ShamedSalmon's recent activity
-
Comment on SciFi and cosmic horror storytelling in games in ~games
-
Comment on I'm annoyed with mundane revisionist history in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentWhile that is true, the argument being made is that the PS2's DVD playback was not the primary factor in its success. DVD playback was a smart choice on Sony's part as it would allow for more...- Exemplary
While that is true, the argument being made is that the PS2's DVD playback was not the primary factor in its success. DVD playback was a smart choice on Sony's part as it would allow for more expansive game data. However, what investing in video playback added was further versatility in marketing the game system.
Sony marketed the PS2 as able to serve a slew of different functions, such as a Linux dev machine, a soon-to-be online console, a DVD player, an expanded PS1, and yes, a next-gen game console. But aside from being a next-gen console, none of the other factors in isolation were major components of the PS2's success. Rather, Sony threw a lot of ideas at the wall to show how their new device could serve as the center of one's home entertainment setup, which was significant to its competitive marketing against other game consoles of the time.
What the ability to play DVDs brought was the opportunity to appeal to households who were looking to upgrade both their home entertainment system and their pre-existing game console. However, such a demographic would have been minor compared to those who were more motivated by the appeal of next-gen gaming, especially those who waited on the 1999 (western) release of the Dreamcast for the PS2 instead.
Given how popular the PSX had become over the prior five years, when it came to secondary features, buyers were more motivated by the fact that the PS2 featured hardware playback support of PS1 games, allowing them to sell their PS1s and offset the cost of a new console purchase without losing any access to their invested game library. No other game console could boast that. When one started assessing the other, more secondary features such as DVD playback, it only added to the PS2's main selling point as a versatile game console.
For some homes, the PS2 was their first DVD player, but for many more homes, it would be their second. In remembering the PS2's effect on DVD adoption, what people are forgetting is this more nuanced part. It was more often the way that DVD playback was expanded in the home than it was the outright introduction to the home.
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentMy personal recommendation for a watch order is: Ghost in the Shell (1995) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002-03) Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig (Season 2, 2004-05)...My personal recommendation for a watch order is:
- Ghost in the Shell (1995)
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002-03)
- Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig (Season 2, 2004-05)
- Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
This captures the philosophical reflections of events in the mangas, albeit in a cyclical order, starting with the gospel of Kusanagi's ascension, followed by the legendary tales of her mortal actions, followed by more tales of her mortal actions, followed by her first divine acts.
What Oshii expresses in his films is precisely what Shirow presents in both series of his manga, albeit in his own manner: Motoko Kusanagi ascends into digital godhood. What is difficult to understand is Shirow's opaque, meandering story-telling style.
Man-Machine Interface, the canonical sequel to The Ghost in the Shell is meant as a connecting piece between The Ghost in the Shell and Shirow's other famous manga, Appleseed. Man-Machine Interface sets up the notion that the mainframe shrines in Appleseed serve as an evolution of the dwellings of the net-goddess Kusanagi.
In Shirow's world and timeline for GitS, Dominion: Tank Police, and Appleseed, Kusanagi/2501 is presumably the origin of the supercomputer Gaia, as well as the AIs Yoshino and Athena, within the shared universe.
Oshii's take is more personal, looking at humankind's ascension to godhood as similar to that of Māzǔ merging with Guānshìyīn. For more on the religious implications of GitS's story, especially Oshii's take, see this thread from last summer.
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI think it's supposed to be reminiscent of the cover to volume 7 of GitS. Not sure, though.I think it's supposed to be reminiscent of the cover to volume 7 of GitS. Not sure, though.
-
Comment on The Ghost in the Shell | First promotion video in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentI love the faithfulness to the original style, but the one thing I hope doesn't make it off the pages of the manga is the fan service. I understand Shirow's style, and while I don't need GitS to...I love the faithfulness to the original style, but the one thing I hope doesn't make it off the pages of the manga is the fan service. I understand Shirow's style, and while I don't need GitS to only be gritty realism—it can have the comic aspects of the original manga—I would still prefer it not to be as gross or pandering as the manga was. Based on some of the poster art though, I think I might be a little bummed in that area. But we'll see! I'm trying to keep an open mind as best I can.
Excellent music, though! Brings similar hype-vibes to the Stand Alone Complex trailer.
EDIT: Does anyone remember the FMV sequences from the PSX game?
-
Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentDefinitely agreed! If I remember right, Fuyutsuki was a doctor aiding people in the aftermath of the Second Impact before going to work at Gehirn. He really stood out to me as sincerely sharing...Definitely agreed! If I remember right, Fuyutsuki was a doctor aiding people in the aftermath of the Second Impact before going to work at Gehirn. He really stood out to me as sincerely sharing Yui's philosophical value for human life, seeming to have total faith in her gambit with the Evas.
-
Comment on What's something you've moved on from? in ~talk
ShamedSalmon Link ParentWell, I mean, Yui entombed herself. That's the real tragedy of Gendo's romance. Don't get me wrong, Gendo did some truly deplorable things that make me like him as little as the next person, but...Well, I mean, Yui entombed herself. That's the real tragedy of Gendo's romance.
Don't get me wrong, Gendo did some truly deplorable things that make me like him as little as the next person, but the guy really did get the short end of the stick. Yui loved Gendo and she loved their son. Where this love gets all complicated is that she just plain understood the divine plan for the Eschaton better than Gendo did and she prioritized their child over him.
Yui Ikari and Kyoko Soryu gave themselves willingly to their Evas to become walking arks in protection of their respective children. Kyoko gave her mind while her body remained, and Yui dissolved entirely, as far as we know. But in so doing, they were seemingly able to affect fate and undermine SEELE by choosing the new Adam and Eve themselves. Thus, these two mothers were able to rescue their children from the end of the aeon.
By the time Gendo was wise to what Yui had done, there was little he could really do but tend to Gehirn/NERV and wait for fate to run its course, which it did. Though, he thought he could manipulate Lilith's part in blessing the new Adam and Eve by having her mitama occupy the vessels of Rei and favoring her, but it didn't work out the way he thought it would. The tricky bit is that Gendo didn't realize that this fate was set in stone before any of his own meddling. Lilith was always destined to bless the ones inside the Evas, but Rei, being a partial clone of Yui, was always going to choose Shinji over him.
So in that sense, Gendo's story is rather devastating.
A very similar tragedy plays out in the film Arrival, wherein it asks the following question of a mother: "if you knew how things were going to turn out, would you make those choices?" And ultimately she says yes, which devastates her partner but not before bringing their child to life.
-
Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentYeah, I winced too. That's such a fair criticism! Not everything from back then is nostalgic, especially the homophobia. On a less related note, one particular design element I really liked was...Yeah, I winced too. That's such a fair criticism! Not everything from back then is nostalgic, especially the homophobia.
On a less related note, one particular design element I really liked was the way the episode continues through the credits. It's like getting bonus runtime every episode, haha.
-
Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentFinally, someone else who saw Zenshū!! I needed a positive message like the one this show delivered. It's definitely one of my favs this year. Plus Natsuko's sass has made her one of my heroes,...Finally, someone else who saw Zenshū!! I needed a positive message like the one this show delivered. It's definitely one of my favs this year. Plus Natsuko's sass has made her one of my heroes, lol! I also watched Kowloon City Romance right around the same time, which seemed like the right way to go since the theme was nostalgia and a joy of anime tropes. But agreed, this is definitely one to go in blind on.
But I back you 110% that City: The Animation takes the crown for this year. What a fantastic show and I'm ever so hopeful for a season two! Thank you for having recommended it to me! I've been telling people left and right to watch it. Some people look it up and go, "ugh, from the creator of Nichijō?" while others go, "oooh, from the creator of Nichijō?!"
No joke, on the recommendation of a friend, I started May I Ask For One Final Thing? and it's a riot!
I didn't mind Fragrant Flower and thought it was pretty cute (and refreshingly free of fan service), but I can totally relate to the fact that it's still a show about kids, which makes it a bit harder to get into. I want a side story about Rintaro's parents running the bakery, though!
Of course, I'm also still catching up on all the big ones like Spy x Family, Frieren, and Apothecary Diaries. Plus 百妖譜 season 5 wrapped up not too long ago as well. I dunno how I'll have time for everything else coming in 2026, lol. 2025 was packed!!
Anyway, you have some great picks for this year!
EDIT: Also, as a kidding side note, I like the way this reads:
Please stop watching Isekai Generic Fantasy and watch Kowloon Generic Romance instead!
-
Comment on Skate Story | Official launch trailer in ~games
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI just saw the trailer and I didn't even realize I was looking for a game like this! Gonna download the demo asap!I just saw the trailer and I didn't even realize I was looking for a game like this! Gonna download the demo asap!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon LinkSummer Wars I watched it over the weekend. Oh my gosh, what a fun movie! I can't believe I had missed this one. Okay, so it's basically, "what if we take War Games, replace Matthew Broderick with...Summer Wars
I watched it over the weekend. Oh my gosh, what a fun movie! I can't believe I had missed this one.
Okay, so it's basically, "what if we take War Games, replace Matthew Broderick with Michael Cera, and have Ally Sheedy's character invite him over to her family estate for some rom-com hijinks?" It's actually pretty great!
Kenji Koiso is a high school kid and math genius who got a summer job moderating in the online space of a big Amazon/Google/Facebook amalgamation company called Oz. It's rigorous but will look great on his resume. However, his friend Natsuki Shinohara has invited him to come stay with her for a week at her family's countryside estate. The twist? She wants him to pretend to be her fiancé in order to appease her old-fashioned family, especially her ailing grandmother.
Kenji reluctantly agrees to Natsuki's ruse, but things don't go according to plan. When Kenji's Oz account is hacked and used to bypass that company's security, a major internet outage occurs, leading to chaos across the country. The authorities mistakenly believe Kenji to be involved in a terrorist plot, posting his picture all over the news... which just so happens to be on in the middle of Natsuki's family's living room.
Aside from the real-world setting, there's also some tropey battle scenes within Oz's virtual world, but I honestly felt that they added to the fun, rather than detracted. It's still a really sweet film and it has such a happy ending involving everyone coming together to support each other. Definitely one of my tops!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentFor the third point, if I had to guess, it probably has everything to do with complying with Standards and Practices on mainland China's TV and streaming networks. In a similar comedic scenario, I...For the third point, if I had to guess, it probably has everything to do with complying with Standards and Practices on mainland China's TV and streaming networks.
In a similar comedic scenario, I just watched the Toonami edit of Blue Submarine No. 6, which ran on US television twenty-five years ago this month.
Aside from the usual cell shading over exposed skin, one bit of censorship necessary for children's television was the removal of cigarettes. The main character, Hayami, is a big smoker. There's a couple scenes where he fishes into his pocket, pulls out nothing, touches his lips, and makes a weird expression. It's hilarious!
But I get the reasoning behind the edit. They wanted to get this OVA in the hands of as many viewers as they could, and that was the way to do it. Honestly, after not having seen it in a quarter century, I was surprised by how much I did remember of B-Sub 6. Its sci-fi plot and moral point about forging peace through cooperation really left a lasting impression, so the concessions made in the editing room seem perfectly acceptable to me in hindsight.
Of course, I've now strayed a little off topic, but I guess my point is that maybe the studio is just doing what they can to get their work out the door and into the homes of viewers.
(Oh, okay there's this other scene in B-Sub 6 where Hayami is leaning over a railing and he "sighs" into the wind, except his "breath" starts like two inches from his face. 🤣 Great OVA, tho!)
-
Comment on Request for info: Is "Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro" respectful of it's child characters? in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentI just looked it up on a manga scan site, and after flipping through a few chapters, it definitely has lots of nudity and fan-servicey stuff. You know, towels slipping off accidentally, girls in...I just looked it up on a manga scan site, and after flipping through a few chapters, it definitely has lots of nudity and fan-servicey stuff. You know, towels slipping off accidentally, girls in bunny outfits, Three's Company-style mixups at the bathhouse where only hair is in the way of what is otherwise completely on display, girls getting locked out of the changing room and thus walking around naked to figure out what to do. That sort of stuff.
It's definitely not for me. But then, if I'm going to read a romance, I'm more into josei type mangas.
-
Comment on What are some of your personal misheard lyrics? in ~music
ShamedSalmon LinkDo incomprehensible songs count, or is that cheating? The Black Crowes - Hard To HandleDo incomprehensible songs count, or is that cheating?
The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle
Poison things that come out the desert,
I ain't got a foot - touchdown, bruvHey little thing, lemme latch a candle
'Cuz a momma, I'm
Showa d'henna-naaw, mess aroundAww, d'henna-naaw (???)
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon LinkI started watching City: The Animation!!! @chocobean, you were so right about this wholesome show. It's like a big hug!I started watching City: The Animation!!! @chocobean, you were so right about this wholesome show. It's like a big hug!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentThanks for the warning about the violence! I'll definitely check it out in the near future, though! Ooh, you know, I have not heard of Nine Sols. I'm pretty behind on the current world of video...Thanks for the warning about the violence! I'll definitely check it out in the near future, though!
Ooh, you know, I have not heard of Nine Sols. I'm pretty behind on the current world of video games as well, hahaha! Looks like quite the romp from the Heavens to the Yellow Springs. I'll be sure to give it a good look!!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentI think the show's been rather thoroughly analyzed, and pretty much everything I've shared has been typed up by people before me, if not on the English internet, then certainly in the Japanese...I think the show's been rather thoroughly analyzed, and pretty much everything I've shared has been typed up by people before me, if not on the English internet, then certainly in the Japanese spheres.
More Spoilers (Akira and some yadda-yadda-yadda):
Well, I can't find any direct statements from the producers on what animes they referenced, but there's a few different forum posts over the last two decades that point it out. But at a most basic level, Lain's trope of a shadowy agency experimenting on kids, and its themes of post/extra-human identity, maturity and agency in young adulthood, and the body-horror of change are all shared with Akira.
Some of the standout references come in episode 11, when Lain emulates the Navi within her mind. We're given a depiction of the fiery black core of digital enlightenment that's eerily familiar to Akira's physical awakening. After Alice's confrontation with the alien Lain, time skips to the next day. As Alice contemplates what is and isn't real about her situation, we hear the slow beat and long reverb of a taiko drum, which also reminds of Akira. In reality, Akira's soundtrack in meant to remind the cultural viewer of a Noh play (Ghost in the Shell is doing the same thing with Bunraku). (Also, Noh is an important aspect of understanding a similar psychological individuation piece, Perfect Blue. Alongside Utena, the pair of anime pieces manages to cover a lot of what Lain did a year before it came out. ) (Also-also, the flute track in Akira: the lyrics are Buddhist chants. There's a whole rabbit hole to go down with Akira's nationalist and Buddhist ideas, especially with its visual exploration of the conceptual city as a collection of organs that form a macro-organism. Back to Lain, though!)
The writer mentions an another blog post that in episode 12, Eiri's reincarnate form was, at least on paper, supposed to be reminiscent of Cronenberg, but once animated, people inevitably drew allusions to Akira, even though, as he points out, the meanings of the respective scenes are opposite (Tetsuo losing control, Eiri exerting it).
I have not seen Blade of the Immortal, but I can tell you right off the bat that the life-giving "bloodworms" are probably a mirror-flip of the Sānchóng. Also, in Japanese folklore, Yao Bikuni (八百 比丘尼, lit. "Eight-hundred [year old] bǐqiūní/bhikṣuṇī/'Buddhist nun'") was a woman who ate
ningyo, sorry, ningyo flesh and gained earthly immortality. Anyway, it sounds really interesting! I'll put this on my need-to-watch list!
EDIT: It's also worth mentioning that Lain's story writer, Chiaki Konaka, also co-wrote Armitage III, an OVA that came out in the same year as GitS the film. It leaned heavily on cyberpunk tropes, but its iconic scene of androids being burned alive in a mass pile has been referenced by later works such as The Animatrix and GitS 2: Innocence. A III is also a major influence on the 2023 French animated film Mars Express.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentOoooookay, I'm convinced! City just moved to the top of my list. This looks so heartwarming, I'm gonna explode!Ooooookay, I'm convinced! City just moved to the top of my list. This looks so heartwarming, I'm gonna explode!
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon Link ParentGahhh!! Realmedia?! That takes me back! That's how my sister and I watched the last season of Sailor Moon, way back when. Oh gosh, hahaha. Yeah, feel free to discuss when you get around to it!...Gahhh!! Realmedia?! That takes me back! That's how my sister and I watched the last season of Sailor Moon, way back when. Oh gosh, hahaha.
Yeah, feel free to discuss when you get around to it! It's a bit dark and rather grim at some points, but it ends on a happy and hopeful note and it has such a positive theme of compassion.
-
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
ShamedSalmon (edited )Link ParentIt's a tricky show, but that's what makes it so delightfully interesting. If you'd rather the process of self-discovery on your rewatch, don't read the spoilers below. But if you want some further...It's a tricky show, but that's what makes it so delightfully interesting.
If you'd rather the process of self-discovery on your rewatch, don't read the spoilers below. But if you want some further takes (with massive plot spoilers), then feel free to read on.
More Spoilers:
Beyond the Alice in Wonderland theme which is brought together at the end, we have a story of the timelessly difficult transition from girlhood into young-adulthood. On the one hand, Lain is Alice grappling with her own maturation. On the other, Lain is wonderland-Chisa's spirit (or rather, a construct of everyone's memories of her), after her suicide in the first episode. In that sense, Lain's family represents Chisa's family, slowly crumbling after their loss.
Back to the transition from girlhood, we are presented with events that many young girls face in both Japanese society and abroad, such as the pressure to participate in more adult activities like the Cyberia club, to the drugs that are quietly sold there, to judgements over the kinds of clothes they wear, to even the dicey interactions of invasive internet social circles. It's 1998 and these girls are already texting in class, and the rumor mill is already spearheaded online.
The idea of Lain as an aspect of the Buddha is something that the series writer actually mentions in a blog post. But, it's also completely on display in the end credits of each episode, where we see the fetal-positioned Lain, sleeping at the center of the artificial universe. It's a representation of tathāgatagarbha, the cosmic womb or innate nature of a person. 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably a more well-known depiction of this.
On the subject of Lain as the bodhisattva Guānyīn ("Kannon" in Japanese), I mention the Jade Girl 玉女 as it's actually an epithet in Buddhist and Dàoist esoterism for the originally enlightened self at the center of a woman. What's interesting about Lain's name in Kanji is it's meaning; 玲音 is "the sound of clinking jade," which ties into Guānyīn's role as the one who "perceives the sounds/cries of the world." The Lain seen radiating through the parted clouds is also another cultural depiction of Guānyīn.
But let's set the subject of enlightened womanhood aside for a sec and talk about Eiri Masami. He's not just the Tetsuo to Lain's Akira. In a Buddhist sense, he represents a deva that has fallen for the allure of the heavenly realms, rather than continuing onward to buddahood. When the series brings Jungianism into the mix by introducing concepts such as the Collective Unconscious, they are also opening the door to comparing Eiri Masami's godhood to that of the Gnostic Demiurge, the false god over the lower realm of physical existence who, like a prideful deva, is ignorant of the higher workings above him.
Eiri Masami also provides a good transition to the series' socio-political commentary. Not only do tech companies like Tachibana General Labs represent the troubles of highly accelerating capitalist innovations, they also play a role in representing some of the negative influences of Western culture, a notion that Serial Experiments Lain was meant to portray a sort of resistance to, according to to the series' producers.
Lain's airing came only three years after the Tokyo subway sarin gas attacks that were perpetrated by Buddhist/Christian Fundamentalist eclectic cult Aum Shinrikyo. It's leader, Shōkō Asahara, declared himself to be the Christ and advocated that in order to save others from both the immanent end of the world and from further accumulating their bad karma, members of Aum had to kill and liberate people from their bodies. It's this then-recent cultural backdrop in which we the viewers are introduced to Eiri Masami, a false god of The Wired who is encouraging children to give up their bodies through suicide in order to join him there.
Attributing the statuses of "supreme god" to Masami and "buddha" to Lain is also a way of exploring the idea of (implicitly Christianized) American might being at odds with the (folkic/Buddhist) Japanese culture, especially in the post-reconstruction era. Sidenote: whereas Lain is looking at Western social and market imperialism, the fear of political imperialism from within at the height of post-reconstruction is a theme at the heart of the aforementioned Akira. With Lain's subtle occasional references to Akira, what the show's also doing is building further on ideas of near-future anxieties in the advancing society of Japan.
Hopefully that provides some more food for thought.
Thirding SOMA! It's first-person stealth horror.
The more blind you go into its story, the better. However, here's a series of increasing spoilers, depending on how sure you might need to be about whether it's what you're looking for.
1. Initial Premise
You play as Simon, a man who is recovering from a car accident. The story begins with you going to the doctor for a deep brain scan. When you open your eyes after the scan, you find yourself in a diving suit, surrounded by the rusting walls of an under-sea laboratory that is falling into disrepair: Pathos-II. The only other person that seems to be alive down there is a woman over the radio, Catherine.
Any similarities to System/Bioshock begin to diverge here. This isn't a dream, and Catherine is not Fontaine or SHODAN. She's not really Alyx either, but nor are you Freeman. If you're at all willing to go in blind, I would recommend not reading ahead to see what this game does differently.
2. Developing Plot
When you meet up with Catherine, you discover that she is not really alive in the conventional sense. Catherine reveals that almost a century has passed since you had your brain scan done. Your real self has long since died, and the self you are experiencing is merely a digital copy which has been used as one of many templates in AI research for decades. (You signed the papers yourself to have your digital samples donated to medical research.)
A year prior to the now current events, a meteor hit the earth, killing off all life. The human race has already been exterminated. There are no living, breathing people left to save. Even the talking box before you, Catherine, is only a computer containing a brain scan of her own now dead self.
3. Main Objective
In their final days, the science team had constructed a hardened satellite within which they had uploaded as many human templates as they could, intending to launch it from the Pathos-II's railgun platform. Their hope was to send the last vestiges of humanity out among the stars in the hopes that they themselves, or some other miracle form of life, could solve the problem of this extinction. A desperate act, but the only option left given the pressure of their location beneath the ocean.
However, the science team was unable to launch it in time before the mixture of their deaths and the malfunction of the Pathos-II network and security system. As the last two echoes of autonomous humanity left, it's up to you and Catherine to upload yourselves into this ark and fire it into space before you or the research station collapses.