#gdmen

[daily-utsu-p]

Daily Utsu-P #165:

妄想帝国蓄音機 (Mousou Teikoku Chikuonki) / Delusional Imperial Phonograph feat. Eri Kitamura | Original from the anime gdgd men's party

[kansetsukiss]

A brief introduction to the gdgd Universe

By rights, this should be nothing more than a season-end review of gdMen, but the preponderance of low ratings and confused comments about the show make me want to go a bit further. I can’t make anybody enjoy a series they don’t, and I can barely in the least make them understand its ‘objectively’ good qualities, but I hope I can offer a bit more cultural context in which to place it, which may soften the criticism borne from confusion...

What is gdgd? Literally, it’s a stylised form of ぐだぐだ - gudaguda, meaning (amongst other uses) ‘tedious, repetitive, rambling.’ As for the gd-verse, I’m unable to firmly grasp it myself - no incarnation or responsible party has been successful enough in the English-speaking anime community to warrant, say, a nicely-sourced Wiki page. A cursory study tells me it begins in 2011 with gdgd Fairies, a bizarre comedy starring three fairies having tea in a forest, chatting about anything and everything. shrshr generally introduces an absurd conversational whim, timid pkpk acts as straight-man, and taciturn krkr interjects with dark non-sequiturs and punchlines. It’s cheaply animated in MikuMikuDance, but uses its low quality to its advantage - for instance, frequently relying on terrifying stock models of old men for visual gags, reminiscent of early Garry’s Mod absurdism. In a recurring segment, the three VAs improvise captions to a brief, surreal video clip provided by the animation staff: sometimes referencing characters they’ve played on other shows; sometimes having a reference censored due to licensing restrictions; sometimes birthing running jokes later referred to in the scripted segments, as if they’ve written them into the gdgd lore. Next-episode previews insert the cast into direct parodies of popular shows; season 2 opens with a press conference apologising for this silliness, followed by a smash-cut to a Lucky Star reference. Coarsely put, gdgd Fairies does what the fuck it wants.

These are all the essential qualities of gdgd - cheap MMD animation, whole segments of VA improvisation with audible laughter, pop culture and meta-references, a general freewheeling disregard for structure and convention. Other projects by studios Bouncy and Strawberry Meets (the two sharing credit for gdgd Fairies; their exact relationship is still unclear to me) manifest this spirit of gdgd even when not invoking it by name, and have generally each tackled a particular genre ripe for parody. Chokkyuu Hyoudai Robot Anime follows three robots in the far future attempting to revive and understand the ‘humour’ of ancients - it’s incredibly dry, and deconstructs joke formats to the point that even I have trouble sitting with it. Mahou Shoujo? Naria☆Girls is a vague parody of magical girl tropes, though the ‘plot’ quickly devolves into a ridiculous string of unrelated happenings, and the majority of the show revolves around the VAs improvising off terrible prompts. It’s the worst-looking show of the gd-verse, motion-capturing the VAs into incredibly janky schoolgirl models that clip through each other (which has of course, despite its humour, translated into the lowest MAL score in the gd-verse). Minarai Diva, a copy of which continues to elude me, attempted to form an idol unit and write music on live broadcasts, similarly mo-capped and apparently riddled with technical difficulties. Tesagure! Bukatsumono follows an after-school club attempting to improve generic after-school club scenarios. And this year’s gdMen puts three male VAs in the lead for a change (sexual innuendo is much more abundant here) while riffing off isekai fantasy tropes - maybe especially funny to me, being totally apathetic towards the genre.

I’m urged to apologise for the gd-verse because I constantly see viewers repulsed by its face value, refusing the spirit of gdgd to a vehement degree. I vaguely understand why - when I finished the first episode of Naria Girls, I thought I’d found the worst show I’d ever seen. Thanks to its abysmal rating, I was entering with the assumption that it would be terrible, and the loose dialogue and poor animation are definitely qualities of terrible things. By the second episode, once the shock had worn off, its self-aware lackadaisy that had been disguised as ineptitude became wholly apparent, and I allowed myself to be taken along. I quickly realised I loved it. But I’ve seen comments that hint at viewers latching on to that initial attitude - “what is this?! It’s ugly! It’s so poorly written it almost seems improvised!” - and refuse to budge, even while staring the gdgd in the face. The initial expectation that it will conform to the traditions of anime encounters the non-traditional spirit of gdgd; in this conflict lies the absurd. The typical viewer can either accept the gdgd, or come to despise it - it is so at odds with expectations that it cannot be merely rejected. It must be destroyed.* By which I mean: I can understand initial confusion, but I can’t understand the viewer that sits through a whole season of Naria Girls and at no point realises that it’s all a big joke. People hate things they don’t understand, and it’s easier (and more fun) to hate than to attempt to reconcile yourself with something new - for instance, that animation quality isn’t the only metric of merit; or that not every piece of art is asking you to take it seriously.

Let me tell you: if you’re enjoying a guide to an obscure comedy studio that’s riffing of The Myth of Sisyphus, you’ve got the spirit of gdgd in you. If you seek to explore the gd-verse with me, I recommend starting where it all began with gdgd Fairies. Let me know how you go. And to all who may be wary, I ask you to try, if only a little, to let the spirit of gdgd into your heart. You may absolutely fucking hate it, yes. You may well be changed for life.

なーん��ゃって~

*I can’t help but wonder how prevalent this mindset is. Nichijou has a devout cult following, but massively tanked on release. Teekyuu has persisted for 9 seasons purely because one Blu-Ray sale funds the entire next season. Meanwhile, a billion cute-girl 4koma adaptations are pumped out yearly (not that they’re all bad, mind you). Am I overthinking things? I know I’m touting an intersectional review blog here, but I don’t want to come off as a snob.

[raincandy-u]

[otakunews01]

gdMen (gdgd men's Party) TV Anime PV2!! Airs January 8th 2018. 

[conflagrate]

Winter 2018 Anime Season

It was rush rush rush all the way this season ugh.

Autumn Post-mortem first of all:

God Tier: Hoseki no Kuni, Netoju no Susume, Kekkai Sensen Awesome Possum: 3gatsu no Lion S2, Ballroom e Yokoso, Kino no Tabi, Mahoyome Pleasing but not Amazing: Shokoku no Altair, Soma S3, Love Kome, Osake Fuufu, Guruguru, Yokai Apartment OK OK lah: Fate/Apocrypha, Just Because, Omiai Aite, Girls’ Last Tour, Code Realize Shite: 12 Taisen How did I survive this: Taisho Chicchai-san, Osama Game Dropped, cos it’s xmas: Kujisuna, Hozuki S2, Osomatsu S2

Total completed: 17 + 2 to finish (Girls’ Last Tour, Code:Realize) Total ongoing: 2 (3gatsu, Mahoyome)

Wellllll I hope the next season goes more smoothly but who am I kidding, with Chinese New Year ‘round the corner orz Must watch: Cardcaptor Sakura:CC-hen, Citrus (trash alert!), Koi wa Ameagari no Youni, Violet Evergarden, Kokkoku, Fate/extra, Uchu Yori mo Tooi Basho, 25sai no Joshikosei, Emiya-san'chi no Kyo no Gohan [9]

Likely: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens, Beatless, Darling in the Franxx, Yuru Camp, Ito Junji Collection, Hakumei to Mikochi, Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san, Takunomi, Devilman crybaby [9]

On the fence: Grancrest Senki (ep1 did not impress me), Mitsuboshi Colors, Marchen Madchen, Slow Start, Gakuen Babysitters, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

Not enthusiastic: Miira no Kaikata, Ryuo no Oshigoto, Toji no Miko, Killing Bites, Nanatsu no Bitoku (7 deadly sins is like a genre of its own…), gdMen, Mitchiri Neko

Sequel hell: Dagashi Kashi 2, 7tsu no Taizai 2, Touken Ranbu, Overlord 2, Yowapedo S913208123, Basilisk (?????), Houshin Engi (it’s so ugly??!?!?!), Saiki Kusuo 2, Kaiju Girls 2, Precure, Gin no Guardian 2, Gintama, Hitori no Shita 2, Spiritpact 2

Genre hell: iDolish7, Sanrio Danshi (unless Gudetama turns up), DamexPrince, Ku Pao Ying Xiong (Chinaaaaaa), Death March (ISEKAI AAAHHGHGHG), Shinkalion

Here’s hoping winter kicks off an amazing 2018! Happy new year, peeps!

[thegeekshow]

Keyframe 133 - 2018 (The Bad Side)

Keyframe 133 – 2018 (The Bad Side)

https://audioboom.com/posts/7142105-keyframe-133-2018-the-bad-side

[anime-ace]

Winter 2018 (part 5/8)

Mitsuboshi Colors

Other Titles: 三ツ星カラーズ, Three Star Colors

Source: manga

Studio: Silver Link

Genre: comedy, slice of life

The "Colors" are three cute little girls who hang out together and say they're protecting the peace of their city. They have lots of fun together, doing stuff like playing games, solving puzzles, and going to the zoo. This manga follows their largely happy daily life.

Moe superheroes. To be more accurate, lolis playing hero. -Ace

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

Other Titles: からかい上手の高木さん, Skilled Teaser Takagi-san

Source: manga

Studio: Shin-Ei

Genre: slice of life, comedy, romance, school, shounen

"If you blush, you lose." Living by this principle, the middle schooler Nishikata gets constantly made fun of by his seat neighbor Takagi-san. With his pride shattered to pieces, he vows to turn the tables and get back at her someday. And so, he attempts to tease her day after day, only to find himself victim to Takagi-san's ridicule again sooner than later. Will he be able to make Takagi-san blush of embarrassment even once in the end?

A cute shoujo. Cute kids. Takagi’s really gutsy, you know? -Ace

gdMen

Other Titles: gdメン, Guda Men, gdgd Men’s Party

Source: anime

Studio: Strawberry Meets Pictures

Genre: comedy, fantasy

It’s apparently a gender-swapped version of gdgd Fairies, a real poorly made anime. This one’s cg too. -Ace

Mameneko

Other Titles: まめねこ

Source: manga

Studio: Charaction

Genre: slice of life

One of those 5 minute anime. Is this a rip-off of Mameshiba..? It’s supposedly based off a manga but I can’t find mention of said comic anywhere on the English net. Luckily, I’m bilingual and the Japanese-language net has a really cute webpage devoted to it. It seems to be about cats playing around, and some calming humans are there too. -Ace

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

Other Titles: 博多豚骨ラーメンズ

Source: light novel

Studio: Satelight

Genre: action

In a city known as Fukuoka, crime exists in the underworld from a seemingly peaceful surface. In the Hakata ward of the city, there are various individuals with special talents that consist of professional killers, detectives, informants, and professional revenge seekers. Furthermore, according to an urban legend, an individual known as "killer of professional killers" has shown up in the city.

Sounds fun! This is the kind of non-harem ln I can get into! Tonkotsu ramen is ramen with a pork-based broth. -Ace

[myfavoriteanime]

My Favorite Anime Shows

[seasonallyjudginganime-blog]

gdMen Shouldn’t Exist

Pretty much no one knows what this anime is considering it literally has about 1,200 people who have this on their MAL but I watched two episodes so I’m going to talk about it anyways. The main characters include red guy named Light, blue guy named Yomi, yellow guy named alpha, and pink girl named Melody. It starts with Light and Yomi playing a video game and getting literally sucked into it. They have to rescue a princess. It’s supposed to be comedic but it really just becomes funny when you realize how bad it is. The animation is pretty terrible and the models look amateur, which is probably the best way to describe the entire thing. There are times when the audio peaks and others where it echoes. It’s pretty clear none of this was fixed in post. There are parts where they look into Yomi’s wand and they apparently look into another universe. Each of the three guys voices over what’s being shown which seems like a cheap way to reuse footage which is pretty terrible considering each episode is about 8 minutes long. This is without mentioning that Light and Melody are possibly the most annoying characters I’ve seen in a long time. I’d give this show a 2.7/10 since I can’t be too mad at something this dumb.

[romiress]

Winter 2018 Anime - Initial List

Yep, it’s a new season of anime, so here’s everything coming up, neatly sorted under the cut for my own tracking.

New Anime:

25-sai no Joshikousei 

B: The Beginning 

Beatless

Citrus

Dame x Prince Anime Caravan

Darling in the FranXX

Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku 

Devilman: Crybaby 

Fate/Extra Last Encore

Gakuen Babysitters 

Grancrest Senki

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens 

Hakumei to Mikochi

Hakyuu Houshin Engi 

Hataraku Onii-san! 

Idolish7

Ito Junji: Collection

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san

Killing Bites

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni

Kokkoku

Mameneko

Miira no Kaikata

Mitsuboshi Colors

Märchen Mädchen

Nanatsu no Bitoku 

Poputepipikku

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san

Ryuuou no Oshigoto! 

Sakura no Chikai: Marronni☆Yell - Higashi no Hichou Shimotsuke-shi wo Yell!

Sanrio Danshi

Slow Start

Sword Gai: The Animation 

Sora yori mo Tooi Basho

Takunomi.

Toji no Miko 

Violet Evergarden

Yuru Camp△ 

Sequels whose prequels I’ve watched:

Gin no Guardian 2nd Season

Gintama.: Shirogane no Tamashii-hen

Hugtto! Precure 

Inazma Delivery: Dougyousha Attack-hen

Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu 

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2

Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line

Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru 

Sequels whose prequels I need to watch:

Basilisk: Ouka Ninpouchou

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen

Dagashi Kashi 2

gdMen

Overlord II 

[vortodox]

gdMen

Naziv: gdMen Alternativni naziv: gdgd men’s Party, Guda Men, gdメン Trailer: Izvorni materijal: nepoznat Premijera: 09. 01. 2018. Studio: Strawberry Meets Pictures Tip: TV anime Broj epizoda: nepoznat

Sinopsis: Sudeći po internetu, CG serijal o tri lika koji pričaju o svemu i svačemu na tri lokacije.

Komentar: Kako je ovo uopšte dobilo svoj anime? Fun fact: ovo je nastavak. Prethodnik je bio anime o tri…

[recentanimenews]

Welcome to The Surreal World of "gd Men: gdgd men's party" OP Song MV Performed by Eri Kitamura

30-year-old anime voice actress/singer Eri Kitamura has posted a two-minute music video for "Mousou Teikoku Chikuonki" (Delusional Empire Phonograph), her 3rd solo single from TMS Music, a music subsidiary of anime production company TMS Entertainment. As reported, she changed her record company from the previous Starchild (King Records) in November 2016. Her new single from TMS Music will be available on January 24, 2018.

  The clip is directed by independent film creator Kousuke Sugimoto, the Grand Prix winner of the 23rd CG Anime Contest in 2012 ("Sing in my own way") and has produced music videos for Roughsketch ("Alice in Voodooland"/2016) and Yuji Nakada ("Deeper"/2017).

  "Mousou Teikoku Chikuonki" will be featured as the OP theme for the upcoming TV anime gdMen: gdgd men's party, a "NEXT" original TV anime series from the gdgd Fairies anime franchise produced

by Strawberry Meets Pictures. It is set to premiere on Tokyo MX on January 8, 2018.

      Limited edition CD jacket

  Regular edition

    【喜多村英梨】 2018/1/24発売の新曲「妄想帝国蓄音機」ジャケット＆MV Shortver.公開されています！ ぜひご覧ください！https://t.co/hLKawfJjFm http://pic.twitter.com/YE1QIkRWO0

— トムス・ミュージック公式 (@tmsm2011) 2017年12月18日

    Source: Eri Kitamura official website

  CopyrightcTMS MUSIC CO.,LTD All Rights Reserved.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[raincandy-u]

[otakunews01]

gdMen (gdgd men's Party) TV Anime PV!! Airs January 8th 2018.

>>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV9Ht6HTgnU  

[crosscandy]

gdMen Ending Cards [Episode 1 - 6]  Part 1

[myfavoriteanime]

My Favorite Anime Shows