flemmings | (no subject)

Since I'm mostly indoors this weekend thanks partly to the scattered thundershowers and partly to the temporary Where-is-here? (please don't piss on my sofa) Cat, I got vol 2 of Samurai Champloo to watch with Cat while sitting on the sofa I hope he doesn't piss on. SC has style in spades, I grant you that, but doesn't press any other of my buttons so far. However, episode 6 is the kind of thing that just warms the cockles of my allusive soul. I leave the meta of the thing to those who like doing it; I'll merely say I've never seen a Mito Komon reference worked in so beautifully or with such panache. And the Dutch speakers were speaking Dutch, except the accented-Japanese Isaac who seems to have been done by a Japanese.

DVDs have indeed gotten western companies out of the sub-or-dub dilemma, so I suppose I'm grateful, though it means going through the setup menues every time to get to the Japanese version. I'm fast developing a phobia about setup menues. They're usually 'cute,' tricksy and non-intutive, hard to read and frustrating to use, and strongly suggestive that the west is still in a Dub-of-course mentality. Why else make the default 'English language subtitles off'? Helsing's were the worst to date, but SC isn't far behind. If the little red mark is next to play you're actually going to set-up; the play location is an inch to the left of the word play.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Again, if they annoy, do not use menus. Simply smack Play, then toggle the Audio button on your player's remote. Works same way as SubT/Sub/whatever it's labeled for subtitles.

If I may blah-blah for a moment... (<- notice I ask for permission, and then smoothly move ahead as if it was granted. ^^)

I think I'm a minority when it comes to SC. I know a lot of people who love it. I realy was excited for it, but I think I got up to 9, and I just fell out of it. To me, it was very "Seinfeld Samurai" with lots of jokes and intertwined storylines, and not a whole lot of "deeper meaning", which is fine. (Not like there's anything wrong with that. ^^) But to me, it was super cool and stylish, like Cowboy Bebop, but it didn't have the heart or longing that CB had. I think later in the series, it might enter in, but I wasn't really interested in waiting for it.

SC is super stylish and funny, but I think the development in CB (and even in Wolf's Rain) is better.

Ep. 6 though was very good. ^_^ The Dutch guy's quest for some good brotherly loving was very funny.

I suppose I was thinking it a bit early in the day for deeper meaning to show up, though I'm not terribly surprised that it doesn't. The thing obviously runs on style alone, and usually I'm fine with that. But I've been dealing with the super-sunaoness of the Kenshin series, which resonates even when you can see all the gears and wheels moving and ticking, and SC seems a little... lacking in comparison.

Have you checked out the episode (http://www.spookhouse.net/angelynx/comics/champloo-episode-guide.html) and anachronism guides (http://www.spookhouse.net/angelynx/comics/anachronisms.html)? I got a lot more out of the show after reading the guides and then marathoning the show. There was just so much I missed the first time around since I don't have the cultural iq of the Japanese audience. And the marathoning helped with the pacing problems - that long break after 17 when the show first aired really killed the momentum for me, just like those 4 episodes of filler did with WR.

For me, the finale of the show wasn't its strong point. SC was all about the journey, and eps. 21-22 sort of distilled all the good things about the story into two episodes. (Some of the best animation I've ever seen, too. ^_^)

And the marathoning helped with the pacing problems - that long break after 17 when the show first aired really killed the momentum for me, just like those 4 episodes of filler did with WR.

By which argument one should marathon Saiyuuki Reload, preferably drunk and with friends. Filler is a killer, yes.

Alcohol and friends will make even the worst show into The Best Series Ever. :) Even if it's just the best series to make fun of.

Sadly, making fun of series is sometimes the only fun one can have with them.

Ah, thanks for the links, Lux, as always. :) It was interesting to check out.

I just, kinda lost interest in the series. It was cool and funny and bad ass, but I didn't find it as satisfying as I thought I would. I could go back and watch more or skip ahead, but there's just other stuff I'd rather check out more. Some things I just don't follow very well. Everyone liked Meine Liebe too, but I never could get into it. (I think part of my issue with SC was that I was somewhat disappointed.)

WR's was an interesting and creative show, but I agree it had major pacing problems. There was the four straight recaps, and then the pause between the end of the series and the later last episodes that came out as OAV later. (I still need to watch that...I think 26 and 27 are on my HD...) It really affected keeping interest in the show, although I thought it was pretty well developed.

Marathoning is best though. I normally always finish shows when I marathon through them then when I try to watch it one at a time. One bad filler (or three) can throw you out of the continuity and make you question why you're spending your time on it.