2012-07-09, 23:48 | Link #641 |
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Very well-done 2nd episode.
Takamura's character is very impressive. More than anything else, that's what I'm coming out of the first two episodes with. Just total, consummate professional soldier. Almost completely fearless, but with just enough emotionality to not come across as overly cold or soulless. Very good, bad ass female lead character. Now, a more episode-specific list of pros and cons. Pros: 1. Love the designs for the aliens. Grim, dark, and gruesome, but with colorful shells that stand out a bit. They're also very menacing and versatile in their capabilities. 2. Very good handling of character death scenes. The first occurred due to an emotional high causing carelessness. The second occurred due to focusing too much on the eight minute thing. Most of the rest were due to the overwhelming nature of the BETA, but I'm glad that at least a couple of the deaths felt like they had a more specific cause to them, making them seem more "eventful". They also helped to highlight Takamura's strengths by sheer contrast. It doesn't mean that I don't feel sorry for those that died, of course, but just that the contrast shows just how awesome a soldier/lead protagonist Takamura is. 3. Loved the overall dedication and sheer valor showed by almost all the human characters in this, particularly the older male characters. Loved the palpable emotion just seeping through the screen when they try to stay calm and coolly assess the broader scope of the crisis, even as they make very tough and difficult decisions. 4. I liked how Takamura had to be saved in the end. If she had somehow managed to get out of that utter death-trap just by her own capabilities, it would have seemed impossible to swallow for me. 5. The action scenes were excellently executed. Lots of gore, but it felt realistic rather than overdone. It wasn't like, say, Blood-C, thankfully. 6. The OP was pretty cool, and fairly different for an anime OP. Had a bit of a rap beat to it, but still Japanese lyrics. It fitted well here. 7. Watching this reminds me of the Robocop and Terminator movies of my youth. It's impressive in how balls-to-the-wall it is in its grim atmosphere, but equally rugged characters. Cons: 1. Now, while I like the aliens overall, I was a bit disappointed in them in a couple of different ways. I was a little bit disappointed that the aliens come across as just really big, nasty, powerful bugs. In other words, they seemed to win by nothing more than overwhelming numbers and power. I didn't see much skill or tactics in how they conducted their attacks. They're still an awesome threat, of course, but their threat comes across as decidedly impersonal. Outwitting these creatures doesn't seem to be an issue - It's more like fighting a massive natural disaster than fighting against a thinking foe. 2. Kind of wish we'd get to find out who saved Takamura. Kind of disappointed that Takamura herself doesn't seem particularly interested in finding out (since that lowers the chances of us ever finding out). Granted that it's probably a very small matter in the grander scheme of things, but it's still something I can't help but be curious about. 3. A little bit disappointing that Takamura's rival didn't survive. It does make the first episode of this anime seem a bit more inconsequential when Takamura is the only heroine in it to survive. It seems a bit of a waste to do away with a character that could have had great chemistry with Takamura in an ongoing professional rivalry. Overall, it's a good watch so far. I'm looking forward to more.
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2012-07-10, 00:58 | Link #642 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: "Sacrifice one to appease the few."
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2012-07-10, 02:49 | Link #643 | |
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: GMT 10+
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Judging by the projectile weapon's sound, it seems they haven't reached electromagnetic rail gun tech level. In real life, the US Navy is currently testing has it's prototype rail gun weapons. Last edited by encia; 2012-07-10 at 03:13. |
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2012-07-10, 02:59 | Link #644 | |
Storm Vanguard
Graphic Designer
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Type-00
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It's in development stage. Watch episode 1 again. interesting. Last edited by Silvance; 2012-07-10 at 03:10. |
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2012-07-10, 04:53 | Link #645 |
( ಠ_ಠ)
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep
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At the point you start talking about how humanoid giant robots are "unrealistic" in an Robot anime, you lost all rights to expressing anything and everything about the anime.
I thought people learned this like in the 70s. OMFG GUNDAM HAMMER
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2012-07-10, 05:13 | Link #646 | |
Crazy Devout Fanboy
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: 1st Ra Cailum-class battleship Ra Cailum, port-side officer's bunks
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By the way, I've heard here and there that there's going to be an uncensored airing of episode 2 this Thursday? Not sure how much I believe it, but has anybody heard anything about it?
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2012-07-10, 06:52 | Link #648 |
Crazy Devout Fanboy
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: 1st Ra Cailum-class battleship Ra Cailum, port-side officer's bunks
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Yyyyeah, that.....piece of auditory work (if you can even call it that) didn't really strike a good note for me either. I hope that's not really the OP theme, but my hopes are probably in vain......
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2012-07-10, 07:07 | Link #651 | |
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Join Date: Feb 2007
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1. ability to change weapon type like infantry i.e. logistics reasons. 2. ability to reload ammo like infantry i.e. logistics reasons. 3. ability to have shuffle movements vs Tank. 4. similar to all-terrain ability like infantry vs Tank. 5. can work in space i.e. tank like armoured space astronaut. Humanoid mech (mobile armored suits) is like a scaled up US's "supersoldier" program with tank like armor and F35's VTOL features (e.g. Macross's VF, Savior Gundam, Gundam AGE-2). Humanoid mech is also a natural extension to the exoskeleton enhancements for the supersoldier. Flight capable mechs also covers US's A-10 Thunderbolt's close air support (CAS) roles i.e. the real world "flying tank". Macross's VF has very aggressive VTOL/vector thrust features compared to F35's VTOL/F-22's vector thrust i.e. main engines can change directions. Last edited by encia; 2012-07-10 at 07:52. |
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2012-07-10, 08:02 | Link #652 |
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Join Date: May 2007
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The above all makes sense if the damned thing would last more than 8 minutes :P
F-22' cost 150m each. a Su-30 costs 30odd millions. The F-22 is SUPPOSED to come out ahead despite the cost disparity. That's the whole point of using advanced technology. Now...we have girls who train for years due to supposed male shortage. Average lifespan on first actual battle is 8 min. Unless it costs next to nothing to make TSFs, you'd think the girls would be better utilised to raise the Japanese birthrate above 1.1 and replenish the depleted population than to be thrown away for a glorious 8 minutes! (wait did I just say something controversial? no offence intended, just an example, there are better ones I know) but that's the situation. It's not about whether robots are real, but just simple math given the evidence, that the return to investment in TSFs is a complete, and utter waste :P |
2012-07-10, 08:12 | Link #653 | |
Franco's Phalanx is next!
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Little England, Europe and Asia
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2012-07-10, 08:38 | Link #656 |
RUN, YOU FOOLS!
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
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That's what I have been gathering, and what veteran players have confirmed. Those girls were like flying late 1940s jet fighters...
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2012-07-10, 09:12 | Link #657 | |
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Join Date: May 2010
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The "8 minutes average survival time" only really applied to the very first batch of surface fighter pilots from 1974 (being repurposed and hastily retrained fighter pilots instead of being properly trained to fly TSFs from the start) in the original F-4A Phantom, being the earliest and poorest performing TSF. After which they took a very serious look at their mecha training program and decided it need a complete rework. Currently the actual average survival time in first engagement is considerably higher (for reference, a single 2001 Block 214 F-4J Phantom/Gekishin is worth two flights (or was it squadrons?) of 1978 Soviet F-4 Phantoms in terms of overall battlefield performance), but they still use 8 minutes as the traditional rite of passage for new pilots, because TRADITION I guess. So yes, they are getting a considerably better return on their investment into building TSFs and training pilots than "8 minute survival time" would suggest. Of course, the anime didn't really get this across too well. Not to mention that the Type-82s those girls (who hadn't even finished their training yet) were flying essentially amounted to souped-up F-4s, 1st generation TSFs, compared to the 2nd generation F-14s the Jolly Rogers were flying and the 3rd generation Type-94-1C and prototype Type-00 that showed up this episode. The design focus changed radically between the first and the second generations, the first generation being sturdily armored like tanks while the second generation onwards eschewed heavy armor in favor of better maneuverability and speed, the rationale being that better agility and maneuverability contributes better to survivability than armor does, and better suits the TSF's MO of moving around quickly to use other BETA as cover against Lasers, as well as evade lasers better. So the stuff they were shown to be piloting this episode was less suited to fighting BETA than the more modern models. Last edited by DoomRavager; 2012-07-10 at 09:27. |
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2012-07-10, 09:19 | Link #658 |
RUN, YOU FOOLS!
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Formerly Iwakawa base and Chaldea. Now Teyvat, the Astral Express & the Outpost
Age: 44
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I take "Eight Minutes of Death" as something like Hazing for the newbies. Also a way to set their expectations low and make them not reckless.
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2012-07-10, 09:47 | Link #659 |
Art Block Specialist
Join Date: Jun 2007
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That's also something I'm looking forward to in this series: to see the improvement in the mech and build up their hope to have it crushed some time in the future. Since it's a prequel I don't expect grand happy ending
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action, aliens, mecha, romance, science fiction, seinen |
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