site banner
TheDag  Per Aspera ad Astra  2yr ago (text post)   2348 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for November 11, 2022

Be advised; this thread is not for serious in depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

I recently watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and can concur with the other reports herein(I'm sure there were, if my memory's not playing tricks on me) that it's excellent and worth watching.

Strong recommend to everyone apart from

-people suffering from epilepsy due to flashing lights. I think there's even a warning.

-people who are likely to suffer unduly from a significant emotional event. (if you're depressed or always kinda fragile)

-people who are notably squeamish. The show really doesn't pull its punches when it comes to violence. It's not that frequent but it's there and it is very memorable.

The show's mostly a fairly straightforward tragedy/romance story set in a cyberpunk brazilified California which doesn't have as many homeless schizos as the real one but South African crime levels and also apparently in 2077 degens now use some cyber-fleshlights in public and cops don't care if it's not in a rich area.

The story is solid, the characters relatable, the environmental design & aesthetics excellent. The outcome is basically preordained from the start due to hubris

and setting. The ending is the subject of many memes which are really kinda true. I've a hard time imagining a person who could finish it and not shed at least a solitary tear.

It's also notable how on twitter people liked it and there is no seeming political category that doesn't have people liking it. If something is beloved both by trans they/them socialists and e.g. hard right Pinochet appreciators, it is kind of special.

EDIT:

Finally found someone who hates it. My dad refused to watch more than three episodes. Said something along the lines "it's too violent, the animation is bad and cyberpunk is cringe BS". I suspect it's partly bc he's notably squeamish about violence, and partly bc he's a pussy -he loses his nerve very easily in even mildly dramatic situations.

Mind you, he watches weird anime all the time and has watched entire series of such BS as e.g. Lucifer.

How would you rate it relative to Arcane?

Edit: 3 episodes in. Excellent so far except the very jarring soundtrack.

Personally, I found myself more drawn in to Arcane. That may well be because I vibe a lot with the younger-sibling and parenthood dynamics in that show (my family is great, but since I care for them it lets me really imagine what I would feel if they weren't ok I guess), and really like the way it hems to yet plays with classic dramatic structure. Also, the wonderful facial animation really binds you to the characters. Top-notch voice acting doesn't hurt.

That said, I was blown away by Edgerunners as well, and my sister's boyfriend is flipped relative to me - really liked Arcane, LOVED Edgerunners. In spite of both of them both being tragedies set in dystopias, they have very different vibes. Edgerunners is starker, grittier. It has less character warmth, more intrigue, a harsher world. It is more graphic, and plays less on...adolescent idealism? It feels less like warm-hearted characters learning the harsh realities of the world, more like jaded characters trying to find some hope in a God-forsaken world again.

Edgerunners animation is top-notch and unique aesthetically, but I think lacks the masterpiece-level visuals and composition of Arcane.

They are both quite lovely. I prefer Arcane personally, but def not mad at anyone who prefers Edgerunners.

Unlike most anime I'd watch in the English dub if you decide to see it; especially if you've played the Cyberpunk game. It's quite solid voice work, and uses a lot of slang and vernacular and accents that are missing in the subs, it really helps bring the city alive.

I feel like anime made in multiple languages isn't worth watching in Japanese.

The dubs and translations are usually flawless - e.g. talking about say,Jin Rô or Edgerunners.

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats