Waifu Wars 003: The Madoka Magica Melee
Added 2018-02-06 22:51:23 +0000 UTCHoly shit these three weebs will not shut the fuck up about some dumb cartoon where Sailor Moon girls make wishes and become god and then someone steals half of God's power by invading Sailor Moon "valhalla" and becomes the devil. I'm not kidding or exaggerating at all: that is what this show is about. I thought it was called "Mediko Mekaniko" but it's actually called "Madoka Magica" and the girls seem pretty cool but I kinda don't know why we have to have a dark take on Sailor Moon.
Comments
Oh I dont dislike GGO because it is different from the rest of the series. I dislike various parts of it for various reasons. I have trouble suspending my disbelief in some scenes just based on things we have established about certain characters. The way some scenes or story elements are presented strike me with some tonal dissonance that makes me laugh as opposed to what I imagine the intended audience response was. I also just find the characters in SAO to be somewhat shallow. That may not be the correct term though...Not well written? Kirito is also really boring. Not even compared to other shounen aimed characters. Hes just boring.
Anthony
2018-02-10 11:18:02 +0000 UTCI half agree, I enjoyed GGO for what it was because it was a completely different show at that point, and I rather enjoyed Mother's Rosario since they tried something different. But I will agree that I wait to see the true fan boys cry at the love action and how it deserves to fail because it won't be Asian enough for them, and how dare they ruin it with their western ideals. It'll be Death Note all over again.
Razgriz
2018-02-09 21:46:32 +0000 UTCYou're welcome Asterios. I had more written, but it doesnt look like it posted it. And Im too lazy to retype it. SAOs first arc is fine, second is bad, GGO was laughably bad, Mothers Rosario I actually didnt finish. Three eps into the arc I could tell where it was going, asked a friend who had read it if it was going where I thought it was going, they said yes, I got bored, and never finished it. Cant wait to hear SAO fans cry about how westerners ruined their show by making a live action tie in they dont have to watch :)
Anthony
2018-02-09 20:33:38 +0000 UTCSAO is fine, it has its place and the Second Arc is the trash fire that the entire franchise is burned alive for and for good reason. Even as a subplot I bring up his sister because without it the whole second arc could be as long as 3 episodes, but I also never read it because A-1 rewrote the original story for their show. I think Mother's Rosario was the highlight of it all but it's all besides the point. Also that live action show is most likely going to happen now that they have the head writer from Shutter Island on the project so just you wait, I'll either be better or worse than Netflix's Death Note, even though Death Note is terrible to begin with anyhow. And good work we wrote an entire episode of Waifu Wars in the comments Anthony.
Razgriz
2018-02-09 19:55:57 +0000 UTCI imagine they will just not even have it in there. You can take it out entirely if you want to. The incest I mean. There would be nothing wrong with that. It happens all the time with adaptations through other media. And although it is certainly a focus point of that second arc I dont think it is all that important. Kirito wants to save Asuna who has now been relegated to damsel in distress, he needs a guide for this new game he is in, guide happens to be his cousin/stepsister. She has feelings for him for added shitty drama. You can tweak that to not involve incest, and still have basically the same plot with one less shitty subplot. You could maybe even write something better that doesnt involve incest. Maybe some better characterization even. Characterization was never one of SAOs strong suits anyways...But changing the flow of a story isnt necessarily a bad thing. Not exactly a difficult thing to "write around" you can just not have it. Honestly Id be surprised if and when it gets a live action American adaptation if it even makes it to the second arc. Especially considering anime fans usual disdain for live action adaptations. And especially western ones. Either way. Point is anime fans do a majority of this to themselves. Which is why I dont like a lot of them.
Anthony
2018-02-09 19:05:56 +0000 UTCOh I agree that it's a self filling prophecy when it comes to the anime community eating itself alive. And I guess let me explain that incest comment a little better since it came off strange. Take SAO, love it or hate it, it's too massive to ignore and with the promise of a live action America TV show coming to the main stream in the next few years, the second Arc is the part that comes to mind. The second Arc mostly centers him and his step sister's crush on him, which I'm sure they will have to try and write around somehow, and depending on how it's handled could change the flow of the story. But like you touched on it's that built in negative context that people have when they hear "anime", and the average fan unable to hold a conversation to begin with, nevermind explain their hobby without sounding like a tool. I think there have been improvements but there is still work to be done.
Razgriz
2018-02-09 15:25:16 +0000 UTCHaha Ill take that as a compliment. It certainly seems like the community has grown quite a bit since I started watching, and there are quite a few subcultures within the community itself.
Anthony
2018-02-09 05:23:38 +0000 UTCI have actually done that first part believe it or not. And my boss is probably 20 years my senior. As far as tropes go Im going to say that is an odd man out. Yes there are some anime with incest. Id say a vast majority dont have that, and even in Japan that is a taboo and you often see writers who write that kinda stuff write under pseudonyms to avoid shame. A show like that isn't something airing at primetime on a major network. Most anime outside of a choice few EXTREMELY mainstream ones are airing on a random channel somewhere at the dead of night between 1am and 4am. Anime itself isnt something you find all over Japan. It isnt like you can just flip on the tv and find it on just any channel there. But talking about the tropes is exactly what I do. I do that with any story in any medium. Analyzing a story is a majority of the fun, and breaking down its tropes is often a part of that. And I will admit that there are some tropes in anime that are off putting to people who havent been exposed to it, but given context most people wont decide they dont want to associate with you. But if you are the kinda guy whos favorite anime is one with incest that isnt going to get you a lot of love in Japan either. That is a whole other sub category of fan lmao. If I talk to someone about anime and they have the initial reaction of "Isnt that the cartoons with incest and tentacle rape?" Then I correct them and give them proper context. And I do so without being a bumbling weirdo. Usually works out pretty well. But I can see where you are coming from. There are things about anime that look bad at a glance, but that is exactly my point. Fans dont do anything to help being bumbling awkward weirdos.
Anthony
2018-02-09 05:18:56 +0000 UTCAnthony I do agree with you in some regards but I don't agree with others. I doubt you would stand around the water cooler at work with boss telling him about the latest Darling in the Franxx or talk K-On with some lady or dude at a bar. Talking about anime or more importantly the tropes that exist in anime don't get better over night, ever notice how incest, even between step-siblings isn't in the average ABC Family show, it's just not part of the culture and people find it strange. However, yes the average anime fan is a terrible individual to interact with, which I blame on this current "Meme culture". Anime fans now ironically hate themselves and love every minute. The idea of Waifu Wars is just that, people arguing about fictional characters to begin with, because there exists some level of self-loathing.
Razgriz
2018-02-09 00:47:23 +0000 UTCoh thank you anthony!! i'm very much trying to just honestly understand this world – i had NO idea there were so many hardcore anime fans out there, and it's probably the most interesting subculture i have ever encountered.
Asterios Kokkinos
2018-02-08 21:05:49 +0000 UTCWatching this episode was really surreal for me. I for one love anime and am pretty open about it. And no one ever seems to care. I've even gotten other people into it who weren't before. But I do really dislike anime fans, and I think this episode really nails down why in just the first ten minutes. Anime fans have this weird self-hate and loathing that you don't see in other hobbies because they think their hobby is somehow wrong, or something. Anime fans fall into the stereotype of being socially awkward basement dwelling weirdos pretty often, and this is part of why! They have zero confidence when they talk about this stuff and it shows. It is just fucking weird. No other group of people talking about their hobby is so awkward and weird about it that you'd almost wonder if they even really like it. The reason anime gets a bad rep is because fans give it a bad rep. I don't hate anime, but god do I hate a lot of anime fans. If people want that to change maybe don't immediately fall into the stereotypes. It is fucked up of me to say, but the second your guests started talking my first thought was, "Oh...well mark 'awkward' off the list of things a stereotypical anime fan is." Side note. I love that you, Asterios, were the first person to say "Madoka Magika" and not sound like you have some sort of speech impediment while doing so. Great episode btw. I agree with your judgement at the end.
Anthony
2018-02-08 10:26:04 +0000 UTC
