Anime everyone else thinks is great but you don't like

In a more minor way - Porco Rosso. It is a reasonable film, but I have always considered it Miyazaki's weakest, but a lot consider it one of his best *shrug*
 
VivisQueen said:
Baccano (if you've seen Syriana or Crash, its narrative gimmick is definitely not enough to save its otherwise shallow events)
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Didn't both those movies come out after Baccano! was first published?

Also, there is no need to emphasize your "surprise" agreement with someone who talks mess about Gundam - all the "cool" Gundam fans these days like to point out how crap the franchise is, so that is the assumed state of affairs.
 
ilmaestro said:
VivisQueen said:
Baccano (if you've seen Syriana or Crash, its narrative gimmick is definitely not enough to save its otherwise shallow events)
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Didn't both those movies come out after Baccano! was first published?

Also, there is no need to emphasize your "surprise" agreement with someone who talks mess about Gundam - all the "cool" Gundam fans these days like to point out how crap the franchise is, so that is the assumed state of affairs.
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1) My, what an interesting point, ilmaestro. I did not consider there being a literary Baccano work that preceded the anime. Unfortunately, it doesn't address the problem that the anime is a shallow product only able to ride the 'wittiness' of its convolutions. It isn't awful per se, but I'd argue it is highly overrated and much better motion pictures using this technique exist. To aid my point:

Baccano light novels (2003) <--- not available in English
Crash (2004)
Syriana (2005)
Baccano manga (2006)
Baccano anime (2007)

2) I would not know what a 'cool' Gundam fan is since I can't say I've socialised with any enough to discern a trend. But thanks for telling me what I need and need not do in a casual, unstructured discussion thread.
 
While Baccano's plot is rather straight forward, in terms of sheer fun and sense of adventure it's up there with Castle of Cagliostro for me. Anyone who doesn't love it is clearly dead inside, and probably a communist.

Also, most of Claymore is terrible. Yes it is.
 
The large cast and the interesting way the story is told totally makes up for the lack of substantial character stuff for me. They are all recognisable archetypes, and it all weaves together to make a product that plays fast and loose with everything on-screen. It's not high-art, and doesn't aspire to be, but it's a wicked cool rollercoaster while it lasts.
 
You spout naught but exaggeration. Baccano was okay, but kinda annoying and underwhelming. Never cared a whit for any of the events going on or the people in it. For wild, loose fun with style and some good characters, I liked Michiko to Hatchin recently.

And I can't be dead inside, because I adored Castle of Cagliostro.
 
I note that you didn't refute the accusation of being a communist!

/strokes beard

Well, yeah, if you're not into the characters and their antics then you're not going to love Baccano. But your love of Cagliostro has thrown my "dead inside" theory into chaos, and now I just don't know what to think about anything any more ;_;

Michiko and Hachin is one I'd like to watch but for whatever reason nobody wants to bring it to the West. You'd think it'd be a shoe-in with its style and setting.
 
If there was a thread for "Anime you saw a bit of and really meant to go back to but never did and you're still not sure why", then I'd be posting Michiko to Hatchin.

I'd hazard a guess that what might put any potential western licensors off would be the fact that ep1 is such a grim watch - the way Hatchin is treated by her foster parents is nothing short of child abuse. I know the rest of the series isn't like that, but it's probably not the most promising start for something you'd ideally be pitching at the Cowboy Bebop fans.
 
Michiko to Hatchin is the only 'Bebop-esque' thing to have come out since Bebop. It has a lot of style and great substance where the two protagonists are concerned, but it rides an unreliable wave of tepid stories. The beginning and ending are great, the middle is mostly superfluous. I don't think it's as 'shoe-in' as you'd like to think because it features a strongly female cast, isn't a shoujo, and didn't make waves in the community.

Stuff like that is harder to sell.

EDIT: Oh yeah, review time! http://www.anime-planet.com/reviews/a832.html

Short version: I love, love, love what this show tries to do and more shows should do it! But the director needs practice.
 
VivisQueen said:
Short version: I love, love, love what this show tries to do and more shows should do it! But the director needs practice.
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I think the direction is great, he just needed a better script to work with. Seems to be the only thing (still!) that the writer has worked on.
 
Jaymii said:
VivisQueen said:
Short version: I love, love, love what this show tries to do and more shows should do it! But the director needs practice.
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I think the direction is great, he just needed a better script to work with. Seems to be the only thing (still!) that the writer has worked on.
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She. Sayo Yamamoto. It's her first time directing a full show. She's successful at the style and teasing out nuance from her characters, but she's less successful when it comes to making judicious editing choices i.e. cutting away crap so that the middle doesn't sag. But whatever, I like her passion and grasp of visual 'cool'.
 
I should keep to using "they" even though it's a couple more letters then. (I was on my phone). I maintain that it's the writers fault that I was completely not invested in their relationship and the downright boring middle-arc (or lack thereof) escapades. Perhaps she shouldn't have been adapting such bad material, even if it gave her the opportunity to test things out. Hm.
 
I see your distinction between direction and writing, although I'm going from the general approach of placing all the blame/praise on the director. When a show goes well, we don't say 'Oh, the writer was wonderful!' but only name the director. Besides, Yamamoto wouldn't have been just responsible for the composition, but the content too.

Also, I'll just vehemently disagree that the source material was bad. Michiko and Hatchin's relationship was delightfully complex, grippingly antagonistic, and oddly charming. Michiko is one of the best trainwreck female characters I've seen since Revy (Black Lagoon). Moreover, how the characters come full circle in their hunt for a mcguffin is a timeless trope that is strangely underused in anime and thus highly refreshing here. My only grip is that this would have been much sleeker at 14 episode instead of the bloated 22 that it was.
 
VivisQueen said:
Michiko to Hatchin is the only 'Bebop-esque' thing to have come out since Bebop. It has a lot of style and great substance where the two protagonists are concerned, but it rides an unreliable wave of tepid stories. The beginning and ending are great, the middle is mostly superfluous. I don't think it's as 'shoe-in' as you'd like to think because it features a strongly female cast, isn't a shoujo, and didn't make waves in the community.

Stuff like that is harder to sell.

EDIT: Oh yeah, review time! http://www.anime-planet.com/reviews/a832.html

Short version: I love, love, love what this show tries to do and more shows should do it! But the director needs practice.
Click to expand...

Surely Champloo is the only truely "Bebop-esque" show to emerge since Bebop?
 
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