Yeah looking back I might dislike Koe no Katachi as much as Maquia. In that movie's defense it was at least consistently sappy. The worst thing about it imo was the girl's voice. Had to choke back laughter every time she spoke. Should have just gotten Hatsune Miku to do the lines. The one-shot it was based on had heart to spare but the movie felt a bit cynical and underhanded.
If Okada was ever involved in something better than mediocre, I think it was in spite of her. The last few episodes of Anohana are a great example of bathos in my opinion. If drama in anime fails, it's usually because the writers or directors don't realize they're already working in the most emotive medium. All they have to do is deliver content. I think the ending of Anohana is so insulting and patronizing because it assumes the audience doesn't know how to cry unless given cues. It would be like at the end of Hotaru no Haka if all the characters gathered around Seita and started crying and apologizing for making his life miserable. It's just plain dishonest storytelling, and antithetical to the actual message. Menma didn't even need to be a ghost, the show was plenty compelling with her as a figment, because I think then it was at least exploring the decay of social cohesion after the loss of a precious person, much akin to how Twin Peaks went slightly to shit after the death of Laura Palmer.
Asobi Asobase is definitely embarrassing but all post-ironic humor is at least a little bit imo. I don't think it's especially more embarrassing than say Golden Boy or Seitokai Yakuindomo. You must admit there are at least more surprises in the first episode than the entirety of Beans in the Franxx.
Fireworks did pretty much everything wrong but still had its heart in the right place imo. I felt a feeling, which is more than I can say for either of the more widely lauded films we've been blasting ITT. Worth a torrent maybe.
If Okada was ever involved in something better than mediocre, I think it was in spite of her. The last few episodes of Anohana are a great example of bathos in my opinion. If drama in anime fails, it's usually because the writers or directors don't realize they're already working in the most emotive medium. All they have to do is deliver content. I think the ending of Anohana is so insulting and patronizing because it assumes the audience doesn't know how to cry unless given cues. It would be like at the end of Hotaru no Haka if all the characters gathered around Seita and started crying and apologizing for making his life miserable. It's just plain dishonest storytelling, and antithetical to the actual message. Menma didn't even need to be a ghost, the show was plenty compelling with her as a figment, because I think then it was at least exploring the decay of social cohesion after the loss of a precious person, much akin to how Twin Peaks went slightly to shit after the death of Laura Palmer.
Asobi Asobase is definitely embarrassing but all post-ironic humor is at least a little bit imo. I don't think it's especially more embarrassing than say Golden Boy or Seitokai Yakuindomo. You must admit there are at least more surprises in the first episode than the entirety of Beans in the Franxx.
Fireworks did pretty much everything wrong but still had its heart in the right place imo. I felt a feeling, which is more than I can say for either of the more widely lauded films we've been blasting ITT. Worth a torrent maybe.