(L+CR) Punchline (Noitamina)

[miroku2192]

Lol @ the first cat scene with the laptop video....hahahaha

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by miroku2192

Lol @ the first cat scene with the laptop video....hahahaha

That was the biggest LOL moment of the episode for me, and maybe the season as a whole so far...

[Flower]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Wait and see.

In brief, I think it's legit - it's not a poser. But I don't know if it can pull off what it's trying to pull off, and if the audience is going to care one way or the other.

As one who does not really have much of a feeling for older Gainax series since my exposure to anime is fairly recent ... I do not really have much of a feeling to know whether or not it is posing, but I definitely agree with the bolded part of what you said. That is kind of my feeling when the cows come home too - though part of me wonders or no I want to expose myself to its randomness without knowing whether or no it will pull it off.

It worked well with Kyousogiga, for example, but flopped for me in last season's Rolling Girls, for example. In both cases I liked the randomness and art styles, but the former worked for me, while the latter did not.

This season that same craziness and visual art styles is in Mikagura Gakuen, Show by Rock, Kekkai Sensen and this series all remind me of one another in very general ways externally. But then there is the story.... Of them the one that stood out the most (although only one ep wise) is Kekkai Sensen. Mikagura Gakuen and Show by Rock feel like there is some sense of a story, but it does not feel involved much at the moment. Punchline DOES feel like there is a lot more going on under the surface, but at the moment I am not really sure I am interested in it.

Anyhoo, just mulling aloud here.

[Maxulous]

As a fan of vintage Gainax - Nadia, Gunbuster, Otaku no Video & Honō no Tenkōsei to name a few - I understood perfectly well what Trigger were trying to do with KLK (and LWA for that matter) and witnessed a multitude of home runs.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Flower

As one who does not really have much of a feeling for older Gainax series since my exposure to anime is fairly recent ... I do not really have much of a feeling to know whether or not it is posing, but I definitely agree with the bolded part of what you said. That is kind of my feeling when the cows come home too - though part of me wonders or no I want to expose myself to its randomness without knowing whether or no it will pull it off.

It worked well with Kyousogiga, for example, but flopped for me in last season's Rolling Girls, for example. In both cases I liked the randomness and art styles, but the former worked for me, while the latter did not.

This season that same craziness and visual art styles is in Mikagura Gakuen, Show by Rock, Kekkai Sensen and this series all remind me of one another in very general ways externally. But then there is the story.... Of them the one that stood out the most (although only one ep wise) is Kekkai Sensen. Mikagura Gakuen and Show by Rock feel like there is some sense of a story, but it does not feel involved much at the moment. Punchline DOES feel like there is a lot more going on under the surface, but at the moment I am not really sure I am interested in it.

Anyhoo, just mulling aloud here.

If it makes you feel any better, as someone who's an abject fanboy of those old Gainax series I think your assessments of the current pretenders are spot-on - who gets it and who doesn't.

I would say this "bottling Gainax" theme - while it never totally goes away - is definitely a recurring theme this season. The thing with the great shows in this genre - mostly but not exclusively Gainax, with FLCL being the definitive masterpiece - is that they actually do have stories behind the insanity. They have characters who are more than props. They tell a story but in a sort of indirect way, a stream-of-consciousness non-linear narrative that actually adds up to something in the end. Of the current batch I would say Kekkai Sensen has the best chance, with Punchline being the most blatant in its intentions. There were elements of Mikagura I liked too but I'd be surprised if that has real substance behind it, and Show by Rock - well...

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Honestly, if you have the historical context in your experience I don't see how it could be missed - I'm not sure I've ever seen a series so blatantly try and channel Gainax (and that's saying something, because there have been a ton). I thought Mikagura was open about it, but Punchira blows it out of the water.

Even I got it, and that's saying something.

[ReddyRedWolf]

So we got a super hero and her supporter hacker, an exorcist, a ghost cat, terrorists and an MC who if aroused ends the world with an extinction level event asteroid if aroused... He is also a time traveling disembodied ghost.

Plus Yuuta is connected to the hero girl and another girl also terrorist in the past it seems.

The ridiculousness is given but we a puzzle of the past and ongoing events that will form as we watch further.

[ultimate_noob]

Is this an original production or an adaptation from a manga/LN/VN/game??

If this is the former, I'll be waiting for a good twist because an ex-gainax guy, a scriptwriter at fucking chunsoft, the best seiyuus of our generation,a studio who did wonders to a shitty mobile game adaption, and hyadain/shokotan would not be collaborating with each other if this isn't a good investment.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by ultimate_noob

Is this an original production or an adaptation from a manga/LN/VN/game??

If this is the former, I'll be waiting for a good twist because an ex-gainax guy, a scriptwriter at fucking chunsoft, the best seiyuus of our generation,a studio who did wonders to a shitty mobile game adaption, and hyadain/shokotan would not be collaborating with each other if this isn't a good investment.

It's an original.

[Benigmatica]

Episode 1:
This is the most ridiculous and stylist anime series coming from MAPPA! I hope they'll be on the roll when delivering great comedy in future episodes.

On the other hand, I wonder if that guy is the one who took over Yuuta's body?

[DragoonKain3]

Pfft who cares if this is the second coming of Gainax, all I care is that it was fanservice done right.

Masterpiece? Not feeling it in the first episode, not by a long shot. That said, it was really entertaining, and the comedy (at least for me) is spot on. Definitely my guilty pleasure of the season.

[Kanon]

This was as close to a classic Gainax show as anything can get these days. Good stuff so far.

[Cloudedmind]

I certainly enjoyed the first episode.

In regard to the Gainax conversation, like Flower I'm not even sure I truly understand what old Gainax even is. When people mention FLCL, then I can see where they are coming from, but outside of that and NGE I don't think I've seen any other pre-2000 Gainax show. I can visually see how shows like Punchline, Rolling Girls, and Mikagura are channeling a certain Gainax look. But it all seems very superficial. I think in the end the stories should be allowed to stand on their own instead of having to go through a cycle of "How Gainax Are You!?"

For me shows like Show by Rock and Kekkai Sensen didn't give me a Gainax feel, possibly because I don't really understand what is old Gainax.

[Wandering Soul]

That was a weird way to begin and I do not really understand too much of what is going on. But it was also intresting and funny (that part with the cat video comes to mind). So I guess I will look forward to more.

[Maxulous]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

In regard to the Gainax conversation, like Flower I'm not even sure I truly understand what old Gainax even is. When people mention FLCL, then I can see where they are coming from, but outside of that and NGE I don't think I've seen any other pre-2000 Gainax show. I can visually see how shows like Punchline, Rolling Girls, and Mikagura are channeling a certain Gainax look. But it all seems very superficial. I think in the end the stories should be allowed to stand on their own instead of having to go through a cycle of "How Gainax Are You!?"

For the most part it is superficial. What gets me is that a lot of this "bottling Gainax" hubbub is only really reflective of 2000s gainax, and not the vintage 'Daicon IV era' Gainax that you'd associate that golden word with. If anything, ironically FLCL was the first anime to even attempt to "bottle Gainax", post 2000 Gainax co-production era drew a lot of their energy from there.

Projects like The Dragon Dentist and Little Witch Academia are some more recent titles to capture the essence of true vintage Gainax, I found.

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

For me shows like Show by Rock and Kekkai Sensen didn't give me a Gainax feel, possibly because I don't really understand what is old Gainax.

Tbh, Kekkai Sensen isn't really channeling Gainax - just late 90s/early 00s in general. That's not too surprising considering Nightow is very much of that era. Credit to the anime staff for getting it right though.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Cloudedmind

I certainly enjoyed the first episode.

In regard to the Gainax conversation, like Flower I'm not even sure I truly understand what old Gainax even is. When people mention FLCL, then I can see where they are coming from, but outside of that and NGE I don't think I've seen any other pre-2000 Gainax show. I can visually see how shows like Punchline, Rolling Girls, and Mikagura are channeling a certain Gainax look. But it all seems very superficial. I think in the end the stories should be allowed to stand on their own instead of having to go through a cycle of "How Gainax Are You!?"

For me shows like Show by Rock and Kekkai Sensen didn't give me a Gainax feel, possibly because I don't really understand what is old Gainax.

Indeed, I think most people don't have any context for understanding what old Gainax is. Which begs the question - why are writers and directors still trying so hard to bottle it? As well as explaining the generally bemused and negative reaction towards Punchline.

With certain shows like Rolling Girls and Yatterman, it is indeed a totally superficial thing - posing. But some shows are trying to channel Gainax thematically too, to a larger or lesser extent. And I would argue that when a show is as blatantly going after everything Gainax as Punchline (including with a Gainax director and CD/AD) it's not realistic to expect there won't be comparisons. Sure, it deserves to be judged on its own merits, and it eventually will. But truly, it's begging the comparison for better or worse.

[Master_Yoma]

This story seem to be stupid the MC only good for 2 panty shots then bye bye world one fear for the universe will go if he sees a naked girl

[JKL]

Vintage Gainax eh? What like The Wings of Honneamise?

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by JKL

Vintage Gainax eh? What like The Wings of Honneamise?

I think Punchline is most specifically trying to channel FLCL and Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai - along with J.C. Staff's Excel Saga (which probably was both influenced by earlier Gainax and influenced later Gainax).

[Tyabann]

Abenobashi is actually a much more accurate comparison than anything else IMO.