CAT5

I am!

Watched the 2nd episode of Berserk today, and I found it enjoyable - in fact, I felt like it ended too soon, as I was engaged the entire episode. Still getting used to the animation. My biggest issue with it is the lack of emotion they're able to convey. When Farnese was whipping and going crazy on Guts, her voice actress was on point, but the character animation looked super stiff and rigid. Like Bonsai said, it felt more like I was reading a cut-scene on ps3/ps2 game as opposed to watching two lively characters interact. Definitely took me out of the moment a bit. The golden arc is fantastic, but I've always kind of viewed that as its own thing. For the other arcs, when I read the manga, I never really got a sense of the "arcs". And I don't mean that in a bad way. There were certainly climaxes and quiet moments, but everything felt to me like one ever-ascending story. As for the current arc, if I have to compare it to the golden age arc directly, then the golden age would win. Although tbh, I feel like the original 1997 anime handled the golden age arc better than the manga did because they were able to better emphasize certain aspects much more. So it's certainly possible that they could enhance the source material imo. Either way, I think there's more than enough to make for a compelling season. Also, I wonder if they're actually going to include this scene in the next ep or so: XD

Whether you admit it or not, white supremacy exists. Whether I try to ignore it or not, white supremacy exists. This country (the united states) was built upon it, and continues to strive upon it. EVERYONE is affected by it, regardless in what we choose to believe. When I say "fuck white supremacy", I don't mean "fuck white people" or "fuck the white race" - I'm referring to the system here in the U.S. by which we live - the institutionalized racism and oppression. The problem is that whenever an issue is raised regarding minorities - someone else always comes along to tries and deflect or diminish the issue. In example, the whole #blacklivesmatter movement being demeaned by the #alllivesmatter people. This is problematic (and I hate using that buzzword) because it glosses over the actual issues and only serves to antagonize. If people REALLY felt that all lives matter, they'd understand that black lives ARE all lives too, and they'd make an attempt to understand why a #blacklivesmatter movement even came about in the first place. Furthermore, they'd act compassionately and support each other. It's the same with people who refuse to admit that racism is alive and well, and that white supremacy is non-existent. This country is ailing and will continue to hurt until we can all confront each other, openly, and honestly without any ill-will. But to reach that point, we NEED to be willing to recognize and properly address the symptoms - and white supremacy is one of them. But that's going to take honesty and compassion. It's going to take both the admission and relinquishing of white privilege , and it's going to take a willingness of minorities to forgive and move forward. I don't think anyone wants or wanted to be a part of this racial zeitgeist. I certainly don't. My girlfriend, whom I love wholeheartedly, is white, and it would be wonderful to live in a world where our relationship doesn't even raise brows on a subconscious level. But unfortunately, we were born into this. And if we're going to move forward, we need to rectify the countless issues that already exist and not just brush them aside like "hey, let's all just love each other and get along". That's not going to change the situation. Love is action, and if we're all going to love each other, then we need to fight for each other -> white, black, yellow, green, blue, gay, straight, trans - whatever the case may be. That's the only way I can see this current paradigm shifting into something new and better.

SO FUCKING READY!

w00! I guess it could be a reworking of sorts. Looking forward to it!

I'm angry but I made somes memes cuz u still gotta laugh, still gotta love... Thanks to my homie @seurong for the source pics

voted!!! This is my only request atm! http://www.last.fm/music/Aimer/+images/0142209e21cf78c03dd74583293467c8 Thanks to whoever votes in advance! (_ _)

I love the aimer x TK collab! The entire single is great, though. Agreeing with you about aimer in general. I love her voice, but at the end of the day, she's just a great voice and it takes working with certain other musicians to bring out the best in her. I would love for TK to produce an entire album for her. Her collab with Yoko Kanno was also brilliant. Some of her stuff with Hiroyuki Sawano is great too, but I find Sawano is at his best when he's NOT producing pop songs.

Everytime I turn around, another black person is getting senselessly slaughtered by "paid public servants" aka the police. This shit is NOT a coincidence. Racism is dead? Black ppl should "get over" slavery? This country has never been on our fucking side. Centuries of bullshit, and ain't shit changed but the weather. Fuck white supremacy. And fuck anyone who ain't down for the cause. "I Fear I May Have Integrated My People Into a Burning House" - Martin Luther King Jr.

My top neighbor is my old / first account

ahah, yeah, I pretty much felt the same way - especially at the hip hop one, wut???? I think there might be some cool stuff on the album, though! The track they did for the ninja slayer OST was pretty good, and certainly better than those I think!

yassssssssssss, Thank you for doing this! You remind me of myself when I was younger, spending countless hours poring through audioleaf, myspace, and whatever else I could find. I don't really have the willpower to do these things anymore, so I certainly appreciate it! The only band from those that I've heard before is buriki. shiranui sounds really promising. suichublanco sounds fantastic, especially how raw and spastic they are! HEADLAMP and baby leaf also sound pleasant. If the spirit ever behooves you to maybe possibly send some files my way...my inbox is always open...>.> Also, bless you for being hip subenoana and mona records! edit: podo just released their 4th album. here's the album trailer!

ohhhhhhhh, I see what you mean. I thought you were just talking about the general direction of the plot. Ya know, I never thought of that with Shierke. She definitely does seem like a really typical character now that you mentioned it. I always looked at her as like a naive little witch girl that was just trying to be tough/mature despite her inexperience. I was actually suuuuper weirded out when it seemed to be suggested that she had romantic feelings for guts???? WTFFFF...that's wrong on so many levels. Admiration, I can understand, but nothing beyond that. Guts seems like the father figure of his new little crew. It's funny you mention "Hiatus x Hiatus" btw: LMAO... @beni and I just wrapped up the anime. It was my second time seeing most of it and I loved it even more. Why do you guys think such brilliant works like Berserk and HxH are stuck in a perpetual loop of hiatuses?

This really sounds a bit like a male version of daoko and izumi macra. I think you might also like Paranel...and possibly Lantern Parade too!

Yes, there's been a lot of new blood over the years. We do have a "name change thread" to keep track of them, but....I doubt anyone could seriously be arsed to browse through there XD I followed your new account on last.fm, even if that doesn't really mean much atm. I'd not heard of NakamuraEmi before this year...so she released music previously too? As for recommendations, what would you be interested in specifically? I'm not really much help with VK stuff, but plenty of other members could be of service!

6EYES are releasing their 4th album "TABLE" on July 20th, 2016! ￥ 2,160 JCP-1601 Jet City People 1. パーティの帰り道は真顔で 2. BANG BANG (feat. 呂布カルマ) 3. 5時間後 4. JET 5. カラス 6. 小さく塗れ 7. oh yeah 8. WDKNK 9. BLACK https://www.facebook.com/6EYESJP https://twitter.com/6eyes_jp http://6eyes-jpn.tumblr.com/

I remember seeing your username around! I feel like I've seen your last.fm username somewhere around too. Anyways, welcome back! I see you're also a NakamuraEmi fan too? Awesome. Her album this is one of my favorite this year! And ofc MH isn't JUST about VK! Feel free to discuss whatever you'd like~!

I can understand your perspective, and it's certainly valid, but personally, I have to disagree. In the response to your "mahou shoujo" comment: In the manga, and even the original anime, Berserk wasted no time establishing the fact that it's a dark fantasy. In the first panel of the manga, he's literally fucking a demon, and it's established pretty early that the world is ridden with demons, elves (and possibly other magical creatures). It's also established early in the manga that there are enemies (like femto) that Guts couldn't touch even if he wanted to. So it's only logical that somewhere down the road, Guts would acquire *something* that would allow him to combat his foes on even ground, or at least give him a fighting chance. But this is where Berserk's brilliance lies for me - everything is well thought out, and when there are new developments in the series (like guts acquiring powers) it's all very convincing and jives with the direction of the plot. Despite all of the fantasy aspects, Miura manages to keep the story both human and relatable. Both the world-building and character development are A+. Even with the berserker armor and the help of Schierke, Gut's isn't necessarily OP like in some shounen or something - these all have consequences for him and he's changed and matured because of all of it as well. I do think the manga's plot has been dragging a bit, but that's probably mostly due to Miura cranking new material out so slowly. As for the anime being promising - personally, I think it's too early to tell. I'm not fond of the animation myself, but ironically, it does kind of stand out amongst other anime atm - whether that's a good thing or bad thing is up to you - but it does stand out, for better or worse. Hell, I've wasted time watching anime with brilliant fucking animation that turned out to be complete shit, so ofc I'm gonna give something as much as I love as berserk a chance. I know one of the big complaints was that they skipped the black swordsman arc and the lost children arc, but as huge as Berserk's story is, I can understand them wanting to start the series off on an arc that drives the plot forward as much as this one does (The Conviction arc). The current anime atmosphere is not really conducive to long-running shows. Unless you land a certified hit, you're not really guaranteed a 2nd season. So as big as Berserk's story is, I'm pretty sure the producers wanted begin at a point in the plot that has enough going on to reign in newcomers to the show, while also giving longtime fans a chance to rejoice and see some new stuff finally animated. Both fans have to be catered to. We've seen the Golden Age arc animated twice now, and since that's technically a flashback arc to explain the Black Swordsman arc, I can understand why they chose this point in the story to start with. As nice as it would have been to see the entire manga adapted as is - that's not really a viable option considering the restraints of the anime industry atm. Sadly, no adaptation is ever perfect (no thanks to business and politics), but since Kentaro Miura is overseeing this project himself, I'm gonna give them the benefit of the doubt and see what they can do!

@beni - you already know I don't keep up with seasons, but I definitely liked the Aimer/Chelly collab. I just felt it was missing that extra oomph to really push it over the top. Some distorted guitars would have been nice! That Ami Wajima wasn't bad either!

I'm not a fan of the animation style or all of the CG either, but I still found it watchable. Granted, I'm super biased when it comes to berserk. As for the plot, they're literally jumping into the middle of things, but it's probably the best place to pick the show up at, especially since we've already had one anime and 3 movies dedicated to what was, essentially, the first real arc of the manga - or at least the most essential for understanding the story. For the most part, they are following the manga - altho they skipped a small arc before this in which Guts hunted an apostle called Rosine - I can see why they skipped this since it doesn't really drive the story forward as much as the current arc. If they keep close to the manga, then the plot will certainly deliver. Personally, I would recommend keeping with it a bit more if you can bear with the animation. The music for the show is excellent so far, though. The 9mm OP is pretty good, the Nagi Yanagi ED is great - altho I wish at least one of the endings were darker, like the ED of the original anime. Glad to hear that Susumu Hirasawa is back with insert songs, and the score by Shiro Sagisu seems promising so far! I would have wished that the entire thing was scored by Hirasawa, since he could provide a one-of-a-kind sound and atmosphere, but Sagisu is far from shabby, so I'm cool with it! Is this where the budget went? lmao Overall, I'm more satisfied with the first EP than I thought I'd be. I'm just FINALLY glad to see more of the manga animated after all of this time, so I'm willing to bear with the...unfortunate animation. >.> edit: and i'm SO not cool with them whitewashing casca like that! She gets paler with each adaptation it seems like. : |

@Original Saku - I still need to try that never young beach. Their album from last year was nice. @fitear1590- LOL, I can't say that I'm a Ringo elitist or anything, but while I prefer the original by lightyears, I do find Sibilebashir's cover to be amusing at least. Can't see/hear the Peli track, but I am super curious after hearing samples of the mini. @emmny- those xaa xaa and DADAROMA songs are surprisingly hot. Nice!

^ lol. Kohei, master of cringe PV would have been better if it was just a one-shot scene of Mineho drumming for 5 minutes! I mean...Nice video. Song is pleasant too, but their is also songwriting is super stagnant. Hopeing for some slightly more adventurous b-sides!