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Orius

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Orius last won the day on June 21 2017

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    Madoka Magica, Gintama, Shiki, Nichijou, Watamote

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  1. That's the US. I don't know how it works over there, but to be fair, in Singapore, we don't say those common courtesies to each other as often. As a matter of fact, we can sometimes be very rude to strangers. So when it comes to workers in general, I have a general expectation to be treated with the respect and courtesy I deserve because I get enough of indifference and rudeness outside of that restaurant. Singapore doesn't have a tips system, so yes, you do get paid for what you work. So yes, I don't expect you to be treated better just because of tips or the lack thereof. There's no such thing as tips in Singapore because you are already earning the same average wage as everyone else, $8/hour. And c'mon, treating them like a dog... that's exaggerating. Again, I don't know how it works for you over there, but here, we understand the value of hard work and professionalism - or at least, I understand it. You are a worker for crying out loud. We are expected to treat customers with respect. That's a policy in almost EVERY single job you'll find out here, even part-time job. The job description for almost every job you find here is to "have a positive attitude and to SMILE at your freaking customer" for god's sake. They paid money for you, so is it so god**** difficult to make them feel a little better when they walk into the restaurant?! It's why I find the whole idea of treating workers with special respect ridiculous. We ALL get treated like s*** in the service industry. What makes you so special? You want to talk about equality, but then you expect some people to be treated better than others just because of their circumstances. That's hypocritical. I'll quote what Kohloo said to me back then - "self-entitled brat", she called me. The truth of the matter is, I think those workers who complain are the real self-entitled brats because of how we are paid in Singapore. Kohloo would've gotten in backwards if she's a Singaporean citizen. Self-entitled is right. If you don't like your job, find another one and quit whining. There's always another person more willing, diligent, and hardworking to earn those accumulated eight bucks (which could very well go up to hundred bucks or more in less than a week). We Singaporeans, believe it or not, value hard work a lot. I'm not the best example because I'm not a very good Singaporean, but most Singaporeans value the humility of hard work, even in the service industry when things get tough.
  2. Yeah, I know, but whether you intended to or not, what it would have eventually turned out to be would be an argument of conflicting opinions. Yes, it would be a "peaceful argument" where we share our different views civilly, but an argument nonetheless where I have to put in so much effort into defending my point of view, and that's just something I'm really not in the mood for right now (That huge chunk of text I wrote above? Didn't put any effort into it; just came off the top of my head). To sum up how I feel on this matter... let's see, a light-hearted video clip:
  3. Too lazy, don't care to argue about an anime I didn't even put in top favorites in the first place. I'll let you "win" this one if that's what you want. I really don't have any stakes in this. lol And to be honest, I haven't seen After Story for too long to remember the details anyway. What I said above (especially the part where I THINK there are anime that did the same thing as After Story) was really just a passing remark, not some serious declaration of fact, so don't need to take it so seriously. So let's just agree to disagree that we don't treat Clannad with the same level of respect that I would put it on some sacred pedestal. I still don't think it's timeless (and I do think it's overrated) because you have to work through the filler-Clannad season one to get to After Story. That's very similar to what Muv-Luv did, make you work through a peaceful romance setting before taking it away by and replacing it with harsh reality, and I'm not even sure if Muv-Luv Alternative is worth that effort despite its reputation. So not only isn't Clannad original, for all I know, both Muv-Luv and Clannad have an equally unnecessary beginning. There are stories about families that don't have to sell moe fanservice on television to tell you about those important family themes in the first place. Also, that Deus ex Machina IS a big factor in deciding whether it's timeless or not. It's not a complete story if you just ignore the poorly-executed ending. I hate Deus ex Machina; it's contrived and takes away from the realism that it tried so hard to build up on throughout the entire second season. We can't solve family issues with magical orbs and time-travel! Hello! If I just need one reason why it isn't timeless, it's because of that terrible a**-pull at the end. A bad beginning and an even worse ending with an acceptable middle don't make a good story, let alone timeless. I would even admit that the Toy Story trilogy isn't timeless for the same reason - an "okay" beginning that didn't go anywhere, the first Toy Story movie that's a glorified buddy-cop comedy (usually consisting of two guys that don't get along with each other before doing so at the end). Finally, I said Clannad was a harem because Clannad the source material was a harem. It's a harem in its roots. Yes, it's a much better adapted harem, but that doesn't change the fact that spiritually, Clannad was meant to be a harem, thus I said "glorified" harem. It might have subverted harem tropes in its adaptation, but that doesn't change what it was created for in the first place, and what Key's visual novels are known for (creating harems). In fact, Key used to create h-games before they went onto create nakige (VNs that make you cry). But at the end of the day, this is really treading the semantics territory, and unlike you, I really don't like to argue about this kind of thing. It's a waste of time, and we'll never get anywhere. And this is the part where you'll probably come up with a lengthy response that I'll have to rebuke somehow to prove that I'm right. This is what I've been trying to avoid being dragged into (and failed), but whatever. Feel free to respond, but I can't promise I'll do the same. I don't want to talk about Clannad. I hate talking about shows that I don't really love. It's a pain in the butt (I said I liked Clannad, not love it; and I really should've used a past tense just now when I said that since I don't really like it that much anymore). So if you want to keep talking about it... be my guest.
  4. Just a friendly reminder to those who have yet to vote: @Sekkarou @zin @zoop Just two and a half days (give or take) till the deadline. Hopefully, we could move the game along by this time.
  5. Kagura is my favorite. Aside from being the sporty tomboy of the group (my favorite kind of girl), she's just so energetic and lively. I also like that despite her rough and "shouty" exterior, she has a soft and cute inner-side. I remember when she thought she had hurt one of the other girls' feelings and she started sobbing in the corner. So cute. Actually, that sums up why I like tomboys in general... energetic exterior, soft inside. I also feel like Kagura doesn't get enough love. Most of the other girls get all the attention... <_< My other favorite is Minamo. There's something about her being the "straight man" of this comedy group that made me love her a lot. Also, her cute sideburns. Also, she acts like one of those tough and cool-headed teachers who would do anything to protect her students. If this was Corpse Party or a horror anime, she would be a badass.
  6. Orius

    Anime Moment

    Okay, now that you mention it, I remember a few times when my classmates were making complete goofballs of themselves, and I would have one of those "straight man" moments in anime where I would act annoyed (for comedic effect though; I wasn't actually annoyed).
  7. Are you an alien, @Cy~? Sorry, but your fascination with them discovering anime just leads to... questions. I don't think Clannad ~After Story~ is timeless by the way, even though I like it a lot. I think there are many slice-of-life anime that came later and did better what Clannad did. "Overuse of tropes" is what the first season of Clannad was known for, after all, and After Story is hardly an anime that rise above that. If we are going to talk about anime teaching important life lessons that will never age, I'd say Mushishi and Kino's Journey would be far better (and criminally underrated) examples. I've already talked at length about them in the "Limitations of Anime" thread, but they are just so unique and unlike other anime that they will stand the test of time while others fade into "just another anime with moe and cute girls". Let's face it - Clannad is a glorified harem anime with a better "true end" than others.
  8. This goes back to the whole discussion of whether if anime has a distinct style you need to understand. But I think the two of you have covered most of the suitable anime for beginners. And I say beginners, because if you really want to get into what makes anime "anime", there can be so many other types that aren't the mainstream variety. Let me show you what I mean by listing a few of my recommendations for "must-watch" anime: - Serial Experiments Lain - Neon Genesis Evangelion - Ghost in the Shell (1995 movie) - Paprika - Akira All of those anime contain complex themes that are difficult to comprehend and even harder to swallow for those who don't watch this type of thought-provoking shows. And yet, they make up the core foundation of anime, especially Ghost in the Shell which further revolutionized not just anime, but the cyberpunk genre as a whole (I said "further" because Blade Runner is the true godfather of cyberpunk). Akira is another important anime that set the trend for many sci-fi anime in the future. So you have to think about what is considered "required" and "essential"? Do you mean to understand how anime started? Well, then, I suggest you go watch the first anime ever created, Astro Boy. That's the godfather of all anime you see today. Do you mean to find the most popular anime people are watching? Then simply just refer to MyAnimeList or kitsu's "Top Anime List" and you'll find stuff like the Monogatari series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Lucky Star, Kara no Kyōkai, Fate/Stay Night, One Punch Man, Attack on Titan, etc. And let's not assume that all Ghibli movies are required anime. Personally, I found their environmentalist views too one-sided to be considered a definitive view of what anime represents. Like Imogen said, there are so many types of anime that everyone would find a different kind of story waiting for them. I think this topic really comes down to what are the "best" anime rather than what are the "required" anime like it's some history textbook.
  9. I have a few disagreements about that entitlement for workers (who are being paid to serve), but I don't want to argue. I'll say this much though: as a fellow human being who had to work my butt off to serve others, I don't think I should be given any special privileges just because I'm a human. I'm being paid for my work, and I'm not any more special a snowflake than the customer, who's forking out his money (and if you're in my position, you'll know the importance and value of money) to have a good meal. I have respect for people who are blunt. I may not really like them - hell, I would possibly hate them - but given the right circumstances and ample time to cool off, I think I might just respect them for standing up for what they believe in. I'll probably never get along with them, but respect is probably a better compliment than being liked. It's a strange sentiment, hating someone yet respecting him, but there it is. I guess it's because it reflects my own stubbornness and my firm support of individualism. I also respect people honest with their flaws, even if you get on my bad side. This is an extension of the above "standing for what you believe in" trait, whereas in this case, the person knows what they are weak at, and what negative traits they have, and recognize that those flaws are part of their character. On the side of people I like, I also respect people who speak with eloquence. This includes people who write with eloquence like Cy~, but her head's big enough already. There's just something really impressive with being able to sway people with mere words. Sometimes though, this would also fall into people I dislike because they can be incredibly arrogant. I could respect you for standing your ground, but could you please not wave your ego around as if you're compensating for something? (Honestly though, I'm not one to talk as I can be really egoistical too)
  10. Seeing that most of my favorite anime make heavy use of mainstream tropes, I don't think I've really seen that many anime that are one of its kind and truly unique. And for those that are unique, they would often delve into mind-trip territory, making it way too frustrating to understand the story in the first place. It seems to be difficult for the anime industry to break away from the industry's machinations, largely because of the cultural influence this "moe" has. Then again, I could say pretty much the same thing about American cartoons and American superhero movies. It's culture, not medium, that's the limiting factor here. Gintama is a slapstick comedy because Japanese people love manzai, which the comedic style of Gintama was arguably based on. Shounen anime is abundant because lots of Japanese kids dig that kind of stuff, leading to more production of that stuff. You get the point. Supply and demand. In fact, fanservice only exists because Japanese people love it, thus leading to the "servicing" of the term. As for an anime that's the only one of its kind (that's not a mind-trip), off the top of my head, I could only come up with Hourou Musuko. You can hardly find an anime that deals with such issues out there. It's surprising, considering that Japanese people don't seem to have as much discrimination against gay rights than, well, westerners in general. Even Singaporeans of Asian races (and possibly China citizens) have bias and stigma against homosexuals, making Japanese quite unique in its fairness among Asians (known for their traditionalist values). But most of the homosexuality you see in Japanese media are in forms of comedies, parodies, or famous celebrities. I don't really know any serious drama with homosexuality as its central focus, aside from the aforementioned Hourou Musuko (which, again, is about cross-dressing, not homosexuality). There's also Mushishi, a slice-of-life sort of anime about a man with powers to detect these spirit-like creatures called "mushi". The story revolves around the benefits and consequences these mushi brought to the lives of ordinary citizens. It's a very thought-provoking show, its central theme being the neutrality of life, how one life ends and another would begin. The only other anime that I know that ponders upon such meanings of life is Kino's Journey, another fantastic anime that deals with the happiness and sadness of life, among other important life lessons. I know there are actually a lot of these undiscovered gems out there that try to teach their audience about something other than how to dress girls up in skimpy battle-costumes (looking at you, Kill la Kill), but it's kinda hard to find them. Horror is truly not well-represented in anime. THERE WE GO, something real to talk about in this topic. Horror anime always suck. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you know that good horror anime is incredibly difficult to find. There's just some unknown reason that animators find horror difficult to portray, maybe because of the association of anime with kid-friendly. I don't know. The best they could do is disturb you with frightening subjects adults would fear, or creep you out with an atmospheric build-up like Ghost Hound (which I dropped due to being bored). I can't remember the last time someone told me, "Man, that anime was scary." No, jump-scares don't count.
  11. Orius

    Visual Novel Talk

    Actually, there is one visual novel that was fully voiced and animated - School Days. Unfortunately, its story and setting might not be for everyone, since it's a harem romance with some really disturbing (and gory) bad ends. I love its game design though. It has massive story branches with over 20 endings, so the dialogue choices you make can lead to so many possibilities. Unfortunately, this kind of visual novel is incredibly difficult to make, so School Days is the only one of its kind - fully voice and animated while having such nonlinearity. And not to badmouth Telltale or anything - okay, I'm totally badmouthing Telltale, but whatever. I think they're overrated. Their games can hardly be called CYOAs since their choices are meaningless and lead to very few or subtle differences. Most of their story branches combine together into a single ending at the end anyway (like the first Walking Dead). A real CYOA would have multiple endings because your choices matter, leading you to exciting possibilities where anything could happen depending on what you choose. THAT is the true customized experience, not whatever Telltale is doing. Telltale gives CYOA a bad name.
  12. Orius

    Share Your Photos!

    Can't really say I'm the photographer type. lol If anything, I'm interesting in filming than photography, even if they do require similar techniques and skills (like the framing you mentioned). And to tell you the truth, I think I took those photos with a cheap camera phone... Can't really remember, but I hardly think that I had taken them on a DSLR, if you know what I mean.
  13. Omnipotence, or the power to shape reality as I see fit. Easiest superpower since it covers everything other superpowers can do. Raise the dead? Make humans immortal to begin with. Change the past? Alter the reality of the past. Run at the speed of life? Make myself fast as lightning or everyone else slow as a snail. Life's a breeze with omnipotence. If you find yourself about to tell a bad joke, would you go through with it and tell it anyway or refrain from embarrassing yourself?
  14. Toy Story 3 Directed by Lee Unkrich Released on June 12, 2010 Starring Tom Hanks as "Sheriff Woody", Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, and Ned Beatty as "Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear" Music by Randy Newman Why I Love It: It did the impossible: be an amazing triquel. "And as the years go by, our friendship will never die..." - Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend In Me" ominously fading away into the background. At the start of the movie, the Toy Story theme song, "You've Got A Friend In Me" takes on a very different context. What was once a cheerful song about friendship lasting forever suddenly gets a reality check. Childhood is fragile and short-lived. Through the passage of time, we all grow up and move on. It was an inevitable reality the toys had known for a long time, but with the first two movies having such an optimistic outlook on the future, this grim fact had seemed surreal back then, like a cynical theory that wouldn't happen for many long years. Released 10 and a half years after the last film, Toy Story 3 had a troubled production due to Disney forcing Pixar to make another sequel despite the latter's stern principle on sequels. Pixar would eventually give in, not just for Toy Story 3, but for many other sequels and prequels to come. Understandably, I had mixed expectations when I first watched this, worrying that it might be a bad sequel after the bar Toy Story 2 had set. But not only did the movie get a very satisfied seal of approval from me, I don't think I can talk about Toy Story 3 alone without examining the entire franchise. In fact, there's a lot I want to talk about in the Toy Story franchise that I couldn't cover in my last analysis, including the comedy, the homages to other movies, the witty and tongue-in-cheek self-aware dialogue. Heck, I could talk about Pixar movies all day long. As a matter of fact, I hope to cover on other Pixar movies in the future, including The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Up. But for now, let's stay on topic. The Three Act Structure - A Bittersweet Story About Growing Up Toy Story 3 marks the end of an organic (and yet unplanned) trilogy with a proper beginning, a middle, and an end. It isn't just a standalone movie, and the geniuses at Pixar skillfully utilized the "three act structure" to make this sequel an important conclusion and gave us the proper closure we needed. Appropriately, our childhood can also be split into three acts, and the Toy Story trilogy is essentially about growing up through those phases. Toy Story 1 was the adolescence years that introduced Andy playing with his toys, when things were still light-hearted, filled with adventures and excitement, when we were introduced to the world. Toy Story 2 is what I would like to call, figuratively speaking, "the teenage years". It marks a time when we were old enough to start having doubts about our life, to ponder heavier topics about our future and having angst about our past. It's arguably the most engaging part of any movie franchise because this second part is often where the characters' ideals could be challenged, and where deeper themes could be explored (Terminator 2, Aliens, The Godfather Part II, etc.). But then comes the final movie, Toy Story 3, our adult years. We finally say goodbye to those beloved characters that we love as we reminiscence on our fond memories with them. (On a sidenote, I'm not saying all trilogies follow this structure, obviously. I'm just setting a makeshift analogy for you so that you could easier understand the Toy Story trilogy and what it represents: growing up.) When I looked back at Toy Story 3, I'm reminded of a more guileless time. It has been said by Pixar themselves that Andy is a peculiar kid. Normal kids don't really play with toys the way he did. They would act more like Sid Phillips, taking toys apart and experimenting with them. Nevertheless, it's not hard to put ourselves in Andy's shoes. Despite my previous statement, I'm sure there are many kids out there with as active an imagination as Andy, making believe ridiculous scenarios with these inanimate objects the way only a kid could. And after Andy grew up, Bonnie takes his place as a reminder of that simpler time. The older audiences would then look upon her (as Andy did) with nostalgia, reminded of what it's like to be a kid again. It's a heartwarming sight to behold. And because the movie was released at a time when those who've seen the first two films would be adults, we could connect with both Andy and Bonnie easily as they reflected our inner child. There's a scene near the end of the movie that struck a surprising chord with me. It's when Andy's mom looked into his bedroom and started tearing up about her son leaving her for college. Remember when I talked about the message of Toy Story 2? How our children will leave us someday? Now that message has come full circle, the reality realized. The audiences are now Andy, now grown up and having to move on with their lives from their beloved parents. Having rewatched this movie for the third (or possibly fourth) time, I'm surprised that I'm offered a different perspective, now that I'm a full-grown adult. I think that the older you get, the more certain scenes in Toy Story 3 would mean to you because you would hold dear those fond memories of childhood even more with every passing year that you grow older. If Toy Story 2 was about spending time with your loved ones while it lasted, then Toy Story 3 is about finally saying goodbye to those loved ones. The Life Of A Toy There's a really interesting analysis on Toy Story 3's structure on TVTropes that's related to what I was trying to say in the above "three act structure" analysis. It talks about how Toy Story 3 is about the toys facing an afterlife. The only way a toy could die in the universe is by being broken, or figuratively, they would "die" by being abandoned. The daycare is like a combination of heaven and hell, with the comfortable Butterfly Room being the former and the Caterpillar Room the latter. And as for the terrifying landfill that the prospector so wisely predicted in Toy Story 2? It's the void, an empty darkness without heaven or hell (kinda like the "nothing" that Ryuk described in Death Note). Toy Story 3 is essentially the toys' journey towards afterlife, and their eventual arrival at reincarnation - Bonnie, the fate of being given new life in another child's possession. And it's fitting that Sunnyside Daycare would be compared to Hell, for there truly is a monster living here. The Anti-Woody With the appearance of a cuddly bear and the smell of sweet strawberries, Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear is the villain I've been waiting for. A truly terrifying presence, Lotso makes Stinky Pete pale in comparison. He's the version of Woody, a cynical take on "What if Woody had held onto hatred and bitterness?", the dark side to Woody's light. You get the idea. It's the ideal template for a villain to act as a foil. To me, Lotso isn't scary because of his tyranny, abuse, and brainwashing; he's scary because he was twisted by something as innocent as the love of a child, or rather, the loss of it. Remember the theme that's repetitively examined in the first two films: our loved ones leaving us. This time, a new and far more cruel layer is added to that idea: our loved ones replacing us. It's a heartbreaking and frightening notion to consider. It tore Lotso apart and sent him down the deep end. He was so convinced that the world is cruel that he became hell bent on creating an entire prison out of what should've been a happy and innocent heaven. All these caused by a kid who didn't know better. "We're all just trash, waiting to be THROWN AWAY!! That's all a toy is!!" A Malleable Universe Once again utilizing storytelling parallels effectively, the beginning of Toy Story 3 mirrors the beginning of Toy Story 2. In the second movie, we see Buzz Lightyear's universe coming alive with Buzz infiltrating Zurg's fortress. In the third one, it's Woody's turn as we're treated to a western adventure that's a throwback to the beginning of Toy Story 1. This opening was beautifully animated. It's also lots of fun because it turns Andy's colorful imagination into reality. We finally get to see the Evil Dr. Porkchop, Mr. Potato Head's attack dog with its built-in force field, and let's not forget, the dinosaur that eats force-field dogs! More importantly, this scene shows that the Toy Story franchise can take on multiple genres and settings. Of course, this is further shown by the prison break later on, when the movie turns into a frightening thriller that's the stuff of nightmare. Toys in a prison break movie. What else could they think of next? The franchise has limitless potential as we could think of so many settings and scenarios we could put the toys in. This is further exemplified by The Lego Movie franchise, now heading towards a kung-fu movie genre of all things! Now that Toy Story 4 is announced as a love story involving Bo Peep, I must say I'm intrigued by what other surprises the toy box has to hold. We could tell so many interesting stories about the other toys as well! What about a marital drama between Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head? Or what about Hamm? He's a piggy bank. What if someone decides to smash him? Or maybe he's plastic, and someone steals his pennies, turning it into a heist movie? What about Rex? Maybe he gets a "Cowardly Lion" treatment and goes on a coming of age journey to discover himself. There are so many possibilities! Final Word When all is said and done, the one thing that makes Toy Story 3 such a perfect ending to the trilogy is, appropriately enough, the final scene. After Andy gives away his toys to a kid of a brand new generation, he leaves with these parting words, "Thanks, guys." Woody returns the farewell, "So long, partner." I remember tearing up back then because I realized that I too was saying goodbye to these very real and relatable characters that I've been with since I was a mere child. I think in some way, Pixar wanted to reflect this sentiment we feel in Toy Story 3, to show their own feelings of spending 14 years with their audience since the first Toy Story, of growing up together with us. The final shot you see in the movie serves as the perfect bookend: a sky full of identical clouds, just like the wallpaper in Andy's bedroom you would see in the very first shot of the first Toy Story. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My next analysis will be postponed to a much later time, as I feel that I need some space in between each analysis or I would get burned out easily. That said, the next movie we'll be looking at is yet another exciting one. It's a film that changed the face of an entire franchise lasting 40 years. By the way, I've added a "Why I Love It" one-liner description for both of the above movies (you can find it near the top of the analysis). I created this thread because I wanted to explain why I love these movies, and I feel like these analysis can sometimes miss that point, so to simplify it, I left that description there for your convenience and to remain objective with my intended goal.
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