shit BL says
Once and always and nevermore.
After seeing a bunch of clips online I decided to check out the first three eps of New Grappler Baki.
Have to say, I expected all the ridiculous martial arts and over-the-top violence, but I didn't expect how freaking funny the show can be. Baki's deadpan reactions to all the crazy shit happening around him are pure comedy gold. At first I wasn't sure how much was on purpose and how much was just a result of playing totally ludicrous situations with a straight face (kind of like JJBA, which is fairly half as funny when it tries self-consciously to be as opposed to just taking the absurdity and running with it). But the scene in episode 3 where Baki's in P.E flunking all the tests because his insane physical strength keeps breaking the scales displays the show can definitely be funny when it wants to be.
Of course the real meat of Baki is the fights, which are illustrated quite well so far. At least when the characters aren't depicted as CGI models like something out of an old PlayStation game...
In terms of Shield Hero, isn't it natural to loot bandits (some of whom are better equipped than the town guard), and aren't quest rewards something to expect?
So there has to be some twist in Price of Smiles, right? It can't be just a nation losing a war to unsympathetic aggressors. Like they need to find a secret weapon and become monsters themselves right? Even in Gundam, they make the obviously evil side have some sympathetic people, but so far the only one is the squad leader while all the others are down for child murder.
Something other than Stoic McStoic being the daughter of queens advisor, at least.
Binged All Of Gundam In 4 Years, 1 Week and All I Got Was This Stupid Mask
FF XIV: Walked to the End
Started Legend of the Galactic Heroes (14/07/23), pray for me.
So I watched episode 5 of Baki The Grappler. Have to say, I wasn't too impressed by the Hanayama vs. Spec fight. For all that they're hyped up to be some of the best fighters in history or whatever, the actual fight just amounted to two guys standing mostly in place and taking turns walloping the crap out of each other. No fancy choreography, no clever tactics or unexpected reversals. Just a pure exchange of blows.
It doesn't even make much sense because if Spec's attacks fazed Hanayama so little he can counter right in the middle of a barrage like that, why on earth would he have just stood there and taken them for so long instead of countering right away? Other than that wouldn't fulfill the required "manly violence" quotient, I guess. It honestly came off as less of a real fight in some parts than some weird sadomasochistic ritual.
I dunno'. Maybe I'm just not the intended audience for this sort of thing. I do have to admit some parts of the fight did impress me, like the animation during Spec's Apnea Rush (really conveyed the terrifying speed and power of such an attack) and the entire Statue of Liberty cutaway sequence. I'd normally question the narrative logic of just randomly cutting away to a flashback of the villain punching out the Statue of Liberty in the middle of an otherwise unrelated fight, but Hanayama resolutely pulling himself back to his feet interposed with the image of the Statue of Liberty was ridiculously awesome and cheesy in the best possible way. And I'm not even American!
So I can get the show's appeal, but the fight itself was just kind of boring. As someone who isn't familiar with the franchise, are most of the show's fights like this, or do the other ones have more interesting tactics and choreography?
Last edited by RoydGolden; February 15th, 2019 at 12:37 AM. Reason: Consistency
If you can't get used to the logic of the show and enjoy watching two characters mutilating each other for the entire episode Mortal Kombat style then you'll be disappointed to hear that they're all pretty much like this.
BL Character Defining Lines
Originally Posted by successor of the Matou family
Hearing Accelerator VA's amazing performances twice in a single day.
It was great, voicing a Servant when?
Ah... I didn't notice, nor do I know his actual name.
But wish he got to do his classic voice.
I watched all the episodes of The Price of Smiles out so far. I think its a good show, but I don't know how to feel about the CGI mechs sometimes. Like seeing them getting shot and not taking any real visible damage, then just falling down is kind of strange.
Spoiler:
Being able to sit through Kemono Friends has inured me to bad CGI in anime.
And yet KF2 somehow made it worse. Well, I dropped KF2, so no skin off my nose. No real reason to watch it anyway, since Tatsuki isn't on board, and Tatsuki has his own show going on in the exact same season via Kemurikusa--which is pretty good in its own right, once, yeah, ya get past the CGI looking not-so good, the atmosphere is second to none.
Speaking of, TATE has good atmosphere, music, and art, yes, but when its not trying too hard to be misanthropic its kinda boring and uneventful. At least Filo and Raph's twitching ears are able to hardcarry much of it during those slow times, but meh. Aggressively meh. When's the next wave, or people being mean to Naofumi? I watch this shit for dank memes, not mediocre fantasy adventuring.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.
Lovely line by Yumeko in this week's Kakegurui: "I feel remorseful about the fact that I don't feel remorse".
I love that Bucciarati has a black zipper suit for funerals. Convenient too, given how he's gonna need it after this.
Good Index episode, good Touma and Accelerator stuff. Also holy lol Acqua swinging around that helicopter in midair was hilarious and beautiful. Shine on, JC Staff.
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Because I love shitposting as much as I love IBO.
My Fanfics. Read 'em. Or not.McJon01: We all know that the real reason Archer would lose to Rider is because the events of his own Holy Grail War left him with a particular weakness toward "older sister" types.