn't even guaranteed unless it sold considerably well, at which point I was kind of worried that this would end up a one-off concept considering how many concepts from the book(s) needed to translate well enough within the runtime (thankfully that never happend). On the other hand, I applaud how it seems to stick close to the source material and tries to give enough time to develop most of the ensemble cast.
And I know my jaded and cynical mind can't help but think that this will be Warner Bros. next "Harry Potter" or "Game of Thrones" in that it's a golden calf of a franchise to milk from. Given that, though, it's great that it's bringing more people into the fold, hopefully by inviting them to read the books.
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| | "Re(2):Tekken Trailer" , posted Wed 20 Jul 10:18
Anyway, this new anime looks... interesting. I'm still not sure if in a good way or in a bad way.
Despite being based on Tekken 3, it seems most characters have their Tekken 6/7 outfits, and there are some characters added in later games are in it (Leroy is definitely in, and I think I saw Feng Wei, too)... and this may be a good decision, since nowadays people are more familiar with the recent games. If one of the Laws appears as a contestant in the tournament, Marshall would actually be a better choice (I mean, what's the point of adding Forrest when he was discarded after 3?).
But one point that got me curious is Heihachi stating that Ogre killed Jun, while the video games indicate that no one knows whatever happened to her. Is Bamco using the anime to retcon Jun's status as officially being dead? Hopefully not...
Maybe I'm this person right in front of you... nah probably not though.
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| | "Re(3):Tekken Trailer" , posted Wed 20 Jul 11:21
quote:
But one point that got me curious is Heihachi stating that Ogre killed Jun, while the video games indicate that no one knows whatever happened to her. Is Bamco using the anime to retcon Jun's status as officially being dead? Hopefully not...
Even though it apparently wasn't officially canon, didn't Tekken Tag Tournament make Jun's status questionable?
Unknown looked kind of like Jun, started with Jun's moves, used Jun's win animations, saved Jin from Ogre in Ogre's ending, and then TTT2 straight out made the first form of its boss be Jun Kazama while the second form was Unknown (after a possession cutscene).
But even there, her whole alive or dead status itself seemed to be kept open. Is Unknown possessing Jun's body, or Jun's corpse, or is it a spirit-created form? Jun vanishes in some endings. She turns into a ball of light in one ending, but gets taken by Devil in another ending, while Angel de-possesses/purifies Jun only to let her body/spirit/whatever continue to sink into the abyss in yet another ending.
Namco could easily say that Jun is truly officially dead, then still turn around and bring her back as a spirit or possessed form, or bring her back to life in a flesh and blood body, or just straight out later reveal that she was alive all along.
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| "Re(1):Space Channel 5: The Movie" , posted Fri 9 Sep 00:00
quote:
What sort of audience goes to kabuki shows nowadays? Is there much crossover between the kabuki crowd and those that would enjoy the adaptation of a twenty year old videogame? Trying to answer these questions might be more fun than the play itself.
Ha! I meant to mention that with kabuki adaptations of things like One Piece, Naruto, and Nausicaa, it's not too far a leap for games, too. I mean: even without game stuff, Kabuki and Kyougen are AWESOME and have a popular approachability and sense of fun that the dreadfully refined and stilted forms of Noh do not...as a certain Iggy-shaped apparition once noted in an informative speech in MMC's long-form fanfic.
Uhhhh anyway the only announcement that could possibly have surprised me more than FFX kabuki is the genuinely weird decision to have the Sonic the Movie producer work with a US company I've never heard of called Picture Start to make movie adaptations of...Space Channel 5 and Comix Zone!?!? I'm sure they'll give Ulala some damned gym shorts instead of a short skirt and that it'll be bad like all game movies, but the idea of taking Comix Zone and making a movie out of a video game about being trapped in a comic book is bizarre enough to see in the same way as Street Fighter: The Movie: The Game.
Well, although it's not a "comic", we did have Cool World with Brad Pitt. But then again, i feel as though there is a movie with the same depiction as Comic Zone that came out years ago?
Long Live I AM!
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| "Sakamoto Ryuuichi" , posted Mon 3 Apr 12:54
RIP to the venerable Sakamoto Ryuuichi, whose immense musical talents influenced so many people's compositions, indirectly and directly (games included). I'm no expert, but I know that Sakamoto as part of Yellow Magic Orchestra=YMO brought hugely imporant and excellent electronic music forward, which together with the somewhat related jazz fusion is the basis for most of the foundational 8- and 16-bit sounds we know and love. Obviously, his work is infinitely broader than this. I'd love to hear others' favorites, but two appropriate pieces come to mind, now: his marvelous theme for Christmas on the Battlefield/Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and his special covid-era performances, playing piano for the isolated---a thoughtful solace for listeners everywhere, all while gravely ill himself. At the end of last year, he streamed what he likely knew was a final piano performance even while very near death, and I really regret missing it...I hope it resurfaces as a tribute to his talent and noble spirit.
人間はいつも私を驚かせてくれる。不思議なものだな、人間という存在は．．．
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| "Re(1):Sakamoto Ryuuichi" , posted Tue 4 Apr 03:10
quote:
RIP to the venerable Sakamoto Ryuuichi, whose immense musical talents influenced so many people's compositions, indirectly and directly (games included). I'm no expert, but I know that Sakamoto as part of Yellow Magic Orchestra=YMO brought hugely imporant and excellent electronic music forward, which together with the somewhat related jazz fusion is the basis for most of the foundational 8- and 16-bit sounds we know and love. Obviously, his work is infinitely broader than this. I'd love to hear others' favorites, but two appropriate pieces come to mind, now: his marvelous theme for Christmas on the Battlefield/Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, and his special covid-era performances, playing piano for the isolated---a thoughtful solace for listeners everywhere, all while gravely ill himself. At the end of last year, he streamed what he likely knew was a final piano performance even while very near death, and I really regret missing it...I hope it resurfaces as a tribute to his talent and noble spirit.
Thank you for mentioning the passing of Sakamoto, it truly is a loss. I love that COVID performance you linked where he could play an elegant piano piece and then turn around and blare out guitar feedback with the same level of thoughtful determination. He truly loved music and the artistry he had allowed him to share that emotion with the world.
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| | "Re(3):What timeline is this" , posted Thu 13 Jul 06:01
quote:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSaBR58f7I0
Presented without context
That seems strange on first glance, but wasn't the completely bonkers Batman Ninja anime an isekai as well? Is isekai the hot new mainstream trend after everyone tires of multiverse shenanigans? Is Suicide Squad that popular of a concept that it warrants this many adaptations? Or does it say more about the strength of the DC villain roster... or, possibly, the lameness of the DC hero roster? Can I write anything here without ending the sentence with a question mark?
Although I can't remember the plot of Batman Ninja despite the Jojo-directed visuals from the movie scattered around the nooks and crannies of my brain, I do seem to recall it was probably isekai. Although back then isekai was the hot new thing, and now isekai is... just a thing. One of the most over-saturated things in anime right now, but certainly not new anymore, and maybe not even hot. Still, with Tappei Nagatsuki writing it maybe it'll be something to look forward to?
There is so much isekai, but the reader appetite for isekai seems unending
It still is a dominantly popular force in manga/webtoon/manhua, so one way to look at it is kind of like shonen battle manga which has been a thing for literal decades but continues to be popular.
However, isekai has the advantage of having a specific enough genre label and trope set that you can literally call it by name even outside of Japan, and it is still popular in the contemporary environment.
I think because it is a bit of a meta-trope, it has one distinct advantage compared to things like battle manga in that it doesn't have to be battle-centric and can work across a variety of different audience appeals. You've got your otome-game-inspired ones, your revenge-power-fantasy ones, your comfy-life ones, your porno-power-fantasy ones, etc. Whether or not I like it, I can't deny the sheer power the genre has to just crank out new works in all kinds of ways and fill some kind of audience niche. The fact that it starts with an inherently silly premise also invites a high level of audience suspension of disbelief from the outset, which I think is a huge advantage for it since you can handwave so much stuff narratively.
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"Re(5):A chicken is fine, too" , posted Thu 10 Dec 00:07
"Re(3):Kentarou Mirua (Berserk) passed away" , posted Fri 21 May 03:15
