(no subject)

[pacificpikachu]

I'm DLing anime at the moment, so my connection is slow, otherwise I'd reply to people some more. I'll do that later this evening once the downloading has hopefully completed.

Anyway, obviously I'm really happy about how the grail thing went down. I still can't believe I'll be getting it! That leaves me with only one major grail: the giant Lapras plush. (To be honest, I'd like any of the giants really, though. I don't know if I'll ever get any, but I guess you never know what'll happen.) I ended up going to sleep at 1 PM because I was so tired from getting up at 7 AM to watch the auction end, and didn't get up until 5:30 PM. Guess I was really tired.

On the anime front, I'm ten episodes in to Tiger & Bunny. It's a fun series! I'll hopefully watch more of it tonight. I downloaded Sword Art Online as well despite hearing mixed reviews for it. A few of my good friends really loved it, while a few other of my friends didn't, but, meh, it's a fairly popular series and I might as well try it out. I'm currently DLing Shinsekai Yori. It was a very spur-of-the-moment decision to watch it, based off a gif set on Tumblr. Anyway, hopefully I'll finish all these series and maybe more before Fanime. The more series I've seen, the more I feel I enjoy conventions because I'm up on what's going on in anime fandom, haha, and can recognize more cosplayers, art in the artist's alley, and it's helpful for discussions as well. Of course, watching anime is its own good end by itself anyway, because I love anime. :P

Comments

[kyogres.livejournal.com]

To be honest, when you first started talking about your grail, I thought it was the giant Lapras.

I just finished Sword Art Online last month. I don't think I ever posted a review on my journal (because I didn't think anyone would care) but my two cents is to stop after episode 14. The first 14 episodes are fun; I liked the story, and the animation during the fight scenes is really nice. The characters aren't anything to write home about, but they're likeable enough. Episode 14 ties everything up from the first arc and is a very satisfying end to the series. In fact, when I first watched it, I was incredibly surprised that it continued past episode 14.

The last 11 episodes are awful. Aside from the fact that they're completely pointless (it's basically "same plot as the first 14 episodes, except without the high stakes or any interesting character development"), some of the scenes also get kind of skeevy. It's not the fanservice itself that bothers me, though there is much more fanservice in the second half of the series; it's the way the fanservice is handled. One of the main characters (who I would have called a "strong female character" in the first half of the series) is stripped of all her awesomeness and most of her agency and used as bait for the hero by a guy who basically wants to rape her. No rape actually happens, but there are some scenes with those characters that really creeped me out... and this is coming from someone who is usually not triggered by non-con in fiction. (In this case, I think the reason it bothered me is the way they handled those skeevy scenes. It had more of a "hey, look at how sexy this girl is; no wonder he can't stay off of her" vibe than a "woah, this is happening and it is not okay" vibe.) There's also some incesty sibling stuff going on in the latter part of the series; it doesn't really lead anywhere, but it all seems kind of pointless, like they added it just to be "edgy" or add "drama".

Just... ugh. I had an entire rant typed up about SAO but I think I deleted it. The bottom line is: first half of the series I would rate a 7.5/10. Second half of the series is a 1.5/10, and the only reason it gets rated that high is because the animation is still pretty. To put it another way: I debated leaving this series unfinished, which is something I almost never do.

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

I wish giant Lapras would come up and be within my budget! Maybe someday. The last one went for like four times my max bid, haaa. But, that Umbreon Pokémon Mini strap was pretty much my #1 most wanted item, so I'm really happy I got it! I hope Lapras ends up with me someday, too.

That's good to know! I may just watch it all out of curiosity (once I start a series, I feel like I might as well finish it), but the second half does sound pretty awful. It's good to hear your thoughts on it, and now I'll be better prepared to deal with what goes on in the second half, because that sounds really...yeesh. Yeah, it takes a lot to make me uncomfortable, but occasionally anime does manage to do that.

[kyogres.livejournal.com]

Hey, you never know. I didn't expect to find a giant Suicune for such a cheap price (by comparison). I know that Lapras is rarer than the dogs, but I've heard multiple stories of people finding the giants for $300 or less.

Yeah, I hear you on wanting to finish a series. I kept watching the second half of SAO thinking "well, it can't get any worse"... but it somehow managed to keep getting worse. By the time I finished, I wished I had brain bleach to scrub the second half from my memory. The only silver lining is that the second half completely ruined my desire to buy merch of the two main characters, which I had initially considered because I really liked their character and costume designs. Hurray for saving money, I guess.

[riolulz.livejournal.com]

I love Sword Art Online! Though I read the light novels first and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much, bits that made less sense in the anime were explained a bit more, but I really loved the show!
Shinsekai Yori is great too!! The pacing can be a bit odd sometimes, but you really are attached to the characters by the end.

[snowflaika.livejournal.com]

Yay for the grail! How lucky the bidder who outbid you is willing to part with it :) maybe you'll have a luck with Lapras one day too.

Oh and I remember everyone talking about Tiger and Bunny at one point, I tried watching it but couldn't find a working stream. Is it actually GOOD good? Or at least comedic and relaxing? I need something less heavy now, after Evangelion... XD

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I know, I'm really happy, it worked out so well! And I hope a Lapras does come my way one of these days. You never know, right?

Tiger & Bunny was good, it was very fun and enjoyable! That said, you should really watch Gurren Lagann now! It has some emotional parts, but it's mostly really upbeat and inspiring. It's the perfect complement to Eva (as it, the tone is totally different) so that's what you should really watch now! :D

[calambmity.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the auction! :D

Also since I'm a total dweeb on Tumblr and I don't know if they can do a comments thing or submit thing I wanted to share this with you because I saw it and thought you would enjoy it~

http://youtu.be/aM0JMoGABgk

[pacificpikachu.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Ahhhh, that was really beautiful, thanks for sharing it! Golden eagles are amazing! I got to go to exercise sessions of one a few years ago when my wildlife rehab group had one. She was so awesome! (We had one this year as well, but she died of lead poisoning despite the center's best efforts.)