I never said the word stupid, you did, somebody doesn't have much faith in themselves. Also, yeah not watching Utena because the dub is "Bad" (You do realize its over a decade old dub right!?) is just silly, the show is spectacular and also...not to be rude but Durarara, Spiral, Noein, while all entertaining well written series, not what I would call thought provoking...but hey different folks different strokes, so yeah. Your standards still seem pretty shallow & backwards to me, but meh, whatever. Also I think we all know why No.6 got you hooked XD.
As someone who has been watching and collecting anime since I was 10 years old, so 12 years, no, it's not backwards thinking. I molded my own taste. And FYI, YYH is a dub that's a decade old, the dub is still amazing for what it is, the time when it's dubbed has nothing to do with it. It's the CPM's fault for doing a shit job on Utena, it could've been done better, but it wasn't. I have other animes that are over 10 years old, the dubs aren't early as bad as Utena, age can't be used to defend it. Oh, not to forget, there are dubs this day n' age that suck, like PMMM.
And FYI, I blind bought No.6 the first week on BD, that was $50 at retail int he store. The first episode was a hell a lot more interesting then a 10 year old girl going to school and finding some cute thing, and the hallway starts to explode because she found it. And Sentai did a damn good job on the No.6 dub, as Aniplex did a shit job on PMMM that isn't worth the price tag. And no series is thought-proving because the damn series is already written out for you. It's like people saying that Death Note is an "intelligent" show. It's not because the show is written out and you don't have to figure out the case yourself. It's like CSI, I'm sure most people don't even know what the hell they're talking about, it's just mindless entertainment for them.
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“In order to protect something precious, you must find it first.”- Vata Raven
@Vata Raven: OK so you're telling me that anime should be dubbed ONLY in Texas whilst let Bang Zoom! and Ocean die. You're obviously supporting the near-inevitable fate that all anime dubs will be homogenized to texas dubs
Really? I would argue that Madoka is much more competently written with vastly superior execution than Evangelion. Yeah, that must sound really weird coming from me.
I don't know man, Evengelion was pretty dawm good, and it did an amazing job of retaining my attention to boot(as did all my favorite animes), I was absolutely more enthused about watching it than Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
I think for me, as much as I need a good story (and yes, animes like FMA and even, should I say, Queen's Blade) have good stories, sometimes, a simple linear story is all that is needed, although FMA was more complex than that. For me though, I prize about the characters, it comes down to the concept - if I have trouble empathizing with, or feeling the characters, I become indifferent and that interferes with the storytelling - this is why I proudly put an anime like Queen's Blade, or Freezing in my favorites bank with FMA, GunGrave, the newly added Evengelion because the charcters. In some way, I have met, or even been these characters at some time in my life in some way. With Shinji, I really felt for the guy, I really did, and I really despised his dad and at times Asuka because of how she bullies him. Speaking of which, I've been Asuka in several forms throughout my life, and as I mentioned once, I trained a girl that was so much like Nanael from QB I swear she walked off the anime and came to work(she was annoying BTW).
Now, the biggest issue with Puella Magi Madoka Magica that I have is that I'm pretty indifferent to the main characters, save for Homura Akemi, and the impression I have from her is that she seems like she doesn't want to do it anymore, she seems complacent and almost bitter about it. I think I like that because I`ve seen veteran people like that at jobs they hate, and while new hires come in full of energy, the old worker is telling them to get out while they can.
So, I have to go ahead and disagree with you, Evengelion (and many other animes I`m nuts about) I feel are just overall better for one reason or another, but, that`s me though.
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And no series is thought-proving because the damn series is already written out for you. It's like people saying that Death Note is an "intelligent" show. It's not because the show is written out and you don't have to figure out the case yourself. It's like CSI, I'm sure most people don't even know what the hell they're talking about, it's just mindless entertainment for them.
Deathnote was intelligent, simple, but it raises a lot of moral questions, and this is debated in the series right up until the end, aside from that, it was entertaining primarily because of the dynamic between Light and L, so, it was a good, show, probably not one of my top, top favorites, but good.
As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I urge you to go to crunchyroll and watch it subbed, at least up to the third episode to give a fair analysis, my words towards it may be harsh, but because I've seen the first 4 episodes, I can pinpoint a few things I like and dislike about this anime - specific things, and also why I feel Evengelion was much better.
So, what I'm saying here is for me to take your opinion seriously this time, I feel strongly you should look into it further, I still feel that I need to finish it in order to formulate a "full" judgement and critique of said anime. And, I'm not trying to flame you, or be mean, I'm just trying to outline that if you go and watch 1/3 or 1/4 of the series and come back here and say I hated this anime for reason A, B and C, then people will not be as defensive, and yes, that first episode for me was somewhat lacking, but a first episode is a first episode, I don't walk away from a movie if the first five minutes isn't my style - I will if the first half hour is though.
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Heck, you could probably write a dissertation on the use of foreshadowing in Madoka alone. To say nothing of the complex symbolism, allegories to eastern European folklore, and psychological themes.
I'll have to see how it ends, however, don't confuse foreshadowing with rising action and building up the story, or even "hints" and "clues." This is something I learned from the english course I had to take when I was in school for music. I will say though, you could write a dissertation or a thesis on almost any anime, Evengelion is an obvious choice, but then, there's Texhnolyze, GunGrave, both FMA series, Fruits Basket, if a person is feeling ambitious and imaginative they could do a good one on Queen's Blade or Deathnote dependent on how they want to interpret them (which is something I've covered before )many of these have themes and characters that apply to real world experience in some way. I could even write a really good one about any anime like Master of Martial Hearts, Green Green, Samurai Gun or Eiken, I would call it "How to suck at making anime."
Anyways, I'm still in the process of watching Fractale (which is just plain great), which I hope to finish this weekend, then I can press on with Puella Magi Madoka Magica and get it done by week's end. Maybe.
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Yeah the charter designs are bait cutsy-wootsty, but in a way that kind of helps IMO, seeing cute characters in a dark show, its a fun contrast.
I don't mind cutsy stuff, I adored Chobits and the odd character here and there, and with Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I liked the shots they did far away where you see the colorful magic girls against a dark and gritty back drop. For me, the big issues with the eyes were - they had that "sketched" look to them, and on all of the characters the eyes were so far apart Shinji could park his Eva unit there while he stops for a coffee break.
Anyways, that's all I have for now, once I'm finished the series I'll post my thoughts.
@Vata: Whats thought Proving? XD You mean thought provoking right!? If so, yeah...thats pretty much one of the silliest things i've ever seen typed on a post *in recent history anywho* basically your saying not a single anime or work of media tries to get you to think? Sister, you must watch a lot of base shows to get an opinion/view like that. The whole point of a GOOD show IMO other then entertaining you and telling a good story with a interesting/appealing cast of characters is GETTING YOU TO THINK! Saying No fictional works are thought provoking is not only a falacy its well frankly its quite laughable. True not all media is deep or made to make you think, most is made to be simple, relaxing, funny, dramatic, or just a cheap cash grab, but there are works be it in anime, domestic animation ,live action, etc that are made to try to get the viewer to actually use that brain they have inside their head. As said series like Eva, Madoka, Utena, etc that like to use symbolism, allegory and what not on top of attempting to be artistic are trying to get the viewer to think, by seeing how the person viewing the product will interpret it.
Also, yeah watch Madoka & Utena subbed if the dubs are the worst part of it for you, it is a bit distracting to do so admitingly (seriously so many great visuals in both)
And yes I can understand that you have your own standards for media, and you have the right to them, but it doesn't really matter how long you have been watching or collecting something that doesn't change the fact your standards as far as I can tell are still pretty shallow, you go into a show before hand with some level of bias for or against it seems, given that is just part of being human, but still to have a legitimate critique &/or opinion on something either positively or negatively, one should try their best to go into a work with a sense of apathy and take a look at both the positives & negatives within.
Honestly you can't expect people to take your opinions/views seriously when you obviously have skewed view of what you are watching. And i'm not just spitting in the wind here, i'm speaking from experience, I know how hard it can be not to instantly hate or love something, but yeah, you gotta do your best to judge each work for its own merit, you don't have to love or hate something as much as everyone else, but you should take a good look at a book before you deem it good or bad.
@Neon: I've only watched three episodes so far, but honestly on top of the Eva & Utena comparisons, I think one could compare it to Watchmen as well, just as the Watchmen comics are basically about how one should note trust masked heroes as they could be just as flawed if not more so then us, PPMM seems to have a sort of Faustian take on the making deals with magical creatures. I mean why should these girls trust this cute little critter that offers to give them magical powers, you shouldn't never make a deal with a devil no matter how cute, it always backfires!
But yeah, this show is pretty solid so far, may have to add the Madoka Blu-rays to my Holiday wish list XD. Also anyone know if the manga is worth checking out, I know *from what i've seen people say about it* that its not as good as the anime, but still.
As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I urge you to go to crunchyroll and watch it subbed, at least up to the third episode to give a fair analysis, my words towards it may be harsh, but because I've seen the first 4 episodes, I can pinpoint a few things I like and dislike about this anime - specific things, and also why I feel Evengelion was much better.
Nope, won't go past episode 1, I refuse to watch anymore of the anime. The character designs, they're awful, I'm not going to enjoy a show with little kid design, if they were older I would say differently. And good grief, they kill you on the overkill cute designs. And you can't say I'm dissing it because it's a magical girl show, I own Sailor Moon, but I like it because you can see the characters age during each passing season, I just refuse to buy the manga because I don't buy shojos with female leads, I limit myself on what to buy and not to buy.
I can't take this anime serious because of the main cast being little girls. It's a series for older guys, they should've gone with an older age, maybe 18-21, have them wearing the same outfits designs, same story, and it would've had the same effect. And I think that character age would've been my eye catching for more people
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“In order to protect something precious, you must find it first.”- Vata Raven
@Neon: I've only watched three episodes so far, but honestly on top of the Eva & Utena comparisons, I think one could compare it to Watchmen as well, just as the Watchmen comics are basically about how one should note trust masked heroes as they could be just as flawed if not more so then us, PPMM seems to have a sort of Faustian take on the making deals with magical creatures. I mean why should these girls trust this cute little critter that offers to give them magical powers, you shouldn't never make a deal with a devil no matter how cute, it always backfires!
Yes, I have my doubts about Kyubey, I'm sure he's got his own thing going, and/or he's withholding some valuable information which will offer some answers to my questions, basically, I feel "I have his number." He's up to something, and this is one factor that is keeping me interested in this show. I would be almost inclined to say there is a simularity towards Hellgirl in the fact these people enter a contract that is unbreakable, and essentially, they're surrendering their lives over to be used as chess pieces in this war - nothing is ever free or unconditional. I see the Watchmen parallel in terms that after doing the whole "superhero" thing, they become jaded and complacent, and of course, there is the trust issue.
Another factor retaining my interest, as mentioned, I'm very curious about Homura Akemi and her reasons and motives for doing what she is doing. Is she out for the well being of the main characters? Does she know there is more to this contract than what Kyubey is letting on? What is the real price they're paying for that wish? Or is she so used to being the best and she sees other candidates as potential threats? It's material like this that keeps me watching any anime or movie, character driven motives and putting the pieces togther. This is why I'm not giving up on this anime, it's too soon to really say whether I feel it's good, or bad.
As for my comparisons to Evengelion, well, I made the mistake of trying to watch it and Puella Magi Madoka Magica at the exact same time, and I just gravitated towards Evengelion, the series has been sitting on my shelf dormant for over 6 years, and as said, I watched it the first two times when I was serverely depressed, and that impairs a person's judgement. So watching it now, with a fresh, and good positive attitude, it was like it was a completely different show. So, it was just dumb luck I watced it and thefirst 4 episodes of Puella Magi Madoka Magica back to back. Now I'm already close to the end of Fractale, so after I'm done that, I will go on with Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
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Whats thought Proving? XD You mean thought provoking right!? If so, yeah...thats pretty much one of the silliest things i've ever seen typed on a post *in recent history anywho* basically your saying not a single anime or work of media tries to get you to think? Sister, you must watch a lot of base shows to get an opinion/view like that. The whole point of a GOOD show IMO other then entertaining you and telling a good story with a interesting/appealing cast of characters is GETTING YOU TO THINK! Saying No fictional works are thought provoking is not only a falacy its well frankly its quite laughable. True not all media is deep or made to make you think, most is made to be simple, relaxing, funny, dramatic, or just a cheap cash grab, but there are works be it in anime, domestic animation ,live action, etc that are made to try to get the viewer to actually use that brain they have inside their head. As said series like Eva, Madoka, Utena, etc that like to use symbolism, allegory and what not on top of attempting to be artistic are trying to get the viewer to think, by seeing how the person viewing the product will interpret it.
I can go a step further, anything can be thought provoking, I learnt this at a lecture I went to at the local university for ne of my classes, where the professor did an analysis on Total Recall - the old one, we had to watch it. He took what I remember to be a mindless, shoot em up action movie and made get off my high horse of arrogance and realize, depth comes in so many forms in the most unlikely of places. As an exercise, he asked everyone; "What do you feel was the most violent scene in the movie?" Most of us said it was the scene where the CEO guy kicks over the fishbowl, his reply was "you guys got it, you understand the actual message the movie is conveying." Since then, I now watch everything with a more objective lens and see depth in everything in some way or another, if I dislike something, it's simply becuse I didn't find it entertaining, or boring, or biased, or preachy. It's one of the reasons I'm liking Fractale so much right now, it presents all the points of view, but doesn't come out and state which is right or wrong - it leaves that to the viewer - at least so far.
So, with that said, not to sound like a broken record, but this is why my favorites have such a strange variance to them that probably have some of you thinking I'm insane, but, no big deal right? I like what I like, and I'll always give everything a fair chance - another reason I will continue on watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica until I finish it.
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And yes I can understand that you have your own standards for media, and you have the right to them, but it doesn't really matter how long you have been watching or collecting something that doesn't change the fact your standards as far as I can tell are still pretty shallow, you go into a show before hand with some level of bias for or against it seems, given that is just part of being human, but still to have a legitimate critique &/or opinion on something either positively or negatively, one should try their best to go into a work with a sense of apathy and take a look at both the positives & negatives within.
Honestly you can't expect people to take your opinions/views seriously when you obviously have skewed view of what you are watching. And i'm not just spitting in the wind here, i'm speaking from experience, I know how hard it can be not to instantly hate or love something, but yeah, you gotta do your best to judge each work for its own merit, you don't have to love or hate something as much as everyone else, but you should take a good look at a book before you deem it good or bad.
More or less what I said here:
As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I urge you to go to crunchyroll and watch it subbed, at least up to the third episode to give a fair analysis, my words towards it may be harsh, but because I've seen the first 4 episodes, I can pinpoint a few things I like and dislike about this anime - specific things, and also why I feel Evengelion was much better.
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So, what I'm saying here is for me to take your opinion seriously this time, I feel strongly you should look into it further, I still feel that I need to finish it in order to formulate a "full" judgement and critique of said anime. And, I'm not trying to flame you, or be mean, I'm just trying to outline that if you go and watch 1/3 or 1/4 of the series and come back here and say I hated this anime for reason A, B and C, then people will not be as defensive, and yes, that first episode for me was somewhat lacking, but a first episode is a first episode, I don't walk away from a movie if the first five minutes isn't my style - I will if the first half hour is though.
Speaking for myself first, the main reason I decided to go have a look at Puella Magi Madoka Magica in the first place is the same reason I went to check out Queen's Blade; both series raise a sort of "hype" on forums and among fans for various reasons, the bottom line is that I come along and see all this talk about a given series, so, being the curious person I am, I go watch it to see what all the fuss is about, and I stay as objective as I can be, I loved Queen's Blade although it garners a lot of negativity, and as it stands for now, I have mixed emotions about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so it is hit and miss.
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Nope, won't go past episode 1, I refuse to watch anymore of the anime. The character designs, they're awful, I'm not going to enjoy a show with little kid design, if they were older I would say differently. And good grief, they kill you on the overkill cute designs. And you can't say I'm dissing it because it's a magical girl show, I own Sailor Moon, but I like it because you can see the characters age during each passing season, I just refuse to buy the manga because I don't buy shojos with female leads, I limit myself on what to buy and not to buy.
Now, my question for you: it seems as though (as I see it) you dislike this anime because it is not only getting a lot of positive feedback from the community; people are raving about how amazing it is, and it seems as though you don't want to like it because of this for whatever reasons. Now, is this true? If it is not, then, one again, go check out some more episodes and come back once you have formulated and pinpointed the strengths and weaknesses to give a solid and fair critque, if you feel it sucked, then provide us with some evidence that can only be obtained from actually watching at least half to 3/4 of it, or preferably the series in its entirety. I can say without bias that I can't take your opinion here seriously because you have not provided sufficient evidence against this show. I'm not trying to be a dink or anything, but, in school when you had to read a book did you read the first few pages and write your report based on that? That's the impression I'm getting here, sorry, but when people say careless things, I say my piece, someof you know that.
Look closely at my posts in regards to this series, I list off what I feel are the positive and negative aspects of this show with examples - that's evidence, it's why I can confidently come here and say I feel Evengelion was better, and why I feel at this point Puella Magi Madoka Magica is mediocre; I watched more than one episode. I mean, you're free to do what you wish in terms of anime, but with the posts you're giving here, don't be surprised at some of the ridicule you may be receiving or people don't take your opinions seriously.
And lastly, this is my exception to my feelings about everyone's opinions holding value - they hold value if you have a good portion of evidence to verify if you dislike or like something, in this case, view more episodes, crunchy roll = free legal streaming, it's there to be seen and analyzed and its subbed.
Nope, won't go past episode 1, I refuse to watch anymore of the anime. The character designs, they're awful, I'm not going to enjoy a show with little kid design, if they were older I would say differently. And good grief, they kill you on the overkill cute designs. And you can't say I'm dissing it because it's a magical girl show, I own Sailor Moon, but I like it because you can see the characters age during each passing season, I just refuse to buy the manga because I don't buy shojos with female leads, I limit myself on what to buy and not to buy.
I can't take this anime serious because of the main cast being little girls. It's a series for older guys, they should've gone with an older age, maybe 18-21, have them wearing the same outfits designs, same story, and it would've had the same effect. And I think that character age would've been my eye catching for more people
.... You do realize in Sailor Moon they were in Middle school when it started as well right? And CardCaptor Sakura, well it was about kids for pete's sake.
Honestly all i'm hearing from you are a bunch of convoluted excuses as to why NOT to watch it based solely on ridiculous things like that characters not being old enough to be heroes/magical girls. As well a a pre-meditated bias against the show solely based on the girls designs, Your ignoring the more then fair amount of positives and putting over-emphasis on the few ( very arguable) negatives.
So yeah honestly, don't expect anyone to give your half-arsed opinion/view of the show any merit when you obviously aren't willing to take the show seriously or even look at it in any light then your extremely biased premeditated narrow-minded view point.
If you watch the whole thing and still don't care for it, thats fine, but so far, you have not given any of us reasons to take your view on the subject seriously.
@Neon: Yeah that little Kyyubi guy creeps me out, no way he's making these deals just to fight witches or protect the innocent, something up with that critter, guys a little devil disguised as an angel, just you wait and see.
Man... This show is addictive, ugg why must I get addicted to thing so easily, now I gotta hunt down the manga between classes next week! XD.
Also glad your enjoying Fractle, its a pretty neat series, I watched it subbed here on Funi and enjoyed it...still need to get around to getting the BD/DVD combo when I can.
So yeah honestly, don't expect anyone to give your half-arsed opinion/view of the show any merit when you obviously aren't willing to take the show seriously or even look at it in any light then your extremely biased premeditated narrow-minded view point.
If you watch the whole thing and still don't care for it, thats fine, but so far, you have not given any of us reasons to take your view on the subject seriously.
Wow. Just...wow. With a big twist and Kyubey starting to show his true colors, I have a feeling this show's about to get seriously intense.
Anyway, it's probably my favorite episode yet, thanks to that aforementioned twist, and Madoka's talk with her mom. It's a really simple scene, but I really like what Junko says--that doing the right thing doesn't always mean happiness. I think that scene has made her my favorite character thus far.
With that message, I'm starting to think this show might be as comparable to Now and Then, Here and There (which I'm also watching for the first time...I'm seriously gonna need something happy after next week. ), as it it is to Evangelion. I am glad, though, that for as dark as this show is, it isn't dark for darkness' sake (something which I think Here and There, for all its horrific beauty, is a little guilty of).
Did I mention the music is AMAZING? Because it is.
Sailor Moon and Madoka are both in eighth grade. At least SM is in the start of the series, anyway, though it is unfair to say that at least SM showed the characters getting older. PMMM isn't nearly as long and took place over a much shorter time span. Their age is important to the story as it plays a part in their emotional state, something Kyuubei even talks about in a later episode.
@Neon: If Homura is your favorite, you're going to love episode 10 and on. Just keep going. The final 4 episodes were just one big thrill ride and even my brother sat down and watched them (he doesn't particularly care for anime, but he'll watch FMA, Naruto, LOL Heroes, Durarara!! and such if I have them on the TV). He seemed to actually like it or at least find it interesting.
@Soundmonkey: I hear ya. It was painful waiting for each disc to come out, but man was it rewarding to watch the singles and not the streams, the BD quality was great. The show is very addicting, especially Magia (*goes to listen to it again*). Classes are annoying when it comes to getting hooked on good anime. Darn responsibility getting in the way of fun time, I say! Oh and Kyuubei will creep you out more and more as it goes on. Little adorable monster....
@Looney: Glad to hear you like it so far. And yes, the music is great!
I'm really interested in hearing what you three think about the ending of the show.
I'm really feeling the need to go and rewatch Madoka now....
As someone who has been watching and collecting anime since I was 10 years old, so 12 years, no, it's not backwards thinking. I molded my own taste. And FYI, YYH is a dub that's a decade old, the dub is still amazing for what it is, the time when it's dubbed has nothing to do with it. It's the CPM's fault for doing a shit job on Utena, it could've been done better, but it wasn't. I have other animes that are over 10 years old, the dubs aren't early as bad as Utena, age can't be used to defend it. Oh, not to forget, there are dubs this day n' age that suck, like PMMM.
And FYI, I blind bought No.6 the first week on BD, that was $50 at retail int he store. The first episode was a hell a lot more interesting then a 10 year old girl going to school and finding some cute thing, and the hallway starts to explode because she found it. And Sentai did a damn good job on the No.6 dub, as Aniplex did a shit job on PMMM that isn't worth the price tag. And no series is thought-proving because the damn series is already written out for you. It's like people saying that Death Note is an "intelligent" show. It's not because the show is written out and you don't have to figure out the case yourself. It's like CSI, I'm sure most people don't even know what the hell they're talking about, it's just mindless entertainment for them.
“In order to protect something precious, you must find it first.”- Vata Raven
@Vata Raven: OK so you're telling me that anime should be dubbed ONLY in Texas whilst let Bang Zoom! and Ocean die. You're obviously supporting the near-inevitable fate that all anime dubs will be homogenized to texas dubs
Locomotion
animation, young adults, digital era
I don't know man, Evengelion was pretty dawm good, and it did an amazing job of retaining my attention to boot(as did all my favorite animes), I was absolutely more enthused about watching it than Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
I think for me, as much as I need a good story (and yes, animes like FMA and even, should I say, Queen's Blade) have good stories, sometimes, a simple linear story is all that is needed, although FMA was more complex than that. For me though, I prize about the characters, it comes down to the concept - if I have trouble empathizing with, or feeling the characters, I become indifferent and that interferes with the storytelling - this is why I proudly put an anime like Queen's Blade, or Freezing in my favorites bank with FMA, GunGrave, the newly added Evengelion because the charcters. In some way, I have met, or even been these characters at some time in my life in some way. With Shinji, I really felt for the guy, I really did, and I really despised his dad and at times Asuka because of how she bullies him. Speaking of which, I've been Asuka in several forms throughout my life, and as I mentioned once, I trained a girl that was so much like Nanael from QB I swear she walked off the anime and came to work(she was annoying BTW).
Now, the biggest issue with Puella Magi Madoka Magica that I have is that I'm pretty indifferent to the main characters, save for Homura Akemi, and the impression I have from her is that she seems like she doesn't want to do it anymore, she seems complacent and almost bitter about it. I think I like that because I`ve seen veteran people like that at jobs they hate, and while new hires come in full of energy, the old worker is telling them to get out while they can.
So, I have to go ahead and disagree with you, Evengelion (and many other animes I`m nuts about) I feel are just overall better for one reason or another, but, that`s me though.
Deathnote was intelligent, simple, but it raises a lot of moral questions, and this is debated in the series right up until the end, aside from that, it was entertaining primarily because of the dynamic between Light and L, so, it was a good, show, probably not one of my top, top favorites, but good.
As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I urge you to go to crunchyroll and watch it subbed, at least up to the third episode to give a fair analysis, my words towards it may be harsh, but because I've seen the first 4 episodes, I can pinpoint a few things I like and dislike about this anime - specific things, and also why I feel Evengelion was much better.
So, what I'm saying here is for me to take your opinion seriously this time, I feel strongly you should look into it further, I still feel that I need to finish it in order to formulate a "full" judgement and critique of said anime. And, I'm not trying to flame you, or be mean, I'm just trying to outline that if you go and watch 1/3 or 1/4 of the series and come back here and say I hated this anime for reason A, B and C, then people will not be as defensive, and yes, that first episode for me was somewhat lacking, but a first episode is a first episode, I don't walk away from a movie if the first five minutes isn't my style - I will if the first half hour is though.
I'll have to see how it ends, however, don't confuse foreshadowing with rising action and building up the story, or even "hints" and "clues." This is something I learned from the english course I had to take when I was in school for music. I will say though, you could write a dissertation or a thesis on almost any anime, Evengelion is an obvious choice, but then, there's Texhnolyze, GunGrave, both FMA series, Fruits Basket, if a person is feeling ambitious and imaginative they could do a good one on Queen's Blade or Deathnote dependent on how they want to interpret them (which is something I've covered before )many of these have themes and characters that apply to real world experience in some way. I could even write a really good one about any anime like Master of Martial Hearts, Green Green, Samurai Gun or Eiken, I would call it "How to suck at making anime."
Anyways, I'm still in the process of watching Fractale (which is just plain great), which I hope to finish this weekend, then I can press on with Puella Magi Madoka Magica and get it done by week's end. Maybe.
I don't mind cutsy stuff, I adored Chobits and the odd character here and there, and with Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I liked the shots they did far away where you see the colorful magic girls against a dark and gritty back drop. For me, the big issues with the eyes were - they had that "sketched" look to them, and on all of the characters the eyes were so far apart Shinji could park his Eva unit there while he stops for a coffee break.
Anyways, that's all I have for now, once I'm finished the series I'll post my thoughts.
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@Vata: Whats thought Proving? XD You mean thought provoking right!? If so, yeah...thats pretty much one of the silliest things i've ever seen typed on a post *in recent history anywho* basically your saying not a single anime or work of media tries to get you to think? Sister, you must watch a lot of base shows to get an opinion/view like that. The whole point of a GOOD show IMO other then entertaining you and telling a good story with a interesting/appealing cast of characters is GETTING YOU TO THINK! Saying No fictional works are thought provoking is not only a falacy its well frankly its quite laughable. True not all media is deep or made to make you think, most is made to be simple, relaxing, funny, dramatic, or just a cheap cash grab, but there are works be it in anime, domestic animation ,live action, etc that are made to try to get the viewer to actually use that brain they have inside their head. As said series like Eva, Madoka, Utena, etc that like to use symbolism, allegory and what not on top of attempting to be artistic are trying to get the viewer to think, by seeing how the person viewing the product will interpret it.
Also, yeah watch Madoka & Utena subbed if the dubs are the worst part of it for you, it is a bit distracting to do so admitingly (seriously so many great visuals in both)
And yes I can understand that you have your own standards for media, and you have the right to them, but it doesn't really matter how long you have been watching or collecting something that doesn't change the fact your standards as far as I can tell are still pretty shallow, you go into a show before hand with some level of bias for or against it seems, given that is just part of being human, but still to have a legitimate critique &/or opinion on something either positively or negatively, one should try their best to go into a work with a sense of apathy and take a look at both the positives & negatives within.
Honestly you can't expect people to take your opinions/views seriously when you obviously have skewed view of what you are watching. And i'm not just spitting in the wind here, i'm speaking from experience, I know how hard it can be not to instantly hate or love something, but yeah, you gotta do your best to judge each work for its own merit, you don't have to love or hate something as much as everyone else, but you should take a good look at a book before you deem it good or bad.
@Neon: I've only watched three episodes so far, but honestly on top of the Eva & Utena comparisons, I think one could compare it to Watchmen as well, just as the Watchmen comics are basically about how one should note trust masked heroes as they could be just as flawed if not more so then us, PPMM seems to have a sort of Faustian take on the making deals with magical creatures. I mean why should these girls trust this cute little critter that offers to give them magical powers, you shouldn't never make a deal with a devil no matter how cute, it always backfires!
But yeah, this show is pretty solid so far, may have to add the Madoka Blu-rays to my Holiday wish list XD. Also anyone know if the manga is worth checking out, I know *from what i've seen people say about it* that its not as good as the anime, but still.
All Will Know The Wonder Of My Dark & Jewled Sky, When All The World Is Wrapped In An Eternal Lullabye.
Nope, won't go past episode 1, I refuse to watch anymore of the anime. The character designs, they're awful, I'm not going to enjoy a show with little kid design, if they were older I would say differently. And good grief, they kill you on the overkill cute designs. And you can't say I'm dissing it because it's a magical girl show, I own Sailor Moon, but I like it because you can see the characters age during each passing season, I just refuse to buy the manga because I don't buy shojos with female leads, I limit myself on what to buy and not to buy.
I can't take this anime serious because of the main cast being little girls. It's a series for older guys, they should've gone with an older age, maybe 18-21, have them wearing the same outfits designs, same story, and it would've had the same effect. And I think that character age would've been my eye catching for more people
“In order to protect something precious, you must find it first.”- Vata Raven
Yes, I have my doubts about Kyubey, I'm sure he's got his own thing going, and/or he's withholding some valuable information which will offer some answers to my questions, basically, I feel "I have his number." He's up to something, and this is one factor that is keeping me interested in this show. I would be almost inclined to say there is a simularity towards Hellgirl in the fact these people enter a contract that is unbreakable, and essentially, they're surrendering their lives over to be used as chess pieces in this war - nothing is ever free or unconditional. I see the Watchmen parallel in terms that after doing the whole "superhero" thing, they become jaded and complacent, and of course, there is the trust issue.
Another factor retaining my interest, as mentioned, I'm very curious about Homura Akemi and her reasons and motives for doing what she is doing. Is she out for the well being of the main characters? Does she know there is more to this contract than what Kyubey is letting on? What is the real price they're paying for that wish? Or is she so used to being the best and she sees other candidates as potential threats? It's material like this that keeps me watching any anime or movie, character driven motives and putting the pieces togther. This is why I'm not giving up on this anime, it's too soon to really say whether I feel it's good, or bad.
As for my comparisons to Evengelion, well, I made the mistake of trying to watch it and Puella Magi Madoka Magica at the exact same time, and I just gravitated towards Evengelion, the series has been sitting on my shelf dormant for over 6 years, and as said, I watched it the first two times when I was serverely depressed, and that impairs a person's judgement. So watching it now, with a fresh, and good positive attitude, it was like it was a completely different show. So, it was just dumb luck I watced it and thefirst 4 episodes of Puella Magi Madoka Magica back to back. Now I'm already close to the end of Fractale, so after I'm done that, I will go on with Puella Magi Madoka Magica.
I can go a step further, anything can be thought provoking, I learnt this at a lecture I went to at the local university for ne of my classes, where the professor did an analysis on Total Recall - the old one, we had to watch it. He took what I remember to be a mindless, shoot em up action movie and made get off my high horse of arrogance and realize, depth comes in so many forms in the most unlikely of places. As an exercise, he asked everyone; "What do you feel was the most violent scene in the movie?" Most of us said it was the scene where the CEO guy kicks over the fishbowl, his reply was "you guys got it, you understand the actual message the movie is conveying." Since then, I now watch everything with a more objective lens and see depth in everything in some way or another, if I dislike something, it's simply becuse I didn't find it entertaining, or boring, or biased, or preachy. It's one of the reasons I'm liking Fractale so much right now, it presents all the points of view, but doesn't come out and state which is right or wrong - it leaves that to the viewer - at least so far.
So, with that said, not to sound like a broken record, but this is why my favorites have such a strange variance to them that probably have some of you thinking I'm insane, but, no big deal right? I like what I like, and I'll always give everything a fair chance - another reason I will continue on watching Puella Magi Madoka Magica until I finish it.
More or less what I said here:
As for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, I urge you to go to crunchyroll and watch it subbed, at least up to the third episode to give a fair analysis, my words towards it may be harsh, but because I've seen the first 4 episodes, I can pinpoint a few things I like and dislike about this anime - specific things, and also why I feel Evengelion was much better.
Speaking for myself first, the main reason I decided to go have a look at Puella Magi Madoka Magica in the first place is the same reason I went to check out Queen's Blade; both series raise a sort of "hype" on forums and among fans for various reasons, the bottom line is that I come along and see all this talk about a given series, so, being the curious person I am, I go watch it to see what all the fuss is about, and I stay as objective as I can be, I loved Queen's Blade although it garners a lot of negativity, and as it stands for now, I have mixed emotions about Puella Magi Madoka Magica, so it is hit and miss.
Now, my question for you: it seems as though (as I see it) you dislike this anime because it is not only getting a lot of positive feedback from the community; people are raving about how amazing it is, and it seems as though you don't want to like it because of this for whatever reasons. Now, is this true? If it is not, then, one again, go check out some more episodes and come back once you have formulated and pinpointed the strengths and weaknesses to give a solid and fair critque, if you feel it sucked, then provide us with some evidence that can only be obtained from actually watching at least half to 3/4 of it, or preferably the series in its entirety. I can say without bias that I can't take your opinion here seriously because you have not provided sufficient evidence against this show. I'm not trying to be a dink or anything, but, in school when you had to read a book did you read the first few pages and write your report based on that? That's the impression I'm getting here, sorry, but when people say careless things, I say my piece, someof you know that.
Look closely at my posts in regards to this series, I list off what I feel are the positive and negative aspects of this show with examples - that's evidence, it's why I can confidently come here and say I feel Evengelion was better, and why I feel at this point Puella Magi Madoka Magica is mediocre; I watched more than one episode. I mean, you're free to do what you wish in terms of anime, but with the posts you're giving here, don't be surprised at some of the ridicule you may be receiving or people don't take your opinions seriously.
And lastly, this is my exception to my feelings about everyone's opinions holding value - they hold value if you have a good portion of evidence to verify if you dislike or like something, in this case, view more episodes, crunchy roll = free legal streaming, it's there to be seen and analyzed and its subbed.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
.... You do realize in Sailor Moon they were in Middle school when it started as well right? And CardCaptor Sakura, well it was about kids for pete's sake.
Honestly all i'm hearing from you are a bunch of convoluted excuses as to why NOT to watch it based solely on ridiculous things like that characters not being old enough to be heroes/magical girls. As well a a pre-meditated bias against the show solely based on the girls designs, Your ignoring the more then fair amount of positives and putting over-emphasis on the few ( very arguable) negatives.
So yeah honestly, don't expect anyone to give your half-arsed opinion/view of the show any merit when you obviously aren't willing to take the show seriously or even look at it in any light then your extremely biased premeditated narrow-minded view point.
If you watch the whole thing and still don't care for it, thats fine, but so far, you have not given any of us reasons to take your view on the subject seriously.
@Neon: Yeah that little Kyyubi guy creeps me out, no way he's making these deals just to fight witches or protect the innocent, something up with that critter, guys a little devil disguised as an angel, just you wait and see.
Man... This show is addictive, ugg why must I get addicted to thing so easily, now I gotta hunt down the manga between classes next week! XD.
Also glad your enjoying Fractle, its a pretty neat series, I watched it subbed here on Funi and enjoyed it...still need to get around to getting the BD/DVD combo when I can.
All Will Know The Wonder Of My Dark & Jewled Sky, When All The World Is Wrapped In An Eternal Lullabye.
What I said in more words.
For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Fresh off of Episode 6...
Wow. Just...wow. With a big twist and Kyubey starting to show his true colors, I have a feeling this show's about to get seriously intense.
Anyway, it's probably my favorite episode yet, thanks to that aforementioned twist, and Madoka's talk with her mom. It's a really simple scene, but I really like what Junko says--that doing the right thing doesn't always mean happiness. I think that scene has made her my favorite character thus far.
With that message, I'm starting to think this show might be as comparable to Now and Then, Here and There (which I'm also watching for the first time...I'm seriously gonna need something happy after next week.
), as it it is to Evangelion. I am glad, though, that for as dark as this show is, it isn't dark for darkness' sake (something which I think Here and There, for all its horrific beauty, is a little guilty of).
Did I mention the music is AMAZING? Because it is.
"Of course you realize, this means war!" -- Bugs Bunny
"Here we gooooo!" -- Mario
Sailor Moon and Madoka are both in eighth grade. At least SM is in the start of the series, anyway, though it is unfair to say that at least SM showed the characters getting older. PMMM isn't nearly as long and took place over a much shorter time span. Their age is important to the story as it plays a part in their emotional state, something Kyuubei even talks about in a later episode.
@Neon: If Homura is your favorite, you're going to love episode 10 and on. Just keep going. The final 4 episodes were just one big thrill ride and even my brother sat down and watched them (he doesn't particularly care for anime, but he'll watch FMA, Naruto, LOL Heroes, Durarara!! and such if I have them on the TV). He seemed to actually like it or at least find it interesting.
@Soundmonkey: I hear ya. It was painful waiting for each disc to come out, but man was it rewarding to watch the singles and not the streams, the BD quality was great. The show is very addicting, especially Magia (*goes to listen to it again*). Classes are annoying when it comes to getting hooked on good anime. Darn responsibility getting in the way of fun time, I say! Oh and Kyuubei will creep you out more and more as it goes on. Little adorable monster....
@Looney: Glad to hear you like it so far. And yes, the music is great!
I'm really interested in hearing what you three think about the ending of the show.
I'm really feeling the need to go and rewatch Madoka now....
MyAnimeList
"May those who accept their fate be granted happiness. May those who defy it be granted glory."
-Princess Tutu