Just finished watching Monster.

A few things to say:

Firstly, it's a great series. Very engaging. The story is quite good and very detailed. The characters are interesting. Some are episodic, swinging into the storyline and then away. Many characters end up returning in later episodes. Characters clash, and approach similar problems in their own way. Actions from some dozens of episodes prior have an impact on later episodes.

In some arcs, even the main character can be away for episodes at a time due to a focus on other characters, and the story remains interesting.

There were a few points where I was honestly confused by the actions of some of the characters, particularly Tenma, but at the end, looking back, they were at least consistent for the most part.

The series is slow-paced, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. However, in the ending arc as everything starts to come together, the pace picks up somewhat. It is hard to stop watching.

The ending was ambiguous and disappointing. I think it fell prey to relying on a confusing and ambiguous ending to provide the illusion of depth. After finishing I had a bit of a read around online and found the usual symptoms: Lots of people claiming they understood the ending, but not elaborating; and those who did elaborate coming up with vastly different explanations. Some of the explanations were quite interesting, and could very well have been feasible. Personally though, relying so heavily on speculation (and the resultant pseudo-intellectual one-upmanship) to fill in the meaning is, IMHO, a major weakness.

Having said that, some additional context was supplied in the ending that did add to the rest of the story.

The series is definitely strong enough to compensate for the less-than-ideal ending and a handful of minor weaknesses. IMHO definitely worth a watch.

Ouch.

http://nintendolegend.com/2015/09/interview-kevin-kevtris-horton-on-the-retro-vgs/

"Kevin: Haha.   It was a dead duck 5 months ago, and it remains a dead duck.  Only now the duck has been gold plated and made in the USA and is designed to last 100 years."

Resorting to hunt down a bug the old primitive way because of a stack smash that completely obliterated the stack (literally all of it got overwritten) so I have absolutely no trace of where it could have even crashed (and the crash is an illegal instruction in an area that isn't even a valid address range). At least I can trigger the bug consistently...

Stack corrupting bugs are right up there with bugs that move around when tracewrites are added in terms of sheer awfulness.

Best of luck. :}

In my current project I am splitting some of the CPU-based graphics workload between multiple threads before combining them at the end. It isn't really say rendering a quarter of the screen exactly, but it is based on doing certain calculations concurrently based on splitting the game world. Basically, I queue up a large bundle of tasks, and I have multiple threads grabbing a task from the queue until the queue is empty and they are all finished.

So, if I can loosen the criteria to splitting the game world rather than the display specifically, then yes, you most certainly can do that.

You do need tasks that are fairly coarse-grained (or you lose time rather than gain it), and it only really works well for tasks that are inherently parallel, and tasks that don't require too much waiting on data being passed between the tasks.

Also, if we go GPU-side then something close what you are describing happens when using SLI.

- Higurashi: I fell asleep after two episodes during the projection at my university anime club. I heard it gets better.

Thanks for that.
Was it slow to start? Or perhaps the initial episodes were just not very interesting? Something else?

Yeah, it was a very very slow start. I usually don't mind them (I love Casshern Sins, Ergo Proxy, Monster, etc.) but in this case, it felt very empty. I remember these two episodes were piling up anime tropes (transfer student, town festival) one after the other, hence me falling asleep. There were hints that all these tropes would shatter to pieces later on, but that doesn't really excuse such a boring start.

Sorry this isn't the most useful review, I mostly posted my initial comment for humor :3

Not a problem. I've been trying to get as much of an idea about the three anime I listed so that I know roughly what to expect, but not so much that I run into spoilers. Knowing that it starts out slow is good to know.

I am totally registering "rapping-billionaire-angel-investors.com" in preparation for the inevitable flood of budding game developers looking for millions in capital for their game ideas.

So.. Billionaire Rapper bankrupts 12 year old elementary school students into indentured servitude over school project?

Best. Synopsis. Ever.

What do people think of:
- Clannad
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Monster
? I haven't seen any of them yet personally- just started reading up on them a bit.

- Higurashi: I fell asleep after two episodes during the projection at my university anime club. I heard it gets better.

Thanks for that.

Was it slow to start? Or perhaps the initial episodes were just not very interesting? Something else?

- Monster: Slow paced, excellent character development, very unusual tone and setting (as far as anime goes)

That seems to match my experience thus far. From what I've seen, the pace is slow, but it remains interesting. It's not something I'd describe as exciting, but I'm not sure it needs to be. I'm still forming an opinion on it all.

Cheers for that. This is in line with what I've been reading- that the original is reasonable, but After Story is the stronger one of the two.

After Story also appears to be one of the few anime with a 9+ rating on MyAnimeList- something I've not seen a lot of.

I suppose I should mention that After Story might lose some of its impact without the context of Clannad. I wouldn't know for sure since I can't erase my memory of the original, but I suppose you could argue the original makes you build a relationship with the characters first.

So while I don't think Clannad is particularly great, it might be necessary to experience the full extent of After Story.

Cheers for that. I am guessing that the payoff from watching the original is being able to enjoy After Story that much more. If I end up watching this I'll assume that it is something I need to be in for the long haul on.

Can anyone tell me what A Certain Scientific Railgun is like? The funimation site is region-blocked in Australia and I'd like to know what the series is like before going out and buying the box set.

Assuming you mean the 2009 series? I've watched this, a while back. I'd personally be reluctant to recommend it in general, but I'm not saying it's a bad series either. I'd definitely try to find a way to view a couple of the episodes before committing to a purchase. Also, don't judge the series on episode one alone, as it's not really a representative episode. Having said that: There are quite a few funny moments, mostly in the early episodes, mostly revolving around Kuroko. And if you make it that far, episode 24 is fantastic- although you need to have seen everything leading up to it to fully appreciate it.

If you mean the 2013 series, I haven't seen it, so can't really offer an opinion. :/

clannad is basically just context for the better clannad: after story

Cheers for that. This is in line with what I've been reading- that the original is reasonable, but After Story is the stronger one of the two.

After Story also appears to be one of the few anime with a 9+ rating on MyAnimeList- something I've not seen a lot of.

Higurashi is well worth it, I think. I'm not really sold on the second season/the answer arcs, but it was an interesting idea anyway.
The first arc is particularly good horror.

Excellent. Cheers for that. This one has been a bit tricky for me to figure out without, well, actually watching or spoiling it. I think I'll be giving this a go when I get the chance.

I remember liking Monster when I read it years ago.

I've just starting watching the anime and I really enjoyed the initial episodes. I'm still forming an opinion on the rest, but I can see why it is well-liked.

What do people think of:

- Clannad
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Monster

? I haven't seen any of them yet personally- just started reading up on them a bit.

I did mean the original Ninja Scroll (did not know there was a sequel)

There was a series, but IMHO it is best to pretend that it doesn't exist.

Vampire Hunter D (1985) is one of my top 10 movies.

Then you definitely need to track down and watch Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000). It is really well done and a large step up in quality from the first. Normally I'd recommend watching the second one and only suggest the first if you were really keen. If you've actually watched the first already and enjoyed it then it's almost a given that you'll like the second.

Thank you again, everyone.

Not a problem.

...

Re Berserk: Berserk would have to be one of my favourite anime. Twenty-odd episodes of buildup with a bunch of mercenaries that you get to know and care about against the backdrop of a horribly cruel world. And then (massive spoilers follow) the Eclipse happens. With possibly the most hideous betrayal in any story, ever. And then you get to watch almost all of the characters you have come to know fight for their lives against impossible odds- and die horribly.

I think they referenced a couple of similarly-themed anime in the video as well? If you're a fan of the SAO setting then perhaps they might be of interest too?

Well, I tries watching this Log Horizon (is that what it was called?) but it was definitely not my cup of tea, they were all acting like it's not a surprise that they got locked in a game ("duh, again?...") and the rules that were set there really didn't appeal to me (same with other games than the first in SAO, though the first half of second season was pretty good too)

I'm not sure. I remember the video showing scenes from possibly two or so anime that I haven't seen- so I wasn't sure of their names. Sometimes when older anime are referenced in this way it is because they were good or groundbreaking in some way (or the person doing the video felt that was the case). I figured there was a chance that they could be hidden gems in this genre, and it might be something that you would enjoy.

Could it have been Log Horizon? I haven't seen it myself and I'm not too familiar with it myself so I really don't know. :{ Skimming the wiki article on it certainly suggests that it's in the right genre at least.

maybe vagina snakes and penis-mouth vampires are not my cup of tea

If there is one thing I have learned today, it is to not put those into Google as search terms.

Ninja Scroll: I'm assuming the original? Excellent. There is a Ninja Scroll series- skip it, it is rubbish. Watch Basilisk instead- similar setting, and a great series.

Original is messed up garbage with shittier animation, what are talking about.

I'm afraid I may just have to disagree with you there.

In any case, yeahjim enjoyed it too. I think Basilisk (which I also feel is great) is worth a watch for anyone who enjoyed Ninja Scroll (such as myself).

Are you sure you aren't thinking of the Ninja Scroll series? The original 1993 anime was (I believe) generally well liked. The Ninja Scroll series (2003) was IMHO rubbish, and a bit of a slap in the face for those who enjoyed the original.

I have enjoyed some good anime like Akira, Ninja Scroll, Cowboy Bebop, the first season of Death Note, the first 40000 episodes of One Piece, Naruto while they are still kids, and AoT. I even like some of the shitty ones like Psycho Pass, Berserk, Code Geass, and Shiki. Can anyone recommend something?

No particular criteria, but the fewer times that the following things happen, the better.

1- A big sister type hits someone on the head
2- People turn into primitive renderings of themselves in order to express outrage
3- Giant stupid teardrops appear
4- Someone accidentally falls into breasts
5- People play a video game, wherein the entire plot takes place
6- Someone goes to high school

Based on your preferences, all IMHO:

- Ninja Scroll: I'm assuming the original? Excellent. There is a Ninja Scroll series- skip it, it is rubbish. Watch Basilisk instead- similar setting, and a great series.
- Berserk: If you've only seen the 2003+ movies, go back and watch the 1997 series, which IMHO is much better.
- Cowboy Bebop: You might also enjoy Trigun.
- One Piece: Well, there's always the remaining 160000 episodes.

These might also be of interest:
- Darker than Black season 1 only
- Fullmetal Alchemist (is a classic)
- Black Lagoon
- Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust. Skip the original. This a bit older, but very well done.
- Hellsing and Hellsing Ultimate

Some of the titles here occasionally fail #2 or #3, but not enough to interfere with your enjoyment of them.

Enjoy.

Yeah, that one's awesome.

They have a few entries in their Honest Anime series, and they're generally quite good.

i'll be rewatching SAO season 1

I am such a bad person.

nice

well, I'm still watching it, I think the first half was good and I love the idea, I'd just want it to happen in real life and never come back from that world :<

And fair enough.

The video I linked isn't shy about sticking the boot in where SAO dropped the ball, but in fairness it does point out a lot of the things they got right as well.

I think they referenced a couple of similarly-themed anime in the video as well? If you're a fan of the SAO setting then perhaps they might be of interest too?

Live-action Attack on Titan writer talks about changes from anime, with one demanded by creator

Early on, Machiyama was considering making Levi, by far Attack on Titan’s most popular character, the movie’s central figure. He says the idea was dropped, though, since the letter V, nonexistent in Japanese, and in Machiyama’s opinion rare throughout East Asia, wouldn’t have fit with the Japanese setting, and so Levi was scrubbed from the live-action continuity entirely.

"Let's make Levi the most important part of our movie! Wait, there's a V in his name. Let's change our plans entirely because of this one small problem. Not only will he not be the focus, he will be REMOVED COMPLETELY"

I wonder if perhaps they had originally planned to make the adaption awesome, but didn't because the "w" in "awesome" looks awfully like the letter "v" twice. So they decided to just make it "very good", but as there was a "v" in it, they dropped that as well. They considered "average", but ran into a similar problem. I note that the letter "v" does not appear in "subpar". Perhaps they then also realised the letter "v" does not appear in "let's discard all of the established characterisation" or "stuff it, let's turn Mikasa into a romantic interest". It would explain a lot.

I really would have wished he had turned into a decoy protagonist.

That would have been epic. I was a bit disappointed at the time when it didn't happen. I've since come to appreciate the direction they took in the end though. AoT is a good series.

Its fraternal for the most part

I think "fraternal" was the word I was looking for but couldn't think of at the time.

Brother and sister?

They are?

Adopted, but yeah.

i'll be rewatching SAO season 1

I am such a bad person.