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[Furtuka]

Ohh I know her losing was a forgone conclusion.

It was HOW she lost that is frustrating.

---

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

 Ok let me put it another way. Lets just forget that Aila is female and focus on what ultimately ruined the fight.

You take this machine and pilot who have been built up as this unstoppable force, one who has easily and effortlessly defeated the heroes.

You add that the character in this case is psychic and can see attacks coming before they happen.

So there you have it our heroes are in a bind, they have defeated the invisible funnels but are surprised by the onslaught before them. They lack jets, weapons, and are down to one arm. What can they do?

Ohhh... the enemy machine... just... stopped. But that is ok it was a character moment I am sure once the pilot recovered we can get the rest of this... and... The enemy machine is chosing to fight hand to hand instead of using any of the funnels it still has or the ones on the ground (Yes it still had funnels left). You can still fly... no? Your just relying on a dodge that won't win you the fight anyhow?

So... the enemy is just allowing our heroes to win. There is no epic last fight... fine

Even that would have been fine if the battle or internal battle was more developed so it seemed more desperate.

So all this build up. For an anti-climax. Which is supposed to be the point mind you... Because Aila is a weapon created for war but is actually not meant to for it which is symbolized by the fact that she is a woman (no, not joking)... with the final move meant to represent love.

It HONESTLY feels like the writers actually wrote themselves into a corner both character AND fight wise. Since they had to rush both (but that is to be expected. They are trying to cram character progression into 10 minutes)

Character wise it is MOSTLY fine except that it was rushed. The manager went from someone controlling yet caring to heartless (in order to force the issue) too quickly. Aila went from someone independent yet controlled to someone who feels entirely dependent in a 2 minute span.

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Actually I should have saw it coming. But I just don't see women as "pure white flowers on a bed of virgin snow that should be kept from the bloodshed of war" so I honestly was rooting for Aila not seeing what they were going to pull because I kept thinking she was going to be a serious character.

It honestly fools me every single time. "awesome! She is amazing!" "We must keep her from battle, she is just a little girl" "Wait what? but... they are small boys and she is the fourth most powerful person on this team... Wait what is going on here?" "She might be putting on a brave face but inside her head she is screaming" "Ohh no... PLEASE no! She is my favorite character don't bench her PLEASE! PLEASE stop!" "Sorry, but we don't want you fighting anymore" "NOOO!!!" (also yes, the entire reason I can never get over it is because an anime I watched benched my favorite character because she was a woman... twice!)

Actually I think that is probably it. I mean I can think of other animes where the main character was female such as gunslinger girls, and the theme of "they shouldn't be fighting" is very present (though in that case it was because they were little girls).

I noticed last time we had this discussion all your examples came from a handful of shonen series

Ohh no, I fully believe that is true. I am sure if I expanded out it would change.

I mean in Ninja Scrolls the exact opposite occurred with the female ninja becoming more competent and her arc being on her shoulders for the most part (kinda). As well her "womanliness" was used more about her being isolated because of how deadly she is, rather then her being "unsuited" for it. Mind you there are other aspects I COULD talk about... but I mostly only care about competence and their ability to solve their own arcs. (If I remember correctly)

As well Fairy Tale is a FREEK when it comes to this as well. Lucy solved her own dang arc. (but then again, that is why I like Fairytale so much. I can actually be invested in both the male and female characters... and the female characters tend to be more interesting in this case... I find Natsu and Grey rather boring)

Lets not have my rants taking up this great thread.

Ok, I agree the Build Knuckle is getting repetitive and anti climactic, but I disagree on the thing about the fight being sexist. The point of the battle breaking down into sillyness was that prior to it she was not having fun, going along with the whole point of the show, and from there they got so caught up in what they were doing that she forgot to go all out. The fact she is a girl and has a sad backstory is more tied in to Gundam tradition, though I'll admit that it is that concept itself that is more than a little sexist since it stems from Tomino's weird issues with women along with the values of the 80s. But I still think that the message that was meant to be sent from her character was meant to be independent of that. Besides...

Spoiler: ...something tells me that she'll be making a comeback (click to show/hide)

[Neonivek]

The point of the battle breaking down into sillyness was that prior to it she was not having fun, going along with the whole point of the show.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Other characters had to learn that lesson too (In fact it is getting quite repetitious). Yet they didn't just surrender the fight... They actually gave the fight everything they had in respect to their opponent. In fact the lesson 5 fights ago was "Don't just give your opponent the win because you like them". Also no she isn't going to make a real comeback... lets not get silly now.

On its own it is fine and not sexist. Yet the show has sort of repeatedly treated women as "Women? what are they doing in Gundam Build fighters? Quick give them girly gundams and shove them far outside the action". What a coincidence that Aila got a SD Gundam when she built one herself, another female character ALSO got a SD Gundam, AND the third named female got a stuffed teddybear gundam... I refuse to believe it is just demographics and their female fanbase are all huge fans of SD Gundam.

The fact that women actually got their own tournament because they suck too much... Should have given you warning bells Furtuka. I have never seen a modern anime that was so overtly and unabashedly misogynist.

Heck it is so bad I half-expect the show is actually satirizing the series treatment of women.

[Furtuka]

*shrug* While I still disagree on some poiints, to be honest I just wanted an excuse to post that picture..

[Neonivek]

*shrug* While I still disagree on some poiints, to be honest I just wanted an excuse to post that picture to be honest

I have to admit, I am more astounded by the fact that contrary to EVERYTHING I'd expect. Her Next Gundam isn't pink (DANG it Gundam Seed), it isn't a SD Gundam, and it isn't a joke. It almost makes me think it is a fake "what if" bot. Since it honestly breaks every pattern the series established so far.

[Furtuka]

*double shrug* after giving myself a moment to contemplate I realized I'm not disagreeing with your complaints so much as your use of hyperbole but anways-

IKR the Miss Sazabi is great! (Don't freak out, the Sazabi's inherent  bulkyness overrides any weirdness that could have popped up in its design. It's kinda funny actually, when the design was first revealed before we knew anything about it, there were people complaining that it wasn't feminine enough since they were hoping for something other than the Noble Gundam for kitbashes.)) Don't worry, it shows up in the opening sillouettes so if anything turns out to be a What If design it'll be the Crossbone Gundam Kai that was recently announced.

[Neyvn]

Some anime I have been watching through Crunchy Roll...

Tonari no Seki-Kun - I have linked the Manga before, and the Anime just delivers on what is shown in the novel. Bringing life into the characters more so then text could ever do.

Log Horizon - I checked this one out cause it looking interesting, another Anime about people getting stuck within an MMO. But this one is more interesting cause it looks more into the life of those within without the chance of death looming over their heads...

[Flying Dice]

Just an idle thought, but I've sort of been hankering for bittersweet feels similar to Angel Beats!, any recommendations?

[Nienhaus]

Just an idle thought, but I've sort of been hankering for bittersweet feels similar to Angel Beats!, any recommendations?

I'd recommend but I've only watched one episode of Angel Beats. Also I want to link this.
http://myanimelist.net/animelist/Nienhaus

[Willfor]

Just an idle thought, but I've sort of been hankering for bittersweet feels similar to Angel Beats!, any recommendations?

I don't know about Angel Beats, but for bittersweet I always recommend Wolf's Rain.

[Sindain]

Anohana comes to mind, but I remember it being mentioned before in this thread, so you might have watched it by now.

[majikero]

Finally got around to watching Log Horizon and wow, that is the most well thought out stuck in a video game ever.

[Reelya]

Just an idle thought, but I've sort of been hankering for bittersweet feels similar to Angel Beats!, any recommendations?

Little Busters is by far Key's most similar series to Angel Beats. In a similar sense to Clannad, you have to see season 2 of Little Busters to understand what it's all about.

Or you could check out the earlier Key-related stuff if you haven't seen them: Air, Kanon, Clannad, Sola

AnoHana
Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
ef: a tale of memories / melodies
Madoka
Haibane Renmei
Kaiba

Maybe try some movies:

hotarubi no mori e
Kowarekake no Orgel
Pale Cocoon
Tsumiki no Ie
The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki
The girl who leapt through time
Grave of the fireflies
* any Makoto Shinkai movie

[Flying Dice]

Anohana comes to mind, but I remember it being mentioned before in this thread, so you might have watched it by now.

I haven't, thanks for mentioning it.

Finally got around to watching Log Horizon and wow, that is the most well thought out stuck in a video game ever.

Does it pick up? I've watched the first 5 episodes and there really doesn't seem to be much of a plot developing yet, beyond the stereotypical rescue mission and the subgenre's traditional explanation of RPG mechanics for the two people watching that didn't pick the show up because it's a trapped-in-game-world story. I mean, I like what was hinted at--the insidious nature of life in an MMO without the threat of death, the whole idea of the only meaning being that which you make for yourself--but ultimately philosophical navel-gazing and fights explained (poorly) in terms of game mechanics doesn't make for a whole lot of content.

That aside, the character archetypes are generally not the annoying variety, which is refreshing. OTOH, I sort of dislike when series are set in the whole trapped-in-game-world shtick, but then just fall into the old rut of powers as the plot demands rather than trying to establish an underlying sense of order and balance--it feels like traditional action show powers rather than a system that was expressly designed to not favor [whatever the protagonist happens to be].

Truth be told, though, I could make the same complaint about any series that uses its setting/powers/whatever for cheap thrills rather than as a motivating element of the plot. Take the difference between this (where the trapped-in-MMO setting doesn't really relate to what the characters are doing; beyond the death-is-cheap aspect of it, this could be set pretty much anywhere without the plot or characters changing overmuch), as opposed to SAO (where the trapped-in-MMO setting was an important element of the driving conflict, and which, incidentally, was done very well--for all the other issues with that series, the alienness of living in an MMO was captured very, very well in a myriad of little details), as opposed to the various .hack shows or something like Legendary Moonlight Sculptor (where the MMO element of the setting wasn't a death game but was still a central element of the plot and authorial intent).

I guess what I'm saying is that there's nothing really bad about it, but I haven't felt anything for it yet either.

--

-snip-

Thank'ee as well. I've been meaning to watch Clannad for a long time, but... I'm not sure if my heart can handle feels of that magnitude.

[Flying Dice]

Okay, glad to see that my initial impression was spot on. Uh, in the sense that I didn't watch seventeen more episodes of mush. :I

[Reelya]

Does it pick up? I've watched the first 5 episodes and there really doesn't seem to be much of a plot developing yet, beyond the stereotypical rescue mission and the subgenre's traditional explanation of RPG mechanics for the two people watching that didn't pick the show up because it's a trapped-in-game-world story. I mean, I like what was hinted at--the insidious nature of life in an MMO without the threat of death, the whole idea of the only meaning being that which you make for yourself--but ultimately philosophical navel-gazing and fights explained (poorly) in terms of game mechanics doesn't make for a whole lot of content.

The main plot develops after they get back from the rescue mission. I guess that was a warm up plot to get the "action" side of things out of the way. They really don't do any typical "quest" type stuff after that.

My impressions so far are pretty much the opposite of Taz's. I really am not really enjoying Kill La Kill (well the recent part is better since they're kicking off for the finale), I'm finishing that for completeness, but I'm having no trouble watching Log Horizon. I guess I like dialogue / politics based anime more that random violence.