2013-02-12, 08:43 | Link #821 | ||
is this so?
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gradius Home World
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And on another topic, I'm still waiting for english subs of the smile movie. It's the first precure movie to top box office. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news...top-box-office
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Last edited by Liddo-kun; 2013-02-12 at 08:59. |
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2013-02-12, 12:03 | Link #822 | |||
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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True enough, but usually there are reasons why you'd call a show bad. Smile has good writing, mostly good characters, decent action, and enjoyable episodes. These point more to a show being good instead, so I can't help but wonder what those reasons are.
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2013-02-12, 12:11 | Link #823 |
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Join Date: Dec 2010
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Heartcatch has the Cure Moonlight plot thread that goes through the entire series, with a large number of episodes that make some mention of it. And while the Cure Moonlight plot thread is not very dynamic, it's not entirely static in a status quo is god sort of way like "let's get more decors!" and "let's get more notes!" The other characters in Heartcatch didn't receive much development.
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2013-02-12, 12:19 | Link #824 | ||
ロック・オン!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
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If that's not what you want to do, then you should make some other show. Quote:
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2013-02-12, 14:46 | Link #827 | |||
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Is there supposed to be some reasoning in addition to that? Quote:
Would it please you more if I compared it to other cartoons like the Real Ghostbusters instead? My point is that a show that doesn't rely on drama or plot doesn't have to be bad because of that. And really, I'm not seeing a whole lot of knocks against Smile for what it does do. Especially not opposed to all those episodes packed with 20-odd minutes of undiluted fun.
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2013-02-12, 17:07 | Link #828 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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Quite frankly, if the writer didn't want to go for those then he should have gotten rid of epic-scale enemies like Joker and Pierrot because those do not fit in a show that reject those things.
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2013-02-14, 22:48 | Link #829 |
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Join Date: Jul 2007
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Here's my knee-jerk review that I wrote just after watching the finale. It's been a few weeks since then, but looking back on it, even with my more fond memories of earlier episodes of Smile vs less favorable memories of how the show ended up, I still stand by the review, so here it is.
So, it ended, and no, I didn't like the ending. While I liked some individual episodes of the show a lot, and it was very funny in a lot of places, it also has a lot of problems. The first is character depth, or lack thereof. From the beginning to the end, there isn't so much as a hint of a character arc for anyone involved, and even when the show does try any character development, it either leaves the characters at exactly the same place they were before it started, or it was a flashback, again, leaving the characters at status quo. The side characters fare even worse than the main cast, and the show almost never makes an attempt at having them being memorable, except some of the one-offs, even though some, like the other people in the class, are technically around every episode. The second is the story, or lack thereof. There really wasn't any kind of story arc here, and in the finale episodes, it becomes a game of “recognize the story element” which are, conveniently, almost entirely pulled from other episodes in the franchise. Third, is the drama. Yeah, I get that I'm not watching fine cinema or anything, and yes, this is a kid's show, but damn. The drama never seems to work in the show, and far too often, it just boils down to overwrought crying. Compared to something like Ojamajo Doremi (which aired on the same channel and timeslot... which Precure replaced), where there is also a fair amount of crying, Doremi comes across as genuine and sincere, while Smile just has the characters bouncing from happy to moping extremes. Next, the fights. Yeah, they were really weak also, with a couple of exceptions. I still maintain that the mid-season climax had some great battles, but most of them, and most importantly, the final one, were not very well done. I get that it's constrained by formula, but it's by working within the formula that many similar shows have become so good. If anything, Smile so doggedly follows the formula when pulling elements from other series that it doesn't have much identity on its own, and there's really no way of seeing the show as anything other than an iterative work of a franchise. So, how does it compare to other series in the franchise? The animation is newer and smoother than the series prior to Heartcatch, and in a lot of ways is a greatly refined take on Precure 5, and also has more flair than Suite and more refined than Heartcatch was, so at least on an animation level, it compares favorably. It's also quite hilarious at many places, moreso than the others. It's also lacking where it's truly important. While I can say that the script is much better than Max Heart (which I dropped), it doesn't compare well to any of the others on a lot of fronts. This is the only series to lack character and story arcs, the Monster of the Week fights aren't as entertaining as the others. Even Suite, which had largely non-threatening enemies, generally had more personality to them. The drama here is also the most forced and least natural, so it frequently comes across as grating. So, in the end, the show is left with about a quarter of the episodes that I found to be really enjoyable, and a lot more that were weak, especially towards the ending. While I watched it to the end, I really can't recommend this series. If you're curious about Precure, just watch Heartcatch which is worlds better and off the beaten track, or maybe Suite, while not being the favorite like Heartcatch, is still a quality show and is more representative of the franchise as a whole.
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2013-02-15, 01:15 | Link #830 | |||
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Episode 31
This is a Joker episode. He gives Wolfrun the black Akanbe nose and Wolfrun uses it to run wild on the Precures. The highlights are that Candy finally proves herself to be useful for once, and that this marks the first occasion that the Precure Rainbow Burst failed. It also serves to show that the Precures' original attacks are overall more visceral (and exciting!) than their super group finisher.
Other notes: the Royal Queen shows up, Royal Clock something or other, but who cares about any of that? There's that cliffhanger of course. I'm amused by them starting yet another Decor collection with nary a comment. Overall, this was an okay episode that just isn't as fun as the last few have been. This is partly because Candy isn't a great character, so it's hard to feel all that much for her predicament, and may partly because dramatic moments don't come very naturally to Smile Precure. That cliffhanger at the end isn't all that effective, but that's mostly because we all know that nothing untoward will happen to the Precures. It'd be unusual for their predicament to remain unresolved beyond the next episode. Quote:
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2013-02-15, 07:07 | Link #831 | ||
is this so?
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Gradius Home World
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2013-02-15, 09:14 | Link #832 |
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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Don't get me wrong, Joker is a fine villain. However, the rest of the show is goddamn unambitious. Somebody like him doesn't fit the show as it was, and if the show is comparable to Looney Tunes (your own description, not mine), then he does not belong there. If Smile Precure should be judged as a light-hearted show that deemphasizes story as you insist (and not like other Precure seasons), then the villains should be scaled down to get the tone and flow of the story more consistent.
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2013-02-15, 10:21 | Link #833 | ||
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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Joker exists so that there can be a credible threat to the Precures. The regular generals are beaten day in and day out, so they don't work for that purpose. He doesn't detract from the tone of Smile, so where's the problem?
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2013-02-15, 11:51 | Link #834 | |||
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Join Date: Oct 2004
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2013-02-15, 15:30 | Link #835 | |||
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Join Date: Dec 2005
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2013-02-15, 15:48 | Link #836 |
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The first half of 48 was unbearable. Not seeing a friend again, or everyone dies. And that's supposed to be a tough choice? I know this show is technically for little girls, but come ON!
And the reunion was BS. I would have accepted many unlikely things. There was a bit of power left in the jewel. The gates just needed to recharge a bit. Hey, you can't actually close the gate between the two worlds, cause they're intertwined. But "I wished on many stars and it worked." Is TOTAL deus ex machina. And I'm kind of happy they ripped off HeartCatch's final "battle". At least they know that show was better. At least the giant Precure did more then give him a hug. Man, the REALLY tried to emulate the final Earth shattering battle from HeartCatch, didn't they? Last edited by DmonHiro; 2013-02-15 at 16:13. |
2013-02-16, 22:09 | Link #838 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2012
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And they couldn't fool us on that, that's for certain. I honestly wanted some kind of "celebration" from the main Smile Precure stars -- both main and Cure forms. Suite Precure's ending layout was much better than this. |
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2013-02-16, 23:20 | Link #839 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Age: 35
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Suite Precure's ending was such a mess of cliches I don't even remember what happened, really. It was burnout from Suite's terrible ending that 'cause me to put off watching Smile's finale episodes for 5 weeks. Smile's actual ending might have been bland and unoriginal (what is it with Precure bosses always claiming to be "embodiments" of abstract concepts? It's one thing to be a representative of something like despair or hatred, or else to be powered by darkness, but to say that one's defeat represents the defeat of all hatred/despair/whatever that exists/ever existed in the universe is just nonsensical.), but at least 47 gave us some freakin' gorgeous fighting animation with the Precure in their Princess forms.
HeartCatch's ending is the only ending I can say was good on a symbolic/conceptual level. The drama with Yuri's father leading up to it made that finale singularly defining. Dune also never wasted a whole bunch of time monologuing about pointless shit like why he could "never" be beaten. The only reason Smile beats out Heartcatch for me is because the regular episodes were more consistently entertaining, and the characters I liked (Erika in Heartcatch's case, versus Reika and Yayoi in Smile) didn't end up getting pushed completely into the background by the arrival of new Precure. Last edited by Sol Falling; 2013-02-16 at 23:31. |
2013-02-21, 15:54 | Link #840 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
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Episode 32
We continue where we left off with Joker stealing most of the Precures. Miyuki shows off how dumb she is by letting him do the same thing to her, and Candy doesn't want to be left out, so she joins them as well.
Overall, it's a pretty standard "break out from mind-control/amnesia" episode with a dose of "keep getting beat up until you finally win" thrown in. It's pretty pleasant overall, but I would have liked to see something more interesting than just Cure Happy doing all of the heavy lifting. The Phoenix doesn't really add a whole lot to the Precures' finisher - although it should be noted that these look a lot better than the ones in Dokidoki. This episode also demonstrates how effective Joker is as a character. His role couldn't be authentically pulled off by any of the other generals. That scene in the imaginary classroom was executed pretty well - it managed to generate disquiet without having to use any overly heavy-handed techniques. I still think that I prefer the random fun episodes more, though. Episode 33 This episode doesn't stand out enough to justify a new post. It's pretty much a bog standard "everyone's in a film" episode. The problem with these is that they tend to be too cheesy to maintain any versimillitude, so it ends up being a lot less fun than it could have been. Pop being cool, and Red Oni's love of Blue Oni were the best parts of the episode. Quote:
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Last edited by 4Tran; 2013-02-22 at 11:57. Reason: Added episode 33 comment |
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magical girl, shoujo |
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