Psych Posted August 14, 2009 So the people here do read comics. I was wondering when I got on this forum and didn't find a comics thread. syntheticgerbil, if you're looking for something good and foreign please allow me to recommend the Dungeon series by French comics superstars Lewis Trondheim and Joann Sfar*. It's a sword and sorcery parody about a duck and a dragon that work for a dungeon that makes money by attracting heroes with the promise of treasure only to slaughter them and take their loot. *Most of Trondheim and Sfar's work is on solo projects, those that I have read I have found to be excellent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
syntheticgerbil Posted August 14, 2009 Looking through google on some of the artists and comics you guys suggest, they all look great! Thanks guys, I'm going to make a list! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted August 14, 2009 I disagree with Chris.™ While it's true that 90% of anime is crap and derivative and that the art is design is somewhat pretty uniform, anime still cover a wide range of genres and tones - the same as western animation, weirdly enough. In the few years of the 21th century I dug into the media, I still found jewels that made me think anime was a unique form of expression; here's a few you should be able to watch pretty quickly (most of them are 6, 13 sometimes 21 episodes): Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō FLCL Paranoia Agent Mushi-shi Here & There - Now and Then (suffer through the 1st ep) Kino's Journey Planet-es Monster(70 episode and apparently not so good to watch straight though)Dennou Coil Ghost in the Shell - Stand Alone Complex the original Gunslinger Girls After those, you'll have the right weapons to pass a definitive judgment. ... then there are the omnibus I was talking about a few weeks ago and an insane among of shorts and feature films where the innovative stuff usually lies. It's true that Ghibli is a pretty peculiar voice in the anime 'industry' and I should strongly recommand all of the people scrolling over this bit to watch the Takahata movies - first and foremost Omohide Poroporo - because they are just perfect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackboxme Posted August 14, 2009 I need to check out Paranoia Agent, is it pretty similar in tone to Kon's films? I love that guy. I just listened to the The Sound Of Young America podcast with Scott McCloud, and he seemed crazy smart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted August 14, 2009 (edited) I need to check out Paranoia Agent, is it pretty similar in tone to Kon's films? I love that guy. It will creep you out like Perfect Blue did but it also has some room for a light humor like in some places of Millenium Actress. Edited August 14, 2009 by vimes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackboxme Posted August 14, 2009 It will give you the creep out like Perfect Blue did but it also has some room for a light humor like in some places of Millenium Actress. Cool, it's now the next thing in my netflix queue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psych Posted August 15, 2009 Here & There - Now and Then (suffer through the 1st ep) I've suffered through about four episodes of that, and it never seemed to elevate itself beyond interminable stretches of boredom punctuated by brief moments of horrific sexual violence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted August 15, 2009 I've suffered through about four episodes of that, and it never seemed to elevate itself beyond interminable stretches of boredom punctuated by brief moments of horrific sexual violence. I wasn't bored by it and I don't know where you saw these 'horrific sexual violence', since the rapes are strongly hinted at but never shown . It's true that it is a pretty disturbing and horrific take on war; even more so shocking that the art design is kind of naive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted August 15, 2009 Don't really know what to add to this. There's definitely a lot of crap in anime, but also really good stuff. That's... well, kind of the situation everywhere, in any entertainment industry. And also, sure, you can dislike a certain basic stylistic device or trope, without having to condemn an entire genre or industry. I generally think punk music is pretty unharmonious crap with lots of shouting, and every song seems more generic and samey than the last. But there's examples that I like. So. I guess I agree with everyone. Also, there have been some amazing anime movies in the last couple of years. You've got Paprika, Tekkon Kinkreet, Millennium Actress and of course the Ghibli's. Did anyone see Ponyo yet? It's great, funny, light-hearted excellence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevsky Posted August 15, 2009 Did anyone see Ponyo yet? It's great, funny, light-hearted excellence. This was initially announced as coming out in April in the UK. Now it has been delayed to February 2010, seemingly. What a stupidly long time to wait. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted August 15, 2009 I didn't see an official release either: I saw the Japanese version which a theatre in Arnhem screened as part of an anime night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevsky Posted August 15, 2009 I didn't see an official release either: I saw the Japanese version which a theatre in Arnhem screened as part of an anime night. Oh, that's cool. Hopefully, something like that wil happen over here. Although, scanning the IMDB release dates list, was it not screened in the Netherlands back in July? Of course, that could have been a limited run. It's quite absurd checking that release info, with the huge block of slightly staggered Euro-countries (and one or two others), then a 4 month gap for the UK. Tsk. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted August 15, 2009 That'll teach you for not taking the Euro!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted August 16, 2009 I just watched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and despite being a weird movie made by Wes Anderson - king of awkwardness - I liked it. I guess I enjoyed it because it has very little of the relationship awkwardness that made The Tenenbaum an 'Errrr, okaaaaayyy:shifty:" experience for me. Also, the 60's aesthetic was played down a bit, which made for a more believable movie. What really sold me was the actor's performance, which are the best I've witness in a long while : not only Murray, and Huston are good but - and god, I never thought I'll say that of a post 1995 movie - Goldblum and Dafoe are completely hidden behind their character. The end is bit of a wet *ahah* fart, but the movie is a very peculiar piece of characters depiction (I kept being surprised by the character changes and in a good way) so I'm willing to forget the last 5 minutes. I wish there were a bit more of the stop motion sequences and that they'd be a tad more crazy, but I loved the side set of the boat. Plus Seu Jorge singing Rock'n Roll Suicide! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 16, 2009 I loved that movie... (I'm a bit of a Wes Ansderson fan ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
brkl Posted August 16, 2009 That's one of my favourites. I've seen some other movies by Wes Anderson, and while I like them, they don't seem to have quite the same charm as that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmuerte Posted August 16, 2009 I'm not really a Wes Anderson fan. But Life Aquatic is awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 16, 2009 Favourite Anderson movie for me is Rushmore... I think it's the most well-rounded, but I love all his films (although Bottle Rocket the least ). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roderick Posted August 16, 2009 Oh man, I'm totally looking forward to The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Andersen's newest pic. It shows everything that I love about him so far, that incredible sense of character depiction, the original camera angles, and this thing is stop-motion animation? Holy shit! /does the Mr. Fox whistle-click-click The Life Aquatic is great though. It's long, but very charming. Murray is excellent. And what's wrong with the ending? Man, I tear up every time I see that last submarine scene. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vimes Posted August 16, 2009 And what's wrong with the ending? It felt simplistic, contrary to the rest of the character development. What I liked about the film is that it never pretends to be a coming of age movie, where the cast is enriched by what they went through. So, from the point Ned took that helicopter till the beginning of the end credit, it's like Anderson suddenly felt that he had to come up with some sort of morale/conclusion, or some sort of insight, and frankly Ned dying is such a cheap shot that it looked like they didn't know what to make of the character and decided to simply get rid of him to provide the others some sort of reason to put their shit together and sort out their lives. And the final Shark scene was completely cheesy - at least from the moment they reach the ocean floor, before, it's quite ncie - what with the painfully woven metaphor and all. The only bit I like is Gambon's failed attempt at philosophy, which, without modifying the ending content, really should have been the movie conclusion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garple Posted August 17, 2009 Also, the 60's aesthetic was played down a bit, which made for a more believable movie. I think their unbelievable nature is one of my favorite things about Wes Anderson movies. Each one is like a vacuum-sealed universe unto itself, which for some reason fascinates me, I guess because it's a unique form of fantasy (if you will) which I've never seen done anywhere else. Plus, I just really like whimsy. I do certainly understand, though, why that's not everyone's cup of tea. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DanJW Posted August 17, 2009 To be pedantic, most of Wes Anderson's films are intended to be "timeless"; that is they combine styles and details from lots of different decades from the latter 20th century, but the exact date is usually left unspecified. Yes I'm a fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ThunderPeel2001 Posted August 17, 2009 I love how they are essentially very realistic (people are just people), but they exist in a slightly skewed world... which is kind of like being able to look at the world through someone else's eyes. It's a world I wouldn't mind inhabiting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MrHoatzin Posted August 17, 2009 It took me a while to get used to how low-key Wes Anderson's crap is. I used to think it was just subtle, but upon multiple watching I came to realize that it is very much not subtly, it just is not delivered screaming. I do hate all the quirky movies that try to channel Wes Anderson's style and fail miserably. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Garple Posted August 17, 2009 To be pedantic, most of Wes Anderson's films are intended to be "timeless"; that is they combine styles and details from lots of different decades from the latter 20th century, but the exact date is usually left unspecified. True, there's a lot of pastiche going on, but to me, instead of just timelessness, I get an alternate universe feeling out of the whole thing. Like: "what if the things that developed in the world had come about in this way and in this chronological order" etc...I don't mean to make it sound like sci-fi or anything, but to me it does feel very fantastical. That may or may not be the intended effect (and frankly that's not for anyone but Wes to say, if he so chooses) but I think his movies have the potential to affect viewers in a broad range of ways and that's one of their greatest strengths. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites