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TV Series Thread

Started by PickelledEggs, August 26, 2014, 06:28:36 PM

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Cavebear

Quote from: Baruch on August 15, 2019, 01:59:30 PM
Rick & Morty channels some good shit.

I think my TV Guide on Fios has a sense of humor.  Almost every episode is described "Jerry and Beth discuss marital problems.  Summer has issues".  OK, they could be lazy.  They call 'Archer' a children's show.
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Blackleaf

Quote from: Cavebear on August 15, 2019, 02:08:56 AMAnd then there is Dragonball Super.  I've been watching iterations of this series for a decade at least.  The animation is poor (very repetitive and still at times).  It drives me to laughter seeing some of the characters just alternately breath heavily and change head colors.  But there is something about it that makes me keep watching.  I suppose it is the changing opponents.

Dragon Ball Z, in its prime, was actually pretty revolutionary. Before then, anime fights were a bunch of still frames. DBZ had actual choreography. They still cheated by padding out the run time with long, quiet stare downs, and powering up scenes, to save them money on animation, but when they actually got to the fights, it was exciting stuff. Basically every Shonen anime after imitates DBZ, sometimes improving on it (My Hero Academia), and sometimes just kinda trying too hard to be DBZ (Yu Yu Hakusho).

For many in America, DBZ on Toonami was their gateway drug to anime. We had anime before, but it never really took off until DBZ blew up in popularity.

While I enjoy Super, it does feel like there is something missing from it. Unlike GT, Super is actually written by the original author, Toriyama, but just with a bare outline. TOEI fills in the blanks to make the anime, and Toyotaro does his own thing with the manga. And that's another thing. Usually the manga comes first, and then the anime adapts it into animation. In this case, they're more like alternate universes to each other, and the manga had been way behind.

For some reason, TOEI feels the need to keep adding these transformations to the story, which aren't explained and don't even do anything. Trunks had that Super Saiyan Rage, or whatever they call it. They never explained what it was, how he did it, or even gave it a name in the anime. Trunks didn't even do anything with the transformation. Usually with these transformations, you see the character kick ass when it first appears, but not in this case. Same with Vegeta's new transformation from last week (in the dub).  It's supposedly a level higher than Blue, but it isn't Super Saiyan Blue 2. It's not explained, it's not named in the anime (outside, it's officially named Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Evolution, as if SSGSS wasn't long enough), and it does absolutely nothing. It's like TOEI thinks we've got short attention spans, and can't go a few episodes without a shiny new hairstyle.

Another problem with Super is a lack of real stakes. Because it takes place in between the time skip at the end of Z, you know everyone is going to be okay. In Super, they don't even try to hide it. Piccolo dies, they have him wished back to life offscreen. No big deal. Compare that to DBZ. Raditz shows up, Goku sacrifices himself to kill him. Of course, Piccolo knows the others will use the Dragon Balls to bring him back, but that attracts the attention of Vegeta and Nappa. While they're waiting for Goku to show up, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien die. Chiaotzu and Tien had already been revived with the Dragon Balls, so they can't be wished back. Then Piccolo dies, which means they don't even have Dragon Balls any more. There was a lot more tension in DBZ.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

Hydra009

#617
INVADER ZIM HAS RETURNED!



He actually returned a while ago in the comics, and the new animated movie took the basics of the first comic and went off in a completely new plotline.

The good stuff: faithful recreation in the original zim spirit, wacky hijinks galore, great gags, great visuals, quite the nostalgic trip!  It hit all the right notes to make a worthy addition to ZIM!

The bad stuff: two glaringly missing elements: the horror and the satire.  In the original run, society is figuratively and literally nightmarish.  So you'd have stuff like schoolkids used as free labor to sell candy bars made out of sawdust under the threat that low sellers' parents would be instructed to love them less.

It was miserable and hilarious in equal measure, and it allowed the show to work on two levels.  On the a surface level, a simple comedy.  And on the deeper level, subversive humor and scathing criticisms of society, particularly subservience to authority and corporate greed.

Also, characters have now explicitly stated their intentions or feelings - stuff that was ambiguous before.  I think it should've been kept ambiguous, it made for interesting theory-fodder.

The stuff I'm unsure about: Gaz's personality has been completely reworked.

In the original run, she was a true force of nature - obsessed with video games and pizza and disdainful of mundane concerns.  Every moment sidetracked from her hobbies is torturous to her and she proved to be super skilled at a lot of things, but totally uninterested in pursuing those talents except to resume her hobbies.

Now, she's more or less a normal kid who dislikes dib and dib's activities, but nonetheless helps out.  She's even cheerful at times, which is so unlike TV Gaz that I originally thought it might've been an error or the setup for a big twist.

The good thing about this is it makes her less one-note and more well-rounded.  The bad thing is that I actually really enjoyed Gaz's uber-cynicism.  She wasn't the most pleasant person in the world, but she was driven and mostly independent, and I respect that.

josephpalazzo

Anyone watched the last episode of Successions? Logan Roy, one badass...

Sal1981

Watching The Righteous Gemstones, 1st episode. It's pretty fun take on televangelists.

Unbeliever

I just watched the trailer, and it looks pretty good.
God Not Found
"There is a sucker born-again every minute." - C. Spellman

Sal1981

Quote from: Unbeliever on August 22, 2019, 06:51:47 PM
I just watched the trailer, and it looks pretty good.
It's quite hilarious. Not seen the end yet, but I recommend it. Debauchery and degeneracy abound.

Hydra009


Cavebear

Quote from: Blackleaf on August 18, 2019, 11:45:26 AM
Dragon Ball Z, in its prime, was actually pretty revolutionary. Before then, anime fights were a bunch of still frames. DBZ had actual choreography. They still cheated by padding out the run time with long, quiet stare downs, and powering up scenes, to save them money on animation, but when they actually got to the fights, it was exciting stuff. Basically every Shonen anime after imitates DBZ, sometimes improving on it (My Hero Academia), and sometimes just kinda trying too hard to be DBZ (Yu Yu Hakusho).

For many in America, DBZ on Toonami was their gateway drug to anime. We had anime before, but it never really took off until DBZ blew up in popularity.

While I enjoy Super, it does feel like there is something missing from it. Unlike GT, Super is actually written by the original author, Toriyama, but just with a bare outline. TOEI fills in the blanks to make the anime, and Toyotaro does his own thing with the manga. And that's another thing. Usually the manga comes first, and then the anime adapts it into animation. In this case, they're more like alternate universes to each other, and the manga had been way behind.

For some reason, TOEI feels the need to keep adding these transformations to the story, which aren't explained and don't even do anything. Trunks had that Super Saiyan Rage, or whatever they call it. They never explained what it was, how he did it, or even gave it a name in the anime. Trunks didn't even do anything with the transformation. Usually with these transformations, you see the character kick ass when it first appears, but not in this case. Same with Vegeta's new transformation from last week (in the dub).  It's supposedly a level higher than Blue, but it isn't Super Saiyan Blue 2. It's not explained, it's not named in the anime (outside, it's officially named Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Evolution, as if SSGSS wasn't long enough), and it does absolutely nothing. It's like TOEI thinks we've got short attention spans, and can't go a few episodes without a shiny new hairstyle.

Another problem with Super is a lack of real stakes. Because it takes place in between the time skip at the end of Z, you know everyone is going to be okay. In Super, they don't even try to hide it. Piccolo dies, they have him wished back to life offscreen. No big deal. Compare that to DBZ. Raditz shows up, Goku sacrifices himself to kill him. Of course, Piccolo knows the others will use the Dragon Balls to bring him back, but that attracts the attention of Vegeta and Nappa. While they're waiting for Goku to show up, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Tien die. Chiaotzu and Tien had already been revived with the Dragon Balls, so they can't be wished back. Then Piccolo dies, which means they don't even have Dragon Balls any more. There was a lot more tension in DBZ.

For me, Dragonball Super is just reaching the climax.  Tomorrow night may be the end, but anime can really drag things out.  There is still Jillian do be disposed of (I suspect Goku and Freiza will manage that with perhaps some help from Vegeta or Android 17).  I think the result will be that all Universes are returned somehow.  I really dislike those 2 obnoxious Emperor twins and a final wish that they be eliminated and all others returned would please me greatly.  Powers like them just annoy me too much and their childlike glee and simplicity is too theistic.

I've never watched the series enough to keep track of the characters who get killed and return.  In fact, I've kind of wondered why Buu wasn't in the Super contests. 
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Blackleaf

Quote from: Cavebear on August 23, 2019, 11:42:33 PM
For me, Dragonball Super is just reaching the climax.  Tomorrow night may be the end, but anime can really drag things out.  There is still Jillian do be disposed of (I suspect Goku and Freiza will manage that with perhaps some help from Vegeta or Android 17).  I think the result will be that all Universes are returned somehow.  I really dislike those 2 obnoxious Emperor twins and a final wish that they be eliminated and all others returned would please me greatly.  Powers like them just annoy me too much and their childlike glee and simplicity is too theistic.

I've never watched the series enough to keep track of the characters who get killed and return.  In fact, I've kind of wondered why Buu wasn't in the Super contests.

Super still has quite a few weeks of episodes left to go in the English dub. It goes into Frieza time towards the end, where the time limit just ceases to matter. Thirty minute episodes for one minute of in-universe time. That was one of the most disappointing things about the tournament to me. The rule about the universe with the most men standing turns out not to matter. It devolves into the typical good guys versus bad guy thing.

There's actually a fan theory that the Zenos are supposed to represent the Dragon Ball fan base. Easily excited, yet easily offended. The fate of the Dragon Ball universe rests on their entertainment.

Buu isn't in the tournament because he fell asleep. Again. They did the same thing in the last tournament; have him fall asleep and be unable to wake up. In the advertising, they showed Buu in the lineup, only to pull a fast one and replace him with Frieza at the last minute. I turned out to enjoy Frieza a lot, so I'm glad he's back, but I wish they'd stop giving Buu the shaft. Super was Buu's chance to shine as a hero, but he's been worthless every time the Earth is in danger.

After the Tournament of Power is over, I recommend the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. It's canonically the next part of the story, and looks to be all we'll get until the next movie comes out (most likely in late 2020). It's sort of a reboot for the Broly movies, bringing the character into canon. It's well written by Dragon Ball standards, and beautifully animated. It also has actual tension, since the drama is centered on Broly rather than Goku and the others. Broly isn't in the End of Z, so we don't know what will happen to him.
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

Cavebear

Quote from: Blackleaf on August 24, 2019, 08:01:55 AM
Super still has quite a few weeks of episodes left to go in the English dub. It goes into Frieza time towards the end, where the time limit just ceases to matter. Thirty minute episodes for one minute of in-universe time. That was one of the most disappointing things about the tournament to me. The rule about the universe with the most men standing turns out not to matter. It devolves into the typical good guys versus bad guy thing.

There's actually a fan theory that the Zenos are supposed to represent the Dragon Ball fan base. Easily excited, yet easily offended. The fate of the Dragon Ball universe rests on their entertainment.

Buu isn't in the tournament because he fell asleep. Again. They did the same thing in the last tournament; have him fall asleep and be unable to wake up. In the advertising, they showed Buu in the lineup, only to pull a fast one and replace him with Frieza at the last minute. I turned out to enjoy Frieza a lot, so I'm glad he's back, but I wish they'd stop giving Buu the shaft. Super was Buu's chance to shine as a hero, but he's been worthless every time the Earth is in danger.

After the Tournament of Power is over, I recommend the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie. It's canonically the next part of the story, and looks to be all we'll get until the next movie comes out (most likely in late 2020). It's sort of a reboot for the Broly movies, bringing the character into canon. It's well written by Dragon Ball standards, and beautifully animated. It also has actual tension, since the drama is centered on Broly rather than Goku and the others. Broly isn't in the End of Z, so we don't know what will happen to him.

Thank you. I am now i more intestested than before.
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

trdsf

Quote from: Blackleaf on August 18, 2019, 11:45:26 AM
Dragon Ball Z, in its prime, was actually pretty revolutionary. Before then, anime fights were a bunch of still frames. DBZ had actual choreography. They still cheated by padding out the run time with long, quiet stare downs, and powering up scenes, to save them money on animation, but when they actually got to the fights, it was exciting stuff.
"The planet's going to blow up in five minutes!"  (three 22-minute episodes later)  "The planet's going to blow up in four minutes!"

Friend of mine once outlined not a parody episode, but an entire 26-episode season, the sum total action of which was getting Goku out of bed and downstairs for breakfast.  As I recall, the shower was broken down into turning on the hot water, turning on the cold water, adjusting the final temperature, turning on the shower head, drawing back the shower curtain, and actually getting into the shower.  Hell, there's six episodes right there.

Season 2 would have been eating breakfast.
"My faith in the Constitution is whole, it is complete, it is total, and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminution, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution." -- Barbara Jordan

Cavebear

Quote from: trdsf on August 24, 2019, 05:13:56 PM
"The planet's going to blow up in five minutes!"  (three 22-minute episodes later)  "The planet's going to blow up in four minutes!"

Friend of mine once outlined not a parody episode, but an entire 26-episode season, the sum total action of which was getting Goku out of bed and downstairs for breakfast.  As I recall, the shower was broken down into turning on the hot water, turning on the cold water, adjusting the final temperature, turning on the shower head, drawing back the shower curtain, and actually getting into the shower.  Hell, there's six episodes right there.

Season 2 would have been eating breakfast.

I completely agree that nothing happens fast in anime.  Which is way, I I Dragonball Super because there is some action.  But yeah, there is a lot of static non-movement. 
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!

Blackleaf

Quote from: trdsf on August 24, 2019, 05:13:56 PM
"The planet's going to blow up in five minutes!"  (three 22-minute episodes later)  "The planet's going to blow up in four minutes!"

Friend of mine once outlined not a parody episode, but an entire 26-episode season, the sum total action of which was getting Goku out of bed and downstairs for breakfast.  As I recall, the shower was broken down into turning on the hot water, turning on the cold water, adjusting the final temperature, turning on the shower head, drawing back the shower curtain, and actually getting into the shower.  Hell, there's six episodes right there.

Season 2 would have been eating breakfast.

The reason the final battle on Namek was so laughably long was they were running out of material to work with. A lot of anime run into this problem. Some anime abandon the source material and make stuff up (Full Metal Alchemist), some create filler, and sometimes they just stretch things out to bide for time. Nowadays, some of them take breaks, but that didn't seem to be the norm back then. The Garlic Jr. Saga, everyone's favorite arc to hate, was also spawned from this lack of material.

"What do we do now?"

"Uh, we could rehash one of the movies."
"Oh, wearisome condition of humanity,
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity,
Created sick, commanded to be sound."
--Fulke Greville--

Cavebear

Quote from: Blackleaf on August 24, 2019, 09:35:45 PM
The reason the final battle on Namek was so laughably long was they were running out of material to work with. A lot of anime run into this problem. Some anime abandon the source material and make stuff up (Full Metal Alchemist), some create filler, and sometimes they just stretch things out to bide for time. Nowadays, some of them take breaks, but that didn't seem to be the norm back then. The Garlic Jr. Saga, everyone's favorite arc to hate, was also spawned from this lack of material.

"What do we do now?"

"Uh, we could rehash one of the movies."

I used to LOVE Full Metal Alchemist.  The idea was great..
Atheist born, atheist bred.  And when I die, atheist dead!