Tired.
Manga
Same as usual, I have been very slowly continuing GTO, Inari Konkon, and keeping up with Shibuya Near Family. Something I like about GTO is how Vice Principal Uchiyamada is frequently the butt of the joke, the subject of Onizuka's accidental torment; and the mangaka goes out of the way to show that he is absolutely a terrible person with very few redeeming features.
Anime
I am almost done with The Twelve Kingdoms, and yet it feels nowhere near done. It's good.
Sailor Moon S is a step forward compared to the previous seasons, and that is largely because of the more eccentric villains. It's good.
Cardcaptor Sakura is a cozy, and so far low stakes show. It is something I did not know I wanted to watch. Very good.
Space Battleship Yamato holds up very well to this day, and the very 70s soundtrack makes it better. It was extremely ambitious back in 1974, and it is significantly grander in scape than like 95% of slop airing these days.
You're Under Arrest is episodic (copaganda) fun with an ensemble cast, and basically a very slightly worse Patlabor with no mecha. The show's biggest strength lie in the world created. The authors are good at not only creating memorable side characters, but also not forgetting about them.
I have started Overman King Gainer today. The OP is iconic from the moment you witness (or hear) it. The show has a good start, but I am waiting for Tomino to explain the setting more.
Live Action
I have started a project of a Martin Scorsese filmography dive. Who's That Knocking at My Door was mid. Boxcar Bertha wasn't that good of a movie, but the topic was unusual (it's an adaptation of a novel by an anarchist, and union struggles in 1930s America are the core of the story). Mean Streets was fun. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore was a major surprise, and an excellent movie with a perhaps somewhat lacking ending. Taxi Driver deserves its reputation. It is a very interesting movie.
TIL!
Me trying to find Japanese videos about speedrunning to practice listening to native Japanese speakers but every time I click on one it's just those got-dang 2hu TTS thingamabobs
(but as you say, I'd totally be the one using the TTS if I were a Japanese person making videos about vidya on NND 15 years ago, so I can't be that mad)
Hear, hear! Even though I'm not a fanime enthusiast in particular, this is absolutely how I feel about art more broadly. I want to see the actual human who made it in the end result!
Adam Neely did a great video on AI generated music recently, and one of the interesting things he teased out is that people who use AI to "compose" don't cite any influences—AI or otherwise. Personally, one of the most gratifying things about music is understanding it on a deeper level—both from analyzing the notes/techniques/textures themselves purely in the context of the song, but also tracing the lineage of musical ideas: "Oh, that kind of chord voicing comes from X composer" or "That lick is definitely a reference to Y's solo" or "That production technique was made popular by Z". This gives the listener an idea of the unique blend of music that shaped the composer's style, and can point to more things to listen to in order to broaden their musical palate and historical perspective.
I'm fairly certain it was just the one song, but if there was another, it can't have been very good if neither of us remember it
Never saw the movie—from what I've heard, it's a recap with a bit of new animation, no?
Genuinely never seen any of this show (see above: no cable)—only know what it looks like from still frames—so I'm curious to know what you mean but I think I prefer to keep it a mystery (at least in terms of direct experience).
I remember enjoying it well enough, but that was a long time ago and I doubt I'd enjoy it as much now, as much as I like H. Jon Benjamin. I watched it with a friend, so like you said, that may have contributed a lot to the enjoyment.
I think I've only seen the transformation sequences and maybe some random scenes which I've forgotten. Doesn't seem like my kind of show, but I've heard that the music (courtesy of prominent Japanese composer/producer TeddyLoid) is pretty great.
Well said. I hadn't thought of it that way before.
Basically. The new animation is pretty much just at the very beginning and end, though, as I understand it, and the ending diverges a bit from the original series.
I guess it's difficult to put it into words, but I want to say that it felt "lazy" to have the dog talk. Which I guess makes sense when they're making an episodic TV cartoon, but like…… if Courage could only communicate through regular dog noises, the way the writing would have to compensate in order to convey Courage's thoughts, feelings, motivations and overall character, that would've been interesting. It would've been like the Tom & Jerry of horror, right? That's something I'd like to see.
♫ Heaven, please sing for me a song of liiiife ♫ has been going through my head regularly since Clara started showing PASWG. It's yet another song in the growing pile I'd like to write new lyrics for and karaoke. PASWG is also often said to be better dubbed than subbed. My first time watching it was basically just me trying to get into something a classmate of mine liked, but it didn't work out.
Another thing that stood out to me about PASWG is how much of Kill La Kill's "DNA" clearly comes from it. I vaguely feel like I've also heard something about how Cutie Honey from the '70s is sort of the progenitor of "magical girls but with sex and/or nudity", but I don't know much of anything about that, so it would be interesting to see if I could recognize some of PASWG's DNA there.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy: