Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.
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@RobD
Part of it was to underline what had already been mentioned concerning Shiro and Nautsugo; Naut's the same size as in Real Life, and moves just fine. Shiro is adjusting to being a little taller than he's used to, with concomitant clumsiness for a bit. But still kinda no biggie.Akatsuki? Looks like she's falling down drunk when attempting to move around as a result of just how far off her reflexes are due to the major change in size.
Given their circumstances, can she afford any problems with reflexes at this time?
If there was another character design potion available to her, she might have tried something a tad taller and more developed knowing that if she couldn't adjust in a timely manner she could try again... but so far as she's aware this is it, her one opportunity to undue a mistake.
So she went for the form her autonomic system is used to, despite all the other problems inherent with it.
Staying with the form she was in was not an option if one desired her to stay sane; she wasn't trans, didn't have gender dysphoria, it was just the character she used in Elder Tales so that folks would treat her as someone competent; fine in a game, but when it becomes Real Life not fine at all.The author didn't go on and ignore the situation.
Whether one finds some of the character interactions humorous or not depends upon your worldview, but he didn't ignore the reality that there would be some reaction to the disparities in apparent age due to size, and even if she'd had a mature physique at that height there'd have been a lot of shit coming her way.My sister is around 4'8" or so, two years older than I am, and hasn't grown an inch in over fifty years. She has a mature figure, so hasn't had that issue...other than the folks thinking she was a mature looking kid. But most of her clothes are custom made or carefully altered, and have been since her teens.
And our society does discriminate based upon height as well as all the other shit that can define someone as 'different,' with the distinction that it doesn't matter what race or creed or whatever, short isn't easy when attempting to function in a world of mass produced goods aimed at the 'norm.'.My impression is that she's around Shiro's age, as both are in college still?
Shiro was, I think she was still as well.
So the only thing that would make a relationship weird is how others perceive their respective appearances in conjunction.I must admit that my problem with Akatsuki is how others view her, readers and in-story; I really dislike Henrietta's thing for taking girls she can dominate and using them as dress-up toys because they're so cute. Akatsuki, Raynesia, a couple of others who are fairly main cast. And the folks who let her do so, who look aside going, "Not my problem."
Which is irritating as otherwise it's one of my favorite series.
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@Geezer-Weasalopes Having people try out clothes is really a woman thing. They buy clothes for you as a gift and then 'ask' you to try them on, but there's no room to refuse. It happens to me sometimes and I'm a grown up guy. I think it's just one of those things, maybe the writer wanted to vent about it in some way.
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@RobD said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
@Geezer-Weasalopes Having people try out clothes is really a woman thing. They buy clothes for you as a gift and then 'ask' you to try them on, but there's no room to refuse. It happens to me sometimes and I'm a grown up guy. I think it's just one of those things, maybe the writer wanted to vent about it in some way.
Not what's going on in this instance.
It's a trope that shows up a lot in Japanese LNs and such.
It's along the lines of the shota obsession, only aimed at the same gender and the implication of not actually crossing certain lines unless it appears in doujins.If you haven't come across it elsewhere... you've successfully avoided those works.
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There's a pattern I saw with two villainess light novels (adventurer and taming final boss) that really disappointed me:
They introduce the main character of the game to actually be similar to the novel's protagonist, who is supposed to be the prime villain of the game. It's not a bad thing at all; it makes it kind of interesting, with how the story can take it from there. What ticks me off the most is not just that they just couldn't be bothered to try and warp the story to coexist and instead take down the other, but that we never hear a thing with the game protagonist's motives or true history; they're just this overly righteous and arrogant personality that doesn't have a real purpose in the world besides being a villain. Who are they, to be able to manipulate the world with their knowledge of winning their hearts, more knowledgeable than the protagonist? The author? A devout fan? We will never know...
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Speaking of villainesses, there's a lot of fresh light novels out there that really bend into the keywords. Last boss, demon lord, adventurer, villainess, levels (I really don't enjoy the very stat heavy aspect of isekais, where you have this skill or basically never be able to have or perform that skill for the rest of your life. Mana levels also suck in that regard), tamer... not to mention the features, like slimes (I get that the template here is really malleable in more ways than literal, but it is so oversaturated to the point where even the kind of story aspects that uses slimes to satisfy certain parts of the story just breaks the immersion of why such a creature exists (and why not everyone and their mom has one)), adventurer's guild (I tune this one out a lot, though it's usually so much like a game where it doesn't feel like a real occupation anymore), mana systems... the list goes on forever, but you can really feel the keyword meta going on that is very much overshadowing the quality of the story.
I can get all salty about this, but at the end of the day the novels do seem to be in the realm of "my first level" in mario maker kind of quality, not to mention that it can be purposefully written to be designed for tv shows (konosuba, slime, realist hero, and more) with superficial coverage of certain aspects and heavy emphasis on tropes to invoke certain responses or thoughts favoring the character and its purpose. But when you really think about it, if these are within the realm of "my first level" kind of substance, how are these getting the approval to go so much further than what the content can spare?
Also, for the tv oriented stories, is it weird to say that it doesn't feel like the characters actually change at all? In a way, a lot of the characters are secluded into tropes and are probably intended to retain that image till the days forgotten, and any events that should've made permanent change just finds that character going back to what they were previously. This notice is probably part of something greater than just light novels, but I wonder if this hinders the quality of the cast because of the inability to turn out differently than the way they started off.
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@22144418 tvtropes calls it Status Quo Is God, and its far from an Isekai or a Light Novel thing. In a way, I think you might have the causality backwards on that one - I think its the series that obey it that make for better (or at least easier) tv adaptations. Mainly for the same reason written-for-TV shows often use it - episodic TV is easy to watch in whatever order you like, and makes sense even if you miss an episode or two.
Streaming services mean that's not quite as big a draw now as it used to be back in the days when missing a broadcast left you at the mercy of reruns, true...
As for the quality level of Isekais... Yeah, the glut of them is coming from some amateur novelist sites online. The buzzword-heavy titles are needed to draw the attention of people flipping through a list of series with ever-so-slightly-different gimmicks to them. Popularity isn't really decided by the technical skill of the writer; Interesting characters, unique plot points, or giant dollops of wish-fulfilment can all draw an audience to the works of a technically poor writer. The ones that draw an audience start going through the adaptation chain (generally WN->LN->Manga->Anime), with how far they get determined by how big of an audience they build.
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In fairness, you don't read LN's for high literature.
They're dumb fun, sometimes extremely dumb, and are all about read-and-forget and novelty.
At least it's not like Star Wars, where people have convinced themselves it's more than pap.
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@Windsagio - with rare exceptions like The Faraway Paladin. It's better than a fair amount of western fantasy literature.
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@HarmlessDave True although it only got 5 volumes (including short stories).
That's an exception though, generally LN's that try to be literary just suck more and more and more, if they don't go pure grimdark chuuni.
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@KopiCAT said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
But it seems I wasn't about Akatsuki. If you are mistaken for an Elementary student, you are the very definition of a loli in my mind, no matter your age. And any romance between an actual adult MC and such a person just.. well disgust would be much too strong a word. But I certainly dislike it strongly.
I have to disagree, just about as strongly.
Underage age-gap romance is a big NO for me, and I have pretty scathing critique for it; just look at the Private Tutor threads, to name one example. Or my disgust at the way I'll Never Set Foot in That House Again turned into an age-gap romance.
But the key here for me is mental and emotional age. To me, at least, Akatsuki acts like a college student, Shiro's peer - from the very beginning, she shows maturity, competence and self-confidence in just about everything that doesn't link to traumas about her appearance (i.e. being used as a dress-up doll). She takes initiative, assumes responsibility, and acts as an independent adult. That's enough to override her appearance and put her in the same category as adult RL women I know who are short and not particularly curvy.
Besides, Henrietta was always my favorite. She also showed clear signs of liking him.
Henrietta has a sadistic side that bothers me. If anything, I think her interaction with Akatsuki is far more deserving of the lolicon label than anything Shiro does - her attraction and fawning over Akatsuki is based on her appearance, compounded by that sadism when she realizes how much it bothers (and even outright panics) Akatsuki. Her teasing of Shiro in the noble's dance ball also had a malicious edge that was another example, for me.
...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.
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@Windsagio said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
At least it's not like Star Wars, where people have convinced themselves it's more than pap.
Oh, good one! I'm not sure if fandom in general can be included in this topic, but Star Wars fans are nuts, and their pathology worsens my enjoyment of the franchise. Star Wars was amazing and transformative for me... when I was a teenager. Not so much as an adult. The movies are still fun, but it's not like they are God's gift to cinema. When I hear Star Wars super fans go on and on (and on and on) about how bad the new movies are, I feel like asking them if they've actually tried rewatching the originals lately.
Also, on the more general topic of anime and LN culture, I can't stand the "Alpha Geek". This is the guy who has the one true opinion about which series are any good, which characters you're allowed to like, and which interpretations are worth considering. To disagree with the alpha geek is to be exposed as a philistine. He gains prestige in his tiny microcosm by hating everything that anyone else likes. Nothing released recently ever compares favorably to the obscure and decades old properties that the alpha geek claims to prefer. All I will say about this weird personality tic, is that hating things is easy. It involves no risk or vulnerability. It must give some weird sense of superiority to look down your nose at the little people with their unrefined pallets But, personally, if you really can't understand that other people might like something that you don't, or might be looking for something other than the one true best series ever, then I think maybe you need to go back to kindergarten or something.
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@unknownmat said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
When I hear Star Wars super fans go on and on (and on and on) about how bad the new movies are, I feel like asking them if they've actually tried rewatching the originals lately.
I've rewatched Star Wars A New Hope recently and it still holds up. It's a very simple story well told. The Sequel Trilogy is a very simple story told poorly.
The Trench Run is amazing. I feel tense every time.
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@Planguy said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
I've rewatched Star Wars A New Hope recently and it still holds up. It's a very simple story well told.
Without trying to be overly reductionist, A New Hope is basically a hero's journey. It would be stranger if it didn't hold up.
I didn't find the originals to be nearly as good as I remembered. Sadly, the same is true for Indiana Jones, which were my favorites growing up.
The Sequel Trilogy is a very simple story told poorly.
FWIW, I disagree. I liked the new movies - I was satisfied that they were worth the ticket price. I suspect that had I watched the originals for the first time today, and without the nostalgia, I probably would have enjoyed them about as much.
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@unknownmat said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
Oh, good one! I'm not sure if fandom in general can be included in this topic, but Star Wars fans are nuts, and their pathology worsens my enjoyment of the franchise. Star Wars was amazing and transformative for me... when I was a teenager. Not so much as an adult. The movies are still fun, but it's not like they are God's gift to cinema. When I hear Star Wars super fans go on and on (and on and on) about how bad the new movies are, I feel like asking them if they've actually tried rewatching the originals lately.
Now, I actually tried marathoning Star Wars films during one of the Covid lockdowns. This included 11 Star Wars films (3 trilogies, Solo, and Rogue One) in chronological (not release) order over a single weekend, of which I'd say about half held up well. Rogue One, A New Hope, and Empire Strikes Back I consider great films, Revenge of the Sith, Solo, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens I enjoyed watching, Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones had interesting scenes in them but were overall kinda boring, and then there's Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker...
Last Jedi's probably the hardest one to rate. It doesn't ever feel that badly put together, and it certainly doesn't feel as stupid as Rise or as boring as the prequels could get, but... I don't think it really works as part of the series. It feels so different to the Abrams films on either side its actually pretty jarring watching the three back to back (not least because both directors make a hobby of tossing away the other director's plot points, and Johnson's giant dump on Luke Skywalker works a lot better when Luke trying to redeem Vader in Return of the Jedi is a distant memory rather than something you watched that morning).
The sequel trilogy are the only ones where I had a worse opinion of them after the marathon. They just worked better when there was a gap between them.
@unknownmat said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
Also, on the more general topic of anime and LN culture, I can't stand the "Alpha Geek". This is the guy who has the one true opinion about which series are any good, which characters you're allowed to like, and which interpretations are worth considering. To disagree with the alpha geek is to be exposed as a philistine. He gains prestige in his tiny microcosm by hating everything that anyone else likes. Nothing released recently ever compares favorably to the obscure and decades old properties that the alpha geek claims to prefer. All I will say about this weird personality tic, is that hating things is easy. It involves no risk or vulnerability. It must give some weird sense of superiority to look down your nose at the little people with their unrefined pallets But, personally, if you really can't understand that other people might like something that you don't, or might be looking for something other than the one true best series ever, then I think maybe you need to go back to kindergarten or something.
You mean there are people out there who would DARE to disagree with one as knowledgeable as I?! I must smite them, immediately!
Some questions (like "Is Series X Entertaining?") have more than one right answer. Its all too easy to forget that just because your answer is right, it doesn't make other people's positions wrong. Certainly I've made that mistake a few times... recently... on the I Parry Everything discussion thread alone...
But, yeah, if you spend your entire life doing that, you'll probably run out of friends pretty quickly.
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@kuali said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
Now, I actually tried marathoning Star Wars films during one of the Covid lockdowns. This included 11 Star Wars films (3 trilogies, Solo, and Rogue One) in chronological (not release) order over a single weekend, of which I'd say about half held up well. Rogue One, A New Hope, and Empire Strikes Back I consider great films, Revenge of the Sith, Solo, Return of the Jedi, and The Force Awakens I enjoyed watching, Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones had interesting scenes in them but were overall kinda boring, and then there's Last Jedi and Rise of Skywalker...
Oh fair points. To put my cards on the table...
I find the prequels so boring that I still haven't managed to watch Episode III.
I've only watched the sequel movies once each. I was perfectly satisfied, but hardly blown away.
I watched the originals probably a dozen times each maybe 30 years ago. And then took a decades hiatus before somewhat recently watching them again with my daughter.
Rogue One was amazing and deserves to be in a category of its own.
But I guess my real point is that they are just movies. They are not a way of life. It's fine if you liked some more than others. But the endless bitching about the newer movies annoys me.
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@KopiCAT said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
But what I dislike most about Harems is the fact that none of the ladies ever really goes against decisions made by the MC. It's like they are one and all just a bunch of 'yes girls'.
MC: "I wanna do this!"
Harem: "Yes my lord"
MC: "I wanna do that!"
Harem: "Yes my lord"
It's like they have zero agency other then to just support the MC in whatever he does.On the flip side, I also end up hating it when there is a Harem, but they have the Protagonist so whipped that they have no personality. Like they want to do something, but they get overruled because it's "too dangerous" or because the harem is trying to change them to be something they're not.
And it's like "FFS Dude, just stand up for yourself. You don't have to put up with this. If they truly loved you, they wouldn't be trying to change you. Have some self respect."
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@unknownmat said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
Without trying to be overly reductionist, A New Hope is basically a hero's journey. It would be stranger if it didn't hold up.
Yes? Exactly?
Star Wars is iconic, simple stories of good vs evil. With characters that are archetypes. They resonate with people on a deep, fundamental level. They are timeless stories that will always have an audience.
The sequel trilogy being deconstructions are destructive to what Star Wars is supposed to be, and damaging to them being popular.
Both the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy have had a mark on the popular consciousness. Who talks about the Sequel Trilogy?
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@Planguy said in Hate on what you Love. Let's air our grievances.:
The sequel trilogy being deconstructions are destructive to what Star Wars is supposed to be, and damaging to them being popular.
I feel like you're trying to demonstrate my point. All you're saying is that you found them antithetical to what Star Wars means to you personally. That's fine. You don't have to like them.
I was really happy with the first movie because unlike the prequels it once again felt like a Star Wars movie to me. I watched it once, I enjoyed it, and then I didn't think about it again until the next movie came out.
Both the Original Trilogy and the Prequel Trilogy have had a mark on the popular consciousness. Who talks about the Sequel Trilogy?
That remains to be seen. When the prequels came out, they were also widely panned. Based on your statement it's not clear why the prequels were noteworthy in a way that the sequels are not. But to me, the fan reaction feels identical.
Incidentally, it was in the prequel timeframe that I came to realize how annoying I found the Star Wars fanbase.
In fairness, I will say that we live in a much more cynical time and the entertainment landscape is more saturated than ever. If they have less impact that may have something to do with it. I can't see my daughter rewatching Star Wars, or any other movie, like I used to because she just has so many more choices at the push of a button.
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In regard to Star Wars trilogies: There can only be one.
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@Geezer-Weasalopes Ironically enough, that is also true of Highlander movies...
@unknownmat Thinking about it... Now, this is just my guess (since we're not nearly far enough from the sequel trilogy's releases to know how they'll go down in history), but:
The Force Awakens was a perfectly serviceable film, but as many people noted at the time, it was basically a remake of A New Hope but with better effects and a worse main cast. The Last Jedi spent more effort tearing down previous additions to the series than adding new ones... though again, entertaining enough to watch, even if it doesn't fit with the rest of the series very well. Rise of Skywalker was a mess.
Now, for the prequel trilogy. It brings a very different-feeling setting to the other two - the Jedi Order and Republic still exist, and the heroes are the defenders of the central government trying to stop the rebellion against it. Its the only trilogy where the central character is an actual fully trained Jedi; the only trilogy with more than one jedi in the primary cast; the only trilogy where a romance is one of the main plots instead of a side plot. The down side? The overall films were, for the most part, not good.
But when it comes down to which of them will go down in pop culture... I would say that the prequel trilogy has the better chance. It had a few scenes that were genuine highlights of the series (like the Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon vs Darth Maul fight on Naboo), a couple of the series' best characters (Obi-Wan and Palpatine in their primes), and... a load of rubbish surrounding the good bits. (I certainly don't blame you for giving up in Attack of the Clones.)
But its the extremes that tend to get remembered. Both the good ones and the bad ones. When it comes to your place in pop culture, the worst thing you can be isn't bad, or even boring - its bland.
The sequel trilogy was two bland films (one good, one bad) sandwiching one that seems to have wandered in from the wrong series. Maybe Last Jedi goes down in pop culture like the prequels eventually did, but Abrams' two films likely won't.
