Decades ago, Japan won the Second World War. Americans worship their infallible Emperor, and nobody believes that Japan’s conduct in the war was anything but exemplary. Nobody, that is, except the George Washingtons — a group of rebels fighting for freedom. Their latest terrorist tactic is to distribute an illegal video game that asks players to imagine what the world might be like if the United States had won the war instead.
Captain Beniko Ishimura’s job is to censor video games, and he’s tasked with getting to the bottom of this disturbing new development. But Ishimura’s hiding something…kind of. He’s slowly been discovering that the case of the George Washingtons is more complicated than it seems, and the subversive videogame’s origins are even more controversial and dangerous than the censors originally suspected.
>>13804056
I admit that mech looks pretty cool, but honestly, I remember reading excerpts of "ready player one" on here a while ago and that was enough to make me leery of a lot of these "we're totally in with videogame and anime culture!" books (even though, I confess, I've thought of writing one and seeing if I could publish it on amazon too). I guess I could give this a shot when it comes out, but I'm not betting it'll dethrone "Man in the High Castle" as WWII alt-hist...
>>13804056
Isn't Beniko a girl's name?
>>13804056
I hope it's written like autistic fanfic shit like that one with "John used the Rx-78 Gundam, the robot from Gundam, to fight in the battle, the conflict of fighting"
>>13804066
>"ready player one"
And Spielberg is currently adapting that one.
How do you feel about that?
>>13804074
I hope it's better in film than it was in writing, but failing that, I'll at least lol if they have a narrator explaining every single reference like the author did in the book.
>>13804085
kinda JASMINE WA ESPER DE ARU
>>13804069
>>13804117
Oh boy
>>13804117
>implying JASMINE IS AN ESPER ever gets old
>>13804132
>Robotech
>Voltron
I think I just teared a chunk of fabric out of my armrest.
>>13804138
>>13804138
>armrest.
armrests are a part of a chair, the thing that a person sits on.
>>13804138
You'll LOVE RPO
Is this a Johnny Spaceboots thread?
>>13804150
no wonder it reads like an autism checklist instead of something somebody enjoyed
>>13804161
Don't you fucking dare compare Johnny Spaceboots to this fucking garbage.
>>13804161
Johnny Spaceboots, a well-known namefag on 4chan's /m/, an imageboard founded by moot in the early 21st century and later handed over to Hiroyuki Nishimura.
When it came to researching /m/, I didn't cut any corners--a turn of phrase meaning I read as much as I possibly could. I ready every single Spaceboots story going as far back as I could reach, on both /m/ and fanfiction/net--a site where amateur authors could upload unofficial fiction based on established properties-- including "NGORNY KARLBACH: NEW GUDNAM PCORHICLES PART 2: I WILL BE FICTORY" and "Star Wars VII: The Third Secret Death Star".
I wasn't messing around.
I wasn't some dilettante (a word that refers to someone dabbling superficial in something)
My commitment would be unquestionable.
You'd be amazed at how much Spaceboots you can read when you have nothing better to do but laugh at crazy renditions of old anime, which is a twentieth-century term for Japanese cartoons.
>>13804183
tee hee
>>13804150
It's amazing because he's hardcore at being a casual.
>>13804150
Is this a fucking joke?
>>13804056
Well, the mech looks kinda cool at least
>>13804224
That's because it's just a Jaeger with a gun.
>>13804056
>check out amazon
>Frequently Bought Together:
>The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick Paperback $9.04
>>13804237
It doesn't look like ass like most all Jaegers though
>>13804247
>fag makes shitty book to cash in on better IP
wow I'm shocked
I bet his ORIGINAL NEW WORLD DO NOT STEAL is a real gem, too
>>13804237
it looks like coyote tango to me.
>>13804056
>Beniko Ishimura waa waiting. He knew hat the americans were comningn abnd htaht he wars about to kil them. The Gerogie Wahsingoon was bad guys and made them scared, bu they had to fight because thye had to protect their freedome. "bneiko ishismuorl have you killed all the american whitep oeple" say command center and beniko say "No, there is not an americansn hnow in shight for us ot target because they have not gotten hertes yes" say bnenikoo ishimuro. "then kikll theh malll when htey get tehre" and he waityed some more. beniko iwikiushuro was getting crazy now form all the waiting and then the truth hit him, there were n oamericans. "The only one waiting... IS ME" say beniko with despair
>the end
>>13804271
no Beniko you are the Americans
and then ishimura was a yank
It's just a souped up Briareos anyway
>>13804056
I see threads about this every couple of days now.
Please stop shilling, you giant fuck.
>>13804074
I really hope there'll be more virtual combat. Wade was an insanely boring main character, and there was no real final confrontation. Armada is EVEN WORSE, because it tries to push in a literal Macross plot at the very end.
Soda Pop Soldier was the only MMO-punk novel that didn't suck, and that was because it had an adult protagonist and focused on:
1.) A modern-warfare-esque FPS.
2.) A highly illegal, XXX-rated game that was equal parts Dark Souls and Diablo.
I mean, I just want to see the fuckers PLAY THE GAME.
>>13804150
What the actual fuck
>>13804056
We already had a dead thread over this. It's just official fanfiction work.
>A spiritual sequel to The Man In The High Castle, focusing on the New Japanese Empire, from an acclaimed author and essayist.
>Art by John Liberto (http://www.johnliberto.com/)
http://desustorage.org/m/thread/13773111
>>13804066
>>13804085
I'm planning on self publishing a bunch books eventually, and I've already decided that if I ever have references I'll go with the "don't explain jokes" variety. And not the Family Guy/Spy Hard way of doing references we see in >>13804132
And I'm probably not going to have any references at all in my first few books.
>>13804183
Well done.
>>13804490
>A spiritual sequel
that's a lot of words to say "ripoff"
>>13804056
Sounds dreamy. Also, that's a pretty cool mecha.
>>13804432
Didn't they turn that one into a movie with Gerard Butler? I think it was called Shooter.
>>13804132
The prose is awful and it's painfully obvious that this guy doesn't know any of these mecha at all.
>>13804183
>>13804898
I think I remember this movie you're talking about. it had the guys actually controlling criminals for some multiplayer fps thing? Fucking stupid movie.
>>13804074
Spielberg has made more bad movies than good movies.
>>13804085
They'll just replace every reference with something generic.
>>13804132
>>13804132
>>13804146
>>13804150
I really want to know where this is from.
>>13806295
Ready Player One
>>13804150
>Speed Racer
>not Mach GoGoGo
Filthy gaijin go home.
>>13806327
This piece of shit seriously got a movie deal?
WHAT THE FUCK
>>13806412
Boy, you're in for a surprise.
No seriously, you didn't read RPO?
>>13806435
Fuck no I didn't. I've been reading classic stuff lately.
Foundation series, if you must know. But I also don't read a lot of books anymore either....
I'm not a native speaker, so the English doesn't seem like the problem, what's exactly bad in this?
>>13806443
Heh, lucky faggot.
If you must know, this shit was heralded as the hottest geek book back then.
Well, was.
I heard the other two books by him were considered shit even by casual readers, but what do I know 'cause I'm sure as hell not gonna read them.
>Japan
>winning WWII
That's more of a fucking laugh than any of these pictures.
>>13806478
>>13806472
No normal person writes like that.
It's like a special kind of autism.
>>13806478
See, this part might be a good story in and of itself if it wasn't condensed entirely into one page.
>>13806478
What the fuck, did this retard have no editors or anyone who told him it was fucking retarded? Jesus christ
>>13806505
>Hyper advanced computer society
>can just fake your avatar and in turn fame your identity
The core of it could be a decent story provided the right setting. As it is, it's just fucking retarded.
>>13806435
>elect Wil Wheaton
>a Twitter drone who just says whatever poorly formed hivemind opinion is currently trending, even if it completely conflicts with what he said last weekYou can't say he doesn't have the makings of a real politician, I guess.
>>13806472
tl;dr it's willy wonka meet virtual reality game, which is a neat idea, but it's bogged down by shallow references.
unfortunately, making references themselves IS a plot point, not helped by the fact that it pretty much feels like filling a checklist than making a story.
also yeah it's a wish fulfilment story, nothing wrong with that, but it is done in the most neckbeard way possible.
think my immortal but for 80's "hardcore" nerd.
fuck, i need to sleep.
>>13806472
It's bad because it's just a bunch of random fanboy nonsense jumbled together for the sake of pushing the writers political leanings. It's not even structured or paced well, either.
>>13806522
fuck, i put tl;dr in the wrong place.
have this anyway, fresh from /tvg/
>>13806059
That was 'Gamer'. This is another book entirely. You know what, is there somewhere I can upload it to?
>>13806532
>*/tv/
argh
>>13806533
A furnace.
>>13806543
Hey, no need to be a dick about it. I know reading is hard - all those big words - but still!
>>13804056
Give me a single way the Japanese could have ever, EVER won the war, let alone INVADE THE US AND TAKE OVER AND BRAINWASH THE COUNTRY.
It's like KanColle all over again.
>>13806741
Well, Japan did consider researching atomic weapons and chose not to.
>>13804132
>had selected
Mind my autism, but isn't that redundant? The word had already implies past tense
>>13806758
Germany WAS researching atomic weapons. Didn't get them shit and they had worse scientists than the Germans. They also couldn't fly a bomber to the west coast, let alone a place of importance, without winning basically every naval battle and also outproducing us, which was impossible for many reasons. I would have eternally kek'd if they nuked their own country if we were invading the mainland though.
Second best case is that they use it to BTFO the entire American side of a naval battle (assuming they invented and built one overnight) but the backlash of horrified Americans would probably do them more harm then good. Imagine Pearl Harbor rage times twenty.
>>13806784
It's Past Perfect Tense. You use it when you have one statement in a sentence that chronologically occurs before another.
>>13806784
>he grabbed the umbrella from the stand
Vs
>he had grabbed the umbrella from the stand
It implies the "had" was a separate time than "now". I don't know about grammatical correctness but that's how I read it.
>>13806784
English is not my first language so I'm not gonna bother looking up the grammar terms, but no. It could be just "selected", but there's no such thing as "had select" or whatever you're suggesting.
>>13806866
Actually it's probably Past Perfect.
>>13806880
Well >>13806866 answers that. The more you know.
>>13806890
He's suggesting that it could just be "selected" without the had.
>>13806741
>KanColle anime
>canon
>>13806921
Didn't even watch the anime, but the whole idea around KanColle is Imperialwank. Feels good knowing US has never lost a war because of their military. inb4 Vietnam because that got ruined by the people back home. Was a shit war that wasted life but that's besides the point.
>>13806532
>>13806478
Wait, her name is "H?" I thought it was pronounced like "Ache" or "Ech."
>>13806945
USA has already been confirmed for Kancolle, so USA strong every day.
>>13806963
>I thought it was pronounced like "Ache" or "Ech."
>Ech
She was secretly Jontron the whole time.
>>13806741
>dissing Nimitz and pals
>naval warfare student
>>13806838
>the backlash of horrified Americans would probably do them more harm then good. Imagine Pearl Harbor rage times twenty.
Pic related
>>13806741
>Give me a single way the Japanese could have ever, EVER won the war
right bear with me, instead of dying as his plane was shot down, isoroku yamamoto woke up in the past, 1905 to be exact, with all knowledge he acquired up to that point.
With all his acquired wisdom and knowledge he builds up the most advanced navy in the world, which includes a fleet of nuclear submarines and uses it as Japan's secret weaponSubs never
>>13806990
Hell yeah.
>>13806969
Oh, that's what all the memery recently has been about. Wonderful, hope the japs cry while fapping to the very shipgirls that sunk their navy.
>>13804504
Self-publishing is risky, be careful.
>>13806990
Seeing this picture brought fond memories of atomic destruction from the 1945 alternate history novel.
>>13806945
>but the whole idea around KanColle is Imperialwank
nope, it's about ships being girls, everything else is secondary.
and by the way, nationalist dickstroking is disgusting regardless of the country.
>>13807082
>and by the way, nationalist dickstroking is disgusting regardless of the country.
fuck off Sweden.
>>13806741
Literally the only way to "win" would be to not get involved in WWII.
Finish the war with China, sit tight digesting your territorial gains, and come down on the side of the west during the Cold War. Eventually blossom as major power and the undisputed master of Asia.
This is the absolute best that can reasonably be hoped for. Conquering America is unconscionable.
>>13807136
honestly, I think they could have steamrolled all the way down as they did while skipping the Philippines ann not touching pearl harbour and just sit on that for years, all that delicious natural resource.
>>13807164
I know right? Who gives a fuck about the Dutch East Indies? Do you really think FDR is going to sell the American people on going to war with a country over stealing territory from a country that doesn't even really exist at this point any more?
>>13807206
Holland doesn't exist anymore?
>>13807164
>>13807136
The only way for any Axis country to win would be the US not getting in the war. The Soviets did most of the hard work to beat Germany but they only won in the end because US gave backup to UK and friends (which would ultimately lose at some point if not for that) and made two-front war longer. Italy... well, they kinda fucked themselves, but US had a major part in that too because of the African/Mediterranean campaigns. No nation in the world could match US industry and their were geographically untouchable by then - except for Hawaii and Alaska. Too bad for Japan.
>>13807211
The US also gave huge amounts of aid to the USSR via lend-lease and stuff as well; they likely couldn't have maintained the industrial output necessary to keep fighting without American metal and other resources.
>>13806969
>Kancolle
>small c
>>13807057
The vast majority want them. Even the vocal few against them have shut up.
>>13807082
This.
>>13806758
Japan's real problem was too little manpower, too few natural resources, and too little industrial capacity compared to America. A couple nukes isn't going to solve that.
I suggest playing Victoria 2 or Hearts of Iron 3 to understand how fundamentally unfair an advantage America has.
>>13807210
As of December 1941, not really.
>>13807286
I suggest reading a book about it.
>>13804066
>>13804074
>>13804085
>>13804132
>>13804167
>>13804150
>>13804146
>READY PLAYER ONE
I'm listening to the audiobook at the moment and I kind of like the world it's set it.
The main character is insufferable though, and you get passages like this:
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EzgIjweked
>>13807136
>be nip nog way back when, fishing while contemplating nature and your samurai heritage
>wife occasionally gets fancy technology things from her sister in the capital, it's cool but nothing beats sake and haikus
>suddenly emperor comes on radio
>we need to expand our grorious empire and defeat Chinese and Korean dogs, we will become a world power
>better listen to god on earth
>honorably kill hundreds of civilians
>get sent back home because your commanding officer who fucking hated the navy and tried to sabotage them got assassinated
>suddenly Pearl Harbor, oh shit, get stationed to a shitty rock
>radio keeps telling about our victories, feels good, time passes
>one day radio admits we got fucked hard
>told to get my ass ready, Americans will land here to reclaim rock
>buddies killing themselves left and right, supplies are running low, everyone's guns are actually shit and those who try to run are shot
>months later the emperor comes on radio, explains that Hiroshima and Nagasaki got BTFO by American magic
>go back home
>home town was firebombed to hell, no survivors
>nobody else is returning because they all died in a naval battle, on a shitty rock, flying into a battleship or committed suicide
>eventually find wife, she escaped, but everything will be okay as long as we are together
>American occupying force gangbangs her, left her disfigured and pregnant
>she dies in childbirth, bastard child ends up deformed because we lived downwind of Hiroshima
>spend the next 50 years of my life in a puppet civilization with shit economy, always told about how bad we were during the war
>either give up honorable heritage by admitting Japan was in the wrong or pretend that because I didn't do anything bad (implying killing chinks is bad) then nobody did anything bad
>fuck it I can live a lie, fuck you American pigs
>live with guilt for 70 years
>walk in on my retard bastard son fapping to a trap doujinshi, he's almost 50 years old now
>being nip is suffering
>>13807400
This is fucking rough.
>>13804066
>>13804074
The fact that people fall all over Ready Player One when Rainbows End is probably a far more realistic (and less pandering) vision of the near future.
>>13807495
The main character is literally a self-insert fantasy for fat neckbeard atheist geeks. It is painful reading, but the 80s references sort of make up for it. Holy shit though. people moan about Shinji but this guy really takes the cake.
>>13807400
>http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EzgIjweked
>>13807530
I loved reading Asimov stuff, or even skimming a wikipedia article about his stuff. Pretty sure there's a lot of great scifi writers too, and hell, Japan has a bunch of good scifi writers too. How the hell do intersections end up so bad, most of the time?
This shit is like the Kappa Mikey of /m/.
>>13807564
Some shit just isn't meant to mix
>>13807564
Was Kappa Mikey even that bad?
I don't remember it being.
>>13807580
Look it up, man. It's a trip.
>>13807576
I'm glad at least Pacific Rim was great, not that it'll ever get a sequel.
>>13807564
>Japan has a bunch of good scifi writers too
If you can think up more than ten who are actually legitimately good, I'll be greatly surprised.
>>13807604
So it's like America?
>>13807608
That's irrelevant to the question.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1PrKBPlpscT
>>13807604
I don't actually know too many but uh...
Yoshiki Tanaka
Kaoru Kurimoto
Hideyuki Kikuchi (Not stories, but his world building is fucking great)
Light novel stuff now seems too pandering, why?
>>13807608
America has the best sci fi writers though.
>>13807639
>not even five
How impressive.
>Light novel stuff now seems too pandering, why?
Have to make money somehow, and might as well try and do it the easy way.
I found the parts where the book went "AND THEN REFERENCES HAPPENED, I GUESS" and the main character's obnoxiousness amusing in a "how did this get past the editor" way.
If you can somehow get past these two huge flaws, you're left with an entertaining enough cyberpunk story set in a world so fucked up that people are convinced that the past is somehow more worth experiencing than the present.
>>13807660
I don't wanna include stuff that already has shows, and storyboarders for shows don't really count. Plus I don't really know that many, I'm sorry anon.
I'm sure someone else could definitely name a bunch more.
>>13807710
That's a neat enough concept, but iunno. I hate cringe more than a lot of other stuff, and this really makes me have to sit down to take.
>>13807660
>MFW a ton of the most impressive Japanese sci-fi creators aren't writers at all, but animators and mangaka
Not gonna let you sit here and shit on Japanese creators when Shirow et al. were the ones who finally lifted cyberpunk out of neo-noir cliche/body-horror-cuz-it's-kewl/corny neologism hell.
>>13807639
You sure those are the only good Jap science fiction writers you can think of? I hope you realize you don't necessarily have to limit yourself solely to novelists.
>>13807726
And who are these others aside from Shirow?
>>13807731
If it's not limited to novelists, then there a few more, I guess. I haven't read much stuff though, especially sinceI've been trying to get through Guin Saga andI'm pretty new to reading JP stuff..
>>13807744
Otomo, Anno, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Makoto Yukimura. There're a lot more, too, because (obviously) anime is very open to sci-fi premises. True, there isn't as much "Nerd Rapture through Space Travel" stuff, but thankfully, there's a lot less "Nerd Rapture through Space Travel" stuff. I tend to like how Japanese sci-fi is more concerned with an individual human's existence within an alien (to us) social paradigm, and focuses less on compression of meaningful human existence via spacetime travel shenanigans or speculation on the post-humanity. It's more, what's the word... relatable.
>>13807808
Just add Go Nagai and Ken Ishikawa to that list and it would be perfect :^)
>>13807400
*tips fedora*
Tipping is motion involving the slight angling of the brim of one's hat, usually done during a farewell, to denote respect. A trilby, often confused with a fedora, is a short-brimmed hat worn favored by atheists. An atheist often tips his fedora in a smug fashion when he believes he has won an argument, mocking his opponent with his superior intellect, as I am doing right now.
Pic related it's the author, not that he'll have any trouble getting retarded teenage LOL so nerdy XD girls now.
"With (giant robot) weapons like this, I think they would have at least beat germany."
"Nah, it would have been something like this."
>>13807035
>There're a lot more, too, because (obviously) anime is very open to sci-fi premises. True, there isn't as much "Nerd Rapture through Space Travel" stuff, but thankfully, there's a lot less "Nerd Rapture through Space Travel" stuff. I tend to like how Japanese sci-fi is more concerned with an individual human's existence within an alien (to us) social paradigm, and focuses less on compression of meaningful human existence via spacetime travel shenanigans or speculation on the post-humanity. It's more, what's the word... relatable.
>>>
I wish someone would translate deep blue fleet.
>>13807211
>The only way for any Axis country to win would be the US not getting in the war.
Reminds me of Fatherland. Set in the 60s, USA and Nazi Germany are the two superpower rivals in the Cold War.
>>13807210
It exists as a region in the Netherlands and is made up of the provinces of North Holland and South Holland.
>>13807564
>This shit is like the Kappa Mikey of /m/.
Kappa Mikey didn't treat you like a fucking idiot at every passing chance it got.
>>13806741
>Give me a single way the Japanese could have ever, EVER won the war, let alone INVADE THE US AND TAKE OVER AND BRAINWASH THE COUNTRY.
Newtypes
>>13806741
Never letting Yamamoto talk the majority of the Empire into attacking America, and instead focusing on building up their forces to completing the takeover of the Asian-side of the Pacific in order to secure the necessary resources to properly fund their naval war machine. They already had a generous portion of East and Southeast Asia under their control. They just needed to solidify control and sit there while the British and Dutch whine over their aggression into or close to their territories. Then dig in with homefield advantage if any of the European nations seriously attempted to retake their holdings.
FDR wouldn't be able to successfully convince an isolationist-loving America to switch over to wartime production, and would only ever be providing supplies to Britain rather than outright joining the war effort. If anything, The Nazis might be the ones to have pulled the trigger to drag the US into war, while Japan remained on the defensive securing and fortifying their holdings.
As to the idea of United States of Japan, interestingly, Britain's super battleship concepts partially came about due to initial fears that the US and Japan might ally AGAINST Britain and their territories across the world.
Funnily enough in regards to the former Imperial Japan, there's been various opinion articles as of late that the US shouldn't have locked down Japan as badly as they did, and instead should have allowed Japan to retain some of their conquered territories in order to maintain order in the Pacific, even if it's as a servant country to the US. If only to ensure that China would never have become the powerhouse that it is now and that the Koreas would still be one Korea and under Japanese administration with backing from the US.
>>13804132
While reading this I couldn't help but reflexively clutch my forehead.
>It was black and chrome in color
marked the start of the dull pain and it persisted all the way through. Putting aside the horrendous, stilted use of references, the passage just reads horribly. I've been at greater ease reading the dense, mental contortions of French sociologists and mathematical proofs. I feel like this is something anyone could squeeze out after taking Remedial Creative Writing 99.
>>13804183
The tears are flowing, but I can't tell whether I'm happy or sad.
>>13807904
MY GOD, it's like i'm back in deviantart 10 fucking years ago
this shit is painful
>>13807400
>http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EzgIjweked
I've read Harry Potter fan fiction that was better than this shit.
>>13807082
>and by the way, nationalist dickstroking is disgusting regardless of the country.
Fuck off marxist.
>>13808556
>Jean Baudrillard is more pleasant to read than this book
BRAVO
R
A
V
O
>>13808633
Nah I'm with him. Nationalism is for plebs.
>>13804150
I just... I can't... what
>>13807136
>Literally the only way to "win" would be to not get involved in WWII.
Even then, the USA would've rekt them with embargos because they were really mad about Manchuko.
>>13807633
It's like the author really read a wikipedia article!
>>13809598
Japs were sitting on top of one of the largest oil fields in the world in Daqing Manchuoko. Problem was, they never found it. If they did so in the 30s, the U.S. could stuff it's embargo, lel.
>>13807639
>no Chohei Kambayashi
Step it up sempai.
>>13807400
>http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EzgIjweked
Holy shit.
>>13804132
>The other five had giant mecha from Robotech and Evangelion.
>giant mecha
>from Robotech
I suppose I could give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's talking about the SDF-1. But I think we all know that's not the case.
>>13809744
He's a faggot who learned everything from browsing wiki articles and summaries. He just needs to name drop whatever crap he finds from some "nerd checklist" or something and people will lap it up and think he's a "professional geek" because of the sheer quantity of references, no matter how surface-level they are.
>>13809766
But then why is it popular if he's an amateur of all hobbies and a jack of none.
>>13809779
White people have no culture and attempt to ape the culture of others.
Hipsters, in other words.
>>13809779
Because the people who read his shit believe he's a "master geek" and they find that such a novel, entertaining concept. His fans don't realize that he's just name dropping references as he reads them off a wiki because they aren't well-versed in this shit like we are.
He's a snakeoil salesman of nerd culture.
>>13809812
But hold on, aren't most hobbyists into a few things instead of having passing interests in a ton of things?
Doesn't anyone who knows anything about Macross, even if all they know is that Robotech is a cartoon with robots, wouldn't they know that Valkyries/Varitechs are transforming F-14s? That's not "giant" by any stretch of the imagination unless you're comparing them to humans. Even then, they're just "big."
>>13809861
Giant mecha is a catchall term for piloted robot. Their actual size is irrelevant.
>>13809873
So Knightmare Frames and Light-Finding Operations are giant mechs? Aestivalis are giant mechs?
>>13809882
What did I just say?
>>13809891
What about Scopedog, which is only 1.5x as tall as a human?
>>13809924
Most people probably wouldn't be fussy about how big something needs to be to be considered giant. It's bigger than them and the things they usually interact with, like cars and whatnot
>>13809861
The way most people see it, the underpinning of what it means to be a nerd or geek is the intensity in which you consume something. It's about being "autistic" towards something as 4chan would to define it. Just look at how much devotion it takes to really get into something like D&D or tabletop games, or to have adequate knowledge on [quality] science fiction concepts or ideas. To a casual observer, watching two nerds argue or talk about that kind of thing would be like listening to a discussion in another language. These are the discussions which power the fandom - about the core concepts and ideas that stretch across a genre or a hobby. Discussions about the physics behind minovsky particles, how an imperial star destroyer generates artificial gravity, or anything else you'd find on a given day on /m/, /tg/, or whatever.
Ernest Cline doesn't want to speak another language. He doesn't want to portray nerd culture as it truly is and always has been. Instead, he takes the easy route - name-dropping and referencing. It's the same strategy the Big Bang Theory uses to appear "nerdy" except Cline doesn't have the benefit of a laugh track to mask his shitty writing. He believes the sheer quantity of references he uses is enough to give the illusion of "speaking geek".
>>13809882
Can I just take the time to ask why the fuck LFOs were called Light-Finding Operations? It's even worse than something like "Liftbot" or w/e.
>>13809959
I have no fucking clue, I thought that the enemy grunt "Kraft Light Fighter" was way better.
>>13807400
>http://vocaroo.com/i/s1EzgIjweked
Do people realize they can present the idea that there is no higher power without sounding like a cunt?
>>13809993
I guess "I don't believe in god and there's some pretty good evidence that your ancestors made yours up" dmisn't as satisfying as "Well, religious people are fucking stupid and there is no 'higher power' because we can prove it with science, which is objectively better than gOD!"
>>13809946
I get what you're saying, but the author was implicitly comparing VFs (potentially Destroids) to Evangelions.
>>13810029
I think we already discussed that the author isn't too smart in some regards
>>13810043
The way he has to describe everything as if he's some sperglord to everyone is what drives me nuts. Like how he's trying to explain Minerva X to people.
>>13810290
Why the fuck would he mention Tranzor Z if he's just going to say that Minerva is from Mazinger Z? It's not like anybody in the US actually cared about it .
>>13810290
But it's funnier that way
The way he writes Japanese characters is amazing.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1aButrn0RqZ
>>13810385
>http://vocaroo.com/i/s1aButrn0RqZ
Holy crackers.
>>13810385
I'm not a big fan of this book by any means, but to be entirely fair Shoto and Daito were otaku who had a fetish for samurai shit. So of course they'd act like that.
>>13810385
>black mourning robes
>dying in the game, he died for real
>>13809955
This is why we must destroy Wikipedia and TVTropes.
>>13810472
>TVTropes
Now hold on, TVTropes is pretty much the best fucking reference system of pop literature. It's ace at identifying novels, comics or books you read once and only barely remember nowadays.
This has taken a turn for the terrible. While we're on the subject, any good /m/ related books on kindle?
>>13810294
>It's not like anybody in the US actually cared about it
I was all up on Tranzor as a little kid.
>like the idea of somehow Japan taking over America and we've just integrated into society with them, it sounds like a "What if.." plot to a episode of Star Trek
>BUT THERE ARE REBELS AND ONE IS NAMED GEORGE WASHINGTON, AND IT'S ALSO ABOUT VIDEO GAMES
>>13810538
I reccomend the Bad Metal series, author browses /m/ and each book is light novel size.
>>13810538
The Forever Peace, The Cyberiade and Peace on Earth.
>>13810294
>I was all up on Tranzor as a little kid.
Then wouldn't you know that Minerva X was fully autonomous, and din't have a cockpit?
>>13810692
>each book is light novel size.
Ah yes, Light Novels, the pinnacle of literature.
>>13811020
Oh don't get me wrong, his writing is shit (the commonly used vulgarity to refer to excrement). I'm just saying that there's probably at least two or three guys in their mid 30s who do actually know of Tranzor from it being on TV.
also I have literally no memories of Minerva X from watching it. I'm not sure if it even made it into the dub.
sage for 2x
>>13811020
>length=quality
>>>/a/
>>13811047
I'm one of them. Even knowing the 'real' show as I do now, for some reason the cheesy synth opening for Tranzor Z still has this place in my heart.
>>13811090
Who are you quoting?
>>13809598
Don't forget. In a world without the Pacific Theater, America still owns The Philippines. They are RIGHT THERE next to Japan. A sword of Damocles above their heads.
>>13810508
Another thing to add to the list of stupid shit people say.
>>13810508
Kill yourself.
>>13810671
there have literally been zero good novels that feature videogames as a central part of the plot.
>>13811310
Does Ender's Game count?
>>13811320
Simulations don't count. Because I said so.
>>13811320
No, because the video game in Ender's game was an awful case of TECHNOLOGY. In fact, both games were. The Giant's Game was stupid and didn't make any fucking sense with the twist, and neither did the fleet simulation. Why would those ships need pilots and crews? How can a universe with such advanced MILITARY ENTERTAINMENT games not have AI advanced enough to pilot fleets of ships while the generals told them what to do? What man would willingly follow orders to the letter when those orders are telling him to die?
>>13811310
All You Need is Kill.
Sorta.
OK fine it's only videogames in terms of concept inspiration.
>>13804146
>all that explaining
what if he's literally autistic
>>13806435
>Cory Doctorow and Wil Wheaton (again)
did the author of XKCD write this?
>>13811475
Randall Monroe may be loved by redditors but he's actually pretty smart. That, and if you've ever read the /r9k/ FAQ (like most new users do), then you'd know he's a hell of a lot better at expressing himself than this cunt.
>>13806532
as an actualbrown lesbian, this is the most infantilizing thing ever, holy shit
>>13811506
S I D E 7
I
D
E
7
Wow, the main character is so progressive and understanding, and a great ally to people of color and LBGT people!
He just keeps getting better and better as I listen. He has no flaws.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1N4HtsBOjTO
Top class writing.
>>13811724
ooooh boy
>>13811506
BARDOS ISLAND
A
R
D
O
S
I
S
L
A
N
D
Bad sci-fi time?
This is total garbage. It sets up a wonderful background but massively focuses on its OCD ridden bitch. I'm pretty SJW tolerant but this shit was just full of it. It completely falls apart in the third act. I can't tell you how mad I am that I spend time reading this.
>>13804056
...This is just Code Geass but backwards and SOMEHOW dumber.
>>13811506
HOLY SHIT PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE BE ON LUNA II
>>13811818
Also the prose is really fucking bad.
>>13807400
Everything about RPO strikes me as "white dude Twilight" in that it is primarily concerned with fellating the egos of both stupid teenagers and stupid young adults that have bought into a certain zeitgeist. Which is of course why Spielberg is making a movie of it.
I said it before in this thread and I'll say it again, go fucking read Rainbows End instead.On a tangential note, I'm completely convinced that RE is perfect for a Studio Ghibli adaptation.
>>13811866
>spoiler
Couldn't sound more stereotypical if you tried.
>>13811833
Forgot to, but it had a non-ending. It was like the author just gave up, said fuck it, and called it a day. The book itself makes you not care about anyone in the story.
Yes, I am super butthurt over reading it.
>>13809955
I disagree somewhat. I consider myself a geek. I immerse myself in my chosen interests as much as I can. I don't experience everything first-hand, though. I was not the lucky sort of person whose parents threw whatever entertainment he wanted at him uncritically, so I haven't played all the games, or watched all the movies, or read all the books. I did indeed trawl Wikipedia and Youtube for much of my knowledge. But I don't love my objects of interest any less; I just love them differently. And I generally get enough of one thing or another to hold my own in a debate. It's aprivilegeto be able to throw yourself into primary sources, but just because you can't doesn't mean that you don't geek out about the idea of them. Human perception is always about imperfect models anyhow.
>>13811320
>Ender's Game
>Good
>>13811899
but you love them
spazmo the author clearly made a list of shit he heard was something people liked
>>13811878
What.
>>13811899
>it's ok for me to repeat shit I read on Wikipedia and call it a book because I'm poor
Wow.
>>13811919
You know full well what I mean, and if you don't, you're a fucking moron.
>>13811913
Oh, no, I'm not defending him. I cringed hard at the mech thing. You can do references well, but that's not how. A good reference is like the Majestic Prince throwback eyecatch or pic-related: it has to be unobtrusive and/or make sense in context. It can't disrupt the flow of the story. The best are the ones where you wouldn't even know were references if you weren't familiar with the source, but everyone who knows recognizes it immediately. And the only way you can be successful including one of these is if it's sourced from something you love.
>>13811971
There's this funny thing about language, you're supposed to use it to elucidate a concept when the person you're speaking to says they don't understand.
>>13811987
I don't help morons who don't even know simple things, sorry.
>>13811833
I don't even read books for the plot anymore desu senpai, all I care about is that sweet sweet prose.
>>13812002
This is why your mother doesn't love you.
Anyhow, I'll use this as an opportunity to explain re: Ghibli:
>Main character 1 is an old man in a young man's body
>Main character 2 is a spirited little girl
>The antagonist is a classy, professional older man who has legit (but flawed) reasons for doing what he's doing
>The character binding them together is impish and mysterious and presents itself as a digital rabbit
>The world is AR-ified so there's constantly magical shit jumping up everywhere
>The final battle is fight between robots disguised essentially as Pokemon and Discworld characters
>Environmentalist themes
>Pic related is a prominent location
Shit is made for Miyazaki.
>>13804247
>>13812061
Of course my mother doesn't love me, she's dead. Corpses can't love. And again, you continue with your laughable stereotypical idea.
>>13812085
>Stereotypical
How so?
>>13812027
This was truly one of the worst written novels I've ever read.
Also, there was twitter in the future. So there's that.
>>13812113
Unfortunately I don't think Twitter is ever going away.
>>13811499
>if you've ever read the /r9k/ FAQ (like most new users do)
Since when is r9k the new users board?
>>13812263
It's not that, I was just intrigued by the concept of the board so I googled it.
>>13812313
Then why would you add
>like most new users do
I really doubt the majority of new users browse r9k much less read its FAQ.
>>13812323
He means new users of /r9k/ you dumbass.
>>13812323
I figured most people would be intrigued when they found out one of the boards is moderated by a robot.
>finding 4chan
>not using the front page to search for interests
This is why people don't know we have a /3DCG/.
>>13812334
Except nobody mentioned /r9k/ before he did.
>>13812357
>my interests include a pointless LOL SO RANDUMB board
>>13812093
Because I said so.
>>13812392
Don't try and speak on my behalf, dumbass.
>>13812404
Excuse me, I'm trying to have an argument here, you impostor.
>>13812404
Don't pretend to be me, faggot.
>>13812357
But r9k is a total shithole. I would sooner expect most new users to familiarize themselves with b, pol, and sp
>>13804066
Ready Player One was the peak of, "hey remember this". Slap on a thoroughly unlikeable main character and it just becomes a mess.
>>13808616
Interesting that you say that because Cassie Clare's Mortal Instruments series are just Find and Replace Harry Potter fanfics.
And come to think of it, Fifty Shades of Grey was a Find and Replace Twilight fanfic.
I'm friends with an author who based their book series on storylines that happened on a mud.
Remember, you too can be a published author and rake in a lot of money and get a movie if you find and replace your fanfics or your tabletop sessions.
Which makes me wonder, when's Johnny Spaceboots' first book coming out?
>>13812813
>Which makes me wonder, when's Johnny Spaceboots' first book coming out?
I'd buy it.
With actual money.
>>13812819
You think someone could actually do that these days? Write and get published an intentionally terrible and poorly proofed book as a joke? Is the world ready for Spaceboots?
I'd totally buy a real world Spaceboots book about Batman teaming up with Bernie Sanders and Doc Brown to fight Hitler.
>>13807604
Ken Ishikawa and Yasuhiro Imagawa are all they need.
>>13811724
>large bosom
This is way too much for me. I don't mind the weird social push, but the way it's shown IS preachy as fuck. But what really gets me is how this kid talks.
This is a neckbeard looking over a neckbeard lesbian. Scared that he'll start saying she was like a mother to him.
>>13811506
Jun is that you?
>>13808358
We have a winner.
>>13812822
Well, maybe as an Amazon title? There's also those books where Shakespeare text is rendered in messaging lingo and emojis, so who knows how far you can get away with shit.
>>13811506
PLEASE BE ON SIDE 3!!!!!!1
I thought proliferation of giant robots in Japanese media was born out of shows carrying post-WW2 anti-war ideologies
>>13812404
>>13812412
>>13812415
>When all else fails, troll
This is just sad. You could have just not been a dick.
>>13811866
You know, this book could have been really dark. Like, really, really fucking dark. It wouldn't even have been hard to completely overturn the 'message' of the book.
Just end it with Halliday going - "Congratulations, you won. I've been looking for someone to take over from me forever, to become the god of this world. The catch is that you have to upload yourself to the game, and let your real body die."
"Before you argue, think about it. Only a guy with no life could've made it this far. You'll be immortal and all-powerful in the place you love the most. Fuck reality, right? What has it ever done for you? Think it over. I'll be here when you make your decision."
So Wade logs out, and he sees that Artemis is actually a very sheepish-looking dude, who goes "Yeah, I've been catfishing you. I'm sorry about that, you know? Boy, this is kind of awkward, isn't it?"
Then Wade turns around, and walks away. He's going home. Back to the place where he REALLY belongs: Oasis.
The moral of the story is - Reality sucks. It's better to be 2D.
>>13813237
Either that, or she already has a boyfriend.
>>13804069
The pants were dead.
>>13813237
What the fuck man.
>>13813451
>>13813237
Oh fuck oh fuck why can't this be the ending.
>>13811724
Not only that, but it's just plain shitty writing.
>"a wave of emotion washed over me"
>"the african american girl.... she had chocolate skin"
>>13811284
>>13811299
Your powerful arguments compel me.
>>13807211
They should blame Japan, pretty much. Pretty sure US would have actually had more Axis sympathizers at that point in time, if it wasn't for Japan attacking Pearl Harbor
>>13812841
Implying Ishikawa is any good at science fiction is laughable enough, but Imagawa as well is just side-splitting. I bet you think the Getter manga is special and not just overrated garbage, don't you?
>>13816011
Keep in the fucking Getter threads, Luigi.
Why would Japan start using giant robots after winning a war, Real Robots were popularized by anti-war stories Gundam and Macross
>>13816576
Same reason why transhumanist propaganda often relies on imagery from Ghost in the Shell.
People are willing and eager to overlook the points made by a story as long as it can make them seem cooler by association.
>>13807035
how the fuck would he know anything about making nuclear reactors, and how the fuck would he go about laying the ground work for that in 1905 when he has to fight an uphill battle against all his crazy country men who will still exist and will end up being ideologically entrenched since the actual influence of a single individual sans heroic exploits to back it up is almost nil. I really have a hard time believing nuclear theory coalescing anywhere else but where it did in the timeline simply by altering a single person who was not even involved in anyway with developments in nuclear theory.
>>13816791
It's an alternate universe where Hitler is both fat and moe, don't question it.
>>13816796
I am afraid I cant stop myself man, I mean at least make the magical horseshit reasons easier to buy, like a bunch of other people get sent back in time too or something I dunno. Be like an American wankfest story where Patton instead of dying in a motorbike crash gets sent back to 1820 and the suddenly the Southern states BTFO of the North using modern "Abrams" MBTs as Patton has revolutionized their military, and then the South takes over the world.
Its that level of stupid, great military minds dont usually have a whole lot of other areas of expertise you know like god damn quantum mechanics and theoretical physics.
