So, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Major smash of an anime if the number of Kamina fanarts has anything to say about it. I can't stay watching it. I've made it to Episode 5.

I'm on my third try to watch the series. Every other time, I couldn't keep my interest up. I just realized why. None of the characters are fun to watch. Kamina is the epitome of the blind leading the blind. He knows nothing about what he's doing, stumbles around to victory, and it inflates his ego. Yoko is the epitome of fanservice. OMAILOOKBOOBS! Now, I have no problem with boobs. In fact I think they're pretty rad. They should not be half of your character. Simon is the only one with real inner conflict in the story so far and all it does is keep him from doing anything. Kamina resolved his when he accepted his father's death, and Yoko's is just an extension of the boobs. She is the love interest for Kamina. She has no other part in the series as of yet. Now, I know that its only 5 episodes in, not even a quarter of the way, but honestly, where is the character development, or even the room for it?

The first plot advancement point after the party is introduced is Final Boss Let's Go! Now, I'm perfectly aware that this is probably not a problem for what the series intends but lets be honest here. That is a bad idea. For one, humans are scarce on the surface for a reason. It isn't because they decided it was too hot out one day and hid underground. It's because there are fucking mechs running around steppin' on people. Then some shmuck kid finds a little drill-y mech and suddenly everything falls into place? Now, don't even get me started on the combat scenes. These should be bread and butter for mech animes and I haven't seen a good one yet.

Summary of combat:
Simon scared. Kamina encourages him or yells about something. Yoko gives up on Simon and tells him to run. Simon flips her the proverbial bird and accidentally wins. Kamina worships himself.

Once I got to episode 5 I think I found why people watch this show. For everyone besides the main characters. There was a good rich storyline, conflict, resolution, and a decent fight scene. A little deus ex machina, but that was kinda the theme of the episode right? Anyway, the character for the priest was deep and conflicted, the same for Rossiu. They both know the truth that is hidden from the rest of the village and resolve their own conflicts. There was good dialog and a plot device I personally love, that of a harmful truth that people are sheltered from, is central to the episode.

I really hope this plot thickens, because otherwise it validates some of the most generic arguments against anime. Simple plots, little character development and depth, random crazy antics, and very vague direction. And its extremely popular.

Now, this isn't always bad. The problem comes when there is room for depth in the series. Dragonball Z was the epitome of one-dimensional anime. People fight each other, and you can't do it. They shoot hella lasers from their hands. They yell a lot. Goku wins epically. This has metaphors in it all over the place. The most common one is heaven. Over and over I see the surface alluded to as "heaven." They could do so much with this in the main characters. Kamina or at least Simon, who followed society pretty well in their original town, could ascribe to the almost religious aspect that it gives off and Yoko could play the "truth" aspect of what it really is. Instead they instantly become jaded about it once they see it. This series throws away perfectly good conflict without replacing it and at the end of the day, thats what interests us. That is why we watch something fictitious, to see unreal people deal with unreal problems. Take out the problems and you get a 5th grade story that goes "and then they did this, and then they did this, and then they did this" while seeming to try for more.

Either get some new plot or lose the attempt at depth and go for Super Sayian levels of awesome. Right now I just can't commit.




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Don't worry as soon as I find another topic I'll get a new rant up. Tim. Since you actually comment on it XP.

1. What does your deviantART name mean and why did you join this site?
it means that i was looking for a commonly unused name. broken down: "the" there is only one of me, "music" i lieks it, "man" indicative of my actual gender, "90" year of birth although you'll have to guess the century.

2. What fandom were you obsessed with when you joined and what are you into now?
shoot lemme check my faves... I guess that was around the time of Avatar and Brawl.

3. How many watchers do you have now?
six. i know them all personally.

4. Name 3 of your favorite artists on DA.
hmmm for the art style and the witty banter, for the sheer out-of-left-field-itude and for the broken english and broken wit in his comics.

5. Do you comment, fave, or both?
i comment more than i fave and i comment when the mood strikes me. honestly i'm hard to please.

6. Do you participate in clubs' contests here on DA?
nope.

7. What is your most popular deviation?
A Dream. i had a weird nightmare(?) and actually remembered it long enough to write it down.

8. What are your favorite non-anime TV shows?
Scrubs, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Royal Pains.

9. What are the things you wish you could draw better?
I don't draw.

10. Summer or winter?
Winter. people actually want to be in physical contact. you can ogle whomever you want in summer, but winter is just made for... ... hugs.

11. Rain or Sun?
Sun. More pleasant to play Capoeira in.

12. What's your favorite type of music?
Rock like Blink 182, Alternative Rock in general, and Indie Rock.

13. PC or Mac?
PC. I don't draw and my band isn't together yet.

14. Anime or Manga?
If i like the series manga. If i need something to do anime.

15. Coke or Pepsi?
Dr. Pepper. end of story.

16. Read or TV?
I read. TV is background noise.

17. How many hours a day do you spend on DA?
not much. its mostly however long it takes to catch up with my watched artists and check the front page.

18. Name a hidden talent.
i can play music?

19. Flash or traditional cartoons?
see question 14, flash = anime, traditional = manga.

20. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Burger King or Wendies. although i do try to avoid them.

21. What are your top 3 favorite books?
Eternity Code by Dan Brown
The Aeneid of Vergil (it grows on you)
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

22. Wii or Playstation?
Wii, then PS2. i have no working knowledge of PS3

23. Name 3 of your favorite bands.
Blink 182, Coheed & Cambria, Death Cab For Cutie.

24. Are you a fast, slow, or medium typer?
Oh, i'm pretty fast. you can still follow my fingers, but i can code at a good speed.

25. Do you like Denny's?
Yes. only there would you find the time to plan a porning of someone's room.

26. What is your favorite emoticon?
XP and

27. What do you want to be now?
employed

28. If you could eat one person, who would it be?
hmmm. i'm going to use an alternate meaning and say... Sarah Chalke

29. What character would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
any flamboyantly gay male. it'd just be awkward for a while.

30. When is your birthday?
May 10. now if you can guess well you can figure out my age.

31. Favorite type of ice cream?
Whatever the special of the day is, unless its coffee flavored

32. Last book you read?
Brisingr.

33. Which store would you max out a credit card at?
I'd have to say Pac Sun. I need new look plz.

34. Do you buy / sell / both on eBay?
Don't trust people. nope. i do not.

35. What is the most annoying thing people ask you?
Used to be my major, but now that i'm in college... my weight.

36. Favorite all time TV show?
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Zordon needs 5 teenagers with ATTITUDE!

37. What was your favorite show as a kid?
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, DBZ, and Rugrats.

38. What are you listening to right now?
Raindrops on my window.

39. What is the last thing you ate?
Homecooked Burgers. yum.

40. If you were a crayon what color would you be?
Blue. i liek blue.

41. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
longer hair

42. Favorite sport to play?
soccer. or futboll if you prefer.

43. Favorite Day of the Year?
Christmas?

44. Hugs or Kisses?
Depends on the other party.

45. Chocolate or vanilla?
ChocoChocoChocoChocoChocolate.

46. Favorite Board Game?
Settlers of Catan

47. Favorite smells?
Fresh Burgers.

48. What inspires you?
Fear and desire.

49. Do you have any piercings?
Ears eventually.

50. How many siblings do you have?
One

51. Bacon Bits or croutons?
nope.

52. Favourite Day of the Week?
Friday.

53. Favourite phrase?
"Shallow as a shower"

54. Favourite Restaurant?
Olive Garden. Breadsticks Ahoy!

55. Favourite animal?
Ostrich.

56. Favourite thing to do outside?
Capoeira

57. Favourite thing to do when it's raining?
Listen.

58. Favourite Disney character?
Aladdin.

59. Do you like coffee? If so, what kind?
nope.

60. Star Trek or Star Wars?
Star Wars.

Oh no, no it's OK, I have a Jewish friend. Why does this make it OK? Why does having a friend of the race you're making fun of make the joke not offensive?

My dad was a huge Super Mario Bros. fan in college. I mean HUGE. Like he makes me proud huge. Anyway, he garnered the nickname "Jewish" because of his tendency to grab every virtual coin. Why? Who knows? Perhaps it was because of the starving college syndrome where any money is good money. Maybe he just liked the little "ba-DING" sound it makes every time you grab one. Not the point of this particular rant. Maybe another day. To fulfill some miscellaneous interview requirement for something.

Anyway, he always told me that it was fine to use that because one of his frat brothers, and fellow SMB enthusiast, was actually Jewish. Now I can understand that it's OK in that setting, and to his credit, that's about the only place it comes up. The point of discussion comes when I hear about this nickname and, before I react, my mom validates it with the aforementioned statement of friendship. Maybe she saw the certificate. I hear they're impressive.

Wouldn't this at best, not mean anything? It's still a stereotype of all Jews. I mean, who's to say that Nicolai Goldberg(read: fictional) wouldn't be horribly offended by this, whether you had a Jewish friend or not? I mean so you have a friend and he doesn't care. That's one Jew out of all of em. And I know there are less of them around since the 50's (too soon?), but still. I mean couldn't it be argued that by taking that stereotype to a jovial level you're actually hoisting that friend by his own petard (read: parentage)?

This is merely a question for all those who understand the protocol of this type of story and all the ones used in that stand up comedy I love so much. How does this work?

About Me: Greetings. I'm _____ or less commonly known as themusicman90. There is a lot to me, but I'm pretty upfront about who I am. My character is strong. I'm loud. I'm nerdy. I'm fun. I'm me. I'm happy to be me. And I don't care what anyone thinks of me.

Now, short of the blank in the place where a name would be and the happenstance that someone actually has the same screen name as I do, how many times have you read this "about me" section of a profile? Too many. It has become the societal norm for people to feel a compulsion to prove that they are not to be trifled with. That they're "hardcore" or "badass". Pride and self-love are infused in every sentence of this. I'm going to spell out all of my best qualities. That way you know exactly what I'm either the most proud of, or what my friends and I agree is the best type of person to be. "There's a lot to me", but I think I can sum it up pretty quickly; I'm deep but simple.

None of this actually says anything about the person behind the paragraph. These are all vague adjectives and stereotypes that can be applied to anyone who deigns to pick them up. Strong character: who doesn't have it? With all of the pride and bravado running through culture these days can anyone really have a weak character? Loud, nerdy, and fun. Again all glittering generalities that could easily be turned to fit any single person. A mute person could describe themselves as loud because they wear vibrant clothing. Apparently not being a meat head is enough to qualify to be nerdy. (A side note: didn't this use to be a bad thing? Does anyone else remember the pasty white, spindly, bespectacled youths always kicked around in old TV shows?) Fun. Who would in their right mind say anything else? "Well I'm kind of boring, but I think people like me anyway."

And the cou de gras; "And I don't care what anyone thinks of me". This one is my favorite. "Pay no attention to the description of my best qualities preceding this, it doesn't actually matter to me what you think of me. Unless of course you're favorable. Then your opinions mean the world to me." Everyone cares what people think of them. It affects every relationship in day to day life. Do you know what a relationship is if you don't care? Silence. You don't care so you don't contribute. I wish more people actually knew that they cared. At least then they could actually be "upfront about who I am".