The BBC Watch really belongs here
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I read the first book of The Witcher, and if I recall, it had one or two bits of humour. I'm pretty sure one of the short stories was a satire of Beauty and the Beast too...
Anyway, RathDarkblade, if humour is what you're after, can I suggest an anime series? I suggest Overlord, not the game series penned by Rihanna Pratchett, but rather, the anime based on a series of novels.
Basically, it's one of a genre known as isekai, or 'other world', a genre that's sadly filled with pretty crappy series, but this one's at the top of the tree. Overlord starts with Momonga, a 22nd Century player of a defunct MMORPG staying on during the server shutdown out of spite. He finds himself transported to another world, along with the base of his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, and the NPCs populating it become living beings, loyal to him and him alone.
All very well and good and cliched...except Ainz Ooal Gown roleplayed as an evil guild, Momonga has transformed into an overlord (basically a super-lich), complete with lack of emotions or flesh, and the NPCs are all evil and willing to conquer the world in his name. And as he was a Level 100 player in the MMORPG, Momonga (who soon takes the name of his guild as his own) is ridiculously OP compared to everyone else in the world. And he soon finds his humanity slipping away.
Now, this sounds like a dark series, and let's make no bones about it: it IS a dark series. There's a lot of violence, and one story arc revolves around human trafficking and sex slaves, to say nothing of what Momonga/Ainz does to intruders in a later story arc as his darker impulses overcome his humanity. BUT, it's not without humour. True, some of it is the cringey sex comedy common to a lot of anime, including too many isekai series, but a lot of the comedy actually comes about because of the discrepancy between Momonga/Ainz's outward personality, that of a calm, assured, authoritative overlord, and his inner thoughts, which are often panicky as he tries to regain control of a situation that, thanks to the misconceptions of both the NPCs and the people he meets in this new world, is slipping from his grasp. Plus, there's the fact that, despite being ridiculously OP, Momonga/Ainz never becomes boring.
Here's some clips from the series. Firstly, there's the opening for the third series, the best opening for the series IMO. Secondly, there is Momonga/Ainz's first big confrontation, with a bunch of religious xenophobes known as the Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy, where he shows them how badly they are outmatched. Finally, a clip from later in the series, showing the humorous side of the show, when Momonga/Ainz, in disguise, has to tame the Wise King of the Forest to try and gain a name for himself...only to discover that the so-called 'Wise King' is not what he expected...
Anyway, RathDarkblade, if humour is what you're after, can I suggest an anime series? I suggest Overlord, not the game series penned by Rihanna Pratchett, but rather, the anime based on a series of novels.
Basically, it's one of a genre known as isekai, or 'other world', a genre that's sadly filled with pretty crappy series, but this one's at the top of the tree. Overlord starts with Momonga, a 22nd Century player of a defunct MMORPG staying on during the server shutdown out of spite. He finds himself transported to another world, along with the base of his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, and the NPCs populating it become living beings, loyal to him and him alone.
All very well and good and cliched...except Ainz Ooal Gown roleplayed as an evil guild, Momonga has transformed into an overlord (basically a super-lich), complete with lack of emotions or flesh, and the NPCs are all evil and willing to conquer the world in his name. And as he was a Level 100 player in the MMORPG, Momonga (who soon takes the name of his guild as his own) is ridiculously OP compared to everyone else in the world. And he soon finds his humanity slipping away.
Now, this sounds like a dark series, and let's make no bones about it: it IS a dark series. There's a lot of violence, and one story arc revolves around human trafficking and sex slaves, to say nothing of what Momonga/Ainz does to intruders in a later story arc as his darker impulses overcome his humanity. BUT, it's not without humour. True, some of it is the cringey sex comedy common to a lot of anime, including too many isekai series, but a lot of the comedy actually comes about because of the discrepancy between Momonga/Ainz's outward personality, that of a calm, assured, authoritative overlord, and his inner thoughts, which are often panicky as he tries to regain control of a situation that, thanks to the misconceptions of both the NPCs and the people he meets in this new world, is slipping from his grasp. Plus, there's the fact that, despite being ridiculously OP, Momonga/Ainz never becomes boring.
Here's some clips from the series. Firstly, there's the opening for the third series, the best opening for the series IMO. Secondly, there is Momonga/Ainz's first big confrontation, with a bunch of religious xenophobes known as the Sunlight Scripture of the Slane Theocracy, where he shows them how badly they are outmatched. Finally, a clip from later in the series, showing the humorous side of the show, when Momonga/Ainz, in disguise, has to tame the Wise King of the Forest to try and gain a name for himself...only to discover that the so-called 'Wise King' is not what he expected...
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I have read the books, played the third Witcher game (an absolute masterpiece, with plenty of humor) and see the TV series.
The Witcher 3 games takes place after the events of the books. The TV series (which I thought was very good) was pretty faithful to at least the first book upon which most of the episodes were based). The first book (short stories, really) was the best. The succeeding books were tedious. Endless, long, boring scenes of talking or walking with occasional bits of action.
The Witcher 3 games takes place after the events of the books. The TV series (which I thought was very good) was pretty faithful to at least the first book upon which most of the episodes were based). The first book (short stories, really) was the best. The succeeding books were tedious. Endless, long, boring scenes of talking or walking with occasional bits of action.
Likes:
Molokov
To get back to the thread topic ...
Years and years and years ago (I think it was 2002 - I remember, because it was the year I got NW signed), I wrote the lyrics to a Discworld song.
It was a parody of "It's Still Rock 'N Roll to Me" by Billy Joel. I called it "It's Still Just a Troll to Me" -- and it was performed by Lord Rust, expressing his opinions on Detritus the troll.
It featured -- as a joke -- Vimes on electric guitar, Angua on backing guitar, Carrot playing the saxophone, Nobby on drums, and Gaspode howling along. As a JOKE.
I never expected the universe to take my joke seriously ...
Years and years and years ago (I think it was 2002 - I remember, because it was the year I got NW signed), I wrote the lyrics to a Discworld song.
It was a parody of "It's Still Rock 'N Roll to Me" by Billy Joel. I called it "It's Still Just a Troll to Me" -- and it was performed by Lord Rust, expressing his opinions on Detritus the troll.
It featured -- as a joke -- Vimes on electric guitar, Angua on backing guitar, Carrot playing the saxophone, Nobby on drums, and Gaspode howling along. As a JOKE.
I never expected the universe to take my joke seriously ...
Maybe I'm biased, because I played Witcher 3 before reading the books or knowing anything at all about the series, so I really had no background on any of the characters or backstories. Reading the books first probably would have made the game more enriching, since its events start after the books end, but I found the game totally immersive, entertaining and fun without the backstory. It's very evident that Henry Clavill, who played the Witcher on the TV series, based his portrayal and "voice" on the game's version of the Witcher, rather than the book's version. In the books the WItcher's personality is very different (and not nearly as appealing as the video game's version).
Oh? *curious* What, exactly, was so appealing about the Witcher in the video game? I'm curious now. (Yes, all right, I only played the second game ... but in that one, he comes across as taciturn, brusque, apathetic, and indifferent. Basically, his whole attitude was "I don't care if the entire kingdom goes to hell, just as long as I clear my name, get paid, find Triss Merigold, and have sex with her"). *shrug*
A knight in muddy armour, perhaps.
A knight in muddy armour, perhaps.
So far, there's some sardonic humour from Geralt. This is admittedly in the third game.
Anyway, a couple of further recommendations, both from the Nasuverse, my personal favourite anime universe. Both are mystery-based too, involving characters solving mysteries, so they do sort of fit this thread, given that we are lamenting the derailment of The Watch.
The first is a series of movies called Garden of Sinners, or Kara no Kyoukai in Japan, based on a light novel series. These aren't actually available on DVD or Blu-Ray in Australia, but you can get them on iTunes (they were taken off iTunes for a time not so long ago, but now they've come back). They revolve around a trio of characters investigating paranormal mysteries: Touko Aozaki, a brutal pragmatist of a Magus who specialises in Puppets (basically the magical equivalent of artificial limbs, even bodies) and who heads their investigation agency; Mikiya Kokuto, a fairly ordinary teenaged boy who got roped into matters; and Shiki Ryougi, a teenaged girl with a ruthless personality who possesses the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Basically, while active, she sees lines and dots on people and objects that, when cut or pierced, kill the person or object. So powerful are these eyes, she can kill concepts. Think about that.
It should be noted that this series is pretty damn dark, even for the Nasuverse, so fair warning.
This is a clip from the Paradox Spiral movie, showing Shiki facing off against a centuries-old monk turned rogue called Araya. Because of his age, as well as other circumstances, he's harder to kill with her Mystic Eyes, hence the prolonged battle...
The second is The Lord El-Melloi II Case Files. Lord El-Melloi II is Waver Velvet, one of the main characters of Fate/Zero, forced to act as a regent for the family of his late teacher, the previous Lord El-Melloi (who was basically a more competent Lucius Malfoy). Imagine Unseen University being more serious and cut-throat, and you have the Magus Association, aka Clock Tower, where Waver works as a lecturer. However, he also finds himself being roped into mysteries. He's assisted by his students, one of whom, Gray, is a clone of King Arthur, aka Arturia. She hides her face at Waver's request due to his bad experiences with Arturia in Fate/Zero, and she's actually fine with that, given how she was turned into a clone of Arturia without any say in the matter.
I honestly was surprised this was going to get a dub, but lo and behold, here's the trailer for an upcoming boxset with a dub...
Anyway, a couple of further recommendations, both from the Nasuverse, my personal favourite anime universe. Both are mystery-based too, involving characters solving mysteries, so they do sort of fit this thread, given that we are lamenting the derailment of The Watch.
The first is a series of movies called Garden of Sinners, or Kara no Kyoukai in Japan, based on a light novel series. These aren't actually available on DVD or Blu-Ray in Australia, but you can get them on iTunes (they were taken off iTunes for a time not so long ago, but now they've come back). They revolve around a trio of characters investigating paranormal mysteries: Touko Aozaki, a brutal pragmatist of a Magus who specialises in Puppets (basically the magical equivalent of artificial limbs, even bodies) and who heads their investigation agency; Mikiya Kokuto, a fairly ordinary teenaged boy who got roped into matters; and Shiki Ryougi, a teenaged girl with a ruthless personality who possesses the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. Basically, while active, she sees lines and dots on people and objects that, when cut or pierced, kill the person or object. So powerful are these eyes, she can kill concepts. Think about that.
It should be noted that this series is pretty damn dark, even for the Nasuverse, so fair warning.
This is a clip from the Paradox Spiral movie, showing Shiki facing off against a centuries-old monk turned rogue called Araya. Because of his age, as well as other circumstances, he's harder to kill with her Mystic Eyes, hence the prolonged battle...
The second is The Lord El-Melloi II Case Files. Lord El-Melloi II is Waver Velvet, one of the main characters of Fate/Zero, forced to act as a regent for the family of his late teacher, the previous Lord El-Melloi (who was basically a more competent Lucius Malfoy). Imagine Unseen University being more serious and cut-throat, and you have the Magus Association, aka Clock Tower, where Waver works as a lecturer. However, he also finds himself being roped into mysteries. He's assisted by his students, one of whom, Gray, is a clone of King Arthur, aka Arturia. She hides her face at Waver's request due to his bad experiences with Arturia in Fate/Zero, and she's actually fine with that, given how she was turned into a clone of Arturia without any say in the matter.
I honestly was surprised this was going to get a dub, but lo and behold, here's the trailer for an upcoming boxset with a dub...
Oh? *curious* What, exactly, was so appealing about the Witcher in the video game? I'm curious now. (Yes, all right, I only played the second game ... but in that one, he comes across as taciturn, brusque, apathetic, and indifferent. Basically, his whole attitude was "I don't care if the entire kingdom goes to hell, just as long as I clear my name, get paid, find Triss Merigold, and have sex with her"). *shrug*
A knight in muddy armour, perhaps.
A knight in muddy armour, perhaps.