It sucked. I didn’t laugh once.
While I loved the series, the followup original DVD’s have gotten worse and worse. So, I am done with it.
Filed under: Pop Culture Stuff |
I watched the new Futureama Bender’s Game on DVD last night…
Posted on November 6, 2008 by purpleslog
PurpleSlog - The Future Will Be Kludged 
I don’t remember if I asked you this before but are you current on the Japanese anime titles “Naruto” and “Bleach”?
I haven’t really watched any Anime other then Akira (sp?) which was weird/cool.
THe newest popular anime tv series, similar to DBZ, tends to focus on some interesting trends, Purple.
Those trends tend to focus on a couple of themes.
1. Protecting the newest generation
2. Never giving up
3. Hard work beats having brains and being called a genius (Blue State vs Red State here)
4. The duties of the strong to protect the weak.
5. When there is a will, there is a way. (The Japanese Prime Minister that supported Bush’s efforts in Iraq actually said that in a speech, as translated by translators of course)
Since Japan is far the hell away from America, it was interesting to see them take on themes that America’s politicized Hollywood could never produce.
Read my review of The Last Samurai for a recap of Hollywood’s antics if you wish.
I started on the series about the time 9/11 started or soon afterwards. It was a nice lesson on different cultures: something the Left will never understand. Helped to adapt to Iraqi tribal dynamics when the info became known.
I just added the DVD’s for Naruto” and “Bleach” to the top of my NetFlix queue. I will give them a try. There are alot of them, so it is a big commitment! I find your pulling out of the themes interesting so I look forward to checking them out.
I liked the Last Samuria when I saw it even though I realized I was rooting for the wrong side by rooting with the old Samuri side. I stayed in the moment while watching the film.
The first 30 or so episodes of each should give you a sense of whether you like them or not. That is around the time when the first story arcs are finished.
The Bridge in the Water country arc and the Chuunin Exams for Naruto were pretty good. More mature topics will be covered later, of course.
One episode in Naruto actually discussed the “command bug”. Combat leaders must love the people in their units yet they must also send them knowingly to their deaths sometimes. Effective leadership cannot be exercised if you despise or simply not care about your troops. Yet, effective leadership also cannot be exercised if you won’t give them orders necessary for the preservation of other units, the mission, or a battle goal.
Ostensibly for a kid to young adult series, Naruto is unlike any Hollywood “war movie” and unlike any American cartoon.
Btw, try not to watch Bleach or Naruto with English dubs/audio.
Half of the fun of watching Japanese anime is because of the Japanese, after all.
Some anime like Saiyuki are funnier in English but I think that’s because the world building isn’t set in Japan. It’s set in Buddhist Indian/China in a what we would call fantasy setting, except the creatures are Asian mythic rather than Tolkien.
I watched the English audio version of Naruto when it first came out in America. For some reason, the voice was incredibly annoying.
The voice artist for Naruto is a woman, btw. The voice artist for the English Naruto is not a woman I believe.
I even went back to the Japanese audio one (300 some odd episodes of Naruto are on my USB drives) and found that even though both voices were supposed to make Naruto sound young and immature, the English one sounded like Dennis the Menis. Also they translated some childish syntax on Naruto’s part into actual English phrases. I didn’t even notice that until I found people talking about “dattebayo”.
Anyways,
There are alot of them, so it is a big commitment!
Think of it like this. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch all the way through to the end. If you do like it, you’ll feel very nice that it won’t end any time soon.
I liked the Last Samuria when I saw it even though I realized I was rooting for the wrong side by rooting with the old Samuri side. I stayed in the moment while watching the film.
If they had some conservative script writers or actors, rather than Tom Cruise, I could have suspended my propaganda/psychological warfare BS filters. But that didn’t happen.
If you like the Samurai mystique, you should check out Shogun by James Clavell. It was exceptional in showing the reader the benefits and detriments of Japan’s Age of Warring States. If you ever wanted to know why if some of the Japanese Kamikaze forces knew their government was lying to the people back home about the war yet still volunteered for the duty, Shogun will tell you why.
That is, assuming you haven’t picked up the reason from cross referencing with American patriotism.
I watched the Shogun mini-series as a kid, and read the novel in my teens. Loved it. I watched many of the Kurosawa samurai movies in college.
The Cruise movie was beautifully shot with attention to technical detail (if not political).
I don’t know if I will last 30 dvds. If the story doesn’t grab me during the first DVD, then I will bail.
The Cruise movie was beautifully shot with attention to technical detail (if not political).
True. It was good propaganda seen on that light. But I suppose it is the same reason why military people can’t stand military inconsistencies in their entertainment. It just shatters the suspension of disbelief.
Knowing that the movie is trying to pound your head with a propaganda message and you know exactly what that message is, over and above what is shown in the movie, makes the movie far better material as a study on propaganda than it is for entertainment.
I’ve noticed by now that it doesn’t matter if I agree with the propaganda message or not: I’ll still perceive it and find it annoying. For example, an ad against Obama’s letting babies die after failed abortions, at the end, showed a crying baby left on a counter top while the doctors and nurses left the room and locked it. Now that’s just propaganda right there, designed to pull at my heartstrings. I resent such manipulation attempts even while at the same time agreeing with the message and recognizing the efficacy of such techniques.
The only propaganda technique I find entertaining is humor but not humor that requires me to adopt philosophical assumptions mutually exclusive with my own. Just humor that is internally consistent. For example, I find it incredibly funny when people I know around me start talking about Bush the Hitler taking over our civil liberties.
I don’t know if I will last 30 dvds. If the story doesn’t grab me during the first DVD, then I will bail.
How many episodes were on one DVD?
I don’t know if I will last 30 dvds.
Just for clarification, are you referring to when I said 30 episodes or are you talking about Netflix’s listing the series being 30+ discs?
I remember when the creators of Ren and Stimpy shifted to an adult orientation. What was about the best “stoopid humor” on the planet devolved to absolute shit. Some series just try too hard after they’re dead.
The Shogun miniseries was one of few that successfully brought a novel to television.
“How many episodes were on one DVD?”
I don’t know. The first DVD should come Monday or Tuesday.
“Just for clarification, are you referring to when I said 30 episodes or are you talking about Netflix’s listing the series being 30+ discs?”
The 30 episodes. I did notice it was 30+ DVDs too!
“Ren and Stimpy”
I never got into them.
I am a Soth Park / Futurama / Family Guy / Robot Chicken sort of guy.
Most episodes (fansubbed) of Naruto and Bleach as well as some other interesting anime are available via torrent at dattebayo.com.
Technically illegal, but free.
Well, if I am just evaluating them…
I think they are missing the first season of Naruto and Bleach, but probably not too hard to pick up the story.
You might also check your local public library for the first season or two.
How’s the evaluation going, purple.
I haven’t gotten the DVD yet.
What, is Netflix getting slower?
I still had stuff out. I got one of them. I most likely won’t get to it until the weekend though.
I tried to watch them. I just couldn’t get into them.