Forum - View topicBullbuster (TV).
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11304 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Bullbuster (TV) Source: Mixed Media (created by Kadokawa) Demographic: Seinen Animation Studio: Nut Genres: action, comedy, drama, science fiction Themes: business, mecha, monsters Plot Summary: A young engineer named Tetsurō Okino, who has developed the new robot Bullbuster, is transferred to Hato Industries, a company that exterminates harmful animals. There, the company and its president Kōji Tajima are up against a mysterious lifeform named "Kyoujuu." As a small business that is always finding itself short on money, Hato must always account for every expense, such as fuel and pilot labor. And, of course, missed shots are not tolerated. The company is always stuck between its ideals of Kyoujuu extermination and the reality of the economy. Air Date & Platform: October 4, 2023 (Wednesday) Available on: Crunchyroll Episode Count / Runtime: 12 episodes ---------------------------------- The next big project from Nut, who hopefully will be doing the second season of Tanya the Evil, soon after this! I know it's already been announced, but maybe if enough people watch this, the ratings and viewership will get them hyped enough to put Tanya at the top of their to-do list. I will say, as good as the art in Tanya is, I'm interested to see this studio apply that style to a mecha-themed series. It should look very detailed, to say the least. Last edited by Tony K. on Thu Apr 11, 2024 5:33 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23817 |
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Episode 1
A couple of things irritated me about this episode. The first action scene was so dark, I couldn't really see much, which bugged me. Then the MC is one of those super enthusiastic guys and that kind of turned me off. Then we had a bit of stupidity where supposedly, the MC had to sign a piloting agreement before the company's accountant would allow him to go fight a "pest." That last bit is actually a big part of the premise of the show where they will be combining mecha hijinks with the "reality" of having to deal with mundane business realities. I can see the potential in that premise but the first example of it just bugged me because I was impatient to finally SEE some action, plus I didn't like the accountant character. Oh and the final bit of irritation was the dopey notion that the MC, who had actually designed the mecha for this "pest control" company, actually is supposed to have no idea what kind of creatures the mecha he designed will be fighting. Oh, come on. All of which is to say I will watch more, but I am detecting a whiff of dropness here. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1997 |
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I liked the episode and will watch more of it, but there are indeed some question marks surrounding the premise. The first is the pest issue. It is clear that the pest problem they have is something special, which begs the question what normal type of pest you need a giant robot with guns for. Not knowing what type of threat you are dealing with in advance while signing contracts to deal with them seems more than a bit shady too.
As for the paper bit, that actually makes sense to me. If you look at it like a job with a certain amount of danger to it, then papers need to signed in case of injury or death. There is also the issue of who pays for the costly repairs. Plus since the island is void of any humans there is no real reason to rush like crazy either. I am interested to learn more about the pests and the characters seem lively so far. |
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Edjwald
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I had fun watching it. I agree that a little of the accountant goes a long way, and I don't see him fading into the background, But I found the extermination scenes pretty involving. I'd like to find out more about why these military level threats are being handled by pest control too.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1997 |
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Well, the show promises mech action and company issues and we sure got a lot of the latter this week. Running out of money, losing access to the very necessary boat due to perceived notions about who will rebuild on the island (a bit premature to think about that if you ask me) and people acting stupid. The accountant reacted very unprofessional/rude during that meeting and I would have not blamed the other party for calling it off. As for Arumi, I get that Tsetsurou can be a bit too excited at times, but not saying anything makes you a really hard and frustrating person to communicate with.
Also, the pest/aliens/whatever have killed several people and nobody really knows what they are. I still wonder if such a threat would not get you more funding in the real world though. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11396 |
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I don't get why the vet researcher was being such an ass. They're bringing him free carcasses of unknown animals to investigate and he acts like it's a chore instead of material he could get a dozen journal papers out of.
 Also, paleontologists would laugh at him for complaining having fresh corpses was too little to figure out anything about them. The only reason I can see for his attitude is either he's stonewalling since he's somehow involved in their existence, or the writers don't know any research scientists.
The only character I really like so far is Tajima, who could really use a couple months vacation. |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1164 |
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There's something sketchy going on with the whole set-up, or, as per the other possibility you mentioned, the writer is just being really sloppy. That explanation as to why the Self Defense Force wasn't involved was logic garbage. Since the target area is apparently an isolated island, it might have been an ideal place for some kind of off the books forbidden testing that nobody wants too much attention paid to. And...yeah...finding out whether the creatures are amphibian ought to be a hysterical national priority.
I like most of the company - Kaitano, Nikaido, and...is she a secretary? Assistant? Anyway, they're all likable enough, and I expect exposure to them is supposed to make the MC grow up a little. The second episode in, my main complaint remains that the accountant is apparently going to get so much focus for the entire series. I don't get that much comic value out of his obnoxiousness. Honestly, they should call the show Billbuster. I also question the decision not to have any real action in the second episode. It'd be fine if they had more to take its place, but I didn't find all the time spent on branding very interesting. What's the point of increasing awareness for a company that's dealing with an issue that's being media suppressed? |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11396 |
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I think it was supposed to convince the construction companies to back off by showing them they weren't competition, so the fishermen could still lend them boats. But I'm having trouble believing they'd get over 44,000 page views in the short time (hours? days?) the new web page was up. How many people would be needing their sort of pest control services?? Or suddenly be fans of their mechs? Again, I can't tell if that's a clue something's up or just bad writing.
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1997 |
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Yeah, it is to convince the other party that they will not be a competitor when it comes to rebuilding and thus keep access to their boat since they can not afford one themselves. As for giant robots/mechs, they are pretty popular, so I am not that surprised to see the site take off views wise.
As for the premise, it is indeed either wonkily written or something else is going on. Giant maneating pests that may or may not spread into the world seems like something that would get the government involved. Letting a very budget limited company handle it all seems like a real bad idea. I also still wonder what kinds of pests a giant robot is usually used for. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23817 |
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Episode 2
Yep, rolled my eyes at all the same logical inconsistencies noted above. It's kind of ironic that a show with the premise of treating a mecha-using company in a financially "realistic" manner gets so goofy with other aspects. But I suppose we may get information later that makes the whole dumb secrecy, non-JSDF involvement stuff make more sense. Still not completely sold on this show yet but also wouldn't feel good about not giving it some more runway to take off. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1997 |
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Sigh, you know, one of the things I absolutely despise is setting people up to fail and then complaining about it. In this case that useless baldy set up our mc to fail by not properly explaining anything and when things went to shit he goes bonkers screaming. Sure, things were (probably) resolved with some fast work/thinking, but the issue stands. Said badly has been a piece of work since the start.
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23817 |
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Episode 5
Man, virtually every male character in this show is either straight up annoying or has some annoying quirk. We see A-hole Vet again who is annoyed that somebody wants his company to figure out an intriguing animal issue, Muto is spewing food on people's faces and the New Guy looks like he'll be a sour-faced douche. Thank God for the female characters or this show would be unbearable. Although, Prez seems non-annoying. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11396 |
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Pro tip: if you find yourself in a muddy marsh, don't set your mech to stand upright and put all its weight on the what, 4 ft^2 of footprint? (my sense of scale on mechs is vague, but the point stands) Go back to tread mode, as that's what treads are designed for. Same goes for quicksand, though that's a bit dicier.
Obviously something is up with the head vet researcher. He's an ass, but he's way too adamant that they don't know anything and it's not his problem. Also, new wunderkind would seem to have company spy flags all over him. Can't be a coincidence that their parent company is a chemical company, can it? |
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Edjwald
Posts: 1164 |
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As to the males being worthless, I have a hard time believing that lead scientist isn't intentionally dragging his feet because he or his company have some involvement in turning that island into a huge petri dish. Either that, or he's related to the president of the company, because someone that stupid, incompetent, and yet somehow arrogant isn't...um, y'know, actually, I've met a few administrator types who were about that bad come to think about it.
If his rationale is his honest opinion, maybe the scientific researcher and the accountant should run away together. |
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smurky turkey
Posts: 1997 |
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In general there are a lot of dumb people in the show or something shady is going on. The way the monster issue is being handled and how the government is not reacting to it is just weird. A researcher balking at the idea of doing research on a new species and possibly making groundbreaking discoveries is even weirder. As for the accountant, he is just an ass.
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