TheMisterManGuy

Yes, I do actually, I like to spread my topcs across multiple websites.

As we know, Cable TV is starting to become an outdated thing of the past. With many people dropping their expensive subscriptions and the new millennial generation deciding not to sign up, means cable networks are facing decline in ratings. Meanwhile, options like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Amazon Video continue to rise in popularity. Even kids, especially the lucrative 6-11 demographic, are starting to drift away from watching cable TV. So with Streaming TV on the rise and Cable on decline, what does this mean for the future of Animation? Well for starters, I think we'll see the likes of Cartoon Network and such rely more on the internet than ever. We already see them doing this with Mighty Magiswords which is a CN Anything exclusive. They'll also find away to keep on air operations alive through rising options like Sling TV. Second, unless they want to make a kids show, I doubt we're going to see many young creators go to networks like CN or Nick anymore, as services like YouTube are becoming a more attractive option since they can make what ever they want, and target it at whoever they want instead of network executives or advertisers telling them who their audience is. Finally, I think we'll be seeing more Streaming services with both free and paid offerings. Netflix and such are fine, but not everyone wants to add another streaming subscription to their already large pile. Anime streamer Crunchyroll has taught us that offering a paid subscription shouldn't come at the cost of offering nearly your whole catalog for free. Twitch understands this too as their Twitch Turbo package doesn't come at the cost of it's free service, and I know there was a lot of initial outcry over YouTube Red, but it doesn't cripple the free service that's been available before, and like most of YouTube's changes, you'll get used to it eventually (not that you have to like all their changes mind you). And advertisers will also take advantage of Streaming as they begin to move away from cable TV to YouTube, Crackle, Twitch, etc. So with that said, this is what I think is in store for animation in a post-cable world. What do you think will happen?

Well, as I mentioned, Steam isn't just a digital distribution service, it's a platform in and of it self. Yes, it run on PCs and features PC games, but it also has its online multiplayer framework, and ability to browse the web, message friends, and save games all within the client. It's basically a platform within a platform.

I don't hate any of the big 3, nor do I hate their platforms. I was just pointing out the advantages Steam has over them. I do agree Steam has some flaws though. As good of an idea on paper as it is, Steam greenlight still needs work. I haven't checked it out much, but from what I've heard, it's kind of a mess. As you said, a lot of shovelware is thrown onto Steam because of it, but then again, I don't think it's any worse than the shovelware people throw on iOS or Android, or hell, even the PS2 in it hayday. As for the Steam Machines, I feel Steam OS just needs better devices before it can take off. The newest Alienware running it wasn't very well received from what I've heard, and the others don't look very promising either yet. So all we can do is wait for Valve to get more OEMs on board and make more compelling Steam Machines. And of course there was the paid mod disaster that didn't last long. Steam isn't perfect, but I feel it has more good than bad going for it.

When it comes to gaming, people usually focus on the big 3 video game consoles from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. But lately a new platform has been rising that honestly is starting to give consoles a run for their money. I am of course talking about Valve's Steam. Steam, beginning in 2003 as just a digital retailer for PC games, has since grown into what is essentially a gaming platform in and of itself. Because Steam can be installed and booted on to any PC or Mac, it gives Valve and 3rd parties a userbase consoles can only dream of having. It's online is completely free, and has all the features of PSN and XBL plus more, and can even use any USB or Bluetooth controller. But by far the best part about Steam is it's game library. I feel it's much more well rounded than any of the big three consoles. It's not lacking in any of the big AAA games *Wii U*, it's not shameless marketing vehicle for blockbuster games with meaningless "timed exclusives" *Xbox (pre-Phill Spencer)*, and it doesn't promise games, only to have you wait 3 whole years to get any of them *PS4*. It's catalogue is huge, spanning from every genre, and has nearly every major 3rd party publisher on board. It's even THE testing ground for new and innovative games from people like indies through programs like Steam Greenlight. No matter what your into, there's a game on Steam that satisfies what ever craving your having. And it manages to do all of this without needing some haphazardly slapped together control gimmick, $60 a year online subscription, or pure marketing hype. In a way, Steam could be considered the modern day PS2 in this sense, and now that Steam is accessible from living rooms via the Steam machines, Valve has the potential to change the console landscape forever. So do you consider Steam the modern day PS2?

And who could forget Lizze McGuire? Yet another show about a seventh grader trying to be popular. In all seriousness, it wasn't just Disney who used that setting, Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mac had a middle school protagonist, as did other Nick shows like Ned's Declassified, As Told by Ginger, and UnFabulous. The thing is, when a middle school setting is used, it always has feels like it has to be heavily restricted. When Lizze McGuire first premired, it was primarily targeting a slightly older demographic than the 6-11 year old audience of the OSM shows, hence why the 7th graders that show were a year older than the ones in the OSM shows. Even then, it had to be sanitized. Granted the show later became part of OSM during the block's last year or so, but it wasn't originally. What I'm saying is that, nobody seem to have the balls to target an actual teen/ young adult audience with a middle school setting. Granted I can kind of see why, high schoolers are more mature and easier to write than a bunch of 13 year olds. But the only middle school based show that can be edgy is As Told by Ginger, and even that show had to be shackeled with a TV-Y7.

A big problem with heavy skins like TouchWiz is that the customizations are running on top of Android's proprietary code. Unless, the device is really powerful, that kind of heavy alteration can really big down the device. Then there's bloatware, where the OEM or Carrier pre-loads lots of useless and/or redundant apps in addition to the ones Google provides,which can also got down the device as they can stealth run in the background and the OEM or carrier can make them really hard to disable. I don't have a problem with OEMs adding modifications to Android, as long as they're not too heavy and maintain's Android's general look and feel, like how LG or Motorola skin it. It's when they start adding too much bloat for no reason that it get's annoying.

True but to understand Android, we need to understand the difference between Google's Android, and the Android Open Source Project. The Android we're familiar with is part of the Google Mobile Services package. Which includes Android's Source code, along with most of Google's first-party apps pre-loaded. The catch is that while OEMs can add customizations to the UI, Google has control over basically everything else, native functions, App retailer (Play Store), accounts, and pre-loaded apps. Then there's the option to license Android by itself, this is the Android Open Source Project. While it doesn't come with Google's stamp, it let's the licensor bypass their influence all together and change Android however they want. Amazon is famous for this with it's FireOS platform, which is a forked version of Android. Google usually doesn't support forked variants, so they licensor has to supply their own alternatives.

Google's flagship software platform, Android, has an incredibly customizable nature. Giving the user the power to change nearly every aspect of their phone or tablet. However, this power also extends to the hardware makers. Android OEM's are allowed to drench the platform in a custom UI with added features, to make the device more marketable. This isn't inherently bad, as an OEMs modification can actually add some useful features, and most don't mind it as long as it keeps Android's basic look and feel. But then you have companies like Samsung who's TouchWiz modifications change the platform so much, that if it wasn't for the Google functions, would make Android almost unrecognizable. So what is your stance on Android skins from OEMs?

We see this aesthetic almost everywhere these days. The simple, flat colored, "poppy" look on mobile platforms, websites, and even entire corprate brandings. A big example is Google's new logo, which reflects the design language and branding they've been rolling out on all of it's products. Then Apple adopted a simillar look for it's platforms. Microsoft with their metro look. And veering outside the tech companies, McDonalds is even using it in it's branding. Why is the look becoming popular? I see the appeal with the simplicity it has, but it seems more and more companies are adopting it. It's kind of like in the 90s where everything had to have atittude, in the 2010s, everything has to be clean and simple.

They're usually pre-owned toys or off-market knock-offs, but they're toys none the less. The Farmers Market in my area actually has a seperate flea market on weekends. The main shopping center inside has more than food. It has Electronics, toys, entertainment, clothes, furniture, candy, and even an Arcade. Here's their website. http://www.berlinfarmersmarket.com/

We've all been to a mall at one point. Those places that people (especially teenagers) go to that group some of the biggest store chains together under one roof. Then you also have a Farmers Market, at least, a specific kind of Farmers market like the Berlin Farmers Market in my area. They carry simmilar items like food, clothing, electronics, entertainment, toys, etc. only it's smaller, more crowded, lacks all of the big store chains, and has a grungier, more underground atmosphere. Given the choice, which do you prefer to shop at?

The 3 big Cartoon reviewers on YouTube right now are Mr.Enter, Pieguyrulz, and Rebel Taxi host, Pan Pizza. But there's one cartoon reviewer that I think really deserves more recognition. Ladies & Gents, I point to TheNSCL. He's a fairly small reviewer, but he's also very entertaining, mainly for his fast paced humor and visual gags. He does a lot of Anime reviews, but he also covers plenty of other cartoons as well. He has a pretty creative review style, he starts each review off with a 3 sec.summary in few words, then a 30 sec. explanation of that, then 300 sec. explaining in more detail. Rather than tell you this unconventional approach to reviewing, here's his review of Doug to give you an example. So, what are your thoughts? Do you like his style? Do agree with his reviews?

Really? Did you watch Yu Yu Hakusho, or Assasination Classroom?

A while back, I made a topic regarding middle school and how underused of a setting it is. https://mlpforums.com/topic/141852-why-is-middle-school-such-an-under-used-setting/ I also said that the closest thing it gets to getting the portrayal it should get is in anime, saying that it's closer to high school in America than our middle school. But this also raises a big question, are junior high and high school settings in anime more or less, the same? Look, both middle and high school in Japan require school uniforms, and in anime, they share similar themes of romance, comming of age, friendship, etc. and both have their fair share of ecchi. If you were to show someone random clips of Another or Assassination Classroom, and not tell them they take place in junior high, chances are, they'll think it's high school. There's a few differences though, High school is usually used in hentai, while junior high isn't, and there's more actually having sex in high school than just a pervy character or harmless fanservice in junior high. So as far as anime goes, are junior high and high school largely interchangeable?

Discord (pre-reformed), Bill Cipher, Monokuma, Korosensei. What do all of these antagonists have in common? They're all goofy, wise-craking villans who love to mess with our heroes. But I have a feeling we're seeing this character type become more and more popular, mainly in cartoons and anime. You see memes, and even compilations of them all over the internet. So with that said, do you think we're seeing this more and more, and what do you think of this Q-esque style of villain characterization?

That I think we can all agree on. Still, I find the 4kids dub to be hillarious for it's sheer amount of WTF. It's like a trainwreck you can't stop looking at. That being said, I can understand the hate it gets considering what it did to the series reputatuion.

The 4kids dub of One Piece is infamous in the anime community for it's extensive, and often times confusing edits and censorship, as well as it's bad voice acting, and heavily rewriten story and dialogue. 4kids' handling of the show was hated by many fans of the original, and it was this show that single handedly made them as infamous as they are today. However, today, we now have an offical japanese subtitled translation, as well as a more faithful english dub courtesy of Funimation. With this in mind, is 4kids' version of One Piece as unwatchable as it was back in 2004? I recently saw a few clips and episodes of the 4kids dub of One Piece, from mostly episodes I saw of the Funimation dub. After seeing the more faithful dub from Funi, the amount of nonsensical changes 4kids made to the show are... actually kind of hillarious. Now don't misunderstand, the 4kids dub of One Piece is absolutley terrible, horrendous even. But, it also happens to be one of the best "So bad, It's good" anime I've seen. The talk about how it's a disgrace to One Piece and how it should be killed with fire, those claims may have held weight back when the 4kids version was the only official english "translation" (Use that term very loosley with 4kids) avalible. But now that we have the far superior Funimation dub of the series, it's easy to look back on the 4kids dub as a hillarious un-intentional parody of Saturday Morning kids anime dubs. Seriously, give One Piece 4kids' a watch thinking of it as a parody, you'll probably find it hillarious. This is my opinion though, and you still may think the 4kids dub is unwatchable, and hey that's fine. But seeing a good chunck of the uncut Funimation dub, I think the 4kids version is funny romp of stupidity. What do you think? Is the 4kids dub So bad, It's good?

Same cahnnel, but different network. A Netowrk isn't necicarilly the same as a channel, you can have one channel with 2 networks time-shared on it, but each are independent of eachother. In the case of Adult Swim, it's management, programing development, ratings reports, scheduling practices, and web presences are all seperate from Cartoon Network, despite being on the same channel. If you go to turner's website, Adult Swim has it's own section as a seperate network. So though Cartoon Network Studios is behind the Samurai Jack revival, Cartoon Network itself isn't involved in marketing or managing the revival.

Remember Jay Jay the Jet Plane? A cartoon with some of the worst and scariest looking CGI ever put to TV? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJyjRlhznnE It looks terrifiying today, but for some reason, I never minded it as a kid. Why is that? Why is it that we as kids aren't usually bothered by a show that looks ugly or terrifying to an older audience? Why is it that kids (specifically young kids) can tollerate a show with awful CG or unappealing/frightening character design? I think it's because when we're little kids, we just kind of go along with what ever situation plays out on TV. That doesn't mean we always enjoy it (I always hated Barney, even as a 5-6 year old, not because it was scary, but because it was annoying and sterile) but we never hide in fear from it, since we're always taking in info when we're 5 or 6. Of course, I'm just speaking from my perspective, some of you may have been scared by Boobah (is that how you spell it?) even as a little kid. So what are your thoughts, why to we tollerate ugly looking shows when we're little kids?

There's also a movie called Thirteen, which is about a 13 year old girl who hangs out with the popular girl in her grade and essentially becomes corrupted by her. I think a middle school setting can be used pretty well to illustrate the trials and tribulations of the growing pains of the onset of teenhood. The reason people don't really take advantage of that I think is A.) Middle School is an akward time most people like to forget B.) Parents may not feel comfortable with having their kids see 13/14 year old kids acting like actual 13/14 year olds. Which by the way, whenever a show does actually take place in middle school, the students are suddenly written likey they're 4th graders, or (in a few cases) are written like mini-high schoolers, dumbed down for younger kids.

If there's a show aimed at a young audience on TV that takes place in school, chances are it's going to be High School. High School may be one of the most overused settings in TV, and in kid shows, it's often portrayed as the best years of a kid's life. But what about Middle School, that awkward stage in between elementary and high school. If high school is considered the peek of adolescence, middle school is probably the weird beginning. But looking at a list of shows with middle school settings on Wikipedia remind me just how underused of a setting it is. If and when a Jr. High setting is used, it's often butchered and sanitized to target an audience much younger. Granted you can say a similar thing about High School settings, but High School is a setting that's used even outside kid shows. There's rarely a show or movie that actually portrays a realistic middle school setting. The closest thing we can probably get is anime, but middle school in Japan is treated much closer to high school in America than in the US from what I've heard. So why is middle school such an underused setting, is it because it's often considered the worst years of your life (which would actually make sense? Is it because America doesn't want to portray 12-13-14 year olds as actual 12-14 year olds who swear and talk about sex? So what is it?

You may have noticed that outside the big 3, every new gaming console is being powered by Android. Hell, Nvidia's new Shield console is one of the first devices running Android TV, a platform that offers more than just games and is already powering the newest Smart TVs. Hell, if you want another example, the fact that Windows 10 can power anything from tablets to PCs, to smartphones means that Microsoft has no need to make a direct Xbox One successor, they can just make a Windows 10 TV edition for set-top boxes and Smart TVs. Although, the Xbox brand will probably live on as a name for Windows 10 gaming. And lastly there's speculation on what the NX is going to be. According to the info given so far, it seem Nintendo moving away form propriatary gaming only devices with seperate development enviroments, and are aiming to make all of their devices unified under one single platform. Now, there will still be gaming focused machines, but they'll be like gaming PCs. Powerhouse, bleeding edge boxes designed to handle the biggest games at max settings without compromise. However, the future of gaming platforms IMO is them being less of proprietary platforms that get replaced every 5 years, rather, they'll be more general entertainment platforms with some devices focusing on games, and some not. Meaning, you'll be able to play Assasin's Creed on your tablet the same way you can play on your new Smart TV. Now I understand the success of the PS4 and Xbox One, but that kind of success won't last forever. We're still in the early stages of this, but gaming is moving away from being restricted to propriatary boxes designed to play games, and is instead becoming an equal part of an entertainment platform like Movies or TV shows you can download or Stream. So what are your thoughts on this, is the traditional console slowly dying?

I'm actually fine with 30 sec. ads if the video I'm about to watch is like 15-30 min. and/or I have the option to skip if I'm not interested. Those unskipable ones for products I'm likely never going to buy definately annoy me.

IMO, commercials can be a good thing if used responsibly and if the ad is interesting to me. However I do have my limits, I dislike having the same ad play 5 times in a row, I also dislike those uneccecary 1-5 minnute ads for products I don't give two shits about. So yeah, I don't think commercials will entice you to buy all the things, they're good in moderation, but I understand if you don't like them.