2017-03-05, 13:37 | Link #61 |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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Yeah, the novel for this arc isn't my favourite and the Anime team was smart to cut some stuff out. I also love how Tessa seems to have a knack for getting Sousuke in awkward situations hum?
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2017-03-07, 23:45 | Link #63 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
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So wow, I'm 3 weeks late for my feedback. Sorry guys, life stuffs. Anyways for the sake of not effing up this thread where it's currently at, I'll just give super brief thoughts on the episodes I missed out on. I'll post Ep. 9 thoughts on it's own post.
Ep. 7 follow up a near perfect episode with a great finisher to the story arc. Great animation/short cuts of effects. Soundtrack on point, especially the "Run Silent, Run Deep" song usage. Intense drama with sprinkles of great comedy at the end. Overall 9/10 Ep. 8 is a super fun, comedic episode. Characters like Shirai and Mizuki are annoying but at we learn about what makes Mizuki's the way she is. Sousuke dating sim ftw! His blatantly obvious comments on how "lowly" of a guy he pretends to be are hilarious. Ends with Kaname subconsciously imaging her sharing a kiss with Sousuke haha. Overall 8/10 |
2017-03-07, 23:48 | Link #64 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
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My thoughts on episode 9: It's the beginning of the A-21 arc in the anime, and it starts off on a relatively good note. I'm a little iffy on this part of the story but it serves it's purpose to introduce some more fun elements to the series. Here are things I noticed:
Overall a solid start to the new arc. 8.5/10 Last edited by Mugen26; 2017-03-08 at 00:05. |
2017-03-08, 14:58 | Link #65 | |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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Quote:
Spoiler for future events:
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2017-03-09, 10:17 | Link #66 |
思想工作
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Vereinigte Staaten
Age: 32
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The North Korea arc is overall the best-conceived in the series IMO. It combines a good amount of drama and suspense with well-placed action and resolution. Hong Kong was good as well but the fighting was a little too subordinated to Sousuke's Heroic BSOD and the drama around that. Of course this is just looking at the individual arcs and not the story as a whole.
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2017-03-12, 12:07 | Link #68 |
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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Thanks for being so active with the discussion last week everyone. I should have tried to be a little more of an active participant in last week's discussions myself.
Episode Ten: "Run, Run, Run" The title of this episode comes from the first part of the title of this arc's source novel, Hashiru (Running) One Night Stand. Tokyopop's English market release shortened the title to just One Night Stand. I mentioned last week that I think the anime adaptation of this arc made some smart cuts. This episode covers a pretty big chunk of the novel with a reduction in the number of characters and setting changes. However watching it again I found it moved so quickly that some of the material it covers doesn't really have much impact. Then again, I've seen this material before -perhaps to a first time viewer this episode would seem more shocking -particularly with that ending. Perhaps because I've been reading the source novel recently I really took note of hints about how dangerously sharp Takuma is. I tend to think of him as rather small fry compared to Gauron but that sharp intelligence is actually a (for lack of a better word) good trait to see in a villain. I think him getting hold of Kaname's cell phone worked a bit better in the novel though (where he pick pocketed it while everyone was hiding under a table to try to escape the notice of a school janitor ). Speaking of Kaname, I can understand why she was sceptical about Tessa being the Captain. Of course Tessa herself didn't help the situation with the way she decided to play to Kaname's misconceptions. Something I like about this series is that neither heroine is perfect. Though I'm actually a bit bothered by Kaname's meanness towards Takuma of all people during this episode. Granted she was already annoyed by Tessa and the whole reason she took issue with him was that he was smirking at her when she was annoyed, but still. Actually I have to wonder what Kaname thought when she saw Takuma handcuffed to the bed like that, considering that she assumed Tessa was Sousuke's girlfriend and all... Last edited by Darthtabby; 2017-03-12 at 19:13. |
2017-03-14, 21:43 | Link #69 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
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Here are my thoughts for Ep. 10:
Last edited by Mugen26; 2017-03-25 at 23:30. |
2017-03-15, 00:06 | Link #70 |
Cross Game - I need more
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: I've moved around the American West. I've lived in Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Oklahoma
Age: 44
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The plot is not nearly as interesting as the ones involving Gauron, but it's mainly a device to develop Tessa's character, which is interesting.
Spoiler for Justifications for Tessa being Captain:
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2017-03-19, 12:30 | Link #71 | |
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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Once again my apologies for not participating in discussion very much. I'll try to do better this week.
Episode 11: "Behemoth Awakening" Quote:
While not the most memorable of scenes, Kaname and Tessa's conversation in the cell aboard the freighter provides some important insight into Kaname's character and how she deals with the challenges life throws at her. She views them as enemies and fights back. Perhaps its not the best way to deal with things, but it gets her through. Actually that's one scene which I think worked better in novel form. Another is Kurz and Sousuke's Big Damn Heroes moment when Kaname, Tessa, and Kalinin are about to be killed. The anime version of this scene seems clumsy compared to the novel version, which I think has a better set up and is more dynamic. Also: Spoiler for Novel Version:
The novel version also has a more logical reason for Kalinin not to evacuate the sinking ship with the others. Spoiler for Novel Version:
I still think some of the cuts made earlier in this arc were smart, but I kind of prefer the novel version of this part of it. Of course this is also the episode that marks the appearance of the aptly named Behemoth. I appreciate that it makes a good "boss" mech and a change of pace from the Codarl, but I don't like it very much because its probably the least logical mech design in the series. Its just too resource intensive to make sense. On that note: Spoiler for Novel Spoiler:
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2017-03-19, 19:29 | Link #72 |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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I was about to ask if anyone remembered how the A21 got the Behemoth, thanks for giving me the answer before I even did so darthabby
Also there's yet another nod to future events in this episode, it's very minor but I always find it funny everytime I rewatch the episode. Spoiler for future events:
And yeah, I agree with you: I don't remember much from the novel but now that you mention it those particular scenes really did work better in the original. Win some, loose some I would say.
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2017-03-25, 23:30 | Link #73 | ||
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
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My thoughts for Ep 11:
Sorry for my constant long-winded posts everyone . Overall a step in the right direction, but the way the episode plays out compared to the source material would have made it far better. I give it a 7/10 |
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2017-03-26, 11:49 | Link #74 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Episode 12: "One Night Stand"
Those JSDF pilots just encountered an out of context problem. Do any of you get the impression this arc takes some inspiration from monster movies? I'm not too big on some of the "stunts" in this episode (or the equivalent section of the novel). I don't think a rifle caliber bullet would destroy a gattling cannon like that. Sousuke's jumping out of a moving vehicle also seems like a good way to get seriously injured, though I guess he is wearing an AS pilot's anti-shock suit... Some of you may recognize Tokyo Big Sight from other anime. It shows up a lot in works about otaku. I don't want to get too caught up in doing novel to anime comparisons, but the portrayal of Kaname's whispered abilities is quite different between the two. The novel version has some weird stuff that I'm not sure later installments picked up on. Also: Spoiler for Novel Comparison:
In the anime, it seems like the grenade causes the Arbalest itself to stir, which I think I actually like better. Overall I think this is one of the weakest arcs in FMP in both novel and anime form. The novel has some content it could stand to lose, but the anime version could have used a stronger second half. That being said this arc did at least dig into the characters a bit. Since we haven't got much discussion going the last few weeks I'm going to suggest that we can use this week to discuss the arc as a whole rather than just the current episode (though it depends a bit what people want to discuss). Also I should correct/clarify something I said last week about Behemoth's origins: Spoiler for Novel Comparison:
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2017-03-26, 16:36 | Link #75 |
He Without a Title
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The land of tempura
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I'll have to disagree with you there, I personally find it far more believable that the grenade would trigger the explosive bolts as a chain explosion that causing the capsule to rock... At least it's more plausible than what we saw in the Anime.
One thing I don't remember very well is if the novel explains a bit better what Seira saw in Kalinin. Did she really fall in love with him or were her memories altered much in the same way Takuma's were?
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2017-03-26, 17:20 | Link #76 |
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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The grenade caused the capsule to shift (before settling back into its original position) in both versions though. Its just that in the novel it triggered the explosive bolts, while the anime gave me the impression that it "woke up" the Arbalest. I rather like the idea of the Arbalest breaking itself out of the capsule.
The novel provides a bit more detail about Seina but I didn't get the impression she got her memories screwed up like Takuma did. But yeah, her referring to Kalinin as "darling" in the anime version is strange. By contrast I liked what she said about wishing she'd met him earlier. It seems to me that if that had happened maybe she'd have ended up working for Mithril rather that putting her skills to use as part of a terrorist plot. An interesting what if. Actually I'd say this arc actually had some interesting ideas but that the execution (in both novel and anime form) had issues. |
2017-04-02, 10:45 | Link #77 |
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: USA
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Ep 12 thoughts:
Overall 7/10. I agree with the consensus: great ideas, iffy execution, especially in the anime adaptation. But it served it's purpose at least, which was introduce Tessa to the core cast of characters so what more can you ask for |
2017-04-02, 11:49 | Link #78 | ||
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Join Date: Jul 2009
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Quote:
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2017-04-02, 12:05 | Link #79 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Episode 13: "A Cat and a Kitten's Rock and Roll"
I've tended to think of this episode as one of the worst in the series -better than the next episode, but not much else. I'm just not very fond of the prominent "cat fight" aspect of this episode. Looking at it now though there are actually some things I like about it though. I particularly liked the scene with Mao and Kurz conversing at the bar, and I do kind of like Tessa coming to appreciate what her subordinates do a little more even if I find the set up rather forced. Wait, is Sousuke worried about getting aroused after Tessa falls on top of him? I'm not sure I'd noticed that before. Kind of mixed feelings on the idea if that is actually what's going on... Perhaps oddly for a side story episode, this one provided some additional detail about the Arm Slaves. Ingress/egress has actually struck me as a bit of an issue given how tall Arm Slaves are. I find the idea of Arm Slave sized side arms rather questionable though. How are you supposed to get any real armor piercing capability out of such a short barrel? Wouldn't an extra magazine or two for the primary weapon be more effective? I guess there's something to be said for having a back up weapon given the difficulty of trouble shooting Arm Slave scale weapons in the field, but a mecha scale handgun just doesn't seem that useful. Maybe Mao armed her mech with duel pistols to show off and/or humiliate Tessa -after all its not her normal loadout elsewhere in the series. Anyway, we're basically half way through the first season now. Brace yourselves, because next episode is arguably the worst one in the entire series... |
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