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No problem.

:).

I love your avatar. Lina is epic!

Lain's definitely worth a watch though, or maybe even a rewatch.

Old is not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned, but that is an interesting depiction of it, lol. I've actually been interested in older titles lately, so I think I'll definitely watch it out of curiosity if nothing else. You definitely can't knock it for being similar to Evangelion considering NGE most probably wouldn't even exist if it weren't for Gunbuster. That being said I haven't seen Evangelion yet so I'm looking forward to seeing Gunbuster before it for chronological integrity.

On another note, I noticed this on your profile:
- philosophical or religious references that are out of place
- sci-fi or mecha or postapocaliptic wannabe philosophical bullshit

Under things that you dislike. And, I'm thinking Evangelion sounds like it would have been the epitome of everything you dislike if that were the case, lol. Personally I really like phsychological/philosophical and sci-fi or post apocalyptic genres as long as they aren't completely pretentious. If you think about it too hard though you will make yourself believe that anything philosophical or religious that comes up in anime is pretentious, and that isn't always the case. Although I do understand why you could feel that way.

I noticed that Serial Experiments Lain is on your planning list, and I want to warn you that it is riddled with philosophical innuendo and later religious references too. With that being said I genuinely feel that Lain is not pretentious in the way it executes those themes, and you shouldn't denote it unless you really hate those things. Granted, there is one particular scene in Lain involving a religious type of figure that I found a bit offsetting but the rest of the anime and everything else about it made up for that entirely in my opinion.

I saw that you're watching Gunbuster, and coincidentally I've been planning to watch that for a little while now. Are you enjoying it?

I thought about watching it just yesterday actually.

I can understand your feeling about the pace, but I really don't think it would have been the same if it wasn't that way. The fast pace is just a part of the wacky experience that makes up FLCL. I must say, I don't think I'd enjoy it subbed, because I don't think I'd be able to 'keep up' with everything and read the subs too. Maybe watching the subs made the pace feel that much faster for you. The dub was one of the better dubs I've ever seen, so I must say give it a try if you're interested at all.

I have been procrastinating Higurashi for quite a long time now, so I'll try to make that a priority. I must say though I read a review about how it never actually develops much beyond a series of torture and gore, and it almost convinced me that I'm not going to enjoy it. Generally I like a seriously psychological story, rather than just something pretentious or bombastic. Definitely going to watch it and gather my own opinion though. I know I need to watch the second season too for the 'answers' arc.

edit: I'm definitely going to check out Madoka eventually regardless of others opinion.

Well, we've reached that point it seems. The argument is becoming circular. We just have two very different opinions on Madoka Magica and we'll have to agree to disagree I suppose.

Regarding Geass: Lelouch's behavior toward his "brother" is very inconsistent and very poorly written, I admit that. That is by far the show's biggest plothole. But to say R2 is a "giant mess" simply because of that single inconsistency is an absurd exaggeration. As I said before, Geass has a small amount of plot holes and plot conveniences, but there are more then enough redeeming qualities of the anime to redeem those flaws.

Couldn't spoil it any more, it's been spoiled and continues to get spoiled. My fault for not getting to it sooner. Someday I will, regardless.

1. So you are dismissing a legitimate problem with the show as a "child's problem" simply because you like the show? That's called favoritism. And in Steins;gate, half the world DID know about the satellite in a matter of hours; it was all over the news. Madoka Magica is advertised to have just as much of a coherent plot as Steins;gate, so don't pull any of that "It's trying to be scientific, Madoka is not" nonsense.
2. (apparently you skipped 2) It doesn't matter if she knew she would turn into a witch; she knew she would die and she knew being a magical girl was a horrible existence. She still kept her mouth shut and tried to persuade Madoka and Sayaka to become magical girls. That makes her a horrible human being and there is no explanation for what she did at any point. Yet another example of bad writing (I wasn't putting words in your mouth, I was pointing out what happens in the show...).
3. Exactly, a deconstruction doesn't mean doing everything exactly inversely; I just said that.
You may have been kept in suspense and unsure of how it would end, but all I was doing was screaming at the screen telling Madoka to stop being so stupid and wish for an appropriate resolution, and regardless of your opinion on Madoka Magica, you can't blame me for that.
P.S. Code Geass as a whole has maybe 1 or 2 inconsistencies and it has more then enough redeeming qualities to make up for them. Exaggeration will get you nowhere.

I think FLCL is quite a good series personally. It's surely different, but that is one reason I like it.

I think it has a lot of undertones that develop into a literary sort of tale. I could relate to the the main characters being that I'm a teenager, and given the short length I think FLCL was able to move me in a way that I feel it deserves its appraisal. The dub for it is also quite good.

I can understand where you're coming from more from the other titles you've listed as overrated. Of course everyone will look at FLCL differently and that's the beauty of it.

I can see where you're coming from, it's like that for a lot of shows.
FLCL is hit or miss for a lot of people, you either like it, or don't. But I never thought of it as overrated. I can't comment on CG since I haven't seen it.
But I do agree with Elfen Lied, I think it gets far too much praise for what it was.

FLCL is *very* overrated?

1. You are giving the writing of the show a benefit of the doubt which it does not deserve and has not earned. Was there a possible way for the show to explain why wishing for infinite wishes was impossible? Yes, of course there was, and they could have done it through some of the hypothetical complications that you gave examples of. The point is that they didn't do that and there is therefore no reason to assume it is impossible! They didn't acknowledge the possibility of infinite wishes at all! They simply hoped that nobody would notice the gaping plothole or they didn't notice it themselves. If they had maybe told a story about a magical girl who wished for infinite wishes and one of your above hypothetical occurred, I would have been fine with that, but you are assuming that they had this plothole covered conceptually when they in actuality they made no attempt to demonstrate to their audience that they had; that is nothing more then wishful thinking and you can't do that when objectively analyzing something.
Also, you act as if that was the only wish she could have made to fix the problem. Remember, she could have made the wish she made at the end at anytime; how anticlimactic is that? The thing I've been screaming at my screen for you to wish for the entire anime is finally made with no buildup? Great payoff.
2. We could sit here and debate the rationality and the ethics behind Okabe's decision to trust Moeka for weeks, but doing so is not relevant to our main debate and making such a comparison is silly. As you said yourself, the irrationality of the two scenarios are not even on the same level. You seem to be under the impression that preteen-teen age children would not be able to see these plotholes. I assure you that you are underestimating the intelligence of young people; take it from someone who spends a lot of time around children.
3. You mean to tell me that Mami didn't notice that her soul had been severed from her body? You mean to tell me that Mami didn't know she needed to constantly restore her life energy? Seriously? You realize how ridiculous that sounds right? You are going into a whole new territory of all new plotholes that I'm sure you don't want to.
4. You are putting words in my mouth. In no way am I suggesting that everything must be precisely inverse to the original model. If anything, a deconstruction allows for more creativity and possibilities then usual. But to take so much time to create the aspects and characteristics of your new universe only to complete erase it and replace it with a normal Magical Girls universe for the sake of a happy ending is just pitiful.
And there is nothing omnipotent about using basic common sense. I'm not mad that it didn't happen for so long so much as I am mad that it was clearly a possibility that nobody takes advantage of throughout the anime, a.k.a a plothole.
P.S. I watched the first 10 or so episodes of Clannad's first season, but to be honest it was boring me death, so I stopped. I haven't logged every single anime I've watched yet. Haven't gotten around to it.

1. Exactly. Kyuubey would be forced to continuously grant Madoka's every wish, because if he doesn't her original wish of infinite wishes would be unfulfilled meaning she would never have become a magical girl again. It's a paradox and a huge plothole. You keep trying to defend it, but there is nothing you can say to change how laughable of a plothole it really it is.
2. Yes, believe it or not, I expect characters in every scenario to use basic common sense. "Rational thinking" and common sense at it's most basic form are two different things. As for Okabe's decision to trust Moeka; it is elaborated on more in the visual novel. Just like he has a unique "Seeing Steiner" abillity, he has a very good sixth sense for what a person is like on the inside. He sensed that Moeka was a truly good person on the inside, so he decided to trust her. The irrationality of that decision is not even on the same plane as as the absurdity in Madoka Magica.
3. You mentioned Mami earlier; what the hell was her problem? She had every opportunity to tell Madoka and Sayaka what they were getting into and she didn't because why again? Just because she's a horrible person? There are so many reasons for the girls to be skeptical and there are so many people/things that should alert them to the truth, but none of it ever happens simply due to plot convenience. It's lazy writing and there is no way around that.
4. The fact that the anime is a deconstruction is not an assumption; it is a well known fact. There is nothing wrong with a positive ending but this one, as I mentioned earlier, defeated the purpose of the anime. They gave it a forced happy ending because they couldn't think of any way else to conclude the show and it ended up undermining everything they strived for.

1. The fact that nobody thought of wishing for a solution is precisely the problem! A five year old with down syndrome would have the mental capacity to think to wish for a world without witches, infinite wishes, or hundreds of other solutions. Saying "Well, nobody thought of it", doesn't fly when the thing you are referring to is so incredibly easy to think of. It stands as the biggest plothole I've ever seen. Not even a show made for toddlers would have such a gaping plothole.
2. Okabe ends up trusting Moeka and it ends up being a mistake; that is not a plothole, that is a realistic character flaw that someone with limited people skills could actually have. No correlation to Madoka Magica. Also, the police had already arrived, why would Okabe call them again? If I witnessed something out the ordinary like that, I would probably text my best friend too.
3. You are right that Homura did try to tell Madoka and Sayaka at one point, but they didn't believe her and made the deal anyway. This makes no sense and is still a plothole because that is inconsistent with the actions of the characters throughout the anime. Madoka and Sayaka are both skeptical of Kyuubey, which is why they wait so long to make the wish. If they had never seen Homura trying to kill Kyuubey, they would have no reason to distrust her, and now you are telling me that Homura (who at this point they have no reason to distrust) told them the truth and Madoka and Sayaka were shallow and naive enough to still make wishes? That is absurd and completely contradicts the rest of the anime.
4. The ending is horrible because it defeats the purpose of the show. A deconstruction is supposed to show how a stereotypical story would work in a darker more realistic world. The resolution to Madoka Magica was to simply make the world less dark more stereotypical; thus completely undermining the concept. By the end of the anime, the show becomes nothing more then a normal magical girls anime where there are no witches.