I'd really rather not start a blog and /a/ is too fast for this sort of thing, so I'll be using this thread to post thoughts and opinions about series I'm watching or reading, hopefully with some discussion.
I've also been trying to catch up on Jojo recently, partly because of the recent anime adaptation. I've been putting off part 5 for a while, but recently started it (for the record, part 4 is my favourite part). So far, I can't say I'm enjoying it as much as the other parts.
First, Giorno just doesn't seem very interesting. Like, he's the son of Dio and he wants to become a top gangster, but the story hasn't done much to actually reflect this and it apparently doesn't even later on. He doesn't have any quirks or charm that the other JoJos have, he's just sorta there. Like, people say Josuke doesn't have that much focus in part 4, but he's still a pretty cool / funny guy. GioGio lacks that to make up for his lack of focus. Bruno and Mista have been much more interesting and fun characters so far (Aerosmith stand guy too I guess), don't really remember much about the others.
It fees a bit too fight of the week (I absolutely loved the "bizzare SoL" deal part 4 had) so far, but honestly the fights are mostly pretty good so I don't mind that much. One or two of them have been total asspull though, like the man in the mirror. GioGio intentionally lets himself get infected with Purple Haze's virus, but he sets up a snake beforehand that just happens to have immunity to it so he can cure himself. I might have misinterpreted something, but otherwise that's bullshit and you know it, Araki.
In general, it's an alright read, it's just not up to the standard of the previous parts yet. The characters are just lacking that certain oomph that made the previous parts good. Hopefully I'll start thinking differently as I continue to read.
Tari Tari 07/08:
The general opinion I've read is that Sawa's arc wasn't nearly as good as Wakana's, and I agree. She was my least liked main character going in (that's not to say I don't like her, it's more like the others range from 4.5-5/5 while Sawa is 4/5), and her attitude during didn't help. However, I could appreciate and see what the writer was attempting to convey and felt the drama was handled acceptably.
Throughout most of the series Sawa has been portrayed as the mature, level headed one. However, she has a couple of scenes where she lets what we saw during her arc slip out either by acting childish or irresponsible:
-When looking for a job at the beach house, she's questioned about if she'll have enough time to also study for exams and she casually responds that she has it worked out. At the time it didn't seem like anything notable, but after you take the recent episodes into perspective it's more like she's dismissing them entirely since her entire future is horseriding.
-After Konatsu asks her to buy a drink for her, she randomly gives her a really dirty look. I still have no solid idea why she did this. My best guess is that she let her personal frustrations about being told what to do by her father slip for a second.
Throughout the arc, Sawa acts like a child. She disrespects her parents while having no response to what they have to say other than "fuck off", makes poor lapses in judgment, lashes out at her friends and then ignores them when they're in deep shit. It's really hard to view her in a positive light, but I believe that's what the point was; the mature character having her dreams and future come crashing down because of something she has no control over and acting just as irrational and moody as anyone else. It actually presents itself as pretty close to how a real person would act (maybe more/less bitchy, give or take), which I liked. I mean, it's not uncommon for seemingly perfect people to have a certain tick that sets them off like crazy.
While I don't think the drama was up to the same level as before, the lighthearted portions were better than ever which kept the show just as delightful. Wakana actually becoming part of the group was really fun to watch, and the interactions between her and Konatsu were 10/10. Konatsu herself was, as usual, an energetic bundle of fun and even serious'd up a couple of times. The guys don't get much as usual, but Wien's setup and foreshadowing was interesting. The subtle characterization he gets despite his lack of greater focus is surprisingly well done.
All in all, despite having a weaker main focus, I felt this arc was still well done. The lighthearted parts were definitely the highlight though, so much fun. I absolutely loved stuff like Wakana getting trolled by her dad AND Konatsu, visiting Wien's mansion (was half expecting a butler to come out and call him Atsuhiro-sama), the group's cheesy-ass song and their scrambling to stall for Sawa, etc. It's still my favourite show of the season, and I'd even say favourite of the year so far.
Also, something I hate about part 5 is how right before someone starts a fight, it's always fucking GioGio that points out it may not be a good idea to rush in. It's really frustrating.
Just finished reading the White Album fight. Definitely a good one, better than Baby Face and around the same level as Beach Boys / Grateful dead. Mista is definitely my favourite character. GioGio still mostly fails to impress; it's just annoying how completely flawless he is and how everyone creams themselves over this fact.
>>5
There's no need to have a thread at the very top all the time, especially on a molasses slow text board.
Anyways, I just finished part 5 and my thoughts on it are (reposted from /a/):
The good:
-Fights were generally great, lots of interesting stands.
-Cast was generally alright, Bruno and Mista being the stars. Narancia was also a cool dude.
The bad:
-Giorno. Least interesting JoJo, he lacked any sort of character flaw or charm that the others had. BSs through a bunch of his fights with "I changed something into something else the moment before I was critically injured". The whole deal with him wanting to become a top gangster was pretty much entirely forgotten about until the literal last page. He's the son of Dio, but so what? Josuke being Joseph's son at least had a bit of plot relevence, here it just feels like an excuse to make him go MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA WRYYYYYYYYYY (the again that was probably the best scene in the entire part so eh).
-Diavolo was generally a boring villain all around, especially coming off Kira. It sort of felt like Araki wrote himself into a corner with how absurdly strong King Crimson was in relation to who was left at the end, which leads to...
-GER. which was probably the biggest asspull in the entire series so far. It was especially funny how Diavolo manages to get the arrow first but it doesn't do shit for him, while it gives Giorno the most ridiculous stand possible.
The ugly:
-Fugo getting written out because Purple Haze is apparently too hard to write fights around.
-Narancia and Abbachio. It's like, I actually liked both of them but felt pretty much nothing when they kicked the bucket because they were so sudden. Everyone's over Narancia in literally one page, that's just harsh.
Overall I don't hate it, but it's definitely my least favourite so far.
I've prepared myself a nicely sized reading list for the next couple of days.
Sangatsu no Lion
Jojo part 6: Stone Ocean
Aku no Hana
Hoshi no Furu Machi
Hibi Chouchou
Sayonara Piano Sonata
Washizu -Enma no Touhai-
Asamiya-san no Imouto
Sugiru Juunana no Haru
Urara-chan no Naka no Hito
Sore ga Kanojo no Seigi nara
Ao Haru Ride
Taiyou no Ie
Tsuzuki wa Mata Ashita
Ani ga Imouto de Imouto ga Ani de
14-sai no Koi
Tonari no Megane-kun
Sangatsu no Lion is my favourite manga, just doing some catchup. I've also read parts of the last three, all pretty enjoyable. Might do an actual post dedicated to some of these later.
Just finished reading Route 225, honestly don't know what to make of it. I found the middle parts pretty interesting, but intro was a bit dull and the ending just confused me (overall I felt a bit lost at times). It was pretty short though so I don't regret reading it.
New episode of Tari Tari is upon us. About 10, I absolutely loved it. Even though the end was total cheese, it was awesome cheese! No matter what this show does, I always manage to get sucked into it and get lost in the moment. Hashimoto Masakazu is really doing a stellar job, especially considering this is one of his first gos at head director (I'm pretty sure this is also his first time at directing a TV series).
One thing that I think people overlook this episode is the kinda-but-not-really subtle characterization Konatsu got this episode, which I think contributed a lot to her showing her growth as a character. This is primarily in two scenes, first when the group gets offered to do some additional sentai work and second when she's offering to sell her Condor Queen's album.
In the first scene, Konatsu at first is leaning towards not accepting the offer to work more, her reasoning being the group hasn't really done that much for their festival performance and that it may be hard for Wakana to write the song. She doesn't outright say "no", though, as she asks the rest of the group what they think they should do. If she was the same person as earlier on, she probably would have just powered through and went with a direct yes/no before someone else chimed in. Now though, she's putting more effort and thought into her goals (the festival) and taking into consideration what the people around her may think instead of deciding everything on her own (deciding on the club's project doesn't count because everyone else's ideas were retarded and had nothing to do with the choir club).
The second scene again shows how she's become more devoted to the club, as she's willing to sell her most cherished possession if it can help fund their project. This was a really great gesture and is probably the best display of her progression of a fun girl who loves music but might be a little too easygoing into an fun, easygoing, dedicated girl who is loved by music.