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I will probably be the only one to say I found Box Peek not amusing and simply the bad kind of corny (as I expected I suppose).
I was impressed with some of Kyle's use of editing with puppets though, I'm not sure if it's a first for him or not. Regardless, the only thing I have to say about Episode 1 is that "It's obvious Kyle Bosman wrote this." Take that as one may.
I was impressed with some of Kyle's use of editing with puppets though, I'm not sure if it's a first for him or not. Regardless, the only thing I have to say about Episode 1 is that "It's obvious Kyle Bosman wrote this." Take that as one may.
I can deal with you not liking it, didn't need the passive aggressiveness that came with it though.
I like Wes Anderson films a lot. However, when I encounter someone that strongly dislikes them, I am not surprised in the least. There is a very specific aesthetic in all of his movies. He also has a very specific sense of humor. That kind of specificity will naturally make a piece of art more divisive. I think Kyle has a very specific artistic voice as well. So, naturally, I think there will be plenty of people that will simply not care for what he is doing.
So I totally get where you are coming from here; however, you could probably have said it in a nicer way.
'Starwinder' on Dumb Game Monday. It's at around the hour and ten minute mark.
I was going to dock you L&R points for calling someone a dumb ass, but then I realized you were referring to yourself haha.
Everyone at the concert blew me away, and it made me happy to have supported these guys since day one.
Ha, yeah, I made the same mistake.
My first take was that he was being super, super harsh towards someone who didn't really say anything worthy of that kind of scorn...
Yeah I wasn't impressed with the script either. But the production makes up for it, it's fun to watch and especially Amanda was great. I want to see more of it, but I don't expect to get hooked by the story or get many laughs out of it. Admittedly if it wasn't EZA production I wouldn't probably give it a second look. But I like when they do unexpected and crazy creative stuff like this.
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Didn't know the concert was at my school, neat.
Ian is a lot better with a band and backing vocals. You + Me = Eternity is the first EU song I really liked <3
Damiani's quiz was bad, it should've been called "only 90s kids will know these."
To be fair on Damiani I would've done the same a few years ago, especially since I recognized most of these tracks. However I've been to a gaming pop quiz and saw a whole team who was stumped by which series did Green Hill Zone theme come from. Later on they probably felt the same way about our team when we couldn't answer some question about Battlefield (I think it was number of players in a match?).
Oh I just remembered when I couldn't name a Luigi's Mansion track 10 years ago. Me, the guy with the Luigi avatar.
Ian is a lot better with a band and backing vocals. You + Me = Eternity is the first EU song I really liked <3
Damiani's quiz was bad, it should've been called "only 90s kids will know these."
- Having multiple tracks from the same series means you are screwed if you are not a fan.
- Similarly having games that expect a certain age range is exclusionary.
- Having to name which game not series it's from is a bit much.
- Wicked Child is in 5 Castlevanias. Not sure about the other Castlevania tracks.
To be fair on Damiani I would've done the same a few years ago, especially since I recognized most of these tracks. However I've been to a gaming pop quiz and saw a whole team who was stumped by which series did Green Hill Zone theme come from. Later on they probably felt the same way about our team when we couldn't answer some question about Battlefield (I think it was number of players in a match?).
Oh I just remembered when I couldn't name a Luigi's Mansion track 10 years ago. Me, the guy with the Luigi avatar.
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I thought it may be productive to speak a little about why I like the writing so much in Box Peek. A lot of the time people will state that a story is "well written" (or something along those lines) and sorta leave it there. I'm not sure that is always helpful, so I want to go into a little more detail...
Box Peek is Subversive...
However, it is sneaky about it. For the most part, Box Peek is happy to be a somewhat typical Shonen anime. That being said, the first action we see Jordy take is putting a cinder block through a window. I think it is something that quickly gets lost in the shuffle, as Jordy quickly reverts to the typical shonen tropes, but it gives the series a little edge. Something related to its subversive nature is that...
Box Peek is Satirical...
Box Peek does a great job of paying homage respectfully to its shonen roots, but it is also playfully taking jabs at the genre. The Box Porter is ONLY for Box Peek. This is a wold of flying robots, but they only exist to be referees in the game of Box Peek. This is clearly a satirical little jab at those anime with worlds that seem to revolve around one concept to an absurd degree. Jordy's line "Do you have time to sit down and slowly explain the rules to Box Peek" is an incredibly knowing nod to the inevitable exposition dump that occurs in a number of shonen. However, like something along the lines of The Cabin in the Woods, this is a script that clearly has reverence for the material that it is satirizing. It isn't a mean spirited attack on the Shonen genre. In fact, it seems quite happy to exist within that genre, and those tropes; it just does so knowingly.
Box Peek has Weight...
Within it's silly concept, absurd world, and colorful characters, there is a hint of palpable emotional depth. Our first supporting character, CD, sincerely tells Jordy that he is lonely, and that the children around him are cruel. Jordy himself sympathizes with this message, replying that "...kids are mean everywhere", giving us a little insight into Jordy's past and maybe even why he set off on this adventure in the first place. It is a brief moment that is still laced with humor (wait, they died at the Zoo?), but it is a nice touch that (theoretically) helps the viewer feel more invested in the characters.
Now, this is all based on the first episode, which is fairly short, so maybe some of these elements will disappear as the series progresses. It is also worth noting that these elements don't make the writing objectively good, they are just elements that appeal to me personally.
TL;DR
I think Box Peek is well written. ;)
Box Peek is Subversive...
However, it is sneaky about it. For the most part, Box Peek is happy to be a somewhat typical Shonen anime. That being said, the first action we see Jordy take is putting a cinder block through a window. I think it is something that quickly gets lost in the shuffle, as Jordy quickly reverts to the typical shonen tropes, but it gives the series a little edge. Something related to its subversive nature is that...
Box Peek is Satirical...
Box Peek does a great job of paying homage respectfully to its shonen roots, but it is also playfully taking jabs at the genre. The Box Porter is ONLY for Box Peek. This is a wold of flying robots, but they only exist to be referees in the game of Box Peek. This is clearly a satirical little jab at those anime with worlds that seem to revolve around one concept to an absurd degree. Jordy's line "Do you have time to sit down and slowly explain the rules to Box Peek" is an incredibly knowing nod to the inevitable exposition dump that occurs in a number of shonen. However, like something along the lines of The Cabin in the Woods, this is a script that clearly has reverence for the material that it is satirizing. It isn't a mean spirited attack on the Shonen genre. In fact, it seems quite happy to exist within that genre, and those tropes; it just does so knowingly.
Box Peek has Weight...
Within it's silly concept, absurd world, and colorful characters, there is a hint of palpable emotional depth. Our first supporting character, CD, sincerely tells Jordy that he is lonely, and that the children around him are cruel. Jordy himself sympathizes with this message, replying that "...kids are mean everywhere", giving us a little insight into Jordy's past and maybe even why he set off on this adventure in the first place. It is a brief moment that is still laced with humor (wait, they died at the Zoo?), but it is a nice touch that (theoretically) helps the viewer feel more invested in the characters.
Now, this is all based on the first episode, which is fairly short, so maybe some of these elements will disappear as the series progresses. It is also worth noting that these elements don't make the writing objectively good, they are just elements that appeal to me personally.
TL;DR
I think Box Peek is well written. ;)
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I for one am excited for the season where box peek attempts to be edgy with a new cast before realizing how awful it is and goes back to the regular crew and themes.
Disagree. I'm not a Zelda or Castlevania fan, and there was no block where I didn't recognize one or two tracks. Plus, there was plenty of chance to make up for lack of knowledge from the series's themed blocks in the last one.
This will be the first time in a while I'll be able to catch the group stream live. Looking forward to it.
After the preview of Box Peek, you know that Netflix and Toei Animation are holding some backdoor shady meetings right now...
Kyle about to get an interesting email.
Kyle about to get an interesting email.
Anyone else a little dissapointed they didn't get a boost in Patreon this year. Last year they got a sizable boost around their anniversary. Still holding out hope for the anniversary stream. Was thinking of increasing my pledge from 25€ to 50€, but I wanted to ride the wave :(
I'd wait and see if they have any announcements regarding new tiers and shows during the anniversary stream. If they don't have anything to announce, why would their Patreon get a boost? Personally, I'm hoping for more produced short-form content. If they don't have anything like that in the pipeline, then I think I'm done with their Patreon for now. Sucks for me because I've been supporting them since day one but it really doesn't make sense for me anymore. But I'm confident that they'll do some changes. Jones said as much in the last couple Cup of Jones episodes.
You think kids will be playing Box Peek IRL?
Next time I have a friend over, I'll try playing Door Peek with them. (Since I don't have boxes big enough)
Next time I have a friend over, I'll try playing Door Peek with them. (Since I don't have boxes big enough)
Unless there's some rule against it you could bring a phone/walkie-talkie inside the box and have a spectator tell you when the other person is peeking.
I used fan as a shorthand. I meant someone who's familiar enough with the series to be able to at least have a chance of naming the correct game. Like I doubt they would've been able to even name many Castlevanias. And I don't think they knew in general which titles were of which era to even be able to differentiate between NES and SNES games.
Why? That only matters when the opponent is looking at your box and if that happens that means you're losing.
Are we assuming that you can hear the other box being opened? I thought the idea was that you can't hear the other box being opened and that's why you don't know whether you're being looked at or not and have to take the risk.
Nice write up! I guess you brought up the main point why the writing didn't quite connect with me. I'm not that familiar with Shonen Anime (Naruto I guess?) So the references aren't apparent to me. Jokes should work on their own, not because they are referential. Something like Scary Movie gets tiring fast when jokes are just "it's that thing from the other thing!" Even then parodying something like Matrix bullet time or traditional horror movie tropes has much wider reach than Shonen anime does. For the weight part, that exchange seemed bit too on the nose and fast. It's a long time since I've been a kid, but they were oddly candid for fellows who just met. TBF, I assume this won't be some 10 hour season so things need to move fast. Hoping to see more of stuff like this though, but maybe with bit more nuance and time to develop.
But as I said, I still liked it and want to see more! Props to Kyle for his voice acting too. I mentioned Amanda earlier, but her skills are common knowledge.
I think one of the best things about the story is that you don't necessarily need to "get" any of those things I mentioned to enjoy it. It is just something that adds depth, gives it a sense of consistent style, and helps dictate the tone. So I think you can be completely oblivious of all of that and still enjoy it as a shonen (or quite simply, as a story), as it still holds to that structure, so it will have a lot of the same appeal. That is different from something that isn't quite so subtle (like Scary Movie), which is solely dependent on whether you get the reference or not (and even if you do, the joke probably isn't that funny).
Also, you aren't wrong that the characters have that candid moment extremely quickly. Personally, I think it is supposed to be a little jarring and sorta catch you off guard. However, I can see why someone would not see that as a good thing.
Though, once again, if the story didn't connect with you it didn't connect with you. Not everything is going to connect with everyone. I think we all have things that tickle our fancy and it just didn't hook you like it did me. That's cool.
You are also right on the money about Amanda. She fucking NAILED it.
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Which do you think is easier, recognising 10 Zelda songs or recognising 10 songs from games that range from FFIV to RE4?
I agree with issa that the song lineup heavily favoured Zelda and Castlevania fans. If you're not in either of those groups then you've either got to hope the other contestants aren't either or you have no chance. It's not a big deal but something Damiani should probably address if he does it again.
Anyway, I haven't said anything about the concert or Box Peek cause I watched it a day late but it was great. My highlight was probably the Easy Update band but everything was pretty great. And I had no idea what to expect from Box Peek but it blew me away.
Lemme put this way: from the Castlevania and Zelda games present on the quiz, I have only played 2 games to completion (Link's Awakening and LttP) and some hours of another one (SotN). Yet I could recognize 2 or 3 tracks of each series. On the other hand I had no idea about the Halo or GTAV tracks. It balanced out in my end.
If you're up for a thematic quiz, you should have a wide knowledge of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There is also the fact they played tracks straight out from the games, so of course the FFXIII track couldn't be from a SNES FF game, for instance, so you could heavily reduce your guesses for the three series block of questions. Harder to do with the Capcom and no theme blocks, though!
If you're up for a thematic quiz, you should have a wide knowledge of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There is also the fact they played tracks straight out from the games, so of course the FFXIII track couldn't be from a SNES FF game, for instance, so you could heavily reduce your guesses for the three series block of questions. Harder to do with the Capcom and no theme blocks, though!
Uuuh, you got me. Though if you're bluffing may as well go all the way and purposefully make some noise!
I hope they talk about Ubisoft fending off Vivendis takeover in tonights podcast recording.
Maybe getting some Hoeg in there? I love these industry business talks the podcast does.
Maybe getting some Hoeg in there? I love these industry business talks the podcast does.
That would require you to:
- Know which Final Fantasies were released on which console. And know that 2 and 3 were actually 4 and 6. Oh and know that Capcom released a NES style game for a dead series 10 years ago.
- Be old enough when the SNES was a thing. The SNES is 28 years old.
The moment between CD and Jordy was, for me, meant to be played for laughs. The awkward abruptness of it (and the sheer horror of it as well) didn't feel like something Kyle did out of time constraints, but rather playing with conventions of TV in general and that made me laugh.
And that's fine, it's not the Olympics. People were just having fun.
The best part was them not recognizing Undertale music for obvious reasons!
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