A s-CRY-ing shame.

The Scarlet Scorpion · Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:41 am

You know "s-CRY-ed", right? Well, after seeing the first episode, and being horribly underwhelmed by it, I decided to ask you all is the show gets any better. However, I was too busy to post that query here, and so I waited, biding my time by watching the second episode. And the third. And the fourth. And then part of episode five.

I can safely say that this is the most mind-bogglingly cliched anime I've seen since "Outlaw Star". And at least "O.S." had good animation and actual thrills. "s-CRY-ed" is cheaply animated, un-original, badly scripted, and generally mind-numbing in all aspects. Except the music. I love the music (it's this weakness I have for saxaphones. I can't explain it, sadly).

So my question to you all is this: what's the freaking point?! It's clear there's no deep philosophical aspect, like "Ghost in the Shell", "Fullmetal Alchemist" or the "Universal Century" "Gundam" shows, nor are there cerebral allegorical aspects, like, again, "F.M.A.", "Paranoia Agent", or "The Big O". There's no artistic grace either, unlike "Cowboy Bebop", "FLCL", or our aforementioned expressionist twosome, "Big O" and "P.A.". "s-CRY-ed" is witless tripe for those lacking in discerning (any?) tastes. What's the message this show is trying to convey? Is there a message, or is it just "d00d lets give a half-assed Spike Spiegel clone an angsty, traumatized rival and his wannabe shag-friend/sexually-frustrated virgin n than mixx them with the X-men, Akira and robotz. N stik them all in an overly simplified version of a moral grey area/dystopia combo r0xx0rz!"

It's still better than "Super Milk-chan", though.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:51 am

There's pretty much nothing redeeming about Scryed. (Yes, it's so bad that I'm not even going to entertain their wacky way of spelling it.)

It's the kind of series that you can tell is crap just by glancing at a picture of it, too. Actually watching an episode only confirmed what I already knew in my heart.

The Scarlet Scorpion · Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:15 am

Same here. I seem to have this sixth sense for shitty movies, T.V. shows, radio programs, and the like. I could tell the "Hulk" movie was going to suck the moment I read Ang Lee had been signed to direct it, although I tried to supress those feelings, and so eventually I went to see the film, in a first run theater, no less. Big mistake.

P.S.: Oh, and another strike against "s-CRY-ed" -- it's not even campy, cheesy fun like the second "Lupin III" series. God help me, I love that show...

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:20 am

The opening theme is hilarious in a campy sort of way.

But aside from that no - it's the worst anime I've ever seen. Dragonball Z included. At least DBZ had a definative (albiet annoying) style all it's own. Scryed is just like the shitty aspects of Power Rangers mixed with the shitty aspects of X-men.

The X-Shit Rangers.

The Scarlet Scorpion · Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:24 am

An apt description if there ever was one, Zeta.

And, from what I hear, even the creator of "DragonBall", whose name I can never remember, despises "DragonBall Z". A little fact that makes me almost temped to read that seven bajillion volume series. Almost.

Personally, I think I'll save my money for "Dr. Slump" -- that series looks like the cat's pajamas.

Post by **Pepperidge** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:26 am

DB/Z should've ended with Freeza.

s-CRY-d was a bottom-of-the-barrel acquisition for CN. They already rejected it once, and only took it because they had nothing else to pad the schedule out with. Sadly, it still seems to get marginally better ratings than Paranoia Agent...

Also, I hate you people for having FMA and Champloo on TV.

The Scarlet Scorpion · Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:32 am

The GHZ's Anime God has spoken.

And yeah, it is pretty ****ing sad that "P.A.", one of the most compelling, fascinating shows I've ever seen, is lagging behind "s-CRY-ed". To make up for it, I say we should all protest this situation by calling the show "s-CRE-wed". It's a much better title, I think.

Oh yeah, "Samurai Champloo" should go in that "artistic grace" catagory, too.

And hey Pep, I'm sure "F.M.A." and "S.C." will work their way up North; "The Venture Bros." did, and if there's hope for Hank and Dean, there's hope for any "A.S." refugee (speaking of shows I adore).

P.S.: Oh, and if they really had to pad out the scheadual, just give us a third season of "The Big O". Please. Megadeuces need love too.

Cuckooguy · Post by **Cuckooguy** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:44 am

Actually, I've managed to read all the Dragon Ball manga that' been released (from Dragon Ball vol. 1 to DBZ vol. 20) and I think the DB series should've ended right before (the original) Piccolo, though I suppose ending with Frieza is another good spot to stop.

I was also enjoying Gohan's high school life, until the series introduced <i>another</i> frickin' tournament. I think the writer has a tournament fetish.

Anyway, I just watched Spirited Away for the first time. It's pretty.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:44 am

P.S.: Oh, and if they really had to pad out the scheadual, just give us a third season of "The Big O". Please. Megadeuces need love too.

Shouldn't that be Megadeus? And how could they possibly build on the ending of Big O 2 unless Angel got blown to bits, causing everything in Paradyme to stop existing? It'd be like making a sequel to the Matrix.

Oh, wait . . .

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 2:51 am

We don't need a third season; we just need the last couple episodes of the second season to be rewritten so that things actually make sense.

Post by **Pepperidge** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:19 am

The Scarlet Scorpion wrote:The GHZ's Anime God has spoken.

Nah, one can't be an anime god without an unnatural interest in young girls, so that title should go to Silv.

The Scarlet Scorpion wrote:And hey Pep, I'm sure "F.M.A." and "S.C." will work their way up North; "The Venture Bros." did, and if there's hope for Hank and Dean, there's hope for any "A.S." refugee (speaking of shows I adore).

I'm sure YTV will get FMA eventually, since that's more a matter of whether or not FUNi can bother giving two shits about promoting their properties in Canada rather than YTV actually wanting it (which I'm sure they do; their anime line-up is arguably more successful than CN's), but things don't look good for Champloo. The show isn't really suited for a youth station, and nobody else seems all that willing to air anime up here. Especially not Teletoon, the station that got The Venture Bros., and is taking an agonizingly long time to get the rest of the AS comedies. We've only gotten 13 episodes of Aqua Teen.

The only thing we really have going for us right now is near-uncut Gundam SEED, and it looks like the last ten episodes may be completely uncut.

The Scarlet Scorpion wrote:P.S.: Oh, and if they really had to pad out the scheadual, just give us a third season of "The Big O". Please. Megadeuces need love too.

Not gonna happen, bud.

EDIT: And my 300th post was devoted to discussing the stuff I love to complain about. Awesome.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:24 am

Pepperidge wrote:I'm sure YTV will get FMA eventually, since that's more a matter of whether or not FUNi can bother giving two shits about promoting their properties in Canada rather than YTV actually wanting it (which I'm sure they do; their anime line-up is arguably more successful than CN's), but things don't look good for Champloo. The show isn't really suited for a youth station

Neither is FMA.

Post by **Pepperidge** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:25 am

It's a show targeted primarily at youth. Champloo isn't.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:26 am

Yeah, nevermind the grim storyline rife with grotesque mutilation and sorrow. I'd say Champloo is much tamer than FMA.

Post by **Pepperidge** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 3:31 am

It's still a show designed for adolescents, though, and would be more at home in the current line up, which is geared towards teens. Champloo is more for twenty-something anime fans. Content isn't really an issue, although they would sooner show Edward getting his limbs ripped off in FMA than an episode focused entirely on drug use in Champloo.

Tsuyoshi-kun · Post by **Tsuyoshi-kun** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 7:27 am

IIRC, Full Metal Alchemist is aimed for the pre-teen / teen crowd in its native Japan. Just because it's violent doesn't mean it's not suitable for that age group. I mean, the original, uncut, Japanese version of Dragonball Z was read and watched by 8 to 13 year olds, and that's a series with a race of people who destroy whole planets for monetary gain.

To be on topic, though, s-CRY-ed sucks. I kinda like the character designs, and some of the fights are neat, but the show, has a whole, is trash. The characters are moronic and unlikable, the ED theme is a garbled mess of Engrish, the plot is non-existant, and the CG is really tacky when used. The fact that it gets better ratings than the awesome Paranoia Agent (which I'm SO getting on DVD soon) is just fucking sad.

Kishi · Post by **Kishi** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 8:31 am

Tsuyoshi-kun wrote:IIRC, Full Metal Alchemist is aimed for the pre-teen / teen crowd in its native Japan. Just because it's violent doesn't mean it's not suitable for that age group.

In Japan. I've seen about half of FMA--everything that's been on American TV so far--and I can say it's not something I'd ever expect to see placed amongst children's programming in North America alongside Teen Titans and such.

Ngangbius · Post by **Ngangbius** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:23 am

The fact that it gets better ratings than the awesome Paranoia Agent (which I'm SO getting on DVD soon) is just fucking sad.

Yeah. It's like Oblongs beating Home Movies in the ratings all over again. =/ I would ideally like if they kept PA in the same timeslot and moved Inuyasha to 12:30 and s.CRY.ed at one since it screams "filler anime".

Post by **Pepperidge** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:01 am

Well, Teen Titans would still skew a little younger. Still, ultimately, FMA isn't an adult show.

Oh, did I mention that I had an article published in Protoculture Addicts #84? Not that the topic is anything that would even remotely interest anyone on this board, but I just thought I should plug that, even though I'm sure most of you kids read that Newtype thing.

Post by **G.Silver** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 9:56 pm

Nah, one can't be an anime god without an unnatural interest in young girls, so that title should go to Silv.

If I had any business with that title in the first place, I think I lose that it by having completely lost interest in following any anime this season (and the last one too..) that isn't Gundam, even though I know there's entertaining stuff out there.

Oh, and if they really had to pad out the scheadual, just give us a third season of "The Big O". Please. Megadeuces need love too.

Speaking of padding! I think the best argument against more Big O is that, much as I enjoyed the second season, is that it felt a bit padded out itself. I think the show would have been stronger if it ended somewhere in the middle, clearly they had no idea how to end it. Neo Ranga, a show that got a similar renewal due to fan response, also quickly putters out during the second season. Apparently the moral of our story is "Don't listen to the fans."

So. How are those new Family Guys doing?

Locit · Post by **Locit** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 10:10 pm

They're ok, but nothing really to write home about. The best bit to me so far was the continuation of the chicken fight. I've caught myself saying they're not the be-all and end-all in front of various rabid fans, and having to correct myself so they don't rip my eyes out and eat my spleen.

Post by **Squirrelknight** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 10:29 pm

Pepperidge wrote:... even though I'm sure most of you kids read that Newtype thing.

Newtype is nice, but it's like what you said on AIM-- It's an expensive magazine about stuff I can't afford. I really liked it alot better when it was a managable 10 bucks, but almost 14 dollars an issue is pushing it.

G.Silver wrote: I think I lose that it by having completely lost interest in following any anime this season (and the last one too..) that isn't Gundam, even though I know there's entertaining stuff out there.

Just because you've lost you're interest in anime doesn't mean you've given up on young girls. Don't try to hide it.

Post by **Green Gibbon!** » Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:52 pm

Spam loaned me his Champloo DVD's and I watched the first 6 episodes. It's good for what it is, I guess, but I really just can't get into it. There's something about this new wave, post-Animatrix, self-importantly hip stuff that rubs me the wrong way. Anime's not like I remember it and I don't like the new flavor. Even the porn's not as good as it used to be.

I guess it's probably just me, because lately I haven't been able to enjoy much of anything that isn't a 50-year old foreign film with existential themes.

Zeta · Post by **Zeta** » Sat Jul 02, 2005 2:23 am

So. How are those new Family Guys doing?

So-so. McFarlane has more free reign from Fox to be raunchier, but somehow that's seemed to dumb the show down instead of making it more groundbreaking or interesting. Stewie's also been heavily downplayed in all the new episodes due to him starring in his own DVD movie, so most of the recent episodes have focused on some weird sexual drama for the older characters. Like Quagmire doing Cleaveland's wife or Meg losing her verginity. Basically it's not bad, but it's traded some of the inventiveness of the show for raunch . . .

The Scarlet Scorpion · Sat Jul 02, 2005 4:30 am

Zeta wrote:Shouldn't that be Megadeus?

I see your "Megadeus" and raise you a "Paradigm" and a "virginity".

Kishi wrote:We don't need a third season; we just need the last couple episodes of the second season to be rewritten so that things actually make sense.

For some reason, I have a feeling it would all make sense as it is if it is, as I believe, an allegory. What it's an allegory of is something I'm not particularly sure about (my guess is either post-World War II Japan. Or maybe Germany. Or something).

Kishi wrote:...children's programming in North America alongside Teen Titans and such.

Speaking of "Teen Titans", I have a feeling that C.N. and KidsWB's network censors like to play around with the show, given that they changed so much of Deathstroke, HIVE, and Brother Blood (especially B.B. -- you'd think they could at least get him relatively like Marv Wolfman's character, just without some of the "edgier" aspects). Personally, I like to think that there's some kind of "Mad Love"/"Harley and Ivy" thing going on, where at some point there'll be an animated-style comic closer to Wolfman's dark, violent comics. Okay, Wolfman's dark, violent comics, Gainax's weird, violent, raunchy "FLCL", and Tatsunoko's "Gatchaman" trilogy... which was dark and violent.

Ngangbius wrote:I would ideally like if they kept PA in the same timeslot and moved Inuyasha to 12:30 and s.CRY.ed at one since it screams "filler anime".

I must confess... I like "Inu-Yasha". Sure, it's not a great show, but it's not a bad one either... and besides, it holds some personal signifigance for me, which I would get into but this post is already getting a bit long.

Pepperidge wrote:Oh, did I mention that I had an article published in Protoculture Addicts #84? Not that the topic is anything that would even remotely interest anyone on this board, but I just thought I should plug that, even though I'm sure most of you kids read that Newtype thing.

That's cool, nay -- very cool. I'll be sure to pick it up, so as to support your writing career. And actually, the most I've seen of "Newtype" is a "Godzilla versus Biolante" poster they offered in 1989, which I recently won off of eBay, and a bullshit-laden article about "Transformers: Micron Densetsu". So for fourteen bucks I don't really the need...

Green Gibbon! wrote:I guess it's probably just me, because lately I haven't been able to enjoy much of anything that isn't a 50-year old foreign film with existential themes.

I take it you're an Ingmar Bergman fan.