Anime Apolyton - Spring 2008

[Theben]

Is the Battle Angel: Alita anime still based on the manga, or has it taken a different direction?

[Jon Miller]

Just finished Lucky Star, as far as slice-of-life/comedy shows goes it is below Azumanga Daioh, but if you are an anime/manga nerd, probably above Minami-ke and Azumanga Daioh.

There are occasional males in the above shows, I am just surprised at how female dominated the ones I have watched are.

Jon Miller

[DaShi]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk

By a shot in the dark single broadcast that had an infinitesimal shot of actually being seen by Light (either by being broadcast in the wrong city, or by Light being out, or taking a nap, or studying at the library, etc.). Also, if Kira was someone with similar drive but less need for self-aggrandizement, it would never have worked under any circumstance.

He based it on where he believed the first killings occurred. It was Light who fell for it. Had Kira not been there, L would probably rebroadcast somewhere else or countrywide.

Or connections with the media. Or the court system. Or the intelligence services. Or he blackmailed/bribed a cop. Or he hacked the system.

It was clear that Kira had specific knowledge that only the police should have had. How he obtained it was not. However, this only adds to Light being a possible suspect.

Only in a very tenuous fashion. Remember, only Penber's fiance had the smoking gun, and she was killed before she could pass it on (probably the best episode of the series, btw).

True, but Light was one of the people put under later surveilance that were tailed by the FBI. L did this because it was very likely that the FBI agents were closer than Kira wanted. Ironically, had Light left them alone, he would have probably not become a prime suspect.

No, Kira has proven to be very impetuous. Even a stupid Kira who stayed "quiet" (not kill "L" in that broadcast, not kill the FBI agents, etc.) would be an complete enigma.

And intelligent. You can't ignore this fact. L had profiled Kira quite well, which is why he realized that the 2nd Kira was different as was Higuchi.

By L's own words, there were two households that were suspected, and Light never did anything suspicious under the camera surveilance. Why did L continue to concentrate on him? Oh yeah, it was because if Kira was aware of the cameras, he wouldn't do anything suspicious either.

Yes, this didn't absolve Light nor convict him.

Really?

Yes, when you've exhausted all other possibilities the remaining, no matter how improbable, must be true.

Remind me, how was Misa "identified" as the second Kira, again? Oh yeah, by associating with Light.

No, her fingerprints were found on the envelopes. Remember, L had a forensics team investigate the tapes. It was Misa's connection to Light that did Light in.

[Jon Miller]

BTW, I like the a bit kooky humor in every day life sort of thing. Some strange people are good, like in Lucky Star I am
enough of an anime fan that I got it, but that isn't required.

JM

[The Mad Monk]

- It was still a shot in the dark, and L was sure it would work because Kira "is childish and hates to loose". Do you remember why he thought that?

- They stopped releasing information to the public. They could stop the media from reporting, but they could not keep them from finding out. The court system needed the information to function, and I don't see the intelligence services closing their eyes. The last two aren't refuted by your contention. I don't see it adding to Light any more than a baliff or beat cop.

- Yes, but why was he selected for surveilance in the first place?

- I can very well ignore this fact. Attacking "L" in the broadcast, not ignoring the FBI agent, and telling Misa to keep their relationship a secret are all evidence of something I really wouldn't call "intelligence".

- Damn straight, yet L continued on anyway, the same way he continued on anyway when they were locked up, and continued on anyway when they demonstrably had no knowledge of their involvment.

- Fine job quoting Holmes there; of course, he would be the first to note that all other possiblities are nowhere near being exhausted.

He got her fingerprints after she became a suspect, not before.

Again, everything points to him having a foreknowledge of who the bad guy is, and then looking specifically for the evidence that will support it.

[Wraith]

--"Thanks for the heads up on the second 12 Kingdoms novel."

No problem. The more people buy it the more likely it is that the later ones will get translated as well ^_^

--"They managed to translate the comedy well."

It just doesn't work as well in live-action. Japanese live-action seems to either go for the over-the-top scenery chewing like Nodame Cantabile used or the understated subtlety of an Ozu film. I've never really liked the former in live-action.

--"Is the Battle Angel: Alita anime still based on the manga, or has it taken a different direction?"

I don't know about still. They only ever made two episodes of anime for the series, and it's out of print in the US now. It was based on the manga, though.

--"BTW, I like the a bit kooky humor in every day life sort of thing."

You might like Sketchbook ~full color'S~ as well, although that's another female dominated one and isn't licensed yet. Cromartie High School is probably worth a try for you, although the kooky is more than just a bit in that series.

Wraith
"She can play 10/4 time half-heartedly?"
-- Competition judge ("Nodame Cantabile")

[Q Classic]

Haven't heard of Emma, but I'll be looking into it.

As far as Maria-sama ga Miteru. It gets good, but boy, does it start slow... I mean, no, it never exactly picks up a breakneck pace, but it's still well done. Just know what you're getting into.

Lucky Star... I've mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's pretty funny. On the other hand, it's hard not to get a feeling that it was, to an extent, a booster for Haruhism. I don't mind that, because I love the latter show, but... c'mon. A little more subtlety, KyoAni?

Honey and Clover. <3 So much. Live action series and movie? Eh. The movie's worse. But the anime--watch it. It's gorgeously done.

Nodame Cantabile. <3. Not so much as Hachikuro in some aspects, largely the characters (the ones in NC don't feel as fully realized as the HC ones), but more in others (the pairing of the romantic leads is much more comedic, and the music!). The live-action? Surprisingly good. In some ways, I like it more than the anime, though the cartoonish effects they sometimes brought in were... unfortunate.

I've only seen the first few of Minami-ke, but I like what I've seen.

I second on passing on the Nana live-action. The anime adaptation was, quite frankly, amazing. The first movie, while not abysmal, felt more like a recap episode--and one not at all well done. I haven't been able finish the second one yet; it's just... bad.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by The Mad Monk
- It was still a shot in the dark, and L was sure it would work because Kira "is childish and hates to loose". Do you remember why he thought that?

- They stopped releasing information to the public. They could stop the media from reporting, but they could not keep them from finding out. The court system needed the information to function, and I don't see the intelligence services closing their eyes. The last two aren't refuted by your contention. I don't see it adding to Light any more than a baliff or beat cop.

- Yes, but why was he selected for surveilance in the first place?

- I can very well ignore this fact. Attacking "L" in the broadcast, not ignoring the FBI agent, and telling Misa to keep their relationship a secret are all evidence of something I really wouldn't call "intelligence".

- Damn straight, yet L continued on anyway, the same way he continued on anyway when they were locked up, and continued on anyway when they demonstrably had no knowledge of their involvment.

- Fine job quoting Holmes there; of course, he would be the first to note that all other possiblities are nowhere near being exhausted.

He got her fingerprints after she became a suspect, not before.

Again, everything points to him having a foreknowledge of who the bad guy is, and then looking specifically for the evidence that will support it.

-That quote does not show that it was a shot in the dark. It was a statement that ocurred much later where L describes how he feels Kira behaves.

-Don't forget that L also limited his investigation to students. He may have investigated other possible sources of a leak of information and came up empty.

-Actually, he isolated the people for surveilance because of Ray Penber's girlfriend's death. Light was one of those two people. I've said before that that action was the beginning of Light's undoing. Plus, it was fairly obvious from a storyline standpoint. You don't write something like that for it not to have a significant impact.

-That's because your definition of intelligence appears to be very narrow. An intelligent person isn't necessarily perfect nor cool, calm, and collective. See your above quote.

-That's because he had a gut feeling that Light was Kira (this does not mean he has psychic power ). All the evidence he had pointed toward Light, but there was nothing that could definitively prove that Light was Kira. He also continued on after they were held because he knew he had caught the second Kira. Misa all but admitted it.

-Yes, the Light possibility had not been exhausted.

-It's not made clear what all the evidence they got from the envelopes was. L mentions hair and fibers. However, Misa's relation to Light was suspicious. Afterall, she is a celebrity who suddenly becomes interested in a college student. One who is a suspect in the Kira investigation. And the second Kira has shown a strong devotion to Kira. This was something that L didn't ignore.

-That's the one thing you haven't proved. Challenging my points does not make your argument correct. I'd argue that you feel that way because you are myistified by L's deduction. Dr. Watson often felt that Holmes had almost magical powers to deduce a crime. But after Holmes explained how he was just paying attention to details, it all became elementary. L didn't come across the same concrete details that Holmes finds, but he did gather enough to suspect Light. Unless you can point out something truly magical about L to me, I can't believe your theory. Also, if your theory is correct, L should have been able to determine that Higuchi was Kira on his own. Instead Light pointed out the connection to Yotsuba, Matsuda confirmed that Kira was a boardmember, and Misa identified Higuchi as Kira.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
Lucky Star... I've mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it's pretty funny. On the other hand, it's hard not to get a feeling that it was, to an extent, a booster for Haruhism. I don't mind that, because I love the latter show, but... c'mon. A little more subtlety, KyoAni?

Considering I get at maximum 30% of the manga/anime/etc references and probably get the majority of the haruhism ones... I think it isn't overly in that camp.

Having more references for anime/etc by the creators of the Lucky Star anime just makes sense though, so I don't fault them for that.

JM

[The Mad Monk]

DaShi, are you serious, or are you trying to parody every other thread on Poly?

[DaShi]

What? You responded to me and I responded back in a similar manner. To make this claim of me, you'd have to include yourself. This is a sad turn for you. I was just enjoying a discussion of the details of the show, which I think is one of the fun aspects of it: that you can question the events and try to work out how L, Light, and others did what they did. Now you seem to have taken this personally. That's really sad.

I mean, I could have been insulting of your poor use of logic, misuse of facts, and general ignorance of plot and sequence, but I assumed this was all in good fun.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Wraith
Yeah, there was a modified re-release of that one, Lain Illustrations. He's also released a new one in Japan, titled Gaisokyu. It has a mix of art from all the anime projects he's been involved in, as well as CD cover art, novel cover art, doujin art, and some other stuff he's worked on. Very nice book. I managed to get a signed copy when he was at AnimeFest last year. It doesn't have much text, so he thought it'd be out in the US pretty soon, but I haven't heard anything about a license for it yet.

Sadly, it's out of my price range atm. I'll see what I can do, if it get released in the States. I really enjoy his drawing style. I did pick up the Haibane Renmei book as well. It's nice, though I have most of the drawings from the DVDs prints. The Lain book is far better.

[The Mad Monk]

That's really sad.

Yes, it is.

[DaShi]

Exactly, you wanted to play and when you lost, you threw up the board crying "This is stupid" like a child. I expected more of you.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

So, when is DeathNote actually on? My DVR seems convinced it's 12:30AM Sunday, but I keep getting Bleach episodes...

(FWIW, I agree with MadMonk on this one, but my fiancee still likes it.)