Latest Megatokyo

[EricTheFred]

One of the best Megatokyo punchlines yet:

http://www.megatokyo.com/strip/1109

I may be forced to put this one in my sig.

Since it will help the uninitiated understand why this is so funny, please note the characters in the last frame are BF and GF.

[Fish and Chips]

Megatokyo has punchlines?

[EricTheFred]

Rather often, yes.

[Nate]

The sad thing is I haven't read Megatokyo in four years but understand everything that's going on in that comic.

Usually in the industry this is referred to as a "failure," but then again, given Fred's update schedule, I've probably only missed twenty comics in the past four years.

That's right. I went there.

[uc pseudonym]

Everyone, let's limit the Megatokyo hate. If you don't like the comic, there's probably not a good reason to post. If you absolutely must, give some more content than that.

[bakura_fan]

XD oh my gosh! I had completely forgotten to check this. eh. Only missed 2 comics, easy to catch up on. Thanks! The whole magical girl part is slightly confusing to me though...but it's comical nonetheless.

[RidleyofZebes]

MegaTokyo fan, right here!

*nods to UC in agreement*

[spoiler]Indeed, that is a good punchline. XD I wasn't sure if Largo and Erica would actually get together, but it looks like they pulled it off![/spoiler] I'm not quite up to 1109 yet, but it won't be long! I'm already on 815. It'll just be a bit longer and I'll be down to waiting until whenever Fred gets around to uploading. ;_; What kind of schedule does Fred have now, anyway?

[Fish and Chips]

That's my criticism in brief. Actual comedic value taking a backseat for this post, the punchline is entirely irrelevant to the set up. You could cut this comic in half, and Erika's quip at the end is just as efficient (or inefficient) to carry the joke. A single panel even. And talking about the context of the scene implies that the humor lies there, but the joke stands whoever they are. Girlfriend, friend, mother, sister, arch nemesis, employer, fellow employee, the gag doesn't change. Now if she was a complete stranger, then it would just be weird.

I do not read Megatokyo, but if this is "One of the best punchlines yet" not sure I see the appeal.

[Doubleshadow]

That's not a bad ending for a one page strip. I think the attitudes expressed there sum up their relationship rather well.

[EricTheFred]

That's my criticism in brief. Actual comedic value taking a backseat for this post, the punchline is entirely irrelevant to the set up. You could cut this comic in half, and Erika's quip at the end is just as efficient (or inefficient) to carry the joke. A single panel even. And talking about the context of the scene implies that the humor lies there, but the joke stands whoever they are. Girlfriend, friend, mother, sister, arch nemesis, employer, fellow employee, the gag doesn't change. Now if she was a complete stranger, then it would just be weird.

I do not read Megatokyo, but if this is "One of the best punchlines yet" not sure I see the appeal.

Well, if this were a gag strip, your analysis would be correct. However, MT is properly a comic drama, not a gag strip. It runs along similar lines to many shojo romances, but because it's set in a shonen-esque world, it tends to lend itself to gag-strip-like jokes, which the cartoonist normally positions in the last few panels. These panels function like a gag-strip, but everything before them is part of the ongoing story, not set-up for the gag.

Anyhow, on further review I suspect you really would need to know these characters to get the full effect. It isn't so much the gag itself as it is the extra layers of meaning it acquires by involving this particular couple. I ought to have realized this earlier, I guess.

Anyhow, given that the print version of MT continues to be the best selling OEL book on the manga shelves, the appeal evidently exists for quite a few of us. Of course, we should remember that few books on those same shelves appeal to everyone, OEL, OJL, or other.

[Radical Dreamer]

I actually don't get it.




But I don't read the comic either, so...XD;

[uc pseudonym]

To actually address the topic...

Anyhow, on further review I suspect you really would need to know these characters to get the full effect. It isn't so much the gag itself as it is the extra layers of meaning it acquires by involving this particular couple. I ought to have realized this earlier, I guess.

I have been following Megatokyo for a few years now (I tend to read free things). To be honest, I was fairly neutral about this comic and don't appreciate it in the same way that you do, even taking into account our different overall opinions about the series. Better something with Largo than something with Piro, though.