Infinite Stratos

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yazi88
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Infinite Stratos

Anyone checking out this show yet? I've liked what I've seen so far from episode 1. Its slightly like strike witches with people wearing powered armor with swords, rifles and lots of funnels. Its a [Harem] romantic comedy too with the male character being the only man in the entire world able to pilot the powered armor called IS (infinite stratos) which only women can pilot. Aside from SRW the inspector and Star-Driver, this is the only other mecha show at this time airing this season.

EDIT: Thanks for the heads-up on Star-Driver Destiny Gundam.
Last edited by yazi88 on Thu Jan 06, 2011 11:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

You forgot Star Driver.

But yeah, since it's impossible to have a civil conversation about IS on /m/ I was gonna make a thread here but some one beat me to it.

Anyways, I enjoyed episode one, laughing audibly several times. The protagonist handles himself fairly well given his circumstances and definitely isn't your wimpy male lead. The cold open was pretty cool, but we'll have to wait for next ep to see another IS battle.
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Vent Noir
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Honestly "only girls can pilot it, except for the lead guy" is one strike against this from the beginning (either have only girls and no guys, or have both girls and guys able to pilot them!). If he outclasses all the girls, that's two strikes.

But I'll probably give this a chance anyway, and see if it's likeable enough despite that to keep watching.
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Mr Bushido
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Re: Infinite Stratos

I've watched the first episode and I'm enjoying it so far. I'll pend further initial judgments till I see more.

Anyone find it kinda funny how this show is already being hailed as to put it nicely "not as good"?
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Re: Infinite Stratos

You kiddin'? The show was being touted as crap even before it aired. But that's just how it is these days. People automatically go "It's about a guy surrounded by girls? OMG GENERIC HAREM CRAP!!!"
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Vent Noir
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Destiny_Gundam wrote:You kiddin'? The show was being touted as crap even before it aired. But that's just how it is these days. People automatically go "It's about a guy surrounded by girls? OMG GENERIC HAREM CRAP!!!"
Well, "Only girls can use it, except for the lead guy" is one of my personal pet peeve tropes, so...
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Well, it sets up an ongoing mystery. Why is he the only guy who can use it? Why does it only work with girls in the first place? If more people like him start appearing, it would have a drastic impact on the female dominated society the show takes place in.
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quasadra
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Re: Infinite Stratos

its a cliche storm, but i am here for the spectacular air jousting. do we really need more?

actually if they follow the novel somewhat, there is a plot in it. well, the first ep follows it quite closely, except the battle at the start, its not in the novel. still i understand that you cant have a 1st ep without some sort of action. it still mostly focus on the harem stuff though... for now(i have only read 2 vol).
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Destiny_Gundam wrote:Well, it sets up an ongoing mystery. Why is he the only guy who can use it? Why does it only work with girls in the first place? If more people like him start appearing, it would have a drastic impact on the female dominated society the show takes place in.
The reason why he's the only guy is to have the harem setup. I would almost be willing to wager real money that the show never bothers to give an in-universe explanation, but even if it did, I am utterly sure that the reason will be flimsy at best. I mean, what reason could they possibly give that only women could be pilots until this guy comes along that will make any sense?

And if more people like him start appearing (according to Wikipedia
Spoiler
there aren't any except for a cross-dressing girl
) then that would just ruin the harem, which consists of at least six girls who are in love with him (including not one but two childhood friends). You can overthink the show all you like, you can wile away hours trying to find hidden meanings and depth, but it won't change the fact that this is an incredibly shallow harem show which just happens to have Mecha in it. Could have been set anywhere; the Mecha is just a lure to snag in a wider audience.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Over thinking is one thing, but you're doing the opposite: you're not looking for any depth at all and just brushing it all aside as a cheap gimick.

Is it just an excuse to have one guy alone in the school full of girls? Perhaps, though for a harem situation it doesn't only work with just one guy. But even so, that doesn't mean there isn't other things that can be done with the set up. You say it's only to give him a harem and nothing more, but maybe because of his unique status people will be after him so they can study him and find out why he can use an IS and no other guys. Why exactly he's the only one is a fundamental question that is a major plot point, so of course it's not going to be explained until later on in the story!

Something I've noticed with ANN's previews and the like: they act like they can determine the quality of the show from just the first episode. They'll complain about cheap gimmicks and things not making sense, but they need to realise it's the FIRST EPISODE! It's not going to reveal it's entire hand right off the bat! IS might have a lot of harem elements at first (though as of ep 1, Houki is the only one with any real interest in him. The other girls seem to have more of a casual curiosity since having a guy around is something unusual), but it could always throw a curveball later with some political intrigue or epic mecha battles (as seen in the first few minutes).

So yeah, saying it's just a 'shallow harem show' based on ONE episode is horribly judgemental. Even if it does turn out to be just a harem show with mecha that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable, either.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Destiny_Gundam wrote:Over thinking is one thing, but you're doing the opposite: you're not looking for any depth at all and just brushing it all aside as a cheap gimick.
Well, I can't see how it isn't a cheap gimmick. Now, if the episode's writing had been better then yeah, it could be quite plausible that the show could rise up beyond such an obvious gimmick and actually do something interesting or funny or intelligent with it. But the writing was as rehashed as anything you'll ever see. There is the the saying that nothing is new under the sun, or something like that, so I accept that expecting something completely original is unfair. But not only are all of its components completely unoriginal to the point of being cliched, so is the way they are put together. Instead of mixing them up to make something fresh, it is like the show is made by following a sort of manual somewhere and ticking off a checklist. Probably cause it is.

I would like to think that I'm merely seeing the writing on the wall - or should that be a massive neon sign with a huge arrow? - but whatever.
Destiny_Gundam wrote:Something I've noticed with ANN's previews and the like:
Hmm, I just pondered what your ANN handle is.
Destiny_Gundam wrote:So yeah, saying it's just a 'shallow harem show' based on ONE episode is horribly judgemental. Even if it does turn out to be just a harem show with mecha that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable, either.
It does turn out to be a shallow harem show with mecha. (Badly-designed at that, which - although they can fly - don't even give the pilots suits or helmets.) That is obvious to me, I knew it even before the episode even aired. That the episode was even worse than my already low expectations had led me to think just made it worse.

Now, you don't mind shallow harem, so it is easy for you to find enjoyment in it. Me, I personally despise them - if I wanted comfort food I'd eat a Snickers bar and a bag of chocolate-chip biscuits - so such shows are not fun for me.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

I just watched the trailer. It really doesn't look like much more than a battle suit/school anime with Macross Frontier's art style. Doesn't really spark my interest honestly.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Izayuukan wrote:Hmm, I just pondered what your ANN handle is.
I don't have an ANN handle.

Again, you're judging things based on the first episode. You're writing it off as bad before it even gets a chance to do anything. It's like looking at a house that just began construction. You're looking at the foundation and saying "This house is like all the other houses!" Well, duh, foundations have the same designs because they're proven to be sturdy and reliable. It's from there where the house is built upon and takes shape and unless you have access to the floor plans or know the archetect, you can't say how it's going to look in the end until it's actually finished. Maybe it'll be a run down shack, maybe it'll be a fancy mansion.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Your analogy is off. All houses have foundations, walls and a roof - well, you'd hope they would - and that corresponds to characters and a story. But you can have walls made out of cardboard, a roof made out of a single sheet of tin, and untreated wood for your foundations, or you can do it right and use good building materials. Characters can be well-written or poorly-written, or somewhere in between, and ditto for the plot.

To use the house analogy in another way, what I've seen thus far is a crappy foundation, and from what I've read the walls are flimsy, and there aren't any eaves or support beams. I haven't seen the finished house, true, but I can predict with quite a high degree of accuracy that this is not going to turn out to be a house that is going to be inhabitable for very long, if at all.

Okay, enough with the houses. I can see that this is not a good show, nor can I find (and I have looked) for any sign that it has the potential to get better, never mind if it actually will.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Still, don't be so presumptious. If you don't want to give it a chance, that's fine, but don't be talking like you know for a 100% certified fact that it won't be anything more.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Wanna have a wager then? No money, just the right to say "I told you so".

Although, given that I say the first episode is crap and you say it is not, finding a way to actually agree if it actually turns out to get better or not is going to be a major sticking point.
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yazi88
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Izayuukan wrote:Wanna have a wager then? No money, just the right to say "I told you so".

Although, given that I say the first episode is crap and you say it is not, finding a way to actually agree if it actually turns out to get better or not is going to be a major sticking point.
Dude, if you don't like the way the show is going just don't watch it, no need to persuade others to put the show down after just the first episode just cause you think the show is trash.

Anyways back to the show at hand people.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

ahh, so much arguments, and it is just the 1st episode!

anyway, here is a few thing i pick up from the novel, massive spoiler ahead:
Spoiler
1. all the girls we see in the opening battle will become his harem, this isnt called a harem show for nothing.
2. there will be some unmanned IS. who does they belong to is still a mystery. the white beam spam mech in the opening is one of them.
3. Ichika have been kidnapped before during the 2nd World IS Tournament.
4. Houki's sister is the genius that invented the IS as we know it today. she and Chifuyu is old friend. but they are not on a good terms based on their phone conversation. presumably, there is some conflict between them in the past.
5. its only implied, but all the girls have their own share of ZOINKS life. well, at least Charlotte has one.

now the 2 vol i read is merely an introduction, with all the girls firmly placed in Ichika's harem. hell, even Houki's IS; Aka Tsubaki, is not properly introduce yet. a conspiracy is definitely going on, whether it worth the time or not is another can of worms.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Izayuukan wrote:Wanna have a wager then? No money, just the right to say "I told you so".

Although, given that I say the first episode is crap and you say it is not, finding a way to actually agree if it actually turns out to get better or not is going to be a major sticking point.
Of course, because in the end it's all subjective.

I see a lot of people these days who seem to hold the mind set of "If it isn't completely original and super deep, it's not worth my time!" I definitely don't approve of that sort of thinking. So what if a show is nothing but cliches? So what if it's nothing but fluff? It can still be enjoyable.

IS's first episode? I found it entertaining. The opening battle was pretty damn awesome, and I laughed several times during the rest of the ep. Is it all stuff I've seen before? Sure, but that hardly makes it automatically bad.
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Re: Infinite Stratos

Also, let's face it: If originality is a necessary prerogative for people enjoying something nowadays, then perhaps our entertainment industries, fiction writers and other creative endeavours should just close down for good. It doesn't mean that originality is dead, and one can still find a lot of original concepts out there. Just don't expect said originality to sell well due to its nature of being original, since human nature lends itself to comfort with familiarity, and hence sells as long as it maintains a measure of quality. This is the pessimistic view however.

Entertainment has one and only one goal: To entertain. Of course, the problem is that different people are entertained by different things, and thus the same show that is enjoyable to one person would be detestable to another. One man's trash being another man's treasure and all that. Thus, even if someone says "this thing is crap!", if you yourself personally enjoyed it then there's no need for an argument: trust your own feelings on what you just saw and watched, instead of having to reaffirm your feelings via someone else's opinion.

There is a more objective point of course that you cannot judge a book by its cover, or by its first episode. There have been many animes with promising first episodes that suddenly tripped into writing mediocrity as the episodes passed, and on the other hand you have animes with seemingly average or mediocre first episodes that suddenly rose to become good and even well-loved titles. (I will not be naming titles since everyone thinks differently about different titles, but I'm sure all of you have titles you can classify along those lines of classification). There's something of an little spoken yet well-known guideline called the "three-episode rule": Watch a title for a minimum of three episodes, then you can determine whether you want to continue watching or not at all. And yet even then there are many titles that only find their stride in the 4th or 5th or even later episodes.

To summarize, while everyone is free to enjoy or not to enjoy something they watched, it would be good to not make sweeping generalizations of a title based on just the first episode alone. Who knows, maybe you'll end up enjoying it later on.
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