Starman2112's recent activity
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
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Comment on Do you share your location with your friends? in ~tech
Starman2112 LinkI'm a late millennial (on the cusp of being gen z) and I kinda share my location with friends and family 24/7. I have a Tasker profile set up so that if any of my favorited contacts asks "Where...I'm a late millennial (on the cusp of being gen z) and I kinda share my location with friends and family 24/7. I have a Tasker profile set up so that if any of my favorited contacts asks "Where are you?" it automatically gives them my coordinates. Mind, this is like 6 people total. I don't mind them being able to find me any time because I know they'll never abuse it, but I'll toss this phone in a blender before I install an app that gives some marketing firm in San Mateo access to my location 24/7
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 Link ParentI only discovered they share a director after I finished the show, and I was not surprised. The ritualistic repetition of musical sequences, the surreal settings, and the exploration of love and...I only discovered they share a director after I finished the show, and I was not surprised. The ritualistic repetition of musical sequences, the surreal settings, and the exploration of love and self sacrifice all mark the shows as closely related.
I was hoping I was done adding anime to my list when my VPN expired last month and I had to take my "media center" laptop offline, but Yurikuma Arashi and Sarazanmai are already near the top of the list. Gonna have to find a VPN that works on Linux. I already have years worth of anime to watch, and the list grows faster than I can watch them
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Comment on What is the most insane, tedious, difficult, and/or noteworthy gaming achievement you have completed or given up on? in ~games
Starman2112 LinkNo Man's Sky. I reached the center of the galaxy one jump at at a time in Permadeath. My capitol ship can jump >3,000 lightyears at a time, and I started around 700,000 lightyears away, so it only...No Man's Sky. I reached the center of the galaxy one jump at at a time in Permadeath. My capitol ship can jump >3,000 lightyears at a time, and I started around 700,000 lightyears away, so it only took a bit over 200 jumps (I think it was 214, but I can't be sure).
Once you put a couple hundred hours into a permadeath save, it basically becomes indistinguishable from creative mode. Especially when you were lucky enough to get the Atlas Scepter multitool back in like the 7th expedition, it's wildly overpowered
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 LinkI finished Mawaru Penguindrum a couple days ago. I loved it. Two things stand out to me: one, it's pretty. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, and I like the character designs a lot. Two, it's...I finished Mawaru Penguindrum a couple days ago. I loved it. Two things stand out to me: one, it's pretty. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, and I like the character designs a lot. Two, it's weird. Good weird. It shares a lot of DNA with Revolutionary Girl Utena, and sits on the same shelf in my brain as Kyousougiga and Sonny Boy.
It's also very confusing. As convoluted and esoteric as the show is, one thing about it is perfectly clear: it's a story about love. What I find most interesting about it is that it isn't the sanitized, all-positive, incorruptible thing that many stories make it out to be. Love is messy, it can hurt you and make you hurt others. That's not to say it's a bad thing, just that it's complex. The show explores these themes in great detail.
This is one of those shows that it's really hard for me to write about, because it's so very inscrutible. That paragraph is about all I've got. Strong recommend if you like "Weird (Non-Pejorative)" as a genre. I'm giving it a 10.
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Comment on What is your silly or (kinda) useless talent? in ~talk
Starman2112 LinkTwo things: one, I can clap really loud, and two, Alpha bravo charlie delta Echo foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kayla lima mike November Oscar papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango uniform Victor...Two things: one, I can clap really loud, and two,
Alpha bravo charlie delta Echo foxtrot Golf Hotel India Juliet Kayla lima mike November Oscar papa Quebec Romeo Sierra Tango uniform Victor whiskey x-ray Yankee Zulu
Off the top of my head, voice to text, one breath. Obviously it's Kilo, not Kayla, but google can't transcribe everything perfectly
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 LinkI'm not sure who exactly the target audience for Sora No Manimani was, aside from Me Specifically. It's basically propaganda for your local high school's astronomy club. I don't usually pay a lot...I'm not sure who exactly the target audience for Sora No Manimani was, aside from Me Specifically. It's basically propaganda for your local high school's astronomy club.
I don't usually pay a lot of attention to the sky in TV shows, but they put a lot of effort into making sure the sky is the sky, and I had some fun pulling up Stellarium to compare it. I also really liked how realistically the telescopes were depicted. Planets look wavy and blurry, but the fact that you can see see details at all is what makes telescopes so cool.
The story is cute. Not a whole lot can happen in a 12 episode series that covers like a quarter of the manga. It is on my reading list now though. I'm giving it a 7/10. It's cute, I liked it, but in a year I'm probably not gonna remember it
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 LinkMirai Nikki was fun. A battle royale between a dozen people who can tell the future in different ways. No spoilers, compressing text It's on the same shelf in my brain as Elfen Lied. Like Elfen...Mirai Nikki was fun. A battle royale between a dozen people who can tell the future in different ways.
No spoilers, compressing text
It's on the same shelf in my brain as Elfen Lied. Like Elfen Lied, it suffers from frequent nudity, usually involving underage characters. Unlike Elfen Lied, I actually thought this show was worth watching despite that.
Yuno Gasai is an interesting character. I like her development. It's not really character development; she doesn't really change, so much as the audience's perception of her does. She goes from weird stalker to psychopath to advanced stalker.
Yuuki's character development is interesting, if a little undercooked. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, but he managed to throw away any sense of morality just for the idea of absolute power. I would have liked to see a better exploration of his coming to terms with his loss of morality.
I prefer the ending without the OVA. It answers too many questions that were more interesting unanswered.
I'm giving it a 6 out of 10. Edit out the nudity and it would get an 8.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 (edited )LinkKurau: Phantom Memory is another one that's hard to write about. I like the soundtrack, I like the dub, I like the animation (it's Bones, so you know it's pretty), but it doesn't really lend...Kurau: Phantom Memory is another one that's hard to write about. I like the soundtrack, I like the dub, I like the animation (it's Bones, so you know it's pretty), but it doesn't really lend itself to much philosophizing or commentary, aside from some parallels with exploiting other peoples for their resources.
I liked the character development Christmas got. She starts as essentially an alien with no understanding of how human society works, and ends up being a particularly personable... person.
I also like the conflict Kurau feels regarding Kurau's body. It's a really unique story beat, a spirit possessing a body but trying their best to keep the body safe for when they figure out how to leave it, and the tension of wanting to stay in this world in that body, but knowing it would be wrong to just steal it? Idunno, I'm bad with words, but I thought that conflict was really neat, and I felt for Kurau (the Rynax) having to deal with it. The show doesn't lean into this internal conflict very hard, but you get glimpses of it.
I also really liked the ending. I saw it coming from a mile away, and I'm not ashamed to admit I shed a few tears.
Huh, I guess it does lend itself to commentary. 8/10. I can't think of anything specific they could have improved, but it isn't as above and beyond as something that gets a 9.
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Comment on Favorite mobile games for short play sessions? in ~games
Starman2112 Link Parent+1 for Alto. Recently hit level 61 in Odyssey, then found out there's a Google play achievement for reaching level 61 without crashing more than 100 times, so it's been consuming a lot of my free...+1 for Alto. Recently hit level 61 in Odyssey, then found out there's a Google play achievement for reaching level 61 without crashing more than 100 times, so it's been consuming a lot of my free time lately. I never really improved at the game until I found this challenge
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 Link ParentI actually just watched Moribito this year! It was really good, I wish more of the light novels would have been adapted, Balsa is such a cool character. In my brain, it's on the same shelf as...I actually just watched Moribito this year! It was really good, I wish more of the light novels would have been adapted, Balsa is such a cool character. In my brain, it's on the same shelf as Intrigue in the Bakumatsu, both being slow-burn, character driven fantasies with historical settings (although Moribito doesn't seem to take place on earth, and Bakumatsu explicitly takes place during Japan's Boshin War)
Natsume looks interesting, and the fact that the top recommendation is Mushishi tells me it's definitely worth checking out. Thank you for the recommendations!
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Comment on Games that meaningfully teach you things in ~games
Starman2112 LinkI mean the right answer is obviously Kerbal Space Program. It's already been mentioned, but it deserves a parent comment to itself. No other game comes close to making something as complex as...I mean the right answer is obviously Kerbal Space Program. It's already been mentioned, but it deserves a parent comment to itself. No other game comes close to making something as complex as orbital mechanics make such intuitive sense. It's easy to forget that the average person doesn't know what ∆v is. I'm not sure most people actually know that you go sideways real real fast to get to orbit—the idea that you could somehow "fall off" the space station seems prevalent enough to cause me concern about this. It's the only video game I can think of that I think should be mandatory in middle school science classes.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 LinkI haven't seen enough of Kurau: Phantom Memory to say anything meaningful yet, but I hate seeing this thread sit empty. I'm 8 episodes in, and I'm not really sure I know what it's about yet....I haven't seen enough of Kurau: Phantom Memory to say anything meaningful yet, but I hate seeing this thread sit empty. I'm 8 episodes in, and I'm not really sure I know what it's about yet. Ostensibly it's about a woman with rather ill-defined super powers and her... sister? Avoiding capture by an organization that means to use them as a source of energy. I understand the story picks up later on, but it is slow to start.
Unrelated note: Anyone have any animes they really like, but never get a chance to talk about? I'm looking for more shows to watch. The older/shorter/more obscure the better. Less Naruto/ One Piece/JoJo, more NieA_7/Key the Metal Idol/Xam'd: Lost Memories. Happy to read anyone's review of anything, though!
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Comment on What is a non-problematic word that you avoid using? in ~talk
Starman2112 Link ParentAdd all thought terminating clichés to this. They're a fantastic way to hold onto cognitive dissonance and avoid becoming a better person.Add all thought terminating clichés to this. They're a fantastic way to hold onto cognitive dissonance and avoid becoming a better person.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 LinkSonny Boy was weird. I liked it. The story is inscrutable and seemingly entirely metaphorical. But like so many other weird (non-pejorative) shows, the important part isn't the literal events that...Sonny Boy was weird. I liked it. The story is inscrutable and seemingly entirely metaphorical. But like so many other weird (non-pejorative) shows, the important part isn't the literal events that take place, it's the way the characters interact with each other and react to those events. It sits on the same shelves in my brain as Kyousougiga and Serial Experiments Lain. There is surely a lot to talk about, but I'm not nearly good enough at talking to meaningfully do so.
What I can say is that I really like the art style, I really like all of the characters and the character development, and it has the strongest absurdist themes in anything I've watched. It's not the surreality that does it, it's the struggle of people trying to find meaning and seek some kind of order in an inherently meaningless and disordered world.
Watching this and Cyberpunk Edgerunners back to back was certainly a decision. Think I'll go for something more lighthearted next. Maybe Kiki's Delivery Service.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 Link ParentThat's a good question. I honestly didn't really objectively think about it, 9 was just my gut feeling at the time. Ever since I saw Ghost in the Shell, I've been picky about what shows share a...That's a good question. I honestly didn't really objectively think about it, 9 was just my gut feeling at the time. Ever since I saw Ghost in the Shell, I've been picky about what shows share a 10/10 rating with it. After giving it more thought, Edgerunners stands up to GitS. It's not as perfect, but between the animation, the story, the music, I don't really know what I was thinking giving it a 9. Thanks for making me think more about this, gonna update my score.
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Comment on What are the most iconic songs? in ~music
Starman2112 LinkFree Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd Piano Man by Billy Joel Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance In The End by Linkin Park -
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 (edited )LinkTurns out Cyberpunk Edgerunners was insanely popular for a reason. The universe was already deeply fleshed out, and the writers at CD Projekt Red and Trigger did an incredible job telling one of...Turns out Cyberpunk Edgerunners was insanely popular for a reason. The universe was already deeply fleshed out, and the writers at CD Projekt Red and Trigger did an incredible job telling one of infinitely many possible stories taking place in Night City.
It's virtually impossible to talk about the show without spoiling it, so collapsing the rest of the comment.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners spoilers
A cursory glance at other reviews for the show tells me that many people get a sense of hopelessness and despair from it. That the main takeaway is that David tried to rise above his station to escape the cycle of violence that took his mother's life, and the cruel, uncaring Night City ensured that he would fail. I disagree wholeheartedly.
To put it bluntly, David didn't try to rise above his station. He settled into life as a edgerunner, even after seeing firsthand how that life ends. You know who did escape the cycle of violence in Night City? Lucy. Hard to think of a better symbol for "rising above your station" than going to the literal moon.
Of course her ending isn't all that happy either. In the most naive sense, she achieved her dream of going to the moon. But to me, it seems obvious that that was never really her ultimate goal. The moon is just a stand-in for "not Night City," her dream to escape it because she had nothing to live for there. That is, until she met David.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a tragedy, but it no more captures the pointlessness of life than the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice captures the meaninglessness of love.
There is surely more to write about this show, but I leave that to writers better than I. Just wanted to give my two cents regarding the show's nihilistic themes.
I'm giving it a
9/1010/10. It's a really solid show. -
Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Starman2112 (edited )LinkEureka Seven A boy stuck between the heroic legacy of his father and the ordinary career his grandfather wants for him gets exactly the escape from his life he's been dreaming of when a mysterious...Eureka Seven
A boy stuck between the heroic legacy of his father and the ordinary career his grandfather wants for him gets exactly the escape from his life he's been dreaming of when a mysterious girl crashes into his house with a giant robot.
Eureka Seven rose to the top of my watch list after I watched Xam'd a couple months ago. What a strange and fascinating story. It, Xam'd, and Last Exile share a weird shelf in my brain. Each of them exhibit my favorite trait, an anime set in a sci-fi/fantasy setting that doesn't waste too much time explaining their magitek to the viewers. You're watching an anime, you know what to expect.
That said, explanation and justification are two different things, and the end of the original series feels a little unjustified. The Nirvash's abilities are never really defined, so when it does the thing and saves the day, it feels kinda cheap. I'm reminded of another mecha series where the big robot glows green and does magic, but Spiral Power doesn't exist in the Eureka universe.
That said, it's still a very enjoyable watch. I like all the characters. The writing is mostly believable. There's genuine character growth. The Gekko is no Silvana, but it's on my list of favorite fictional ships. It's Bones, so you know it's pretty, and I love the soundtrack. Storywriter hits the same part of my brain that No Way! does. 8/10.
Eureka Seven: AO
Another thing it has in common with Last Exile is having a relatively poorly received sequel series. The big difference is that I ended up loving Last Exile's sequel series. Also unlike Last Exile, it isn't necessarily a direct sequel—every iteration of Eureka Seven takes place in its own timeline. I will talk more about this later.
It's not bad, but I had a hard time really caring about it. Despite being half the length of the original series, it felt like it took too long to get to the point. It raises a lot of questions early, regarding Eureka's current whereabouts, what Secrets are, what's up with the scub corals, what Elena Peoples' whole thing is, etc., and it really drags its feet answering these questions.
I do like all of the characters though, and once it gets good, it gets pretty good. And again, it's Bones, so you know it's pretty. Throughout most of the series, I had a hard time watching a full episode every day, but I don't regret having watched it, so I'm giving it a 6/10.
The Movies
Eureka Seven: Pocketful of Rainbows is a decent standalone film, with the most divergent storyline. The characters, their characterizations, and their backstories are all wildly different in this. I like a strong narrative decision, and the choices the writers made regarding Gekkostate's backstory is strong. But also it's largely forgettable. I liked it better than AO, so I'm giving it a 7/10.
Hi-Evolution 1 was kind of a waste of time. It's mostly just a recap episode, but set in a timeline where Renton was adopted by Ray and Charles Beams at a young age. That, and the intro scene detailing Adrock Thurston's death are the only new things in the movie. 5/10, should have been half as long.
Hi-Evolution 2: Anemone was really good. I like a strong narrative decision, and this movie makes a very strong narrative decision, recontextualizing the entire franchise. It ain't popular, but it's bold, and I liked it. Also, my cat's name is Anemone, so she's my favorite character. 8/10.
Hi-Evolution 3: Eureka was also really good. Again, this movie makes very strong decisions, particularly regarding Eureka's characterization. It's wildly unpopular, but I really like it. It also has the prettiest animation in the series, which is saying something considering the studio that made it (did I mention Bones yet?). I'll go as far as to say it was my favorite part of this franchise. 9/10.
tl;dr:
Eureka Seven: 8/10, was enjoyable
AO: 6/10, I don't regret watching it
Pocketful of Rainbows: 7/10, kinda forgettable but better than AO
Hi-Evolution 1: 5/10, just read the synopsis
Hi-Evolution 2: 8/10, Anemone is my favorite character and I like bold narrative decisions
Hi-Evolution 3: I may be the only human on earth who likes the dub of this particular movie. 9/10, fight me.
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Comment on Have I been conversing with bots or humans? in ~tech
Starman2112 Link ParentJust a few months ago, someone posted a story to /r/AITAH asking AITAH for not attending my sister's wedding because of her "child-free" rule? A few hours after posting, they updated it to reveal...Just a few months ago, someone posted a story to /r/AITAH asking AITAH for not attending my sister's wedding because of her "child-free" rule? A few hours after posting, they updated it to reveal that it was entirely AI generated. After that reveal, there were still so many comments treating it like it was a real story. Really opened my eyes to how many Reddit comments are AI generated. If they're doing it in AITAH, there's no reason to believe they aren't doing it everywhere on the front page.
Orb is my favorite anime in the last 15 years. It's so good. It's hard to write about without spoilers, but on top of being about 15th century polish astronomers, it's also about the contributions to history made by now-anonymous people from days long-since passed, and about having faith in an uncertain future. I want so badly to write more but I can't without spoiling anything so I'm gonna link to some thoughts I wrote down back in March for you to either read when you've finished the show, or forget about and never see. Either way is fine