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Author Topic: Alternative World Alternatives  (Read 11071 times)
MrWhat
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« Reply #30 on: January 30, 2004, 09:47:18 pm »

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care to explain your reasoning?

What, you actually expect me to defend an unpopular and controversial opinion?

Okay.  Here's what I liked about In Tokyo, off the top of my head:

Tenchi hisself.  I like him better here than anywhere else I've seen him (OVAs, Universe, movies).  He almost has an actual personality.  His two sidekicks are a lot of fun too.

Ryoko.  She's my girl, and she does it all here-- wacky harem girl, vicious space pirate, and angsty love interest.  And she does it in style.  Frankly, she's hot, in that long black clothing.  (Eric likes a blue-haired anime girl in long black clothing?  When has that happened before?)

Sasami.  I think I understand why most people like her better in the OVAs and Universe, with a deeper and more mature characterization.  But she's a lot more fun here, for me.

Ayeka.  I'm not a fan, except for using her as Ryoko's sparring partner.  But she does pretty well here, too.

Yugi.  The main antagonist is a bizarre and unimaginably powerful ten-year-old girl.  How cool is that?

The origin episode.  It makes more sense to me, to have all of them come to Earth at once, rather than one by one.  I also like Tenchi better as a (mostly) normal Earth boy, albeit with a special role, than as a guy who suddenly finds out that he's Juraian royalty.

The story itself.  It would have been better if they had had more filler episodes at the beginning, and waited to introduce Sayuka and Yugi until after the story was further along.  As it is, the story wears a little thin, for a 26-episode series.  But what 26-episode series doesn't have a few painful filler episodes?

The storytelling, and the pacing.  In Tokyo is just plain fun to watch.  The OVAs have too much damn untold back story, Universe is childishly slow and boring in places, and the movies take themselves too seriously.  In Tokyo isn't perfect, by any means, but overall, it comes together the best, for me.  At least, after the first viewing.

The SD bits.  Most people don't like them.  I liked them.  I don't know what else I can say about that.

The character designs, and the animation style in general.  Again, most people don't like it, but I like it.

And finally, add a few thousand bonus points for several cross-over appearances by a certain wacky high school teacher.

And here's what I didn't like:

Kiyone.  She was by far the worst part of In Tokyo for me.  They took a great straight-man character from Universe and RUINED her.  It just hurt to watch her, especially early on in the series.  As much as it pains me to say it, she probably shouldn't have been written into this continuity.

Mihoshi.  I'm not a fan, but her characterization didn't feel right here, either.

Washu.  She isn't done badly, but she doesn't seem to have much to do.

Katsuhito.  Same as Washu.

Sakuya.  It's probably impossible for me, as a 34-year-old guy, to have a fair and balanced opinion of her.  But she's way too cute.  Every time I heard her happy fun little BG music theme, I had to brace myself for more sickly sweet high school girl cuteness.  I don't really buy her romantic success with Tenchi.  Her part in the story was clever, but it didn't quite come together as effectively as it could have done, for me.  And at the same time, she wasn't really needed at all.  It's enough to take Tenchi away from the harem, and show them all drifting apart, without adding yet another girl to the harem.

The pink bunny rabbit mecha-Ryo-Ohki.  Yeah, whatever.

Anywho, it all adds up to a positive rating, for me.  I don't have plans for any major Tenchi fan fiction serials, but at this point, I'm storming for ideas in the In Tokyo continuity, just to be even more perverse.
« Last Edit: January 30, 2004, 09:50:24 pm by mrwhat » Logged
Wayne
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« Reply #31 on: January 30, 2004, 10:45:39 pm »

Interesting. There's no arguing with opinion, of course-- and that's a good thing. The Internet would be a most boring place if we all got along. *laughs*

My chief issue with STM (Shin Tenchi Muyo; you'll have to forgive me for not wanting to use "TiT" as an acronym, heh) is how they changed the characters so much from the OAVs (my favorite continuity). Kiyone, yes; was terrible. But most of them seemed extraneous-- besides Ryoko (who I never liked) and Sakuya (who I really didn't like), of course. Ayeka was my favorite character (Kiyone is now, but she's not in the OAVs)-- like Fatora, she's the Princess character who really is a snobbish... female at times; but she had a lot of depth. In STM (and less so in TU) they cut everything but her stereotypical qualities-- it's amusing, a little; to watch Ayeka in action, but it just feels like an insult after the OAVs. That's the biggest reason.

The secondary one would be the artwork-- again, no accounting for taste; but I hated it. Thirdly would be the plot. Years of trying to block it out have paid off, heh (I saw it in full on CN during its run in 2000-2001).

But anime is a medium where likely no two people will agree on everything-- there's just so much variety between series (even ones under the same name); and that's cool. It's fun to talk about, anyway.

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Can't undelete the hard drive copy.  Can't recover the floppy disk copy.  So, I just lost about 1200 words forever.

I should be able to rewrite it yet tonight.  But if I didn't have such a large backlog of rough ideas in my head, I'd just quit for a few more months.  Arrgh.


Gah, I know that all too well. :-/ Fortunately 1200 words isn't that long; and who knows-- maybe version 2 (or however many, heh) will be better, y'know?

Which tale are you referring to; the "dark" one? If you tagged it on FFN under "Angst" I probably haven't read it. *laughs* Seriously... I have nothing against dark, serious tales; at least within reason (something like the latter part of Evangelion, for example; is borderline anathema; while something like FFT, which is a rather dark story, is fine; because of how it's paced and presented); and in fact my own writing tends to lead in that direction. Life is bad, even in fantasy; and people that write realism tend to end up with [at least some] amounts of angst.

It's something to take in measured drinks, much like fine wine. Not something to wallow in. ;D

...hm. This is getting further and further removed from the topic. Um... Shayla has the best outfit in AW!  ^_^V

^^; [/font]
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« Reply #32 on: January 31, 2004, 01:48:24 pm »

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What, you actually expect me to defend an unpopular and controversial opinion?


Well, this forum would probably be somewhat boring if we all agreed on everything.  Besides, I like discussing anime series.

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His two sidekicks are a lot of fun too.


Well, I can't argue with that, and now that you mention it I actually find myself hoping that they have a cameo in "Tenchi GXP" (which I haven't seen yet) or even the 3rd OAV.

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Yugi.  The main antagonist is a bizarre and unimaginably powerful ten-year-old girl.  How cool is that?


Funny you should mention her since she probably is my favorite aspect of "Tenchi in Tokyo".  However, when I watched "Magical Project S" and "Pretty Sammy OAV" I realized that Yugi and Pixy Misa bear a striking resemblance to one another.  They have similar powers (Love-Love Monsters = Spirits), personalities that have a lot in common (provided you consider Misao as part of Pixy Misa) and related goals (What Yugi and Misao both really want is a friend, and they both find/have one in Sasami).  The parallels between these two characters have led me to assume that they're doubles in the same sense that OAV Ryoko and TV Ryoko are.

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But what 26-episode series doesn't have a few painful filler episodes?


Well, "Noir" hasn't disappointed me yet...although certain episodes are somewhat painful to watch in a good, angsty way.  ^^;

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The storytelling, and the pacing.  In Tokyo is just plain fun to watch.


And here's why I have such mixed feelings about "TiT".  The first half of the series strongly aggravated me to the point where I was wondering why I even bothered to watch it.  The episodic plots (Yugi creates wacky monster and Tenchi & co. must defeat it) felt like a rehash of "Sailor Moon" and not in the amusing, "Magical Project S" sense, although there were a few highlights here and there.  However, about mid-way into "TiT" this began to change.  Yes, some of the childish, irritating elements still remained, but there was suddenly emotional depth and seriousness, particularly in regards to Ryoko.  The scene where she witnesses Tenchi and Sayuka kiss is probably one of my favorite moments in that series.  From that episode on the story began to pick up to the point where I was actually enjoying the show to some extent.  

And yes, Yugi is just plain cool. ^_^V

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...hm. This is getting further and further removed from the topic. Um... Shayla has the best outfit in AW!


I liked Gilda's choice of outfits, personally.  What's not to like about neat black armor?



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Wayne
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« Reply #33 on: January 31, 2004, 02:05:39 pm »

If I ever disliked you, Rowan-- and I don't think I do, but just in case-- you are officially redeemed. :D Magical Project S is probably my favorite Tenchi derivative, with Misa being my favorite character therein (although Ramia and Tsunami are great too; mostly because of the absolute incongruity between MPS/Pretty Sammy Tsunami and the OAV one).

Gilda was cool too, now that you mention it. I forgot to point out just how neat it was for a female soldier to actually dress like one.
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Saucer
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« Reply #34 on: January 31, 2004, 11:42:45 pm »

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and the often-hated Tenchi In Tokyo was quite good.  

Oh, thank you MrWhat. Thank you.... somebody finally understands  :bawl

SPACE POLICE POLICEMEN OWNZ J00!!!!!!!
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Lord God Jinnai
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« Reply #35 on: February 01, 2004, 08:59:45 am »

Damn. I don't think I have enough shells to take everyone out...

::sighs sadly next to his Howitzer::
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MrWhat
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« Reply #36 on: February 01, 2004, 05:41:16 pm »

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Which tale are you referring to; the "dark" one? If you tagged it on FFN under "Angst" I probably haven't read it.

I was thinking of Hana Ni Arashi, my current El-Hazard serial project.  Sorry, I try not to go on about about fan fiction here, as this doesn't seem to be a fan fiction oriented message board.  But when I do, I tend to assume that everyone knows what I'm talking about.

The chapter that I lost was from a (completely off-topic) Oh My Goddess! project.

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It's something to take in measured drinks, much like fine wine. Not something to wallow in.

I look at it differently, but the alcohol analogy works for me, too.  A little angst brings out the "flavor" of a story, like a good beer with your dinner.  But sometimes you feel like breaking out the big whiskey bottle of angst, and doing a few straight shots of the stuff too.

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Well, this forum would probably be somewhat boring if we all agreed on everything.

Sorry, the first line of my reply was meant to be a joke.  (I probably should have put a smiley there, but I'm suddenly trying to give up smileys.)  Of course, if I say Tenchi In Tokyo is quite good, I should expect to be called on it.

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Besides, I like discussing anime series.

Oh sure, me too.

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Magical Project S is probably my favorite Tenchi derivative

With those recommendations, I'm putting Magical Project S on my To Sample list.  A little late now, after Pixy Misa got kicked out of the Round Robin, but, better late than never.

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here's a blankie for you Ai Yori Aoshi fans.

Saucer brought this up in another thread-- but since we're talking about other series here-- Ai Yori Aoshi was recommended to me, since I'm an Oh My Goddess! fan.  I've sampled the first two episodes, and I'm still interested, but the feeling I got was, it has all the creepy submissive "instant girlfriend" content of OMG!, but little of the Bell-K1 romance.  And it was kinda cute, but there wasn't much comedy.  Can anyone say if this series changes in tone, in the later episodes?  Or does it just plain get better?
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dooky
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« Reply #37 on: February 02, 2004, 08:50:10 am »

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If nothing else, I asked for permission from Dooky to use one of his original characters, something like a year and a half ago, and I still need to write that idea out.


Did you? Oh, you almost certainly did, but I'm buggered if I can remember. Which character was it again? ^_^

By the way, I sort of agree with you over Excel Saga- I do like it, but it's nowhere near as good as everyone says it is.

Oh, and please write that Parnasse-related story! There really isn't enough Parnasse related fanfiction out there... ^_^
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Captain Southbird (EHOL Creator)
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« Reply #38 on: February 02, 2004, 12:32:55 pm »

OT: *updates dooky's avatar URL*

Guess you missed the post.  Or didn't care.  :P
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MrWhat
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« Reply #39 on: February 02, 2004, 09:06:28 pm »

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Did you? Oh, you almost certainly did, but I'm buggered if I can remember. Which character was it again?

I wanted to use Formyka in another Fatora & Alielle parody spam-fic.  I just looked it up in my e-mail archives-- it was almost exactly a year ago, in January 2003.  And I was planning to write it in a month or two.  Yikes.

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Oh, and please write that Parnasse-related story! There really isn't enough Parnasse related fanfiction out there...

Someday...
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Saucer
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« Reply #40 on: February 04, 2004, 12:33:39 am »

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Saucer brought this up in another thread-- but since we're talking about other series here-- Ai Yori Aoshi was recommended to me, since I'm an Oh My Goddess! fan.  I've sampled the first two episodes, and I'm still interested, but the feeling I got was, it has all the creepy submissive "instant girlfriend" content of OMG!, but little of the Bell-K1 romance.  And it was kinda cute, but there wasn't much comedy.  Can anyone say if this series changes in tone, in the later episodes?  Or does it just plain get better?

It's on my list of "Things to see next." Friends' whose opinions I take seriously say it's a really great series!
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« Reply #41 on: February 04, 2004, 08:39:25 am »

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It's on my list of "Things to see next." Friends' whose opinions I take seriously say it's a really great series!

Feh. It's the opinions of friends whose opinions I take seriously that led me to wade through the travesty they call Saber Marionette J. :P Everything I've read about the leading lady Aoi leads me to believe she's the submissive, "traditional" type of heroine that simply makes me want to want to claw my eyes out. I simply don't care HOW cute she is - if she's a doormat most of the time, I'm not gonna be able to sympathize with her.

No, unless I get a chance to see it for free, and it hooks me hard and fast, I'm probably gonna pass this one by.
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MrWhat
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« Reply #42 on: February 05, 2004, 10:43:04 pm »

I can't say exactly why the submissive girlfriend thing bothers me in one title (Aoi Yori Aoshi), but not in other titles (SMJ and OMG!).  Maybe it's because SMJ and OMG! are less realistic titles with lots of wacky comedy, and a lot of other things going on, while AYA didn't seem to have much of a story besides the submissive girlfriend.

Anyway, I guess I'll go with Plan A, and sample a couple more episodes of AYA, and see if the story takes off.  If it doesn't grab me within four episodes, then it's probably a loss.

I do find others' opinions interesting, but I shouldn't ask for them, because they often don't help me very much.  The Tenchi In Tokyo thing has reinforced my belief that my tastes are somewhat peculiar.
« Last Edit: February 05, 2004, 10:44:10 pm by mrwhat » Logged
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« Reply #43 on: May 30, 2004, 12:38:41 am »

let me see, i like this because i need it more EL HAZARD!!!, but analyzing it, it could  be better.
I ll point some things that i did not like:

Time: How much time are they in this world, enough to put Jinnai fat, but not enough to let Shayla starve to death?. Miz, Fuji and Afura get there later, give rune time to fall in love?

Ifurita: ???

Qawoor: shes cute, everybody loves her, powerfull, no fun, and guess what she likes makoto, ahh!! come on!! I Dont like her.

Parnasse: why this character? Am i missing something or he is really useless

Dal: Schizophrenic!

Chabil: Came ON!!! THE PRINCESS IS IN LOVE!!! AND NOTHING HAPPENS!!!, KILL HIM MAKE US ALL CRY OR SEND HIM TO ROSHTARIA AND MAKE US HAPPY, BUT DO SOMETHING!!!!

Chapter 13 Rocks!!! it has no sense but it was really funny!!
« Last Edit: May 30, 2004, 12:39:58 am by afura » Logged


..."I´m surprised you´re not boring us with another one of your speeches, Shayla"...
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« Reply #44 on: June 01, 2004, 05:25:37 am »

Parnasse is Alielle's younger brother in Alternative World.
On which subject... Mr What, will we be seeing that Parnasse story anytime soon? ^_~

dooky
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