General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[cobaltstarfire]

This would have been my actual suggestion, but I hesitate to recommend essentially watching the same series twice for people new to anime.




Neither of us are new to anime, we had just hit a spot where almost every anime we tried out was either horrible, didn't suit our tastes, or pushed our buttons the wrong way. Which is why I came here for some suggestions (and you guys really delivered, I think we've been working on that list for almost a year and a half now?) We usually only have about an hour of time a night to watch something together so you can understand why we were tired of getting duds.


That said neither of us are in tune to anime the way many of the folks here are, so I've always kept an eye on this thread to see what you all think of new stuff as it comes out.

[HMS Invincible]

You'd be hard pressed to find any talk on new anime. Most people have their old favorites or the latest manga.

As for this season, kabaneri of the iron fortress? And re zero are the ones that show promise.

[cobaltstarfire]

There's plenty of talk on new anime here, pretty much every season, many of the folks who frequent this thread talk about what they are interested in, why, and later on why they ended up keeping with or dropping that anime. It's very informative.

Not to mention there were several anime suggested to us were in fact recent, or even still running when we started watching them, such as Kamisama Hajimema****a, and Durarara! X2. There were several others which we also fairly recent. A lot of anime suggestions we got were more recent than not, because we'd already watched a good deal of the older stuff that usually come up on suggestion lists.

[BWR]

Kabaneri is basically AoT this season. I like the world-building better but the kabaneri themselves are kind of boring and Protagonist-kun is so annoyingly shounen that it lessens the enjoyment of the show to the point where I doubt I'll bother to finish it.

So this season I'm watching, in what is probably the order I like them

The good:
Flying Witch
Kuma Miko
Tanaka-kun wa itsumo kedaruge
Sakamoto desu ga?

The ok:
Space Patrol Luluco (6 minute episodes of crazy)
Netoge no yome wa onnako ja nai to ommotta (girl who likes MMOs too much and can't tell the difference between IC and OOC gets help from her guildies - romance and comedy abound)
Macross Delta (mostly disappointing so far compared to the original and Frontier but still leagues better than 7)
Sailor Moon (mostly because my gf loves it)
Kuromokuro (may drop it)

[DoctorFaust]

Symphogear GX has an incredibly hype first episode. If you liked Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann or JoJo, and are also a fan of magical girls, Symphogear is definitely a show you should check out. Girls that generate power armor through singing and are powered through willpower, some pretty decent music, ridiculously named attacks and enemies, more than a few hot-blooded protagonists, and more subtext than Sound! Euphonium. What's not to like?

[HMS Invincible]

The singing? I prefer OST to musicals, Hamilton not withstanding.

[Hiro Protagonest]

See last time I got a response on the whole original vs brotherhood thing was that the original would be the easier one, cause I couldn't remember which one was settled on as the easier one to watch and had to ask after it.

Brotherhood is pretty simple to me. Start with Episode 2 because The Freezing Alchemist is basically fanservice (of the non-sexual variety). I think the complicated part was having to switch to Hulu for the final season, which isn't actually complicated, just stupid.

The differences start at... the State Alchemist test, actually, if you don't count all the little stuff that happens to Ed and Al before they even meet Greed. And the story completely goes in a different direction starting at Episode 14 (first episode of second season) of Brotherhood, because the eastern country of Xing just isn't in the 2003 anime at all.

[Prime32]

The differences start at... the State Alchemist test, actually, if you don't count all the little stuff that happens to Ed and Al before they even meet Greed. And the story completely goes in a different direction starting at Episode 14 (first episode of second season) of Brotherhood, because the eastern country of Xing just isn't in the 2003 anime at all.That "little stuff" becomes pretty major later on. Important characters in one series don't exist in the other, or are so different that things would get confusing if you switched from one version to the other ("Huh, didn't he die?"). There's also a significant difference in pace and tone - the first series focuses more on drama, and Brotherhood more on action and comedy.


Symphogear GX has an incredibly hype first episode. If you liked Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann or JoJo, and are also a fan of magical girls, Symphogear is definitely a show you should check out. Girls that generate power armor through singing and are powered through willpower, some pretty decent music, ridiculously named attacks and enemies, more than a few hot-blooded protagonists, and more subtext than Sound! Euphonium. What's not to like?I feel the need to object to you making it sound like GX is the first season. :smallconfused: It's the third; the first is just called Symphogear, and the second is Symphogear G.

It has the most hype first episode (involving firing the protagonists out of a missile (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLcpO8S8tvY), and "K2 is now only the third-highest mountain in the world!" (https://a.pomf.cat/ywipyw.webm)) and some good new songs, but is probably the weakest season overall.

[tensai_oni]

Symphogear GX is more than just the weakest. The first season needed to spend a few episodes to get in the zone so to speak, and the second season has a noticeably weaker middle part.

But compared to GX they are both masterpieces. GX has an awesome hype-building first episode but the rest of the season is a mistake. It's horrible, and almost retroactively ruined the first two seasons for me.

[Hiro Protagonest]

That "little stuff" becomes pretty major later on. Important characters in one series don't exist in the other, or are so different that things would get confusing if you switched from one version to the other ("Huh, didn't he die?").

Yes, which is why I even more strongly recommend just watching Brotherhood and not bothering with the first, because the 2003 series can cause some serious misconceptions about certain characters.

[Lethologica]

Meh, they're not misconceptions, just alternate ones.

[Mx.Silver]

Differentiating FMA and Brotherhood based on plot details is, I'd say, a case of not seeing the forest for the trees. The two series are barely even in the same genre -- Brotherhood is a Standard Shounen Action Series without the usual power-creep; the original adaptation is a gothic fantasy adventure/bildungsroman. They aren't merely different versions of a story, they're fundamentally different stories to begin with. Indulging in tit-for-tat comparisons between the two is missing the point of both, and therefore not a good lens through which to look at either of them (not that tit-for-tat comparisons are a particularly a good way of looking at works of fiction in the first place, mind you :smalltongue: )

Incidentally, the reason I suggested the original adaptation back when Cobaltstarfire was asking for recommendations is because it's a series that I felt had a strong chance of being something she, and the chap she's watching with, might find interesting based on the other series that she said they'd enjoyed.

[Prime32]

So Concrete Revolutio continues to be surprising. It's set in an alternate version of the 60s-70s where superheroes and the supernatural are real (and everyone is an expy of one or more contemporary characters (http://i.imgur.com/rveP97Y.jpg)), but have become heavily embroiled in the politics of the era and a war for public opinion.

Last episode had them interacting with stand-ins for G.I Joe of all things, but then it turns out the Joes are suffering from extreme PTSD and it becomes a cross between Rambo and American Gods.

"I can't stay here, it smells just like the jungle! We built America from the ground up; back home everything just smelled like humans..."

[BWR]

Macross Delta is shaping up a bit. Messer is the best character and had more character development in 10 minutes than Hayate has had in the series so far. Seeing Hayate get smacked in the face a couple of times was immensely satisfying.

[Fri]

So Concrete Revolutio continues to be surprising. It's set in an alternate version of the 60s-70s where superheroes and the supernatural are real (and everyone is an expy of one or more contemporary characters (http://i.imgur.com/rveP97Y.jpg)), but have become heavily embroiled in the politics of the era and a war for public opinion.

Last episode had them interacting with stand-ins for G.I Joe of all things, but then it turns out the Joes are suffering from extreme PTSD and it becomes a cross between Rambo and American Gods.

Yeah, I really like Concrete Revolutio, but I kinda feel lonely on that (I know relatively lots of people like it, but none that I can discuss with.) I haven't finished the first season, though not 'cause lack of interest, so I haven't watched the second.

[Prime32]

Yeah, I really like Concrete Revolutio, but I kinda feel lonely on that (I know relatively lots of people like it, but none that I can discuss with.) I haven't finished the first season, though not 'cause lack of interest, so I haven't watched the second.It's... a hard show to discuss. It packs a lot into each episode, and it's hard to make predictions about where things are headed.

[Lord Raziere]

So, out of morbid curiosity, I'm checking out "Is It Wrong It Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?"

......and about halfway into it, I'm like "Bell, dude, there is already a person who loves you" aka, the literal goddess who:
1. already lives with you
2. brings you food for you to eat together
3. blessed you first into becoming an adventurer over anyone else
4. doesn't mind "just being the two of us" for longer
5. feels guilty for not doing more for the both of you
6. is clearly already in love with you
she is basically already your WIFE. this should be a no-brainer. she even points out that maybe he should be looking right in front of him!

Hestia even sleeps on the same couch as you, Bell! you want a girl that loves you, she is right there. literally. on top of you. what part of this is difficult?

oh and this second girl is clearly setting her sights on you, I mean "you dropped a gem" yeah right, you had so little gems that I think she was just saving gems to use this pick up line on any adventurer she finds cute, just to lure you to her pub with your promise, its the only explanation that makes any sense.

ah so you do have measure of competence in fighting these things.

"but he's got me already!"-YOU ARE SO RIGHT HESTIA. you are pretty much throwing yourself at him, and he even realize your feelings, is he that dense?

I think this Syr Flover and her pub just wants to scam adventurers out their hard earned money by slamming food in front of them then asking ridiculous prices for eating it.

and wow, wolf guy is huge jerk. oddly specific, incredibly loudmouthed jerk. does the universe just hate Bell?

while this Aiz girl doesn't even react to the question, she is emotionless and dead, what do you see in her, Bell? aside from the looks.

and Bell goes crazy on a monster killing spree from wolf-guys rant. you have problems dude. and is Hestia, your goddess, that is all she is to you? a power up handout? so. dense.

and this lady has the right idea for starting adventurers: SURVIVE. being a hero can come later, first SURVIVE.

.....ah, so that explains why Hestia doesn't like Loki....or her Familia....

........poor Hephaestus. even as a beautiful goddess, she still lost an eye, though to be honest, that is a big upgrade for Hephaestus.

note to self: this version of Freya is a troll

Bell uses a knife as a weapon? must resist urge to make Chara jokes....

c'moooon, its so obvious shes fallen for you dude! Bell, Hestia is taking you on a date, and you still don't realize this?

......he's going to sacrifice himself for Hestia's safety, even though he knows he can't defeat the giant ape thing. idiot.....yet......ok, this is noble. oh my god, Hestia, JUST GIVE HIM THE DANG SUPERKNIFE ALREADY.

YOUR CARRYING HER IN YOUR ARMS BRIDAL STYLE BELL! I THINK YOUR GODDESS HAS EVERY REASON TO BE HAPPY! AND ISN'T THIS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT INTO THE ADVENTURER BUSINESS FOR!? SAVING A GIRL IN PERIL FROM A MONSTER? Y'KNOW? THAT?

.....he took out the monster with one stab. Bell, your a good aligned Chara.

oh my god, someone outright tells you that they fell in love with you, and you Bell just go "maybe she was joking?"......y'know, for someone who got into this to pick up girls, you really are dense when they keep throwing themselves at you and you don't even take their feelings seriously.

Hestia just outright said she loved you as well, do you need to be hit in the head with a hammer that says "HESTIA LOVES YOU" repeatedly to get the message? because I hope it doesn't come to that. they should just have them just kiss right now and confirm it right now, and just have the rest of the series be the intrigues after it, I mean, the falling in love plot I think should be wrapped by now, the rest of the series should be like, what comes after, the plots and conspiracies they're starting to get wrapped up in, things like that? we need more series about love sticking together past the initial phase of the relationship.

Now Eina is making the moves on you, your trying to pick up girls yet you fell into the classic anime harem protagonist weaknesses, what the heck man?

"I try to keep my private life separate from my work"- LIES, your putting the moves on Bell right now!

.........I think Bell's real superpower is being so cute and kind that every girl he meets wants to protect him danger in some way. I mean.....Eina's gift, Hestia's knife, the middle-age pub woman's advice... Ryu threatening a thug....

.....Ryu is someone powerful. of course she is, its always the ones you least expect, crouching tigers and hidden dragons and all that.

of course, Little Miss Supporter is a THIEF. Hestia-dammit. and HA! THE KNIFE IS USELESS FOR ANYONE ELSE! THE HESTIA KNIFE IS ONLY GOOD FOR FREAKING BELL, HEPHAESTUS YOU CLEVER ONE-EYE GIRL!

........Ryu is VERY powerful. She sees all. she knows all.

Lilika of course gets kindness from him because he doesn't realize he was stolen from by her. hm. guess she is going to joining him. wonder if she will actually tell him the truth someday.

to summarize:
Bell is an idiot, this probably just a normal harem anime but with a DnD adventurer aesthetic, isn't it?

[cobaltstarfire]

Incidentally, the reason I suggested the original adaptation back when Cobaltstarfire was asking for recommendations is because it's a series that I felt had a strong chance of being something she, and the chap she's watching with, might find interesting based on the other series that she said they'd enjoyed.


I definitely am enjoying the drama/story in '03, and even the comedy is something that I'm warming up to. It helps that as things have progressed a lot of the "silly" is kept to breather episodes rather than suddenly just punching us in the face like earlier on. (I think we're into the second half now, the OP has changed anyway). The guy is liking it too, he'll even watch it when he's tired! (Usually when he's tired he doesn't want to watch stuff with subtitles)


Given how different the two versions are from one another it probably won't hurt to eventually watch Brotherhood too, 'twill be interesting to come back and talk about both of them too! But '03 does sound like the better choice to start with now that people have discussed the differences a little bit more.


Also I'm pretty certain that Al is the only sane/grounded character in the entire series.

[Fri]

So, out of morbid curiosity, I'm checking out "Is It Wrong It Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon?"

......and about halfway into it, I'm like "Bell, dude, there is already a person who loves you" aka, the literal goddess who:
1. already lives with you
2. brings you food for you to eat together
3. blessed you first into becoming an adventurer over anyone else
4. doesn't mind "just being the two of us" for longer
5. feels guilty for not doing more for the both of you
6. is clearly already in love with you
she is basically already your WIFE. this should be a no-brainer. she even points out that maybe he should be looking right in front of him!

Hestia even sleeps on the same couch as you, Bell! you want a girl that loves you, she is right there. literally. on top of you. what part of this is difficult?

oh and this second girl is clearly setting her sights on you, I mean "you dropped a gem" yeah right, you had so little gems that I think she was just saving gems to use this pick up line on any adventurer she finds cute, just to lure you to her pub with your promise, its the only explanation that makes any sense.

ah so you do have measure of competence in fighting these things.

"but he's got me already!"-YOU ARE SO RIGHT HESTIA. you are pretty much throwing yourself at him, and he even realize your feelings, is he that dense?

I think this Syr Flover and her pub just wants to scam adventurers out their hard earned money by slamming food in front of them then asking ridiculous prices for eating it.

and wow, wolf guy is huge jerk. oddly specific, incredibly loudmouthed jerk. does the universe just hate Bell?

while this Aiz girl doesn't even react to the question, she is emotionless and dead, what do you see in her, Bell? aside from the looks.

and Bell goes crazy on a monster killing spree from wolf-guys rant. you have problems dude. and is Hestia, your goddess, that is all she is to you? a power up handout? so. dense.

and this lady has the right idea for starting adventurers: SURVIVE. being a hero can come later, first SURVIVE.

.....ah, so that explains why Hestia doesn't like Loki....or her Familia....

........poor Hephaestus. even as a beautiful goddess, she still lost an eye, though to be honest, that is a big upgrade for Hephaestus.

note to self: this version of Freya is a troll

Bell uses a knife as a weapon? must resist urge to make Chara jokes....

c'moooon, its so obvious shes fallen for you dude! Bell, Hestia is taking you on a date, and you still don't realize this?

......he's going to sacrifice himself for Hestia's safety, even though he knows he can't defeat the giant ape thing. idiot.....yet......ok, this is noble. oh my god, Hestia, JUST GIVE HIM THE DANG SUPERKNIFE ALREADY.

YOUR CARRYING HER IN YOUR ARMS BRIDAL STYLE BELL! I THINK YOUR GODDESS HAS EVERY REASON TO BE HAPPY! AND ISN'T THIS EXACTLY WHAT YOU GOT INTO THE ADVENTURER BUSINESS FOR!? SAVING A GIRL IN PERIL FROM A MONSTER? Y'KNOW? THAT?

.....he took out the monster with one stab. Bell, your a good aligned Chara.

oh my god, someone outright tells you that they fell in love with you, and you Bell just go "maybe she was joking?"......y'know, for someone who got into this to pick up girls, you really are dense when they keep throwing themselves at you and you don't even take their feelings seriously.

Hestia just outright said she loved you as well, do you need to be hit in the head with a hammer that says "HESTIA LOVES YOU" repeatedly to get the message? because I hope it doesn't come to that. they should just have them just kiss right now and confirm it right now, and just have the rest of the series be the intrigues after it, I mean, the falling in love plot I think should be wrapped by now, the rest of the series should be like, what comes after, the plots and conspiracies they're starting to get wrapped up in, things like that? we need more series about love sticking together past the initial phase of the relationship.

Now Eina is making the moves on you, your trying to pick up girls yet you fell into the classic anime harem protagonist weaknesses, what the heck man?

"I try to keep my private life separate from my work"- LIES, your putting the moves on Bell right now!

.........I think Bell's real superpower is being so cute and kind that every girl he meets wants to protect him danger in some way. I mean.....Eina's gift, Hestia's knife, the middle-age pub woman's advice... Ryu threatening a thug....

.....Ryu is someone powerful. of course she is, its always the ones you least expect, crouching tigers and hidden dragons and all that.

of course, Little Miss Supporter is a THIEF. Hestia-dammit. and HA! THE KNIFE IS USELESS FOR ANYONE ELSE! THE HESTIA KNIFE IS ONLY GOOD FOR FREAKING BELL, HEPHAESTUS YOU CLEVER ONE-EYE GIRL!

........Ryu is VERY powerful. She sees all. she knows all.

Lilika of course gets kindness from him because he doesn't realize he was stolen from by her. hm. guess she is going to joining him. wonder if she will actually tell him the truth someday.

to summarize:
Bell is an idiot, this probably just a normal harem anime but with a DnD adventurer aesthetic, isn't it?


From what I heard, it's basically a harem anime, but a high quality one, with good production value where the animation and music are top notch, and good characters and actual interesting plot where everyone are real likeable people with actual characters and actual plot instead of just excuse plot.

There's another series with almost similar premise, Konosuba. I used to read the manga of both series (dungeon and konosuba), and I remember I prefer Konosuba. Konosuba is more straightforward comedy fantasy anime though. I remember the manga is hil-larious, though my friend who watched the anime said that the anime is less funny because worse comedic pacing.

[BWR]

From what I heard, it's basically a harem anime, but a high quality one, with good production value where the animation and music are top notch, and good characters and actual interesting plot where everyone are real likeable people with actual characters and actual plot instead of just excuse plot.

There's another series with almost similar premise, Konosuba. I used to read the manga of both series (dungeon and konosuba), and I remember I prefer Konosuba. Konosuba is more straightforward comedy fantasy anime though. I remember the manga is hil-larious, though my friend who watched the anime said that the anime is less funny because worse comedic pacing.

I honestly felt "Dungeon" was a little bland and uninteresting. This coming from a diehard harem fan. Konosuba was waaaay better.

[Infernally Clay]

It's... a hard show to discuss. It packs a lot into each episode, and it's hard to make predictions about where things are headed.

I don't believe it's headed anywhere. I believed the first half of the show was explaining the world and the build up to the main conflict but, so far, the second half of the show has followed the same style as the first and is just an episodic look at various conflicts that arise in a world where superhumans are having more and more of their rights taken away. It'll probably end with a two parter that ties the themes of the show together into an epic clash but there doesn't actually seem to be any specific story the show is trying to tell.

Which is sort of like Kiznaiver and Bungou Stray Dogs, the only other currently airing anime I'm watching right now. Kiznaiver seems to be building towards something but it's been so uncharacteristic of Trigger's usual work so far that I'm expecting it to remain rather low key.

[DoctorFaust]

Ugh. (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2016-05-23/fullmetal-alchemist-manga-gets-live-action-film-in-winter-2017/.102420) I have almost no confidence in this based on my experience with the Dragon Ball movie, and what I've heard about the AoT and Avatar movies.

Though I will be interested to hear what the people who complained about the casting of Scarlett Johansson as Major Kusanagi will think about the cast being entirely Japanese, given that the series is set in fantasy-Germany, the main character is basically half fantasy-Persian, and there are a significant number of what I would hazard to call fantasy-Arabs.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Well, I think the difference there is where it's produced. There's a plethora of Japanese-American actresses, or Japanese actresses willing to temporarily work in Hollywood, compared to the number of German, Persian, and Middle Eastern actors living in Japan or willing to relocate there.

EDIT REPEATEDLY: Okay it's Warner Bros. and they're filming in Italy, but it's clearly a Japanese-language production, so they're going to hire people fluent in Japanese. It's kind of on the edge there.

Although there is a difference between a magic-punk fantasy based very loosely on 20th century Europe and a cyberpunk political thriller very explicitly set in the Republic of Japan, but I admit that's a bit of a subjective distinction. "It's fantasy/not the real world" does seem to be the justification the director's running with.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Seems like a pretty standard "live-action anime adaptation" like the ones that Japan makes actually pretty frequently. Seriously--I feel like at least half of all popular anime have some sort of live-action adaptation in Japan, and it's not usually a very good or high-budget adaptation.

[Rodin]

The fact that race is a pretty major plot point in Fullmetal Alchemist does lend added credence to actually getting people of proper ethnicity. Amestrians would need to be European, Ishvalans would need to be Arabic or possibly Indian, and Xingese characters would be Asian.

Now, I suppose you could flip it (so Japanese Amestrians and European Ishvalans, etc) and have it be okay...eh, no. I applied the same thought process to Ghost in the Shell and the thought didn't come out right. Then again, fantasy world vs real world.

It being a fantasy world definitely doesn't make the outrage level as high, but it's still there.

[Hiro Protagonest]

So today, I finally decided to get around to watching the movie known for that one fight scene... Sword of the Stranger.

I think it was good. People who expect an action movie or adrenaline-filled shounen will be disappointed. It's not JoJo, it's not Kill Bill. There are only a handful of closely-matched fights, and they're great, but they're not ubiquitous. I liked the interactions between the kid and the ronin. But I didn't like when Luo-Lang attacked the ronin in broad daylight. That scene had no impact on the rest of the movie, apart from about two lines of dialogue involving the throwing knife which could also easily be removed.
I liked that when the chips were down, the ronin didn't hesitate to tear off the binding on his sword and cut down the soldiers at the fortress to save the kid.


From what I heard, it's basically a harem anime, but a high quality one, with good production value where the animation and music are top notch, and good characters and actual interesting plot where everyone are real likeable people with actual characters and actual plot instead of just excuse plot.

There's another series with almost similar premise, Konosuba. I used to read the manga of both series (dungeon and konosuba), and I remember I prefer Konosuba. Konosuba is more straightforward comedy fantasy anime though. I remember the manga is hil-larious, though my friend who watched the anime said that the anime is less funny because worse comedic pacing.

Maybe I'll watch Konosuba. I've seen that one wizard girl a few times.

I'm also kinda tempted to watch Dungeon just so I can properly argue about it. I get the feeling I won't like it, though, I have mixed thoughts on the reverse harem in Akatsuki no Yona and the guys aren't even aggressively pursuing her.

[BWR]

I have mixed thoughts on the reverse harem in Akatsuki no Yona and the guys aren't even aggressively pursuing her.

What harem? There is Hak and a bunch of romantically irrelevant tag-alongs.

[Hiro Protagonest]

What harem? There is Hak and a bunch of romantically irrelevant tag-alongs.

The author's been good at selling the main pairing, but just made the most socially-adept dragon (Jae-Ha) fall in love with Yona...

I have no clue what's even going to happen with Kija. He's been in love and in denial from the start.

[Yuki Akuma]

The fact that race is a pretty major plot point in Fullmetal Alchemist does lend added credence to actually getting people of proper ethnicity. Amestrians would need to be European, Ishvalans would need to be Arabic or possibly Indian, and Xingese characters would be Asian.

Now, I suppose you could flip it (so Japanese Amestrians and European Ishvalans, etc) and have it be okay...eh, no. I applied the same thought process to Ghost in the Shell and the thought didn't come out right. Then again, fantasy world vs real world.

It being a fantasy world definitely doesn't make the outrage level as high, but it's still there.

Did you see the outrage over The Last Airbender's casting choices? The outrage would be there, fantasy world or no.

[BWR]

The author's been good at selling the main pairing, but just made the most socially-adept dragon (Jae-Ha) fall in love with Yona...

I have no clue what's even going to happen with Kija. He's been in love and in denial from the start.

The dragons are still romantically irrelevant unless Yona suddenly veers wildly off the course she's been on since Soo-won killed her father.

[Mx.Silver]

I definitely am enjoying the drama/story in '03, and even the comedy is something that I'm warming up to. It helps that as things have progressed a lot of the "silly" is kept to breather episodes rather than suddenly just punching us in the face like earlier on. (I think we're into the second half now, the OP has changed anyway). The guy is liking it too, he'll even watch it when he's tired! (Usually when he's tired he doesn't want to watch stuff with subtitles)


Given how different the two versions are from one another it probably won't hurt to eventually watch Brotherhood too, 'twill be interesting to come back and talk about both of them too! But '03 does sound like the better choice to start with now that people have discussed the differences a little bit more.


Also I'm pretty certain that Al is the only sane/grounded character in the entire series.

Well, if you've seen the first OP change then you're into the second quarter of it. It's 51 episodes in total, so I'm glad you're enjoying it because its going to last for a while :smalltongue:


In regards to Al, I'd say 'innocent' might be more the word I'd use. Or at least, that he's carrying slightly less emotional baggage (particularly guilt). Then again, I'm speaking from the position of having watched the entire series (twice), so things probably look a bit different from here.



The fact that race is a pretty major plot point in Fullmetal Alchemist does lend added credence to actually getting people of proper ethnicity. Amestrians would need to be European, Ishvalans would need to be Arabic or possibly Indian, and Xingese characters would be Asian.

Now, I suppose you could flip it (so Japanese Amestrians and European Ishvalans, etc) and have it be okay...eh, no. I applied the same thought process to Ghost in the Shell and the thought didn't come out right. Then again, fantasy world vs real world.

It being a fantasy world definitely doesn't make the outrage level as high, but it's still there.

On the outrage front, Ghost in the Shell sparked as much as it did because it touched a nerve in regards to US racial politics/dynamics and how that effects the US film industry and its casting practices. I don't know if this is going to hit a similar one in regards to Japan's film situation so I can't say whether it's likely to hit that level of complaints or not(although I'd imagine any actors of the ethnicities that have been 'washed-out' of getting a shot might still feel a bit miffed regardless). If we were talking about a live action film of Princess Mononoke that didn't cast an Ainu actor as A****aka then I'd definitely expect something along those lines, but that's another topic :smalltongue:

Regardless, this does seem like a daft move casting-wise. The racial elements of the setting are already both clear and fairly significant, and not just on a visual level (note the nomenclature - both the names and the fact that they're always presented as [given name] [family name] - the fact that the head of the country is called The Fuhrer, etc.) This is before you start getting into specific plot points, some of which also rather depend on this.


Then again, fantasy world vs real world.
Of course, the fantasy world in this case is presented as an alternate version of the real world. This is the case in bother incarnations, see Ed's reference to the Icarus Myth in Brotherhood and basically the entirety of Conqueror of Shambala. The latter, incidentally, should put any questions about ethnicity to bed and while they may not be adapting that continuity note that all continuities share character designs)

[Closet_Skeleton]

FMA casting is just Japan being Japan. American GitS casting is Hollywood being Hollywood. FMA isn't going to get the same flack because despite Warner Bros' involvement its a Japanese production. GitS made big news because two different groups (the 'asians don't get cast' group and the 'America ruins Japanese properties' group) agreed it was bad.

The basic reality is that the interests of American Asians (https://thenerdsofcolor.org/?s=ghost+in+the+shell) and Asians (https://whatismanga.wordpress.com/2016/04/17/39-of-ghosts-and-their-shells-or-when-whitewashing-arguments-fall-flat/) are completely different things. Hence different people can make equally valid arguments about different sides in the debate.


The author's been good at selling the main pairing, but just made the most socially-adept dragon (Jae-Ha) fall in love with Yona...

I have no clue what's even going to happen with Kija. He's been in love and in denial from the start.

...and Fushugi Yugi was basically all Tamahome.

Seriously, why is 'reverse harem' a term that gets used in discussions? I get it with regards to Ouran High School Host Club but it doesn't seem appropriate in regular shoujo fantasy series that aren't primarily comedies like regular male centred harem shows.

[Drascin]

...and Fushugi Yugi was basically all Tamahome.

Seriously, why is 'reverse harem' a term that gets used in discussions? I get it with regards to Ouran High School Host Club but it doesn't seem appropriate in regular shoujo fantasy series that aren't primarily comedies like regular male centred harem shows.

Well, in Fushigi Yugi you had two things.

One, yes, Tamahome was going to win the Miakabowl since moment one and it was extremely evident and you basically had to be a shipper in denial to think anyone else had a chance.

But, two, despite the fact that the winning pair was obvious from the beginning and was never disguised, the series still had more or less everyone fall in love with Miaka for, well, basically no reason. And I do mean everyone. Including the gay dude.

It's a bit like Ah My Goddess. Yes, we all know Belldandy wins. There was never any doubt that Belldandy wins. But the fact that all the female characters want to bone the main character for no reason gets it branded as harem.

[cobaltstarfire]

We're temporarily putting FMA on hold to binge watch Kamisama Dolls.

The guy had watched the first two episodes on his own at some point and thought it might be interesting...then hulu said it was going to expire in (currently 2-3 days as of this post) so I decided to give it a try.


And we're enjoying it, I like stories that slowly peel back layers and explain things in an interesting way.

Also I really like the opening theme!

I feel like translating the word "kami" as "god" for it isn't quite right though...but...there isn't really an english word/concept to express the kind of meaning "kami" has in this context...or at least that's what I suspect. We're only halfway through, but I get the feeling that the meaning being used in this case it more like when its used to describe something as being big/old/powerful like a really big mountain, or an old tree...or playing on how there is kami in everyone/thing, and it's being added to the dolls or something....? I dunno I'm just gibbering I guess....

[HMS Invincible]

it's too bad the Blu-ray sales tanked for kami sama dolls, I wanted to see a sequel.

[Brother Oni]

I feel like translating the word "kami" as "god" for it isn't quite right though...but...there isn't really an english word/concept to express the kind of meaning "kami" has in this context...or at least that's what I suspect. We're only halfway through, but I get the feeling that the meaning being used in this case it more like when its used to describe something as being big/old/powerful like a really big mountain, or an old tree...or playing on how there is kami in everyone/thing, and it's being added to the dolls or something....? I dunno I'm just gibbering I guess....

Treading carefully here, the issue isn't with using 'god' for kami (神) as the translation, it's the connotations that 'god' has in English due to translating terms from an essentially polytheistic culture to a monotheistic one.

A more accurate English translation would be 'spirit', but that omits certain aspects of reverence in Japanese - for example kamikaze (神風) literally translates as 'Divine Wind'.

[cobaltstarfire]

I'm mostly talking about this particular context of the word. I roughly understand that there isn't really a proper English translation to most meanings for it and that context matters. Im not sure the "spirit" meaning is quite right either for the dolls, but it seems like it'd be a better translation. Then again atleast one of the dolls has the name of a God in Japanese folklore that I know of. so I dunno.

[tensai_oni]

I don't see the problem. It's not that all english speakers are believers of monotheistic religions, And even those that are, understand (or at least I hope they understand) that there are other beliefs with their own divine beings too. A god != monotheistic God with capital G. Simple.

[Mx.Silver]

I feel like translating the word "kami" as "god" for it isn't quite right though
It is the correct translation for "kamisama" though (as in, kami with the '-sama' suffix), at least going by what I've seen of that particular term. As others have noted, the difference here is far more theological than it is linguistic.

It's also worth noting that Kamisama Dolls is fantasy fiction and having differing criteria for what constitutes a 'god' is not exactly out of the ordinary for that genre :smalltongue:



In regards to the series itself, the thing about Kamisama Dolls is that (like its contemporary series, Deadman Wonderland) it doesn't so much end as it does stop. So expect there to be quite a few loose ends that never get resolved.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I only saw bits and pieces of Kami-sama dolls but it didn't seem like they were using kami in the normal Shinto sense either. Its pretty disconnected from actual religion in a way that say Kamichu or Noragami aren't.

Its not like any of the numerous manga, anime and games that deliberately use terms that translate as 'angel' in English are often actually trying to represent any theological concept either.

Linguistically, its not like 'spirit' is all that different to 'god' outside of general convention in English either.

[cobaltstarfire]

I don't see the problem. It's not that all english speakers are believers of monotheistic religions, And even those that are, understand (or at least I hope they understand) that there are other beliefs with their own divine beings too. A god != monotheistic God with capital G. Simple.

Well you certainly aren't very fun to talk to, I don't have a "problem" with anything :smalltongue:

I was just musing over the differences of meaning/concept of the word combined with the way the dolls are. I'm not trying to argue anything at all, more just interested in the way the anime uses "kami"


It's kind of sad that it's going to end with loose ends and stuff, cause it's really interesting.

[tensai_oni]

I should've quoted. I'm not implying that you had an issue with this, but rather I wanted to disagree with Brother Oni's assumption that English speakers come from a monotheistic culture.

I mean, the language itself does, but us as speakers not necessarily do.

[Fri]

Actually yes, it's an interesting distinction. God with capital G and god with lower case g have different word too in my language and it's a distinction that's completely missing in english.

I theorized that it's also why we never have any problem with fictions and games where characters are worshipper of fictional deities, eventhough our country as a whole is rather religious, unlike the horror story from DnD panic in america. Because the word "god" used to refer to say, Thor or God of Poverty is different than "God" that's used to refer to say, Judeo-Christian god and have completely different conotation. So it's easy to play DnD where the player worship God and the character worship other god.

[BWR]

Actually yes, it's an interesting distinction. God with capital G and god with lower case g have different word too in my language and it's a distinction that's completely missing in english.

I theorized that it's also why we never have any problem with fictions and games where characters are worshipper of fictional deities, eventhough our country as a whole is rather religious, unlike the horror story from DnD panic in america. Because the word "god" used to refer to say, Thor or God of Poverty is different than "God" that's used to refer to say, Judeo-Christian god and have completely different conotation. So it's easy to play DnD where the player worship God and the character worship other god.

Would I be correct in guessing that the word for the Judeo-Christian god is a loan word while the word for other gods is a native one?
Which language is this, btw?

[Fri]

Would I be correct in guessing that the word for the Judeo-Christian god is a loan word while the word for other gods is a native one?
Which language is this, btw?

It's Indonesian.

Actually, that's what I thought as well, so just a while ago I researched the etymology. Interestingly, it's actually somewhat the opposite. The word for lower-case god is a loan word from Indian language, but it's the old word that's been used from the ancient times to refer to deities.

The word for Upper Case God is actually a native, new word, and it's first used when translating The Bible at around 18th century. But it's not loan word, it's a new word derived from the Indonesian word for "lord" or "master." It's interesting, because almost all words related to christianity are loan words from Portuguese.

Also to note is that it's not that there aren't any monotheistic religion in the area before. It's just that usually God is just refered to things like "Lord" or "His Worshipness" or just use other language or the religion's. But the language just got a whole new word for it in one attempt to translate The Bible.

[Brother Oni]

I mean, the language itself does, but us as speakers not necessarily do.

That's what I meant and while I concede I made the assumption that cobaltstarfire was American (apologies if you're not! :smallredface:), I stand by my statement that the English language has additional nuances attached to the term 'god' in this context (kami=god) since it doesn't have any additional modifiers to it (eg Roman god, he's a god in the kitchen, etc). This goes doubly if the term used is 'Kami-sama' for reasons I'm sure most people here are aware of as Mr.Silver has said.

Having helped with translation, picking up the cultural nuances can be tricky without overburdening the viewer or accidentally making a faux pas. A friend once said his sister was "a cow' when I asked what Chinese Zodiac year she was born and I had to explain he meant 'ox' as calling a woman a cow is an insult over here. To be fair, she was a bit of a cow... :smalltongue:

[kamikasei]

The word for Upper Case God is actually a native, new word, and it's first used when translating The Bible at around 18th century. But it's not loan word, it's a new word derived from the Indonesian word for "lord" or "master." It's interesting, because almost all words related to christianity are loan words from Portuguese.

Also to note is that it's not that there aren't any monotheistic religion in the area before. It's just that usually God is just refered to things like "Lord" or "His Worshipness" or just use other language or the religion's. But the language just got a whole new word for it in one attempt to translate The Bible.
Interestingly, this is also how Klingon got its word for God - the text was Hamlet rather than the Bible, but the solution was to use "Great Lord" or something derived from it. (Not sure if it covers lowercase-g god too, or if it doesn't have a word for that.)

[HMS Invincible]

Anybody see Rezero ep 9? I thought it was an odd take on the transformation scene, because why would you get all death flaggy, go super saiyan instead, and then be all ok again with a (emotional) push? Everyone in this series is OP.

[Alent]

Anybody see Rezero ep 9? I thought it was an odd take on the transformation scene, because why would you get all death flaggy, go super saiyan instead, and then be all ok again with a (emotional) push? Everyone in this series is OP.

The writing has been hinting for a while now that Rem and Lam were turned into Oni or used as vessels for Oni by Satella. I'm pretty sure that only an immense amount of willpower and possibly something Rosewall is doing is keeping them sane- It seemed less "go super saiyan" and more "crap, the lid came off". The emotional push was practically a cooldown hug, in context.

[cobaltstarfire]

We finished Kamisama Dolls, and well I really wish it hadn't super tanked in sales.


Though there seems to be a manga, so I might hunt that down and read it, and share it with the guy cause he really wants more story too.


By the end it's more clear that the nature of the Kakashi is a little different than it at first appeared, which has me more intrigued. Is "kakashi" a made up word? I haven't been able to find a translation for it, though a character from naruto pops up if I google it by itself.....


The OP and stuff reminded me a lot of the music from .hack//SIGN and Tsubasa Reservoir, and through researching that I discovered that it's because the person who did it is also part of See-Saw. I really liked the music in .hack and Tsubasa Reservoir, so I'm pretty pleased to have made this discovery.

[Brother Oni]

By the end it's more clear that the nature of the Kakashi is a little different than it at first appeared, which has me more intrigued. Is "kakashi" a made up word? I haven't been able to find a translation for it, though a character from naruto pops up if I google it by itself.....

My wife and I are getting a bit burnt out on Dexter (we're slow at catching up on things!) so I'll suggest Kamisama Dolls to watch tonight.

As with any translational/etymology questions in Japanese, my first question will be 'what are the characters used to write it?'. For example, the name Hajime (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajime) has multiple ways it can be written, each with a very slightly different meaning.

[Sallera]

Is "kakashi" a made up word? I haven't been able to find a translation for it, though a character from naruto pops up if I google it by itself.....

I haven't watched the show, but from Wikipedia's plot summary it's most likely 案山子, a scarecrow or figurehead.

[Brother Oni]

I haven't watched the show, but from Wikipedia's plot summary it's most likely 案山子, a scarecrow or figurehead.

The missus checking on the Japanese wiki page agrees with your interpretation. Having watched the first episode, 'figurehead' is probably the more appropriate translation although 'scarecrow' is the common reading.

[cobaltstarfire]

Ahh, yeah in earlier episodes one of the characters was calling them Scarecrow things....it was being translated as "scarecrow" at the time. Later the word wasn't being translated at all..I wonder if it's a weird thing where when it was localized that character was calling them scarecrows (to show they doesn't know what dolls were), while the other characters may still be calling them kakashi in the Dub (to show they know what they are). I only really picked up that they were saying "kakashi" because the word stopped being translated in the subtitles.


I'm glad Sallera could find the kanji, because I don't think I would have been able to, if I had the kanji I woulda probably gone and stuffed it into wwwjdic to see what pops up.


It looks like the anime has pretty mixed reviews, (I've seen people complain that its boring or badly paced anyway) but the "dolls" themselves are sufficiently mysterious to draw me in. I like mysterious things and monsters and stuff. I thought the pacing was fine personally.

[Closet_Skeleton]

So Sailor Moon Crystal is actually watchable now. Just in time for the yuri (aka actual YURI thank god Adonai, not the rubbish that passes for yuri in most magical girl shows).

Or maybe the massive improvements in animation quality and direction are all in my head and I've been tricked by the fan bait.

Its so refreshing to have a mahou shoujo series with a bit less 'shoujo' (in the maiden sense) and some actual sexuality. Or even to have art direction that knows how to be really sexy without any focus on breasts at all.

Having minor horror elements while being utterly proof against inaccurate claims of deconstruction doesn't hurt either.


But it's not loan word, it's a new word derived from the Indonesian word for "lord" or "master." It's interesting, because almost all words related to christianity are loan words from Portuguese.

That sounds pretty literal to the Hebrew actually. No need to inert Portuguese into the text when the Portuguese would have been using latin texts anyway.

The really confusing Portuguese loanword issue that's sort of relevant to this topic is why Japanese uses パン (pan) from the Spanish rather than pão from the Portuguese. Most dictionaries claim that パン comes from pão, but to me it always seemed much more likely that it came from the Latin panis as would have been used in Catholic mass (since, see above).

Unless there are other Portuguese loan words that changed from ending in o to ending in ン and/or some linguistic rule of which I have no understanding that makes pão the definite root.


The missus checking on the Japanese wiki page agrees with your interpretation. Having watched the first episode, 'figurehead' is probably the more appropriate translation although 'scarecrow' is the common reading.

Idol/Effigy sounds more relevant but those are usually different kanji. Effigy is "waraningyo" (straw doll) and idol is either a pop singer honzon or guuzou?

I suspect that the writer meant 'idol' and just used a weird word to make the audience think twice. Figureheads and scarecrows are subtypes of effigy in English.

[DoctorFaust]

Goddamn, Trigger. Of course they would make shallow middle-school romance a plot point.

And it appears we might either be getting Space Patrol Lalaco or an Inferno Cop crossover next week, so there's that to look forwards to.

[AslanCross]

Is there any news on a second season of Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress? We're 4 eps away from the end of the season and the appearance of Biba has only raised more questions.

[DoctorFaust]

Well, it appears my prediction earlier in the thread was very wrong. :smallfrown:

https://tikigod784.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/minori-taiga.jpg

[BWR]

Well, it appears my prediction earlier in the thread was very wrong. :smallfrown:


The bastards killed off the one character I really liked. What is it with Macross and wanting to kill off the awesome pilots leaving you with the crappy ones? Roy in SDFM, Michel in Frontier, Messer here.

[Nerd-o-rama]

May this comfort you in your loss. (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/218340/avocado-pineapple-salad/)

[DoctorFaust]

May this comfort you in your loss. (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/218340/avocado-pineapple-salad/)

Now that's just uncalled for. :smalltongue: Though I am surprised that there weren't any Macross references in the reviews.



The bastards killed off the one character I really liked. What is it with Macross and wanting to kill off the awesome pilots leaving you with the crappy ones? Roy in SDFM, Michel in Frontier, Messer here.

In their defence, starting off by having the main character be the best fighter in the squadron wouldn't leave very much room for growth on their part. I think it might also have something to do with the Mami effect.

[BWR]

When have any of the protags in Macross been the best pilots? Good, certainly, but never the best.

And they keep finding new ways to make me dislike Hayate. I was about to cut him some slack for grief then he goes and opens his mouth and once again proves he has no place on the team.

[DoctorFaust]

If anything, this episode made me dislike Messer more. Hayate's never really been portrayed as anything but an impulsive teenager who wears his heart on his sleeve, albeit one with his heart in the right place (which is apparently the sleeve :smalltongue:), so his reactions this episode seemed pretty standard. And frankly, I sincerely doubt I would've reacted any better, so I can sympathize with him.

Messer, on the other hand, was shown to be keeping detailed, dated combat logs criticising the other pilots that served no real purpose other than to keep himself distanced from his squad. He hid his Var infection, putting everyone at risk (which also considerably lowered my opinion of Lady M, whoever that is), he pretty much did nothing but insult and demean other pilots (even if it was sometimes warranted), it was revealed that he did even more of the same privately, and now we're supposed to like him because he's dead? I can understand why he did the things he did, and I do give credit to the writers for not making him a one-dimensional jerk, but even with that, he never came across as a particularly likeable person to me.

[BWR]

If anything, this episode made me dislike Messer more. Hayate's never really been portrayed as anything but an impulsive teenager who wears his heart on his sleeve, albeit one with his heart in the right place (which is apparently the sleeve :smalltongue:), so his reactions this episode seemed pretty standard. And frankly, I sincerely doubt I would've reacted any better, so I can sympathize with him.

Messer, on the other hand, was shown to be keeping detailed, dated combat logs criticising the other pilots that served no real purpose other than to keep himself distanced from his squad. He hid his Var infection, putting everyone at risk (which also considerably lowered my opinion of Lady M, whoever that is), he pretty much did nothing but insult and demean other pilots (even if it was sometimes warranted), it was revealed that he did even more of the same privately, and now we're supposed to like him because he's dead? I can understand why he did the things he did, and I do give credit to the writers for not making him a one-dimensional jerk, but even with that, he never came across as a particularly likeable person to me.

I'll give you the keeping the Var hidden bit, but apart from that he was by far the most interesting character, by virtue of being awesome and not being an annoying twerp. Hayate just constantly shows he is not suited for the job he was given and is constantly given a pass because he's the protagonist.

[Eldariel]

So Sailor Moon Crystal is actually watchable now. Just in time for the yuri (aka actual YURI thank god Adonai, not the rubbish that passes for yuri in most magical girl shows).

Or maybe the massive improvements in animation quality and direction are all in my head and I've been tricked by the fan bait.

Its so refreshing to have a mahou shoujo series with a bit less 'shoujo' (in the maiden sense) and some actual sexuality. Or even to have art direction that knows how to be really sexy without any focus on breasts at all.

Having minor horror elements while being utterly proof against inaccurate claims of deconstruction doesn't hurt either.

Of course, just as soon as I get complacent thinking the animation will remain solid, this episode happens and we get like a 1000 total different frames in the course of the whole episode with a lot of still images, loops, and a few-more-than-strictly-necessary "Mercury! Mars! Jupiter! Venus! Minna!":s. And a lot of strange poses and frames. While the actual events of the episode were important and kinda awesome, it made me think their animation budget ran out or they had summer trainees draw this one or something.

[DoctorFaust]

So, is anyone here watching Kuma Miko? Because I'm hearing some pretty horrible things about the ending, and I have no idea if they're true or not.

[BWR]

I was a bit disappointed by certain character's actions and reactions in the end. I'm not sure they could count as 'horrible' by any reasonable standard, though. And things could easily change to make those actions look fine if the show was given some more run time.

[cobaltstarfire]

We finished Full Metal Alchemist, I feel a little bit dissatisfied by the ending, but it was a pretty interesting show.

[Mx.Silver]

We finished Full Metal Alchemist, I feel a little bit dissatisfied by the ending, but it was a pretty interesting show.

The ending is a bit on the abrupt side, yes. Could certainly have benefited from a longer denouement (particularly in regards to Wrath). Still, thematically it's solid and personally I have to give it some credit for taking a genuine creative risk (even if it did alienate some people at the time).

[cobaltstarfire]

I really have no idea what I'd have done different, or what I would have preferred to have happened.


I think the thing that non-plused me on it actually was both brothers getting to live after the way things played out. It felt cheap or not quite "right" I guess? I'm not even sure what I mean by "right"

The Earth on the other side I'm fine with, even if it there are some things about it that don't make sense or really fit together right to me.



Should I talk about this in spoilers? I'm going to put my thoughts into spoilers just in case...

[Fri]

Well, maybe you now could watch Brotherhood and see how it end in the manga then! :smallbiggrin:

[cobaltstarfire]

Yeah, as soon as it ended I turned to the guy and was like "I wonder how the other one ended!"

We'll see what the guy thinks, he may want a break.


I maintain that Al was one of the closest things to a well grounded character in that show, and I don't think it was always naivete.

[Mx.Silver]

I maintain that Al was one of the closest things to a well grounded character in that show, and I don't think it was always naivete.

As I think I may have said before, Al's thing is more innocence than naivete. More specifically, it's that he lacks the kind of guilt that a lot of the rest of the cast are wrestling with. For example: hen he looks at Ed he sees someone who would risk horrific injury for his sake, but when Ed looks at Al he sees someone he's responsible for and who's life he ruined by failing in that responsibility.
The irony of Al's character is that, while physically he's lost far more than Ed, he's also the less damaged of the two mentally and emotionally. Perhaps this isn't all that surprising: metal doesn't scar so it would stand to reason that it's Ed who's carrying more of them.


To put it another way, Al in some ways lacks the sort of character flaws that a lot of the rest of cast struggle with. Hence why he often acts as a stabilising force or conscience in his relationships with other cast members -- most obviously Ed, but not exclusively.

To be clear: I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just putting into words why I think this is (and also why it's a good thing).

in regards to the ending stuff

While I can see that, it never felt that way to me simply because, while they do both live, it isn't in the way either of them were hoping for. It is still in keeping with the statement that the sort of unrealistic dreams need to be tempered by reality, but it's not saying that having them in the first place is a mistake. Within that context then this aspect of the ending largely works.

With the Earth, the funny thing about that choice is that, in-universe, it actually makes a fair bit of sense - it just does so in a way that will throw most of the audience. The reason for that is because it relies on calling into question something that basically everyone watching will have dismissed as being not relevant: the fact that alchemy needs to be drawing energy from somewhere if it's not violating entropy. Once you accept that though, then the explanation of the gate is fairly elegant, since we already know that souls can empower alchemy it then follows that the fundamental power source for it is likely to be something similar.
Because that relies on calling into question something the audience has suspended their disbelief on, it's still quite jarring, but in a way that's also something of a strength of it. Because crucially it's not just jarring for the audience, it's also jarring for the characters. Believing things based on faith, and abandoning that belief when confronted with a reality that does not conform to it, is a recurring theme within FMA* (in fact this, and the idea that this process is an inevitable and necessary part of maturing, is arguably the central theme to Ed's character arc) and this revelation does tie-into that fairly well, while also serving as a sort of a example of this for the audience themselves.
It's by no means flawless, but thematically it does make some sense.

From a meta-textual standpoint, it's also interesting as an example of a twist that would likely only occur in adaptive media, but that's probably of much less interest to most people :smalltongue:

*probably the best example of this is in why the principle of equivalent exchange is abandoned. This abandonment is necessary to the alternate Earth reveal -- because it sets-up the idea that alchemy's violation of thermodynamics is something that needs an answer -- but most significantly the reason Ed and Al reject is because, as Ed references in the very first episode, it implies a kind of Just World. The kind of just world that, while easy to fall into the trap of assuming is real, does not actually exist, and its that very lack of a just world that calls into question the idea of equivalent exchange as being some sort of grand, unifying principle.

[Kato]

We finished Full Metal Alchemist, I feel a little bit dissatisfied by the ending, but it was a pretty interesting show.

While there are a few diehard fans who disagree I think most people were unhappy with how the first anime ended... It's not that it became bad when it started to change the story from the anime but the ending just got less and less satisfying...
I'd recommend going for Brotherhood, maybe not immediately but in a month or two.



Another note: Recommendations of recent shows to watch? I've really fallen behind but I have much more free time now... Anything especially geared towards comedy that has been airing the last half year or so? If nothing comes up I guess I'll go and give Space Dandy another chance since it seems to remain popular but....

[Fri]

Comedy? What have you watched recently?

I have good record on Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, literally everyone I know who watched it liked it, no matter what kind of anime watcher they are (shonen fans, shoujo fans, people who only watch pretentious shows, etc), but since it's popular I'm not sure that you haven't watched it.

I'm recently pretty fond of Konosuba, but it's popular as well, so not sure that you haven't watched it.

Another hit among people I know (including myself) is Daily School of Highschool Boys, but once again, not sure if you haven't watched it since it's popular :smallbiggrin:.

[Mx.Silver]

While there are a few diehard fans who disagree I think most people were unhappy with how the first anime ended... It's not that it became bad when it started to change the story from the anime but the ending just got less and less satisfying...
I'd recommend going for Brotherhood, maybe not immediately but in a month or two.


Given what she went on to say about FMA's ending I would be surprised if she finds Brotherhood's to be much of an improvement in that regard; but then they're series of such different types it's pointless getting into tit-for-tat comparisons. Not that this stops it from happening anyway, sadly, but it would be nice not to encourage it.

[cobaltstarfire]

I think I will eventually check Brotherhood out just because I'm curious....is it shorter? I enjoyed this one well enough, but I also feel that it was much longer than it really needed to be in some places (where in others it didn't give enough attention).


It's not even the souls empowering things that felt odd about the gate to me, that part works, it's just the way the gate is presented visually and stuff?


I suppose the gate doesn't need to be as weird to me as it's coming off as, it's really just a part of the cosmology and I'm probably over thinking it. It's the way to gate looks and how it's shown, and the grabby hands purple eyes guys that have me scratching my head a bit.

[Mx.Silver]

Brotherhood is a full 13 episodes longer than the first series, and a lot of its time is spent on drawn-out fight scenes (see previous comments re: Brotherhood being more of a standard Shounen Action series).




It's not even the souls empowering things that felt odd about the gate to me, that part works, it's just the way the gate is presented visually and stuff?


I suppose the gate doesn't need to be as weird to me as it's coming off as, it's really just a part of the cosmology and I'm probably over thinking it. It's the way to gate looks and how it's shown, and the grabby hands purple eyes guys that have me scratching my head a bit.


Yeah, that's fair. The visual design of it is a little weird. It's similar in Brotherhood iirc, (with more eyeballs involved) so it probably stems from the source material.

[cobaltstarfire]

Well action doesn't bother me tooooo much, I mean I liked Kenshin anyway.


We'll see what happens, probably going to watch other things for at least a month or something.



I think we're going to play catch up with Lovely Muco..it's kind of overly hyper, but it's ok in small doses, and really cute.

[Fri]

Muuuucooo.

If you like it, you might like Chii's daily life as well.

It's about kitten instead of doge.

Similar kind of 5 minutes cute animal silliness episodes.

[Kato]

I think I will eventually check Brotherhood out just because I'm curious....is it shorter? I enjoyed this one well enough, but I also feel that it was much longer than it really needed to be in some places (where in others it didn't give enough attention).

As was said, brotherhood is a great deal longer, cutting some bits at the beginning shorter but in my opinion most of it is essential and I'd call few bits drawn out. Maybe not 100% but 95% felt like very well paced. But then I didn't watch it when it actually aired... but neither will you :smalltongue:


Comedy? What have you watched recently?

I have good record on Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, literally everyone I know who watched it liked it, no matter what kind of anime watcher they are (shonen fans, shoujo fans, people who only watch pretentious shows, etc), but since it's popular I'm not sure that you haven't watched it.

I'm recently pretty fond of Konosuba, but it's popular as well, so not sure that you haven't watched it.

Another hit among people I know (including myself) is Daily School of Highschool Boys, but once again, not sure if you haven't watched it since it's popular :smallbiggrin:.
I've seen and loved Daily Lives of Highschool Boys. But neither of the other two. I think I'll start with Konosuba and then give Nozaki a try, thanks :smallbiggrin:

[Mx.Silver]

As was said, brotherhood is a great deal longer, cutting some bits at the beginning shorter but in my opinion most of it is essential and I'd call few bits drawn out. Maybe not 100% but 95% felt like very well paced.
Oh we're going to have some fun conversations when that series becomes thread relevant :smallwink:

[Hiro Protagonest]

I found a lot of the first half of 2003 to just be irrelevant crap. Brotherhood always felt like what it was doing was important to the characters, if not the plotline itself. I also failed to get attached to any of the homunculi in 2003, so the time devoted to them was pretty much irrelevant to me.

[cobaltstarfire]

Oh we're going to have some fun conversations when that series becomes thread relevant :smallwink:


Should I maybe just start a thread about FMA/Brotherhood when we do start to watch brotherhood? Then you guys can argue all you want without derailing this one. :smalltongue:

[Lethologica]

Depends on how much and how often you want to talk about it. A page or so of derailment three times in a year as you go through the series wouldn't exactly destroy this thread.

[DoctorFaust]

nother note: Recommendations of recent shows to watch? I've really fallen behind but I have much more free time now... Anything especially geared towards comedy that has been airing the last half year or so? If nothing comes up I guess I'll go and give Space Dandy another chance since it seems to remain popular but....

Definitely KonoSuba. Oh, and Space Patrol Luluco if you're a fan of Trigger's shows.

[Mx.Silver]

I found a lot of the first half of 2003 to just be irrelevant crap. Brotherhood always felt like what it was doing was important to the characters, if not the plotline itself. I also failed to get attached to any of the homunculi in 2003, so the time devoted to them was pretty much irrelevant to me.

This sort of ties into what I was talking about earlier re: tit-for-tat comparisons. The two series don't even make particularly useful comparisons because even in regards to pacing, the focus is different. You and Kato are of the opinion the the first has pacing problems due to unnecessary episodes, my complaints about Brotherhood's pacing are to do with unnecessary or needlessly long scenes or sequences within episodes (some of which are fairly common for the Shounen Action genre, so if you're fond of that type of show, then you'll probably have an easy time ignoring them).

Really though, if you want to talk FMA and why you don't it rate it that highly then go ahead, and if you're interested I can spend an almost worryingly long amount of time on why I do rate it highly. If you want want to discuss Brotherhood then when the time comes I'm game, heck I've still got over 1k words lying around somewhere about why I don't rate it very highly on the off-chance anyone actually wants to talk about it.
In either case though, just discuss each on its own merits. Turning discussion of either into yet another rendition of the 'which is better?' routine that's dogged conversations about them just because they share source material is about as useless a pursuit as asking the same question of Mahler's 8th symphony and Kamelot's The Black Halo due to them both being based on Faust.




Should I maybe just start a thread about FMA/Brotherhood when we do start to watch brotherhood? Then you guys can argue all you want without derailing this one. :smalltongue:

To be honest, this thread's not really been active enough of late that this would even constitute derailment :smalltongue:

On that note though, I should probably get back to writing up the list of the series I've watched to completion since I last posted it (dropping the whole 'best/worst' of because it's kind of pointless and just gets in the way of talking about them individual).

[cobaltstarfire]

If you like it, you might like Chii's daily life as well.



There's Chi's Sweet Home on crunchyroll...it has over 100 episodes.

We're definitely going to watch this....we have 4 cats how can we not.

[Fri]

There's Chi's Sweet Home on crunchyroll...it has over 100 episodes.

We're definitely going to watch this....we have 4 cats how can we not.

Yes that's what I meant. Each episodes is only 5-10 minutes, and there's 2 seasons, though I think those 100 episodes includes both :smallbiggrin:.

[Closet_Skeleton]

While there are a few diehard fans who disagree I think most people were unhappy with how the first anime ended... It's not that it became bad when it started to change the story from the anime but the ending just got less and less satisfying...
I'd recommend going for Brotherhood, maybe not immediately but in a month or two.

Brotherhood is more satisfying sure, but its also more Shonen.

Which I guess is kind of the point of tried and tested styles of story telling.

Brotherhood's thematic consistency is also less interesting than the original adaptation's weirdness but strong thematic consistency is so rare that its not really a case of Brotherhood/the manga being more 'normal'. The confusing weirdness is only really interesting because you can make **** up about it easier.

Except of course that really the thematic plot of both series is basically the same. How much the noise/details that differentiate the series affect your experience of the series' difference will be down to what you personally notice.

[Merellis]

So anyone follow Dungeon Meshi at all?

Because the latest chapter definitely took a sudden turn for me.

HE GOT HIS DAMN LEG RIPPED OFF WHILE HE WAS STABBING A DRAGON THROUGH THE THROAT.

LIKE HELL.

[Zigwat]

If you have not checked out Boku No Hero Academia then you are wrong. I just got caught up on the manga with that, and I intend on following it extensively.

[tensai_oni]

So anyone follow Dungeon Meshi at all?

I am. It's great. If anyone ever wants to read a fantasy dungeoneering + cooking manga, this is what they should look for. Oddly specific, I know.

[Rodin]

If you have not checked out Boku No Hero Academia then you are wrong. I just got caught up on the manga with that, and I intend on following it extensively.

I've been really enjoying the anime. Don't dare step into the thread we have on it in the forums though, because I'm sure it's chock full of manga spoilers.

Looks like it got confirmed for another season, but they haven't released when that will be yet. Guess that means a minimum of three months of waiting for more, which is kinda sad (never been able to get into manga, especially for action-focused series).

Go beyond! PLUS ULTRA!!!!!

[Zigwat]

Well there's no worries then! For I am here!!!!

I-I mean uhhh yeah I'm already caught up in the manga completely. Now I patiently wait for issue 97. So, I guess I will go check out the thread.


As for Full Metal Alchemist, the 2003 anime went all over the place in terms of story. Once they ended the manga issues, and went on with the anime they wrote, it got to be choppy, and clumsy. I remember I could pin-point when the manga ended and the anime took over, it was that obvious. I was REALLY happy when I found out that the manga was completely different, because the ending was just such a disappointment. I mean, really, all of the World War 2 crap and all of that was just out of left field, and terrible!

Brotherhood is so much better in terms of everything. The 2003 anime had some decent ideas here and there, but overall it wrote itself into a corner and never truly got out of it.

The movie, though, from 2003 anime was way better than the Brotherhood anime's movie. That one was terrible.

[Fri]

I am. It's great. If anyone ever wants to read a fantasy dungeoneering + cooking manga, this is what they should look for. Oddly specific, I know.

Actually it's more than that. It's actually the best lighthearted classic fantasy manga I've read. I mean, stuff with elves and dwarves and such that you'd expect from a dnd session I don't know what's that called, that's not something gritty. Seriously, I'd recommend this to any dnd or fantasy tabletop rpg players.

[Drascin]

Indeed. It has that classic shenanigans feel that most D&D campaigns have. Yes, in most cases the shenanigans in people's campaigns are not specifically around eating monsters, but I think anyone who has ever GMed a group of D&D players is going to feel right at home with Laius's and Senshi's weird obsessions and harebrained schemes.

[Alent]

Indeed. It has that classic shenanigans feel that most D&D campaigns have. Yes, in most cases the shenanigans in people's campaigns are not specifically around eating monsters, but I think anyone who has ever GMed a group of D&D players is going to feel right at home with Laius's and Senshi's weird obsessions and harebrained schemes.

This is probably the reason why I empathize so much with Chilchack and Marcille.

I hope there's a second adventure as this one's about to wrap up. It'd be a shame for it to end here, but it'd also make sense for it to.

[Spacewolf]

If it hasn't done well it might but there's still the whole subplot about the sorcerer to deal with if it doesn't.

[Tengu_temp]

I hope there's a second adventure as this one's about to wrap up. It'd be a shame for it to end here, but it'd also make sense for it to.

I'm sorry Laius, but your sister is in another dragon!

[HMS Invincible]

So Attack on Train...errr Kabenari just ended, and it was pretty rushed. I was half expecting the stupid stone to be the raw material for the cure, not this symbolic bull****. =(

[Sliver]

Finished watched ReLife. Having all the episodes come out together in a single day, 13 in total, was really something... Binged through it and I enjoyed it very much. Then I started reading the manga where the anime left off (chapter 108) and now I have no idea what to do with the rest of my day...

[HMS Invincible]

Finished watched ReLife. Having all the episodes come out together in a single day, 13 in total, was really something... Binged through it and I enjoyed it very much. Then I started reading the manga where the anime left off (chapter 108) and now I have no idea what to do with the rest of my day...

Wait, they gave out the whole season at the start?

[BWR]

Finished watched ReLife. Having all the episodes come out together in a single day, 13 in total, was really something... Binged through it and I enjoyed it very much. Then I started reading the manga where the anime left off (chapter 108) and now I have no idea what to do with the rest of my day...

That makes two of us. It was far more enjoyable than I had anticipated.
Sure, the whole Relife organization's motives and their purpose and stated goals was muddled and pointless and i can't see how they hope to make money off it, but you just have to accept it along the lines of 'yellow suns make Kryptonians strong' - a reason for the story to be set up and work.

[kamikasei]

I gave Berserk a shot, and am somewhat relieved that it was bad enough I don't need to keep up with it. This looks like being a pretty light season, overall. It's kind of a shame, though. I enjoyed the original anime well enough, and was curious to see what the further story involved.

That makes two of us. It was far more enjoyable than I had anticipated.
That's... surprising. I took a look at the manga when CR picked it up, and quickly decided that I didn't want to read a romance story involving a late-twenties guy pretending to be a teenaged high schooler. Is there some unexpected development that makes it not incredibly skeevy?

On a less negative note, I finished Flying Witch, and now I want more Flying Witch. No hurry, though. I'm cool. Everything's cool. Bring munchies.

(Also finished High School Fleet - it was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it - and will finish Boku no Hero Academia in a day or so, but everyone who cares has already watched that, I'm sure.)

[Sliver]

That's... surprising. I took a look at the manga when CR picked it up, and quickly decided that I didn't want to read a romance story involving a late-twenties guy pretending to be a teenaged high schooler. Is there some unexpected development that makes it not incredibly skeevy?

I felt that the MC's romance plot was rather secondary in the anime, at least for this season, and the focus was more on how the other characters interacting with each other and how the MC influences that. The MC's romance plotline didn't get a lot of focus in the anime, and when it was relevant, I felt it was executed rather well.


Flying Witch was awesome. It was the first Slice of Life anime that I watched, but it was so chill and I loved it.

Also sad that Sakamoto desu ga? is over. When I started watching it, I found it rather weird. I was right, but it was a good weird.

I'll also add Kiznaiver as one of my last season favorites.

Of course, Re: Zero, but it's not over yet...

Spring anime that I wouldn't recommend: Hundred and Big Order.

Looking forward to Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE!. :smallbiggrin:

[VariSami]

Yeesh... Saw the first episode of Berserk when it came out. Normally, it takes a lot to make me realise that something is wrong. For example, I quite enjoyed a few select recent anime with the worst Gary Stu protagonists imaginable (yes, I did notice but just laughed it off for the most part). However, the new Berserk left an absolutely terrible first impression. I thought I could bear the CGI but it is just so bad~. Plus, it seems the full story will never be faithfully adapted.

[BWR]

That's... surprising. I took a look at the manga when CR picked it up, and quickly decided that I didn't want to read a romance story involving a late-twenties guy pretending to be a teenaged high schooler. Is there some unexpected development that makes it not incredibly skeevy?

On a less negative note, I finished Flying Witch, and now I want more Flying Witch. No hurry, though. I'm cool. Everything's cool. Bring munchies.


Don't know about the manga (haven't read much yet) but Relife was not really about the MC's romance. It was mostly slice of lifey, learning the power of friendship stuff in school and the major romance was between two normal high schoolers. Protag-kun's romance is just barely touched on at the end of the series and is, for spoilerific but frankly obvious reasons, just fine. The MC was very aware of the 'skeeviness' of an adult pretending to be a teenager and getting it on with people much younger than him.

Flying Witch was my fave of the season, which I strongly suspected it would be when I first heard they were doing an anime of it. Everything seems so nice while watching it.
Sakamoto desu ga? had a perfect end, and I'm not sure I would want much more. It was a great show but gags get boring if they go on too long. Leave them wanting more but not too much more, and that's what this show managed.

[BiblioRook]

So anyone follow Dungeon Meshi at all?

This looks really interesting, I can't wait to read more of it.

Also in chapter 2
http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/thumb/f/f8/083Farfetch'd.png/250px-083Farfetch'd.png
I know it's a well-known expression, but it's still hard not to make the connection to Farfetch'd :smalltongue:

[Prime32]

I gave Berserk a shot, and am somewhat relieved that it was bad enough I don't need to keep up with it. This looks like being a pretty light season, overall. It's kind of a shame, though. I enjoyed the original anime well enough, and was curious to see what the further story involved.Technically most of the stuff in the first ep comes from the first chapter of the manga, with characters from Volume 17 showing up at the end. The first anime covered something like Volumes 4-13 (the "Golden Age" flashback arc, minus its ending).

I'm pretty sure this will be in continuity with the Berserk: Golden Age movie trilogy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserk:_The_Golden_Age_Arc) (which used similar CGI graphics) rather than the old series, though. The old series cut out Skull Knight's introduction while the movies left him in, and he's due to show up again.

If you want to see the rest of the story, the manga is pretty easy to find.

[Sliver]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?

Fukigen na Mononokean looks calm and nice, got me interested. The fuzzy thing was cute.

Hatsukoi Monster... I'm... Not sure what to think about that one. I mean, I found Sakamoto desu ga? odd in the first episode, as well as Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! but this? I'm having a hard time coping with this anime. I'll watch another episode before deciding, but some things are too weird for me... Besides, I've encountered kids in my brother's class, six graders(!), that are my height. I don't need to be reminded of my shortness in anime as well... And having a serious looking glasses-wearing deep voiced 5th grader talk about his wiener... :smalleek:

Orange looks interesting. I like animes that mess with time, as long as it's done well. I'm not sure how much that concept will be explored, but the rest of it still looks interesting so I'll be following this one.

Taboo Tattoo looks rather standard, haven't really seen anything that really caught my attention from the first episode. The protagonist gets a super power that's unique even compared to those with similar super powers... Will keep watching, since I've got time to waste, but not too excited about this one.

Puzzle and Dragons Cross - Not familiar with the game, and here too, the first episode was rather standard... All about that unique protagonist deal. So same deal as Taboo Tattoo, will keep watching unless it goes bad before I'm in too deep (after a few episodes of a show, I can't stop watching no matter how much I don't enjoy it).

Rewrite - I'm not sure what to think about that one. Random, I guess. A lot of things happened, but nothing was explained so far so... I'll guess I'll wait for the second episode.

Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan - Another anime with unique release method... So they'll be showing 5 minute segments every weekday and then post the full episode collection on Sunday? Okay... I would rather have them whole, as the cutaway was rather random and I thought my internet was at fault, but since I have little self restraint, I will probably end up watching each segment. The anime itself seems funny and I enjoyed the 5 minutes that we have seen so far...

[kamikasei]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?
I'm planning to watch Mob Psycho 100 when it starts, but that's about it. I've watched the first episodes of Berserk (dropped) and Bananyan (so short it barely counts, though I'll probably keep watching). I plan to check out Sweetness and Lightning, too. Other than that, I'll see if anything generates buzz before checking it out.

I'm using the fact that there's not much new this season that interests me to catch up on previous seasons, including Konosuba (amusing) and Grimgar (...judgment withheld for now; I'm only a few episodes in and have mixed feelings).

[BWR]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?

Fukigen na Mononokean looks calm and nice, got me interested. The fuzzy thing was cute.

This is the only one I have watched so far. The first episode seems like a mix between xxxholic (which I really like) and Kyoukai Rinne, which I didn't bother to finish. I was not particularly impressed, but it wasn't bad or anything. Maybe I'll feel more like it later on; there have been plenty of shows that didn't really seem that good at first glance but which I later thought were OK or even good.

[BiblioRook]

Puzzle and Dragons Cross

They... made a Puzzle and Dragons anime? What? :smallconfused:

[Sliver]

They... made a Puzzle and Dragons anime? What? :smallconfused:

Yeah... I thought the game is sort of like the pokemon games, with some plot that they are adapting (similar to the Ace Attorney anime being fairly close to the games), but then I checked out the game...

[BiblioRook]

Yeah, it's a match-3 mobile battle/puzzle game where the gimmick mainly is collecting critters to fight other critters. From that it might sound a bit Pokemon-esk, but it's really not. For one it's about as devoid of any sort of story or plot as you can imagine.

[Morph Bark]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?

I am so hype for the new Shokugeki no Souma, yo. It's going to be amazing.

Somewhat interested for Orange and Taboo Tattoo, and a handful of others, but I'll prolly drop most after a single episode.

[mallorean_thug]

Rewrite - I'm not sure what to think about that one. Random, I guess. A lot of things happened, but nothing was explained so far so...

I've read the VN (and largely enjoyed it) and it's probably going to be bad.

The VN has a common route, 5 heroine routes, and 2 "true" routes. The anime is doing a mix of an anime original 6th heroine route + common route and the first "true" route, while skipping all the original heroine routes. While this is way better than doing an omnibus thing, or some weird amalgamation of all the routes, it's still stuck with many of the bad things about VN adaptions and the girl they're focusing on is probably the worst and least interesting character in the VN.

And that's on top of it being animated by 8-bit, unlikely to have time to cover the second true route, and only existing to advertise Rewrite+

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I'm definitely interested in checking out MP100; I'm sold enough on it to check it out. It's almost like getting OPM Season 2!

[DoctorFaust]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?

I've watched Orange, Sweetness and Lightning, Tales of Zestria the X, and New Game, and am definitely going to be watching Amanchu when it comes out. Oh, and I'll probably be giving Qualidea Code a try, since it was on Glass Reflection's top 10 from this season, and I don't see any other action shows that sound that interesting to me.

Of those, I'll probably be giving Tales another episode to hook me, but Orange and SaL were both good. Sweetness and Lightning was a lot more melancholy than I was expecting.

[Kato]

I am so hype for the new Shokugeki no Souma, yo. It's going to be amazing.

Somewhat interested for Orange and Taboo Tattoo, and a handful of others, but I'll prolly drop most after a single episode.

Oh yes, more food porn, please... Damn, I was trying to gon on a diet, though.

Apart from that... I guess I'll see what others like. If there is nothing I figure there are still old things to catch up on.

[kamikasei]

I plan to check out Sweetness and Lightning, too.
This show is dangerous. Combining Hungry Girl and Young Child in a single character gets to levels of adorableness that should be controlled by international treaty.

[BWR]

This show is dangerous. Combining Hungry Girl and Young Child in a single character gets to levels of adorableness that should be controlled by international treaty.

It's diabetes in anime form.

Just checked out Masou Gakuen HxH. You know how you had High School DxD which was very fanservicey, and then Shinmai Maou no Testament came along because HSDD wasn't fanservicey enough?
Well, MGHH is the same for Infinite Stratos. Power armor that looks more like a bikini, balloon tits galore and a super generic MC who recharges the hot girls' power suits by giving them orgasms.
This would have been fine if the characters and story and world-building seemed even slightly interesting. I strongly suspect I will not bother to watch any more.

[Spacewolf]

This show is dangerous. Combining Hungry Girl and Young Child in a single character gets to levels of adorableness that should be controlled by international treaty.

Checked out the manga after seeing this and did enjoy it. Probably won't watch the anime though. Not sure if everyone was supposed to be constantly on the verge of tears or if that's just how the eyes are drawn by this guy which is abit weird at times.

[Merellis]

Huh. D.Gray-Man has started up again.

TIME FOR PHANTOM THIEF G! :smallbiggrin:

[Lord Raziere]

Huh. D.Gray-Man has started up again.

TIME FOR PHANTOM THIEF G! :smallbiggrin:

Really? awesome. Allen Walker is one of the best anime protags I've ever had the pleasure to watch or read. and the other characters are really cool as well. I really like the vampire exorcist guy, what was his name again? forgot but his concept and personality is just one of the best ever. just so many good things about the series, very serious yet not afraid to be humorous or heartwarming at times.

the only real weakness is katana-rival guy being a bit of a jerk, but hey for guys like him thats kind of a contractual obligation and he doesn't fall into any of the usual traps of being one.

[mallorean_thug]

hype hype hype


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJSXEsoT-ZI

A Silent Voice is going to be sooooo good.

[Sliver]

Yay, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! is out! Double Love! True Love!

I'm so embarrassed and self-conscious while watching it, but I can't stop...

[BWR]

Yay, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! is out! Double Love! True Love!

I'm so embarrassed and self-conscious while watching it, but I can't stop...

The last season was perfect and didn't need another one. Heck, the first episode was perfect and would have been fine on its own.
I'm still chomping at the bit to see the new stuff. Just have to wait probably another 12-14 hours until my girlfriend has time to watch it with me.

BTW, what's there to be embarrassed or self-conscious about with this show? It's just fabulous and hilarious.

[Morph Bark]

hype hype hype

A Silent Voice is going to be sooooo good.

Oh wow, that sounds really cool. Gonn' put that as priority to watch.

[kamikasei]

The last season was perfect and didn't need another one. Heck, the first episode was perfect and would have been fine on its own.
This is kind of my view: I'm not sure I want to watch the new stuff, because the original was nicely self-contained. If the new episodes keep the quality up, let me know!

Also, it seems Crunchyroll has picked up the Sound! Euphonium OVA. Convenient!.

[Sliver]

BTW, what's there to be embarrassed or self-conscious about with this show? It's just fabulous and hilarious.

I just don't want anyone to enter the room while there are so many butts on my screen.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Heck, the first episode was perfect and would have been fine on its own.

It just made me feel "what's the point* in parodying something that's so silly in the first place".

Especially when you're just going to use the exact same jokes non-parody versions use.

*Actually, I do get the point, but the characters were annoying so I couldn't care either way

[Felyndiira]

Anyone watching the new seasonal animes?

I'll probably be following a few:

Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin - I'll probably be watching this and hoping that they don't screw it up like they did with other VN adaptations. Alderamin in the Sky is a relatively interesting LN about the military and a political revolution orchestrated by the main characters. I'm a bit skeptical as the LN did get a really poor manga adaptation (that basically stripped away any personality from the characters, which is fatal for this kind of story), but I think Madhouse has the skills to do justice to the story.

Danganronpa 3: The End of Kibougamine Gakuen - I've been a fan of the Danganronpa series. The games, though *very* anime-ish in its use of tropes and certainly nowhere as good as its sister series (Zero Escape), were rather well-written for a survival mystery. Of course, the anime adaptation of the first game was a disaster, but DR3 is an anime original rather than being based on a game that emphasized impossible-to-animate side events for character development, so I'm putting a lot of faith into the anime - even if Lyrche isn't that good of a studio, as I know that Spike Chunsoft can write a really good story if they want to.

I can't actually tell if the other new series are good or not, so I'll wait for people to start talking about them before checking them out.

[BWR]

This is kind of my view: I'm not sure I want to watch the new stuff, because the original was nicely self-contained. If the new episodes keep the quality up, let me know!


Bigger, shinier, flashier, more colorful, new villains, new costumes, new attacks, even more fabulous and more fanservice (some butt shots, tons of abs and pecs and slash-fic inspiration galore).
It fits in with my general opinion of the former season, and I'm enjoying it so far. Unless quality takes a nose-dive after the first episode this will be just as fun as the last season.

[Zigwat]

I feel it my civic duty to talk about the new Berserk anime. I'm serious when I say that the animation/art is BAAAAAD. I mean, the story and the other stuff is all Berserk oriented, and I can get behind it. But the CGI and the movement of said characters is just so distractingly HORRIFIC! I had high hopes for this series and one episode viewing later, my dreams are stamped out. If they don't get this little loose-end sewed up, this is definitely one series I'll be missing. Which is a shame, because I love the manga.

[VariSami]

I feel it my civic duty to talk about the new Berserk anime. I'm serious when I say that the animation/art is BAAAAAD. I mean, the story and the other stuff is all Berserk oriented, and I can get behind it. But the CGI and the movement of said characters is just so distractingly HORRIFIC! I had high hopes for this series and one episode viewing later, my dreams are stamped out. If they don't get this little loose-end sewed up, this is definitely one series I'll be missing. Which is a shame, because I love the manga.

I said pretty much the same thing on the last page... After watching the second episode, I have a bit more hope. Plus, if nothing else, this series got me to start reading the manga from the start since I did not remember where I stopped back in the day. Seeing how good the original art is is like rubbing salt in wounds, though.

[Prime32]

So apparently volumes 1-14 of Berserk will be available for free online for the duration of the anime. Huh.

Also, episode 3 will be anime-original. Presumably they couldn't show the "demon horse" scene on TV.

[Kymme]

Has anybody here taken a look at Thunderbolt Fantasy?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5IjA8NvWiQ

It's pretty freaking incredible. I'd recommend watching the 'Making Of' episode before the series. It's labeled as Episode 0 on Crunchyroll.

[Spacewolf]

So new dungeon Meshi is out.

Turns out the sister isn't there, considering all the talk about this dragon being male and active for longer than usual who wants to bet she's at the baby dragon nest. The only question is if she will be healing the babies and getting along with the mother, which would be my bet since I doubt there will be another Dragon fight after this one, or if there going to have to kill all the babies to get her back together.

[Felyndiira]

From what I've seen so far, Danganronpa 3 (Future Arc) is much better paced than the DR1 animation. The writing seems to be pretty solid so far, capturing a lot of the tension and emotion that the games were pretty famous for (though very light on the goofiness that the games were also known for). Unless if the series manages to screw up majorly, it's a solid successor to the games.

Despair Arc is only one episode in and is just re-hashing the characters we know so far (along with introducing the teacher, Chisa). Since this is the series I'm most anticipating, I still want to see Spike's official take on the huge twist that happens in the second game.

Chiaki being there is a twist. While we know that all of the other students gets mind-broken into despair, we have no idea what happens to her.

[cobaltstarfire]

I am so hype for the new Shokugeki no Souma, yo. It's going to be amazing.



It's not an anime, but a couple of days ago we watched a really strange chinese movie called God of Cookery, that you might like if you like Shokugeki no Souma. I get the feeling that it is parodying/referencing various Chinese movie Genres.

[Spacewolf]

New Magi is out as well.

Alibaba and Morgiana finally get together :biggrin:. I remember seeing an chapter intro that said this was going to be the last arc so I wonder what's going to happen after this. To be honest it feels more like it will end with a polite conversation between than anything else, I doubt it will but not sure what will go wrong to cause the final boss fight.

[HMS Invincible]

Re zero 15-17 has been quite an exercise in frustration. I'd even stretch it to say episodes 14-17 are all very frustrating. Man, I should have just waited, and binged watch this arc if I knew it was gonna be this long.

[Rysto]

Re zero 15-17 has been quite an exercise in frustration. I'd even stretch it to say episodes 14-17 are all very frustrating. Man, I should have just waited, and binged watch this arc if I knew it was gonna be this long.

Yeah, I'm really done with this whole "Subaru rants crazily and accomplishes nothing" thing. That last scene with Emilia, where he spent most of the conversation refusing to explain anything, was especially annoying. Still, the two big plot twists in this episodes were pretty good, especially when

Emilia was killed when he tried to explain about his time travel thing. My jaw dropped. Now that's a powerful incentive to keep his mouth shut.

It just left me even more confused as to the Witch's motives were.

Although in that last scene with the cult, it seems to me that Subaru should just shout out "I can return through death!" Probably the Witch would come up with a new way to screw him for trying to get clever though.

[Fri]

It's not an anime, but a couple of days ago we watched a really strange chinese movie called God of Cookery, that you might like if you like Shokugeki no Souma. I get the feeling that it is parodying/referencing various Chinese movie Genres.

Stephen Chow's, right? It's a good movie. I actually think it's better than Shaolin Soccer and Kungfu Hustle.

There's lots of over the top cooking manga/anime out there with various level of over-the-topness, just reminding (Chuuka Ichiban, for example, is basically mid-level Wuxia story set in 19th century china, but about cooking instead of punching :smallbiggrin:)

I actually grew up with it, since one of the earliest anime (or cartoon) I watch was Born to Cook (or Mister Ajikko, in its original title).

[cobaltstarfire]

New Magi is out as well.



Where? We can't find it...

Or are you talking about the manga?

[Spacewolf]

Where? We can't find it...

Or are you talking about the manga?

New chapter of the manga yea.

[Morph Bark]

Yeah, I'm really done with this whole "Subaru rants crazily and accomplishes nothing" thing.

Is it as bad as Mr. Tataki in Key The Metal Idol? Because dang that man is long-winded.

[cobaltstarfire]

Stephen Chow's, right? It's a good movie. I actually think it's better than Shaolin Soccer and Kungfu Hustle.


It is Stephen Chow I think? I haven't really watched much in the way of Chinese movies, but even if I had I usually have trouble with the names of people.

[Fri]

If you like it, you should watch Shaolin Soccer. It's basically similar premise, only about sport instead of cooking. I guess that's why I consider God of Cookery better, because doing over-the-top cooking is inherently funnier than over-the-top sport :smalltongue:

[Zigwat]

Stephen Chow's, right? It's a good movie. I actually think it's better than Shaolin Soccer and Kungfu Hustle.


On this we agree! I LOVE Kungfu Hustle, as sad as it is in some parts. It is seriously one of the funniest movies I've seen, especially foreign films.

[BiblioRook]

If you like it, you should watch Shaolin Soccer. It's basically similar premise, only about sport instead of cooking. I guess that's why I consider God of Cookery better, because doing over-the-top cooking is inherently funnier than over-the-top sport :smalltongue:

I agree. While there is plenty of good sport anime and manga out there at the end of the day I still really can't care less about sports (though admittedly I did enjoy Eyesheild 21 much more then I expected to) where watching people cook is very enjoyable for me. I often really wish that people include 'Food' as a searchable genre in regards to anime and manga much like they do with sports. I mean seriously, it's not as if it's a small nitch thing, with the number of series focused entirely on food as there are, if that doesn't qualify as a genre I don't know what does...

[Rysto]

Is it as bad as Mr. Tataki in Key The Metal Idol? Because dang that man is long-winded.

I've never seen that (I think that you give me credit for having watched a lot more anime than I have) but in this case, Subaru keeps screaming at people that they have to help him even when they've made it clear over and over again that they don't care about his problems. He's too pig-headed to listen to the one useful piece of advice that they all give him: if he wants to negotiate for a person's help, he needs to offer something that they want in exchange.

[Fri]

I agree. While there is plenty of good sport anime and manga out there at the end of the day I still really can't care less about sports (though admittedly I did enjoy Eyesheild 21 much more then I expected to) where watching people cook is very enjoyable for me. I often really wish that people include 'Food' as a searchable genre in regards to anime and manga much like they do with sports. I mean seriously, it's not as if it's a small nitch thing, with the number of series focused entirely on food as there are, if that doesn't qualify as a genre I don't know what does...

It's actually a genre. There's tons of cooking anime, and even more cooking manga. I'm saying this because if you go to some manga and anime listing sites, you do can search for "cooking" as tag.

Just on the top of my head, here anime that I can offhandedly remember.

Koufuku Grafiti, Shokugeki no Soma, Mister Ajikko, Chuuka Ichiban, Wakako Zake (it focuses more on food instead of cooking), and I think Sweetness and Lighting is considered cooking anime as well,

[BiblioRook]

It's actually a genre. There's tons of cooking anime, and even more cooking manga. I'm saying this because if you go to some manga and anime listing sites, you do can search for "cooking" as tag.
Well yes, I know. My point actually was that I wish the cooking tag got used more because it's not always a given thing that it is compared to genres such as sports which always seem to be considered a genre by default.

[Fri]

Well, that's just because relatively in the world, sport is unfairly more popular than anything else :smalltongue:

[Morph Bark]

Stephen Chow's, right? It's a good movie. I actually think it's better than Shaolin Soccer and Kungfu Hustle.

Well, I guess I'll be watching God of Cookery then! I've enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle and like a lot of kung fu films in general. Would you recommend Shaolin Soccer even to people who dislike soccer?


I've never seen that (I think that you give me credit for having watched a lot more anime than I have) but in this case, Subaru keeps screaming at people that they have to help him even when they've made it clear over and over again that they don't care about his problems. He's too pig-headed to listen to the one useful piece of advice that they all give him: if he wants to negotiate for a person's help, he needs to offer something that they want in exchange.

I wouldn't be surprised if I turned out to be the only one here to have seen Key The Metal Idol. It's an OVA from the 90s, and though generally good it was also confusing. I just remember that the last two 45-minute episodes he was talking for half of them while sitting on a bench in a park at night with some detective guy, to expulge the backstory that had already come up before, but explain it more clearly, but a lot more boringly.

Sounds like Re:Zero is not one of the good "stuck in another world" anime then, though, if it the main character constantly does that.


It's actually a genre. There's tons of cooking anime, and even more cooking manga. I'm saying this because if you go to some manga and anime listing sites, you do can search for "cooking" as tag.

Just on the top of my head, here anime that I can offhandedly remember.

Koufuku Grafiti, Shokugeki no Soma, Mister Ajikko, Chuuka Ichiban, Wakako Zake (it focuses more on food instead of cooking), and I think Sweetness and Lighting is considered cooking anime as well,

Mister Ajikko had some really good cooking tips too. I really liked how the kid explained why he did certain things and what effect that has on the food.

Koufuku Graffiti was a bit disappointing, but then, it's a "cute girls doing cute things" kind of anime, and not a very good one.

I'd definitely put Sweetnes and Lightning there too, even if the cooking is not really the focus, it does mostly revolve around it.

[Fri]

Well, I guess I'll be watching God of Cookery then! I've enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle and like a lot of kung fu films in general. Would you recommend Shaolin Soccer even to people who dislike soccer?


There's as much actual soccer there as actual kungfu in dragon ball :smalltongue:.

[Prime32]

Sounds like Re:Zero is not one of the good "stuck in another world" anime then, though, if it the main character constantly does that.Eh. I haven't reached those episodes yet, but so far Subaru has been under a lot of stress with no way to talk about it. At some points it can become too much for him and cause him to start acting irrationally, which is about what I'd expect from anyone in his situation.

On the topic of cooking manga, take a look at Nobunaga no Chef.

[BWR]

re: Shaolin Soccer: it's awesome and would get anyone into football, even people like me who don't give a hoot about the sport, if the sport were anything like what we see on screen. God of Cookery was good but I think SS and KFH were much better movies. Bigger budget certainly helped, and they are more polished. Stephen Chow is pretty good in general but I get the feeling I'm missing out on half the joke in lots of his movies. Bad translation, maybe or just me being unfamiliar with Hong Kong humor.

re: Re:Zero. It's hard to like Subaru but it's easy to sympathize with him. He has this power he has no control over and only works when he dies, he has no guarantee it will work the next time he dies, he's scared ****less of dying (understandable, especially since he's had painful deaths), he has no control over the situation and every time he thinks he's got an idea of how things work and what to do to improve things it either seems to work then everything goes wrong in new ways or it just fails. He's no common protag in this sort of story who will get by on earnest effort and trying to talk about friendship or doing what's right, and when he does try to act that way things take a turn for the worse. He can't even tell people about his condition and get help that way or talk about the future. He's pretty much stuck with 'trust me' as his only option to get help.

[HMS Invincible]

Eh. I haven't reached those episodes yet, but so far Subaru has been under a lot of stress with no way to talk about it. At some points it can become too much for him and cause him to start acting irrationally, which is about what I'd expect from anyone in his situation.

On the topic of cooking manga, take a look at Nobunaga no Chef.

Subaru had been acting crazy from the stress for the entire arc. On top of that, the arc is crazy long.

[BiblioRook]

Well, I guess I'll be watching God of Cookery then! I've enjoyed Kung Fu Hustle and like a lot of kung fu films in general. Would you recommend Shaolin Soccer even to people who dislike soccer?
It's like 90% Kung-Fu and mabye 10% soccer, if that. In fact I imagine a true soccor fan would be extreemyl frustrated with the movie and likely would be in tears (of rage) by the end of the final match. The premus can kind of be seen as "We need to get people more interested in Kung-Fu. You know what's high profile? Soccer. Lets use Soccer to promote Kung-Fu"

As for God of Cookery, not as good as the others honestly but hardly not worth the watch. Keep in mind that the movie takes place in three parts a third of the movie each to the point you can skip to any 30 minate mark and not really find yourself lost at what's going on. The first 2/3's is kinda eh, but man that last 1/3, that's what you came to this movie expecting to see.


Koufuku Graffiti was a bit disappointing, but then, it's a "cute girls doing cute things" kind of anime, and not a very good one.
I disagree, Koufuku Graffiti is probably one of the truest examples of food porn I can think of (without coming close to resorting to actual porn like, oh, Shokugeki no Soma). Difference with it and most food related anime is that it's not really about the cooking of food but rather very much just the enjoyment of food. I mean one episode is all about convention store food and they even manage to make that look good.


Anyone ever read Addicted to Curry? It's one of my favorites, mostly due to curry hands down being one of my favorite foods. Fair warning, it is sometimes outright NSFW in it's fanservice... but outside of that it is a fantastic cooking manga with cooking battles galore while staying very down to earth in actual cooking ability as well as being nice enough to actually try to teach you how to cook the main dish of the chapter rather consistently.

[Rodin]

It's like 90% Kung-Fu and mabye 10% soccer, if that. In fact I imagine a true soccor fan would be extreemyl frustrated with the movie and likely would be in tears (of rage) by the end of the final match. The premus can kind of be seen as "We need to get people more interested in Kung-Fu. You know what's high profile? Soccer. Lets use Soccer to promote Kung-Fu"



Nah, it makes it even funnier since we know how ridiculous it is. :smalltongue: Shaolin Soccer has as about as much to do with real soccer as God of Cookery has to do with real soccer. It's so over the top that you just can't take it seriously. Not that you're supposed to, of course.

[Fri]

I can easily concede that kungfu hustle and shaolin soccer are technically better movie. It's just Over the top cooking is inherently funnier than over the top sport :smallbiggrin:

And yes, there's lots of reference in stephen chow's movies, especially kungfu hustle. If you remember the rundown apartment, actually all the martial artists there there are direct references to classic kungfu movies. I mean, each of them are expies of main character of classic kungfu movies.

[Tvtyrant]

Due to financial issues I mo longer have access to television, and this has pushed me back towards anime. I am currently going through a very acute cute things phase, and I was hoping for some recommendations.

Recently watched chuunibyou, yuyushiki and read Tomo-chan wa Onnaoko (examples of what I am looking for).

[cobaltstarfire]

If you have a free trial to use on Crunchy Roll, and haven't watched it yet, Card Captor Sakura is pretty darn cute.


Lovely Muco is very cute too (as is Chi's New Home if you want something that is similar but slightly less hyperactive).

[DoctorFaust]

Horimiya and Bonnouji are both very cute romance manga, and if you're okay with the MCs behaving more than a little like rabbits, so is My Lovely Ghost Kana. Amanchu, which is a currently ongoing anime and manga is a cute alice of life as well. As for finished anime, the classic cute girls doing cute things recommendation would be K-On if you haven't already seen it. Rolling Girls is also pretty good if you like a bit of actuon with your cuteness, as long as you remember that it's only 8 episodes long. And for ones I haven't personally seen, but have heard good things about, there's Lucky Star and Nichijou. Actually, thinking about it, most stuff by KyoAni woulen't be a bad choice.

[tensai_oni]

Azumanga Daioh is a classic, it's very funny and very cute. Read it as a 4koma or watch the anime.

The same author also created Yotsuba&, which is only in manga form but is also funny and even more cute.

Girls' Monthly Nozaki-kun is a comedy first, but it's got plenty of cute moments.

All three are series I enjoyed a lot and recommend very much.

[Fri]

I've seen almost 100% hit with Monthly Girl Nozaki Kun on everyone who watched it (only 1 person is meh about it from my sample size).

Also for silly romance manga about people who should just confess to each others ala Tomo, read Kaguya Wants To Be Confessed (for over the top confession battle) and Teasing Master Takagi San (for super cuteness)

[Tvtyrant]

I've seen almost 100% hit with Monthly Girl Nozaki Kun on everyone who watched it (only 1 person is meh about it from my sample size).

Also for silly romance manga about people who should just confess to each others ala Tomo, read Kaguya Wants To Be Confessed (for over the top confession battle) and Teasing Master Takagi San (for super cuteness)

Monthly Girl Nozaki Kun and Lovely Muco are both great, I am going to work through those before I hit up the other suggestions.

Also I have a friend whose dog is almost literally Muco, which is weird because I am pretty close to the nerdy friend. I joke about stealing my friends dog every time I am over at his house :P

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!


Tomoda!!!

[Morph Bark]

Due to financial issues I mo longer have access to television, and this has pushed me back towards anime. I am currently going through a very acute cute things phase, and I was hoping for some recommendations.

Recently watched chuunibyou, yuyushiki and read Tomo-chan wa Onnaoko (examples of what I am looking for).

I personally am quite the opposite of a big fan of cute things anime, but even I couldn't help but enjoy or even love the following:

Clannad
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
Hi☆sCoool! SeHa Girls; it's amusing, mostly if you're familiar with Sega games
ReLIFE; this anime is very new and it amazed me, it helps if you're past your early twenties when you watch it


This is excluding some comedies that could be seen as cute, but aren't aimed at the "cute things". Then again, ReLIFE isn't really either, it just has moments and it's really good. Otherwise, Hataraku Maou-sama! would also be a good one, or Seto no Hanayome. They're hilarious. Charlotte is also one, which starts off feeling similar to Chuunibyou, except the powers are real, and it gets a bit more serious later on. Same for When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace.

[Drascin]

I personally am quite the opposite of a big fan of cute things anime, but even I couldn't help but enjoy or even love the following:
[LIST]
Clannad

I'm not sure if I'd recommend Clannad to someone that wants cute and fluffy things. I know it made me cry several times. And that is even without getting into the second season, where I just got incredibly angry at the forced stupidity just to add drama and left.

[BiblioRook]

Gah. The manga reading app I have updated and promptly bugged out which forced me to delete it and re-install it which means I lost my long list of conveniently bookmarked manga. Now I have to go back and one-by-one refavorate all of them... and that's the least of it! The real challenge is remembering them all. Some are pretty easy, but others like some of the more obscure ones might be a nightmare to refind as I often have no memory for the Japanese titles of things if the series doesn't go by a simpler English one. Beyond that even if refinding the titles I absentmindedly bookmarked just to have them on-hand to read at a later date, well those I guess I'll have to come by as I come by them.

That being said, I'm always open for suggestions. I like Comedy and Fantasy, especially together but comedy over the fantasy is usually preferable but not always required.

[BWR]

Gah. The manga reading app I have updated and promptly bugged out which forced me to delete it and re-install it which means I lost my long list of conveniently bookmarked manga. Now I have to go back and one-by-one refavorate all of them... and that's the least of it! The real challenge is remembering them all. Some are pretty easy, but others like some of the more obscure ones might be a nightmare to refind as I often have no memory for the Japanese titles of things if the series doesn't go by a simpler English one. Beyond that even if refinding the titles I absentmindedly bookmarked just to have them on-hand to read at a later date, well those I guess I'll have to come by as I come by them.

That being said, I'm always open for suggestions. I like Comedy and Fantasy, especially together but comedy over the fantasy is usually preferable but not always required.

Giving us a list of what you like and already know about would make it easier for us to make suggestions.

[Tvtyrant]

Just finished Monthly Girl Nozaki Kun and I am a little pissed at the ending. It felt very abrupt compared to the rest of the show, and nothing got resolved. Which is fine for some shows, but I felt like at least one of the interests should have been resolved.

[Sallera]

That would be due to it being an adaptation of an ongoing manga, which I would highly recommend reading. (Personally, I'm rather glad they didn't try to shoehorn in some sort of rushed resolution; that never ends well.)

[JeminiZero]

Due to financial issues I mo longer have access to television, and this has pushed me back towards anime. I am currently going through a very acute cute things phase, and I was hoping for some recommendations.

[/lurk]

I recommend Potemayo. >_>

[lurk]

[Tvtyrant]

I'm not sure if I'd recommend Clannad to someone that wants cute and fluffy things. I know it made me cry several times. And that is even without getting into the second season, where I just got incredibly angry at the forced stupidity just to add drama and left.

I am now on board with this opinion. There is some cute and funny stuff... Interlaced with main characters being fading ghosts who the cast can't save. If season 2 is sadder then season 1, I am not sure I want to know.

[Drascin]

I am now on board with this opinion. There is some cute and funny stuff... Interlaced with main characters being fading ghosts who the cast can't save. If season 2 is sadder then season 1, I am not sure I want to know.

Basically...


You know how old drama stories loved to make the woman die in childbirth for extra drama, but the fact that we live in a modern world with actual medicine where death in childbirth in first world countries is extremely rare makes it really, really bloody contrived?

Well, the author decided "**** contrived, Imma force it anyway". So Nagisa, who has been extremely sickly all her life and everyone knows this because it has been a plot point, decides out of nowhere and for no reason that she wants a childbirth at home. And everyone that knows her, including her overworrying protective parents and paranoid ***hole husband Tomoya, is just perfectly okay with that, even though Nagisa should be literally the last person in the universe that should do that. And then on the day of the birth, when complications happen because of course complications happen, there's a huge snowstorm that blocks the entire city, because even with that bit of literally everyone in the series being stupid, it would still have been too contrived because again, modern hospitals and cars are a thing, so gotta take out phones and cars out of the picture too because otherwise we couldn't use this 19th century plot point verbatim. After which Tomoya, feeling guilty, abandons his newborn child.

All, apparently, just so we can have a story about Tomoya later reconnecting with the daughter he abandoned and forgiving himself. Yes, the whole thing seems to be purely a setup to give Tomoya a pile of manpain.

Honestly, I just kinda... stopped. I don't know how it ends and I don't care. Far as I'm concerned Clannad's ending is the first season ending, and then a happily ever after, and that's it.

[Tvtyrant]

Basically...


You know how old drama stories loved to make the woman die in childbirth for extra drama, but the fact that we live in a modern world with actual medicine where death in childbirth in first world countries is extremely rare makes it really, really bloody contrived?

Well, the author decided "**** contrived, Imma force it anyway". So Nagisa, who has been extremely sickly all her life and everyone knows this because it has been a plot point, decides out of nowhere and for no reason that she wants a childbirth at home. And everyone that knows her, including her overworrying protective parents and paranoid ***hole husband Tomoya, is just perfectly okay with that, even though Nagisa should be literally the last person in the universe that should do that. And then on the day of the birth, when complications happen because of course complications happen, there's a huge snowstorm that blocks the entire city, because even with that bit of literally everyone in the series being stupid, it would still have been too contrived because again, modern hospitals and cars are a thing, so gotta take out phones and cars out of the picture too because otherwise we couldn't use this 19th century plot point verbatim. After which Tomoya, feeling guilty, abandons his newborn child.

All, apparently, just so we can have a story about Tomoya later reconnecting with the daughter he abandoned and forgiving himself. Yes, the whole thing seems to be purely a setup to give Tomoya a pile of manpain.

Honestly, I just kinda... stopped. I don't know how it ends and I don't care. Far as I'm concerned Clannad's ending is the first season ending, and then a happily ever after, and that's it.


Oh, ew. Sounds almost like the Kenshin sequel..

I got through episode 10 and I think I might be stopping this one. Torturing myself isn't my favorite thing to do.

[Morph Bark]

I'm not sure if I'd recommend Clannad to someone that wants cute and fluffy things. I know it made me cry several times. And that is even without getting into the second season, where I just got incredibly angry at the forced stupidity just to add drama and left.

The poster didn't specify fluffy, and a lot of "feels" anime are cute by design. I don't know about the second season, doesn't it take place far into the future?

[Eldariel]

The poster didn't specify fluffy, and a lot of "feels" anime are cute by design. I don't know about the second season, doesn't it take place far into the future?

Well, not that far (essentially a bit into post-graduation), but yes. That said, the second season is very touching and warm, if heartwrenching. Much more so than the first part. It's certainly painful too though. Perhaps it's best described as intensely emotional overall. I'd definitely say they're both worth watching and they'd certainly pass for cute. It might be too painful for the "fluffy"-part.

[Drascin]

Oh, ew. Sounds almost like the Kenshin sequel..

I got through episode 10 and I think I might be stopping this one. Torturing myself isn't my favorite thing to do.

The first season is worth finishing, I think. The Fuko bit you just got through is the saddest thing in the entire season (and honestly, thank god, because that is just heartbreaking), and Tomoya and Nagisa are genuinely cute together.

Just... take the happy ending from season 1 and leave it there.

[DoctorFaust]

Well, Kizu definitely gets two thumbs up from me. There's something about the art style of the characters as compared to the backgrounds, or maybe just the animation in general, that gives it a bit of an otherworldly feel, which I actually quite enjoyed considering how goddamn weird Monogatari can be. It was nice seeing RRG make his first friend, and Hanekawa was as nice as ever. Once again, though, I would've much preferred it if it hadn't had the panty shot. It's always nice to see Meme again, and I think I like tiny!Kiss-shot more than I do Shinobu. Dialogue's as good as ever, too.

It's only been a day since I watched it, so I haven't really had time to think about it much, but I will say that I think that it could've ended at a better spot. I only know the vague details of the rest of the plot, but defeating all of their enemies and turning RRG back to the state he's in in Bake seems like it'll be a bit difficult to do in two movies, if they're both only an hour long.

[JCarter426]

I'd heard that about the ending, so I've decided to wait until the whole thing's out and watch it as one three-hour movie. Good to hear it doesn't disappoint otherwise, though.

And I did just watch all of ReLIFE in one go. I didn't plan to but I guess it was more than I expected. The plot development wasn't exactly surprising but it was entertaining throughout. I'd definitely watch another season but it seems like this one covered most of the material already.

[Felyndiira]

I think I might be the only person on the forum who is watching Danganronpa and Alderamin

Alderamin was, unfortunately, disappointing compared to the source material. Aside from the poorly-directed first episode...Madhouse, of all studios, are willing to invent an entire SoL flashback episode out of nowhere and delay a plot-vital dialogue in order to insert it into the story right here and now. Sure, it's nice to see the past with Ikta and Yatori, but I'd imagine it's more important to

show the carriage conversation where Princess Chamille solicits Ikta to join her in her revolution.

The main concern I have with the anime is if it's actually going toward the same direction as the LN. The LN was direct in showing the horrors of war and corruption, and I'm afraid that the anime would abandon this direction in favor of turning Ikta into a generic LN Gary Stu character.

[DoctorFaust]

I'd heard that about the ending, so I've decided to wait until the whole thing's out and watch it as one three-hour movie. Good to hear it doesn't disappoint otherwise, though.

That's probably what I would recommend. And if you liked the rest of the Monogatari series, you'll definitely like this.

[Tvtyrant]

I'd heard that about the ending, so I've decided to wait until the whole thing's out and watch it as one three-hour movie. Good to hear it doesn't disappoint otherwise, though.

And I did just watch all of ReLIFE in one go. I didn't plan to but I guess it was more than I expected. The plot development wasn't exactly surprising but it was entertaining throughout. I'd definitely watch another season but it seems like this one covered most of the material already.

I read through relife recently, and I had a hard time with a grad student who couldn't accomplish anything.

[Morph Bark]

I read through relife recently, and I had a hard time with a grad student who couldn't accomplish anything.

I worked as a tutor in Physics and Chemistry a few years ago. It's surprising how much you have to study up again yourself, with how much you apparently forget so easily after finishing high school. Unless you use a certain subject a lot later on, much of the little things easily escape you. (Though his ****ty progress after the initial go is probably for humor value and as an excuse to set up certain scenes.)

[VariSami]

So, a few pages back, Kymme was asking whether people have been watching 'Thunderbolt Fantasy' and recommending it. I did pick the show up back then, and it has been good, and it just keeps giving. The characters work for the most part, the dialogue is nice, and the wushu setting is amusing in its campiness. I actually also just really like the over the top designs of the dolls as well. Too bad the future manga adaptation of this seems quite ugly.

[DoctorFaust]

I started reading Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, and I'm halfway through the fifth or sixth arc (Maekashi-hen). And I just want to say, these people are all sorts of ****ed up. Like, even disregarding the reason I'm pretty sure the worst **** happens, pretty much every character in this series needs a goddamn therapist.

And speaking of that, I'm pretty sure that there's a hate plague going around. I really can't think of any other reasons for so many people to go insane in almost exactly the same way. Though I guess it's possible that there might actually be something supernatural going on, if what I've heard about how Umineko and Higurashi are connected is true.

[JCarter426]

Reading as in the visual novels or the manga?

I've only seen the anime, which I did enjoy, but from what I understand it's not the best of adaptations in respect to attention to detail. I've thought about taking a look at the visual novels for that reason, but I have a lot of those on my list already.

And if you're on the Eye-Opening Chapter, well...

I'll just say one reason I enjoyed Higurashi is because it's so brilliantly messed up that it makes you think "there might actually be something supernatural going on" is the most logical explanation.

[DoctorFaust]

Reading as in the visual novels or the manga?

I've only seen the anime, which I did enjoy, but from what I understand it's not the best of adaptations in respect to attention to detail. I've thought about taking a look at the visual novels for that reason, but I have a lot of those on my list already.

And if you're on the Eye-Opening Chapter, well...

I'll just say one reason I enjoyed Higurashi is because it's so brilliantly messed up that it makes you think "there might actually be something supernatural going on" is the most logical explanation.

Manga, though just I finished the Eye-Opening Chapter and started the Atonement Chapter.

The scene in the trash dump with all of them is quite heartwarming, but I'm pretty sure that everything is going to go downhill from here. Actually, I'm almost certain, since the Cotton Drifting Festival is right around the corner, and that always seems to be when things go to ****.

[mallorean_thug]

Higurashi and Umineko are both masterpieces and everybody should read them. (For both VN >> Manga >>>>>>>> Anime)

As you were.

[Cozzer]

Personally, I like the manga more than the VN, at least for Umineko. But I generally don't like VNs, so it's more of a medium thing. I agree that the anime is terribad.

[DoctorFaust]

Goddamnit, the parasite explanation sounded like a believable, rational explanation for what was going on...until Rena started talking about clones and space aliens. :smallmad:

And out of curiosity, mallorean, which of the two would you say you liked more?

[mallorean_thug]

I like Umineko quite a bit more. It's the more ambitious and more personal work, and it specifically sets out to subvert expectactions and correct failings from Higurashi. And it's chosen genre trappings and subject matter is just a lot more appealing to me.

I'll type up some spoiler block higurashi thoughts when I'm not on my phone.

[DoctorFaust]

Okay, to summarize: Rika is traveling between parallel universes every time she dies, generally meets a witch named Frederica Bernkastel while in the gaps between said parallel universes, and is accompanied by the spirit that was the basis for the Oyashiro-sama religion, who was a real person a very long time ago, is actually very nice, and has time powers. In addition to that, the paranoia and violent behavior that Rika, Shion (Mion?), and Keiichi were experiencing is the various other arcs was a result of Hinamizawa syndrome (I was right about the hate plague!), and Satoko is being treated for the same disease by Irie using some experimental drug that she has to take twice a day because she's in a...more advanced state of it, I believe.

However, Irie, Takano, and Tomitake are all in on the existence of the disease, and are in fact part of an organisation dedicated to researching said disease. Takano is a traitor to that organisation, however, as are the Yamainu she has with her, and wants to do something related to resurrecting the Oyashiro-sama cult...I think. Or maybe it's because she wants to become Oyashiro-sama? To that end, every time Watanagashi comes around, she causes Tomitake's death by injecting him with a drug designed the mimic the late stages of Hinamizawa syndrome (I assume that's what L3 and L5 mean) and fakes her own death by burning a body in the mountains. Over the next several days, assuming that no one else succumbs to Hinamizawa Syndrome and that Rika isn't killed like she was in Watanagashi-hen, she kills off Irie and has Rika kidnapped and killed as justification for enacting Emergency Document #34, which is what is known in other arcs as the Great Hinamizawa disaster.

#34 is enacted because Rika is believed to be the "queen" of the parasites that cause Hinamizawa Syndrome, and if she dies, all of the other carriers of the disease will go insane like Shion (Mion?) and Keiichi did in their arcs, falling into paranoia and psychosis. However, if I'm remembering...whichever the answer arc to Watanagashi-hen was correctly, this isn't the case, as Rika was dead for more than two days before the end of the arc. Is this all correct?

However, I still have no ****ing clue why Rika can see and talk to Hanryu, or if Satoshi is actually relevant to the plot in any way, and I'm really hoping the last of my questions get answered in Matsuribayashi-hen.

[Tvtyrant]

So I decided to pick up Girls of the Wilds recently and there was some surprising revelations from it. It really reminded me of when I was in college and one of my (much better looking) friends began dating one of the girls in our hall. I (accidentally) hurt her feelings when I introduced her to the group as being his girlfriend, so he asked me to be friends with her. He then got extremely irate that I was spending more time with her then he was, and they broke up soon after another friend of ours informed me that she had feelings for me and I was being super oblivious.

Also that Dal Dal has the most appealing crying face ever.

[BiblioRook]

I used to read Girls of the Wild a lot but fell way behind due to the manga scan sites I used not getting along with my computer and for whatever reason it doesn't come up on my manga reader app despite drawing from sites I know for sure translate it, I actually don't even remember where I left off with it. While I did like it quite a bit, just ugh the relationship drama really tested my limits several times over.

[Tvtyrant]

I used to read Girls of the Wild a lot but fell way behind due to the manga scan sites I used not getting along with my computer and for whatever reason it doesn't come up on my manga reader app despite drawing from sites I know for sure translate it, I actually don't even remember where I left off with it. While I did like it quite a bit, just ugh the relationship drama really tested my limits several times over.

I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone, buy it isn't awful. It feels like someone took Veritas and Histories Strongest Disciple and smushed them together, but at least the main character feels bad about his harem status when he becomes aware of it.

Also a lot of it is depressingly skippable. Jumping from his fight with his ex bully to the vacation at JeJu loses you one good fight and a single side character, and you jump over 50 chapters.

[Morph Bark]

I looked it up and Girls of the Wild is actually a manwha I've read before, back when it was just starting out. It's not a series I wanted to wait for every week, but it was generally interesting and at times amusing. For how badly much of it is translated, it's certainly made up for by the expressive art. By writing alone, most characters are flat. With the art, some jump out and become better than a lot of manga protagonists.

EDIT: I'm feeling that it's much easier to get through without waiting for weekly chapters now. In a single chapter not much happens, but taken as a whole the pacing is pretty good, at least up to where I'm now (chapter 41).

[Merellis]

Enjoyed this chapter quite a bit, as it represents the end of the arc. I would have preferred a little more foreshadowing on Marcille having that much expertise on ancient spells, but the story seemed to be pushing more that elves had some really screwy powers.

Farlyn is back in action, and it's time for what we've all been waiting for. LETS EAT A DRAGON!

[BWR]

"Sweetness and lightning" continues to be absurdly sweet, and a welcome ray of sunshine whenever a new episode comes out.

The magical pretty boys season two is basically what I felt about season one: you had the first episode and frankly that was all you needed. The rest was still immensely entertaining and I waited eagerly for each new episode and was never disappointed. They build on the events and revelations of the first season, have ramped up the gayness (and I use that term in the best way possible) to the point where I've seen gay porn that was less gay. We haven't quite hit high points like the kid episode or the beach episode of last season but I have enjoyed every episode so far with a silly grin on my face throughout. If you liked the first season and have wondered about this one, I can only say that so far I have been very pleased.

Re:Zero...man they always find some new way to make things worse, don't they?

[Zalabim]

Is it actually called Magical Pretty Boys or are we talking about something like Karneval? I suspect it'd be dangerous to just turn to google to answer this question.

[BWR]

Is it actually called Magical Pretty Boys or are we talking about something like Karneval? I suspect it'd be dangerous to just turn to google to answer this question.

"Binan koukou chikyuu bouei-bu love! love!" or "Cute high Earth Defense Club Love! love!" but I can never remember either of those (amd looking things up online is SOOOOOOO hard) so I just go by the easiest aspect to remember.

[Spacewolf]

"Sweetness and lightning" continues to be absurdly sweet, and a welcome ray of sunshine whenever a new episode comes out.


Have they stopped the manga until the anime catches up or something I havent seen a new chapter in awhile.

[BWR]

Have they stopped the manga until the anime catches up or something I havent seen a new chapter in awhile.

Dunno, I don't read the manga. Yet.

[DoctorFaust]

Have they stopped the manga until the anime catches up or something I havent seen a new chapter in awhile.

I don't personally read it, but I'm seeing up to chapter 36, which was released earlier this month.

[Morph Bark]

Have they stopped the manga until the anime catches up or something I havent seen a new chapter in awhile.

I doubt it. Anime get stopped to let the manga produce more material before they continue (if they continue). Manga don't stop to let the anime catch up, because anime episodes usually cover more material than a single (weekly) manga chapter.

[DoctorFaust]

Been reading Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami as a way to recover from Higurashi, and I gotta say, it is at least as good, if not even better than Biscuit Hammer. And that is not something I say lightly.

But goddamnit if it didn't make me tear up in one line.
Yo... Long time no see.

[Prime32]

Been reading Sengoku Youko by Satoshi Mizukami as a way to recover from Higurashi, and I gotta say, it is at least as good, if not even better than Biscuit Hammer. And that is not something I say lightly.It's definitely more accessible than Biscuit Hammer. Spirit Circle is his masterpiece though.

[DoctorFaust]

It's definitely more accessible than Biscuit Hammer. Spirit Circle is his masterpiece though.

I guess I'd agree with you in the sense that the concepts work better in a more overtly fantastic setting than Biscuit Hammer's. However, I really do think that Biscuit Hammer is better than Spirit Circle. he writing and art and stuff are all up to the standards of his usual work, but because of the nature of the story, we never get that much time with any one character. Which made it quite hard for me to actually care that Kouko wanted to kill Fuuta. And speaking of Kouko, actually, I really didn't like her. I found Samidare more sympathetic, and she wanted to destroy the friggin' world.

[Rysto]

I realize that I have brought this upon myself by watching typical shonen anime, but dear god is the "hit the villain with an attack that causes a sizable explosion, but when the smoke clears he's unscratched" trope tiresome.

[DoctorFaust]

Anybody else here watched Getter Robo Armageddon? Because now that I've seen the Stoner Sunshine, it's very obvious where Studio Gainax got their inspiration for the art style used during the Giga Drill Breaker, as well as a number of other things. It's also a pretty good show, despite the numerous animation problems in episodes 3-6 and the change of directors around the same time.

And a random thought I had about Biscuit Hammer and Sengoku Youko:
I'll admit that I could be wrong about this, but since the color pages certainly make it look like it is the case, Anima, Animus, the Tribe of the Void, and Senka all have silver hair, right? Now, this might just be because the author likes silver hair or something else entirely mundane like that, but it does makes me wonder if they're all related, with Biscuit Hammer either taking place far in the past of Sengoku Youko, or a few hundred years in its future.

[Fri]

Well yes. Is there even the slightest doubt that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from Getter Robo, and more specifically, Getter Robo Armageddon?

Stoner Sunshine theme might be the awesomest pre-kickass mecha music out there (maaaybe slightly behind gunbuster march), and Ima Ga Sono Toki Da might be my favourite mecha op ever.

Have you read getter robo manga? If you're interested, and you haven't, you should read Getter Robo Go. Mind that it's very different than the anime. The Getter Robo Go anime is basically, literally, the saturday-morning-cartoon version of the manga. It's the pinnacle of Getter Robo in my opinion, and I'm sure at least some parts of Getter Robo Armageddon is inspired by it. By that I mean the feel and the general visual.

[BWR]

I guess I'd agree with you in the sense that the concepts work better in a more overtly fantastic setting than Biscuit Hammer's. However, I really do think that Biscuit Hammer is better than Spirit Circle. he writing and art and stuff are all up to the standards of his usual work, but because of the nature of the story, we never get that much time with any one character. Which made it quite hard for me to actually care that Kouko wanted to kill Fuuta. And speaking of Kouko, actually, I really didn't like her. I found Samidare more sympathetic, and she wanted to destroy the friggin' world.

So I gave SC and L&BH a try after thinking to myself "I have too much to read already, time to try even more stuff".
SC was pretty ok, but only in some of the past lives (Flors was very good). Fuuta/Kouko was pretty meh and the reincarnation gods (plus the associated Sleeping Tower stuff) was quite the let-down. Props for having a cool necromancer.
I've only gotten a few chapters into L&BH, and so far it isn't gripping me.

[DoctorFaust]

Well yes. Is there even the slightest doubt that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from Getter Robo, and more specifically, Getter Robo Armageddon?

Stoner Sunshine theme might be the awesomest pre-kickass mecha music out there (maaaybe slightly behind gunbuster march), and Ima Ga Sono Toki Da might be my favourite mecha op ever.

Have you read getter robo manga? If you're interested, and you haven't, you should read Getter Robo Go. Mind that it's very different than the anime. The Getter Robo Go anime is basically, literally, the saturday-morning-cartoon version of the manga. It's the pinnacle of Getter Robo in my opinion, and I'm sure at least some parts of Getter Robo Armageddon is inspired by it.

I knew that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from a number of super robot shows, but since I haven't really seen that many, I didn't know which ones specifically or that it was to quite the extent that it apparently is.

It is a damn good song, and I really like that fact that it's a march, but I prefer Happily Ever After by an ever so slight margin.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.

[Spacewolf]

So I gave SC and L&BH a try after thinking to myself "I have too much to read already, time to try even more stuff".
SC was pretty ok, but only in some of the past lives (Flors was very good). Fuuta/Kouko was pretty meh and the reincarnation gods (plus the associated Sleeping Tower stuff) was quite the let-down. Props for having a cool necromancer.
I've only gotten a few chapters into L&BH, and so far it isn't gripping me.

I read L&BH last week after seeing it on here and I'd say it was ok but nothing special, everything goes pretty much as you would expect and everything ends up pretty much as you would guess.

[Fri]

I knew that Gurren Lagann took inspiration from a number of super robot shows, but since I haven't really seen that many, I didn't know which ones specifically or that it was to quite the extent that it apparently is.

It is a damn good song, and I really like that fact that it's a march, but I prefer Happily Ever After by an ever so slight margin.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.

The original Getter Robo and Getter Robo G are basically 70s mecha manga in the line of mazinger Z though (with somewhat more psycopathy and sci-fi and somewhat more interesting plot. Ken Ishikawa is much better 70s mecha mangaka than Go Nagai, in my opinion).

It only start growing its beard on Getter Robo Go, which is the next generation, and there is where Getter Robo start to get the complex mythology and setting.

[Prime32]

Anybody else here watched Getter Robo Armageddon? Because now that I've seen the Stoner Sunshine, it's very obvious where Studio Gainax got their inspiration for the art style used during the Giga Drill Breaker, as well as a number of other things. It's also a pretty good show, despite the numerous animation problems in episodes 3-6 and the change of directors around the same time.

And no, I have not, though I've been considering reading and watching through the rest of the franchise.
The manga order goes Getter Robo -> Getter Robo G -> Getter Robo Go -> Shin Getter Robo, with Shin being a prequel to Go.

The anime Getter Robo Go is very different from the manga, as mentioned. As for the OVAs:

Shin Getter Robo vs Neo Getter Robo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwUeJaJIh2A) is the most light-hearted of them, featuring a machine that's a mashup of the G and Go designs.

Shin Getter Robo (better known as New Getter Robo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsyLS8wT_Bg)) is an actual reboot, rather than a sequel/"what if" like the other OVAs - while there are changes (e.g. different villains, and combining Musashi and Benkei into a single character) it hits a lot of the manga's major story points and setpieces.


And a random thought I had about Biscuit Hammer and Sengoku Youko:
I'll admit that I could be wrong about this, but since the color pages certainly make it look like it is the case, Anima, Animus, the Tribe of the Void, and Senka all have silver hair, right? Now, this might just be because the author likes silver hair or something else entirely mundane like that, but it does makes me wonder if they're all related, with Biscuit Hammer either taking place far in the past of Sengoku Youko, or a few hundred years in its future.Read the last chapter of Spirit Circle again. (http://i.imgur.com/yaqdyJW.jpg)

It is implied that Sengoku Youko takes place in the past of Sanjin Sadou though.

[Fri]

Shin Getter Robo (better known as New Getter Robo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsyLS8wT_Bg)) is an actual reboot, rather than a sequel/"what if" like the other OVAs - while there are changes (e.g. different villains, and combining Musashi and Benkei into a single character) it hits a lot of the manga's major story points and setpieces.


Confusingly, Shin Getter Robo is also the name of a mecha in the franchise, and a midquel manga in the original timeline about the titular mecha, set between Getter Robo G and Getter Robo Go but published after Go.

Edit: Derp, I didn't see you already mentioned it.

Also it got Getter Robo Arc, which is the third generation (after Go), and is really cool and might actually be as good as Go at least, but for some reason it got cancelled, and now Ishikawa is dead so I'm not sure if it'll ever be finished :/

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of the series.

[DoctorFaust]

Read the last chapter of Spirit Circle again. (http://i.imgur.com/yaqdyJW.jpg)

It is implied that Sengoku Youko takes place in the past of Sanjin Sadou though.

I had forgotten about those lines. I guess if the planet crushing esper is referring to who I think it is, Biscuit Hammer, Sengoku Youko, and Spirit Circle all take place in the same cosmology, at the very least. Though that does blow a 47 trillion universe wide hole in my theory. :smalltongue:

And I know that a character in one of the author's one-shots has the same last name and duties as Shinsuke takes up during the epilogue of SC.

[Kato]

As I'm not following many new anime I don't have much to say here (except catching up on Assassination classroom right now) but... I keep being impressed at how Shokugeki manages to make cooking as awesome as they do. And they even turned down the fanservice. Now I just wish we wouldn't soon get a huge break until they got to season three...

[Kris Strife]

Does anyone happen to remember which episode of Big O had Dastun try to carry Dorothy, but she was too heavy?

[Marlowe]

http://i.imgur.com/demGTSl.png
http://i.imgur.com/x5PNBbQ.png
http://i.imgur.com/tW52AVa.png
http://i.imgur.com/7KRfuSS.png
http://i.imgur.com/gUfnZET.png
http://i.imgur.com/Emh0jts.png
http://i.imgur.com/8IYmmDC.png
http://i.imgur.com/8WVKqoK.png
http://i.imgur.com/U6u5RD1.png
(I didn't like them very much.)

[BiblioRook]

So for whatever reason I recently felt inclined to rewatch Rurouni Kenshin. So I load up the first episode and.. oh my god, right away I'm hit with so much nostalgia that I actually had to pause it and take a moment to recover from the weight of it. That first opening song, Freckles. It's so corny and barely has anything to do with the show much less the scenes being shown while it's playing, why do I find it so catchy and sentimental?! :smallsigh:

It really made me think of other opening (and ending) songs that just for some reason stuck with me and that even now nearly decades since I last saw them I find myself sometimes looking up and listening to. Not necessarily the best ones half the time, but I don't know just for some reason struck a cord. The Openings to Outlaw Star and Black Lagoon come to mind and for endings Witchcraft Works. Honestly there are probably tons that I'm just not thinking about right now that I know will just blindside me like a ton of bricks if I'm reminded of them. But probably my favorites, for both openings and endings together even, are from an obscure anime with the annoyingly long name of 'Problem children are coming from another world aren't they?". It's not even what I would call anything that special but man do I really love the opening (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie2JS4K69xQ)and ending (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpsGx9YqdFo)from that.

[DoctorFaust]

Since the current season is wrapping up in the next few weeks, what all are people looking forward to watching during the next one? For me, aside from a few sequels like Tiger Mask W or Iron-Blooded Orphans S2, the only ones that really looks interesting are March Comes In Like a Lion and Shuumatsu no Izetta.

Best list I could find of the Fall 2016 shows. (http://anichart.net/fall)

[kamikasei]

Since the current season is wrapping up in the next few weeks, what all are people looking forward to watching during the next one?
/checks Oh my god, there's a show called Bloodivores.

Ahem. I'll certainly be watching Sound! Euphonium S2, and continuing with Diamond is Unbreakable (which I don't see listed there...?). I'll definitely give Drifters a try, and maybe also Occultic;Nine, Watashi ga Motete Dousunda, and (since it's a short) Nyanbo. I'll watch the Majestic Prince and Patlabor movies, though not necessarily this season. And I'll be selective about picking up new shows, because I've at least three from this season I've heard good things about and want to try out once they've ended - in ascending order of exclamation marks, they're Thunderbolt Fantasy, Amanchu!, and Love Live! Sunshine!!.

[BWR]

Amanchu is by the same author as Aria the animation and it shows. If you liked Aria, the chances are very high you'll like Amanchu.
There isn't anything new that piques my curiosity right now. I'll probably try and handful of them and end up watching a couple, if the last year or two is anything to go by.
Sakamoto desu ga? and Bikini Warriors are getting specials, so that's good.
The one thing that really has me giddy with anticipation is Tenchi Muyo: Ryo-ohki 4.

[Fri]

I'm going to try to watch, at least one of two ep

-Drifters (been waiting for it for a while)
- Classicaloid (Would at least check it. Series about classical composers reborn in modern time, come on)
- Flip Flappers (the trailer is the exact kind of weird and colourful adventure I'd like)
- Fune no Amu (This kind of mundane but serious business, for example, a bunch of people making a dictionary, is my catnip)
- All Out (rugby mite be fun)
- Iron blooded orphans? (just need to finish first season first)
- Nanbaka (looks like prison set in jojo universe)
- Occultic Nine (urban fantasy steins gate, duh)
- Shuumetsu no Izetta (witch fighting with gun in fantasy world war 2, eff yeah)

**** that's too much already, and there's still more stuffs I'm interested, like macross delta and kiss him not me and of course finishing jojo

[BWR]

**** that's too much already, and there's still more stuffs I'm interested, like macross delta and kiss him not me and of course finishing jojo

Delta has been kinda meh. It's nice to get back to a humanish enemy with recognizable motives and emotions (even if they are incredibly hypocritical and dickish), but the male MC is an unlikable prick. Not as bad as Basara, of course, but still. His one saving grace is that he gets stomped in the face a few times. The girl and I are watching the original Macross and it may be nostalgia speaking but Hikaru just seems like such nicer guy and is easier to relate to and root for than any of the ones in later shows.

[kamikasei]

Delta has been kinda meh. It's nice to get back to a humanish enemy with recognizable motives and emotions (even if they are incredibly hypocritical and dickish), but the male MC is an unlikable prick. Not as bad as Basara, of course, but still. His one saving grace is that he gets stomped in the face a few times. The girl and I are watching the original Macross and it may be nostalgia speaking but Hikaru just seems like such nicer guy and is easier to relate to and root for than any of the ones in later shows.
I haven't found Hikaru Hayate to be that bad, but he's possibly the least interesting or likeable of the main good guys. Mostly I just want Mirage to get more screentime and respect. Maybe she can run away with Makina and Reina and they can start a different, better show.

The Windermereans represent a whole class of anime antagonist that I'm really, really tired of, though, and I'd love if they'd just... go away.

[VariSami]

For me, personally, Fall 2016 seems quite bleak although Drifters and Natsume Yujin Cho Go are great things to have. Luckily, there are more than a few series I missed earlier so not having too many interesting new series should help me get to stuff like Re:Zero and Food Wars which have been receiving very high praise from my best friend.

[cobaltstarfire]

Yeah, I'm looking forward to Natsume's Book of Friends. I'm glad that it keeps getting new seasons, even if the time between is kind of long.

[Fri]

Man, Shokugeki no Soma S2 ended.

It's really one of the best "sport" anime I've seen. I wonder if there'll be season 3. I want more.

Also, for people who got weirded out by the early first season, it's really some sort of first installation weirdness I think. I assume when the author first make the manga he's planning it to be some sort of "fanservice cooking manga" but later on they decided that the battle cooking is actually strong enough to stand on its own.

[Morph Bark]

Also, for people who got weirded out by the early first season, it's really some sort of first installation weirdness I think. I assume when the author first make the manga he's planning it to be some sort of "fanservice cooking manga" but later on they decided that the battle cooking is actually strong enough to stand on its own.

Definitely. It's not even like the foodgasms stopped, that's still plenty part of it. The nudity just got removed and the imagery of mentally finding yourself on a tropical island with a gentle breeze upon eating that delicious light crab soup remains.

[BWR]

So that was it for Macross Delta. I was frankly disappointed after the good job they did with Frontier. They killed off the two likable characters and left us with a bunch dross. The music, with the exception of Freya's song they used for the ED in the first half, was as bland and unimpressive j-pop as you could get. None of it registered as memorable in any way.
I suppose getting to know a bit more about the Protoculture was fine and all, but the characters, the cookie-cutter baddies and their astounding hypocrisy, the obvious plot 'twists', etc. just left me annoyed most of the time. I wish they hadn't gone with 'music is magic' but in all fairness they had been leading up to it for several series and it seems like a logical, or at least not an illogical, conclusion to arrive at.

In sadder news, no more Sweetness and Lightning, which was a welcome weekly dose of cuteness and heartwarmth.

[Ravian]

Feel like I'm in a bit of an anime withdrawal now that Berserk, RE:Zero and Mob Psycho 100 have all ended nearly simultaneously. Is there any other good anime in that vein that I missed this season?

[Fri]

Well, since those three are so wildly different, what do you mean by "in that vein" ?

[Ravian]

Well, since those three are so wildly different, what do you mean by "in that vein" ?

NVM, just realized I missed that season two of Arslan came out. That should occupy me for a bit.

[VariSami]

Ah, Thunderbolt Fantasy was satisfying. Plus, there is another season in the works. I suppose it really showed how good of a writer Urobuchi can be at times, even if the writing is not quite at the level of his best works.

Currently mostly focusing on watching Claymore. I am positively surprised at how much better it got ever since after the first few missions (i.e. starting with Teresa's introduction). Too bad it apparently just stops when the episodes end, without any proper closure. Currently on episode 21 if memory serves.

[Morph Bark]

Ah, Thunderbolt Fantasy was satisfying. Plus, there is another season in the works. I suppose it really showed how good of a writer Urobuchi can be at times, even if the writing is not quite at the level of his best works.

I saw the first two episodes of that so far. Certainly a very interesting show! The dolls are a little creepy, but the voice acting, movements and blood effects and such are all really well done.

[DoctorFaust]

The first episode of Izetta was surprisingly good. I enjoyed the Princess, Izetta was cool in the little bit of screen time that she had, and all of the technical stuff like animation and sound seems solid so far. I didn't really have any expectations going in, despite its PVs looking pretty interesting, but I guess a magical girl on an anti-tank rifle is enough to keep me watching.

OTOH, Tiger Mask W seems like a pretty bog standard show with nothing really standing out too much. Across the board, pretty much everything was exactly what you would expect from a Toei show.
And for gods sake, WrestleMax, get a better booker. Not even Vince Russo would've sunk so low as making someone to lose in their debut match by voluntary count-out. Bro.
I'll be sticking with it for a few more episodes to see if we get much of Okada or Tanahashi, but I'll probably end up dropping it if it stays at this level of quality.

[Rising Phoenix]

So am I too late to the re:zero party? Cause that show was pretty amazing despite its flaws.

[BWR]

With the new season under way I have only tried two things so far.

The second season of Mahou Shoujo Nante mou ii desukara had slipped under my radar, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it. I enjoy the silliness of the reluctant magical girl, the weird and slightly perverted magical animal companions. I honestly hadn't expected to see any more of it.

"Flip flappers" was ....I don't know what it was. Weird, certainly (and I generally like weird). Sort of magical girly, maybe. Sort of secret organizations fighting each other, at a guess. Alternate worlds? VR? Is that magic or super-tech? I'll be keeping an eye on this one, in any case. I think it could either be quite entertaining or a massive letdown.

I see "Keijo!!!!!!!!" got an anime, but I think I'll be giving that one a miss since the manga didn't appeal to me. Short version: a sports anime about hot girls in swimsuits trying to butt-sumo each other into the water while standing on small floating platforms.

[Prime32]

So am I too late to the re:zero party? Cause that show was pretty amazing despite its flaws.Y'know, there was originally a cliffhanger ending, but the anime cut off just before reaching it.
Why do you think that letter was blank?

[DoctorFaust]

"Flip flappers" was ....I don't know what it was. Weird, certainly (and I generally like weird). Sort of magical girly, maybe. Sort of secret organizations fighting each other, at a guess. Alternate worlds? VR? Is that magic or super-tech? I'll be keeping an eye on this one, in any case. I think it could either be quite entertaining or a massive letdown.

It reminds me a lot of Rollig Girls, actually. Though I'm hoping it doesn't end up the same way.

[BWR]

It reminds me a lot of Rollig Girls, actually. Though I'm hoping it doesn't end up the same way.

Really?
I tried Rolling Girls but it didn't work for me.