General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[Sallera]

Previous threads:
General Anime Discussion (née The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11932)
General Anime Discussion A's (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82391)
General Anime Discussion StrikerS (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94218)
∀ General Anime Discussion (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=100448)
G General Anime Discussion - Typing FINGER! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=112197)
Anime/General Discussion: Paradox Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122049)
Anime 2.0: You Can (Generally) Discuss (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129473)
General Anime Discussion: The 08th GAD Team (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=138873)
General Anime Discussion: Not An Anime!/⑨ is the strongest! (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149190)
General Anime Discussion: After War GADam X (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161385)
General Anime Discussion: Area 11 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200541)
General Anime/Manga Discussion: Twelve Thread-doms (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=277941)
General Anime/Manga Discussion: Where Are We Golgoing 13? (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?321686-General-Anime-Manga-Discussion-Where-Are-We-Golgoing-13)
General Anime/Manga Discussion 13.5: Recap Episode (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?378183-General-Anime-Manga-Discussion-13-5-Recap-Episode)

[Rodin]

To continue on from last thread...


Yeah, GATE was just a big blob of ick and cringe this week (to put it succinctly). The next segment looks like it could be decent, though, so I'll not drop it quite yet.



The whole setup to the last episode was ridiculous. You have a treaty - hold up the treaty for the knights to read. They don't believe you, offer to return to the city and talk to their commander. Don't tell your troops to run away and leave you alone unsupervised with knights of unknown origin who may just kill you or otherwise create an even worse incident than the confrontation already was.

It was all just set up so otaku boy could get beat up by hot chicks and then nursed back to health by more hot chicks. Argh.

I'm in the same boat though - interested in the next segment, so willing to give the show a chance.

Meanwhile, over in this week's School LIVE!



Wow, that was a tearjerker of an episode. I knew Megu-nee was already dead, but the reveal was none less heartbreaking for that. The montage over the end credits and the way they handled the next episode preview was particularly rough.

This is my surprise show of the season...if you described it to me I would probably never watch it. I still can't really accept that they're supposed to be high schoolers though, and I've got them firmly head-canoned as middle-school kids.

[HamHam]

Agreed that the whole side plot was just done terribly. Like, there is an idea there that might work, but then it got drowned in stupid.

[HMS Invincible]

Agreed that the whole side plot was just done terribly. Like, there is an idea there that might work, but then it got drowned in stupid.

I read ahead, it doesn't get better, so pray for an adaptational improvement. Rumor has it the books were even heavier handed. Has anyone noticed how jarring it is when they talk about being humanitarians and then the next scene is them casually dispatching thousands of people? Luckily, this is the last battle where the enemies conveniently group up en mass for the SDF.

[DoctorFaust]

Has anyone noticed how jarring it is when they talk about being humanitarians and then the next scene is them casually dispatching thousands of people?

Do you mean the thousands of enemies who were attacking a city under the protection of someone who was, at the time, an ally? Or the thousands of enemies that were trying to take their position? Or the thousands of enemies that were trying to kill them right after the JDSF exited the portal? Or was it the thousands of enemies that, out of nowhere, came out of a portal and started killing their citizens? Because in all of those situations, they had pretty damned good reasons for returning fire. So, frankly, no, I don't find it jarring that they responded properly to trying to be killed while involved in a battle, even though it takes place after having conducted a humanitarian mission.

Of course, they might have been referring to this kind of humanitarian (data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBxQTEhUUEhQUFBQVFBQUFBQXFBQUFBQXFBQXFxUUFB QYHCggGBolHBQUITEhJSkrLi4uFx8zODMsNygtLisBCgoKDg0O FBAQFywcHBwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLiwsLCwsLC wsLCwsLCwsLDcsLCw3Nzc3NzcrLP/AABEIAKgBLAMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAbAAACAwEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAADBAACBQEGB//EADkQAAIBAwEFBQcCBQQDAAAAAAABAgMEESEFEjFBUVJhkaHRB hMiQnGB0hUyFBbB4fAzkqKxI2Jy/8QAGQEAAwEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQF/8QAHhEBAQEBAAMBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAERAgMSIVExQSL/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APhyQWNIrCI1TgMglbLvLq0XVjUYBFAeFpNWS6vy9CysY9X5eg 6ol1EeFpJbPj1l5ehKmz4pcX4r0Hm0tXwKV68MZi/s+IvhzWU7dd5X3K7xiTKpak1cSnaJvi/IahsuL5y8V6EoRNGjElpOYVjsan2p+K9A0dgU+1P/AI+hoRpaEaYar1hOPs3T7U/GPoFXsvT7VTxj+Jo0Q6kLaqc8/jJh7LUn81Txj+Jyp7L0l81Txj+JvRqHLmSFtV6c/jz8fZml2qnjH8Q9P2Tov5qnjH8TWgGpyDaJxz+Mj+UKPaq/7ofiT+T6PbqeMfxN5TyWcg2n6c/jz38o0e3V8Y/icfsjR7dTxj+J6SmgkqYbS9Ofx5WfsnSS/dU8YfiCfsvS7VTxj+J6ishSSDaLxz+MD+WaXaqeMfxF7jYFOK0 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[kamikasei]

So we gave Gankutsuou a shot.

Unfortunately we probably won't watch anymore of it. At first I was telling myself I should give it a few episodes, but near the end the thought of having to watch more just made me feel anxious and super unhappy, so it's been crossed off. Sorry to those of you who are enjoyed it. :smallfrown:
Out of curiosity, why? I had issues with the ending, but enjoyed the rest of the run; it's been a while, but I can't remember anything particularly off-putting in the early part. Was it something in particular, just not clicking with you, or the artstyle?

[Kato]

re Steins;Gate: I absolutely agree with what... someone (sorry) said about how one's perception of it entirely hangs on the characters. But because I love (most of) them I loved the show. I can totally see how people can get annoyed by them, but that's just not the case for me. (For what it's worth, it's played on 80 among imdb Top 250 best rated series, which is about 10th place among anime)

re that other GATE: I kind of agree with that one scene from the most recent episode being... er, out of line. Or unnecessary. But without picking it apart and causing a huge argument, it's not enough to ruin the show for me. Yeah, it can be too light hearted and could possibly use a tone shift towards something a little darker but I still greatly enjoy it.

[ex cathedra]

Oh well, we'll try the next on the list tomorrow (K-on), it looks entertaining so I have hopes for it being one to watch all the way through. :smallsmile:
enjoy; k-on is a masterpiece.

[Hazzardevil]

Out of curiosity, why? I had issues with the ending, but enjoyed the rest of the run; it's been a while, but I can't remember anything particularly off-putting in the early part. Was it something in particular, just not clicking with you, or the artstyle?

I got a decent chunk of the way through. I forget why I stopped but I don't remember thinking it was awful. It seemed very slow from what I remember and had a bit too much of it explaining everything at times. I'll probably finish it at some point.

[cobaltstarfire]

Out of curiosity, why? I had issues with the ending, but enjoyed the rest of the run; it's been a while, but I can't remember anything particularly off-putting in the early part. Was it something in particular, just not clicking with you, or the artstyle?

I'm not sure exactly, I think it may have been a combination of things?

Most likely the thing that just made me feel anxious and unhappy was a combination of the overall atmosphere/tone, and the whole scene where they played a "game". That was probably the tipping point for me, I already knew what was likely going to happen from the set up, but it still made me unhappy.

I also just don't really feel intrigued at all, the characters don't have my attention.

The art style I have mixed feelings on, I've used the trick it uses for static drawings before, but the kinds of textures being used just made it really hard to see what was going on sometimes, very distracting, especially since no shading was done to help differentiate the parts of any given figure.

I've mentioned before that I can be a little sensitive to some things, so it's probably just prodding something that triggers unhappy feelings for no readily apparent reason. Setting that aside I think it also just isn't clicking with me, and the art style is just too difficult for me to make visual sense of.

----

Also Sallera, I'm sorry I broke the old threads symmetry. I wouldn't have posted if I had checked the page count and known it had hit 50. :smalltongue:

edit: Also I managed to track down the shorts for Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun, and I sure am glad I found them. Now I just have to pine away in hopes of more episodes some day.

[endoperez]

re that other GATE: I kind of agree with that one scene from the most recent episode being... er, out of line. Or unnecessary. But without picking it apart and causing a huge argument, it's not enough to ruin the show for me. Yeah, it can be too light hearted and could possibly use a tone shift towards something a little darker but I still greatly enjoy it.

I'm annoyed because I like the series. But since I am very frustrated by that scene, and I don't like it that much, it feels like in the end the series would end up causing me more aggravation than enjoyment. It's such a pity, I had high hopes for the series and it had some fantastic scenes. :(

I guess I might check out some of the high-note scenes afterwards, even though I've given up on watching the series as a whole.

[DoctorFaust]

I think at this point posting this to the UBW thread would be necro-ing, so I'm going to be posting this here.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CMf3XAyVEAAsXi1.jpg:large
Sunny Days ending has been confirmed to be released as a bonus scene on the second set of BDs for UBW.

[Spacewolf]

So what's the difference?

[BWR]

edit: Also I managed to track down the shorts for Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun, and I sure am glad I found them. Now I just have to pine away in hopes of more episodes some day.

You are not alone in this. At least there's still the manga. Which actually has some (albeit minor) development for one or more of the couples.

[Sallera]

So what's the difference?

Saber sticks around, basically, and I don't remember if the Clock Tower was mentioned at all. It's silly, out of theme, doesn't make a lot of sense, and basically only exists so ShirouRin can get her harem ending. :smalltongue:

[Hiro Protagonest]

Saber sticks around, basically, and I don't remember if the Clock Tower was mentioned at all. It's silly, out of theme, doesn't make a lot of sense, and basically only exists so ShirouRin can get her harem ending. :smalltongue:

When I read about that ending, I thought "wait, there's an ending where Saber continues to live in modern Japan after the grail war? In Rin's path?!

Of course there's no such ending in Saber's path... *grumble*

[kamikasei]

I think at this point posting this to the UBW thread would be necro-ing, so I'm going to be posting this here.
This is absurd, shameless, pandering fanservice and I heartily appreciate it.

[DoctorFaust]

This is absurd, shameless, pandering fanservice and I heartily appreciate it.

I know, right?:smallbiggrin:

[HamHam]

Welp the newest episode of GATE certainly went blatantly political really fast.

[HMS Invincible]

Welp the newest episode of GATE certainly went blatantly political really fast.

Didn't we say at the start that this has nationalistic/patriotic overtones? Be glad they toned it down in the anime. And that they toned it down in the manga. Just imagine how much worse the original source is after that.

[Kato]

Didn't we say at the start that this has nationalistic/patriotic overtones? Be glad they toned it down in the anime. And that they toned it down in the manga. Just imagine how much worse the original source is after that.

Uh... not to get too political but how is "no, the soldiers did nothing wrong. they did their best to protect the people" nationalistic? :smallconfused:
I mean, not that political debate isn't the high point of every entertainment *cough* but I thought the episode was okay.


Also... that show about the Public Morals.... uhm.... nice idea but really, really, really strange execution? Not sure if it's being weird for the sake of being weird of for the sake of bringing their point across. I mean, I can easily see the problem being discussed in a more serious and still entertaining way.

[Ibrinar]

Do you mean the thousands of enemies who were attacking a city under the protection of someone who was, at the time, an ally? Or the thousands of enemies that were trying to take their position? Or the thousands of enemies that were trying to kill them right after the JDSF exited the portal? Or was it the thousands of enemies that, out of nowhere, came out of a portal and started killing their citizens? Because in all of those situations, they had pretty damned good reasons for returning fire. So, frankly, no, I don't find it jarring that they responded properly to trying to be killed while involved in a battle, even though it takes place after having conducted a humanitarian mission.

Of course, they might have been referring to this kind of humanitarian (data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD/2wCEAAkGBxQTEhUUEhQUFBQVFBQUFBQXFBQUFBQXFBQXFxUUFB QYHCggGBolHBQUITEhJSkrLi4uFx8zODMsNygtLisBCgoKDg0O FBAQFywcHBwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLCwsLiwsLCwsLC wsLCwsLCwsLDcsLCw3Nzc3NzcrLP/AABEIAKgBLAMBIgACEQEDEQH/xAAbAAACAwEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAADBAACBQEGB//EADkQAAIBAwEFBQcCBQQDAAAAAAABAgMEESEFEjFBUVJhkaHRB hMiQnGB0hUyFBbB4fAzkqKxI2Jy/8QAGQEAAwEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAwQF/8QAHhEBAQEBAAMBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAERAgMSIVExQSL/2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APhyQWNIrCI1TgMglbLvLq0XVjUYBFAeFpNWS6vy9CysY9X5eg 6ol1EeFpJbPj1l5ehKmz4pcX4r0Hm0tXwKV68MZi/s+IvhzWU7dd5X3K7xiTKpak1cSnaJvi/IahsuL5y8V6EoRNGjElpOYVjsan2p+K9A0dgU+1P/AI+hoRpaEaYar1hOPs3T7U/GPoFXsvT7VTxj+Jo0Q6kLaqc8/jJh7LUn81Txj+Jyp7L0l81Txj+JvRqHLmSFtV6c/jz8fZml2qnjH8Q9P2Tov5qnjH8TWgGpyDaJxz+Mj+UKPaq/7ofiT+T6PbqeMfxN5TyWcg2n6c/jz38o0e3V8Y/icfsjR7dTxj+J6SmgkqYbS9Ofx5WfsnSS/dU8YfiCfsvS7VTxj+J6ishSSDaLxz+MD+WaXaqeMfxF7jYFOK0 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Take the attack against the city when they mow down everyone in the inner court. At that point they had demonstrated their superiority, their enemies were without a chance and had seen enough to know they had no chance. They could have commanded them to surrender, maybe the attackers weren't thinking clearly at the point and it wouldn't have worked but honestly a army who had already lost that many people would most likely have already broken and tried to flee if there was anywhere to flee to.

Anyway they didn't even try to reduce the number of causalities. That they had an initial cause to fight them doesn't automatically justify everything they do afterwards. And if you outclass your enemy by so much then I would consider not even trying to get the enemy to surrender after the strength difference is clear you aren't particularily humantiarian.

[HamHam]

Uh... not to get too political but how is "no, the soldiers did nothing wrong. they did their best to protect the people" nationalistic? :smallconfused:
I mean, not that political debate isn't the high point of every entertainment *cough* but I thought the episode was okay.

When you create a strawman that obvious so you can tear it down it basically leaves no nuance to your position. Which is problematic because in real life things are never as neat and tidy as the scenario you have created.

[Kato]

When you create a strawman that obvious so you can tear it down it basically leaves no nuance to your position. Which is problematic because in real life things are never as neat and tidy as the scenario you have created.

Admittedly, the agenda of the character seemed pretty... pointless but I still don't see how it makes the show nationalistic? I mean, yes, the view of the creators is clearly "yeah, Japan/SDF would be able to handle such a situation" but that's not yet nationalist in my opinion.

[HamHam]

Admittedly, the agenda of the character seemed pretty... pointless but I still don't see how it makes the show nationalistic? I mean, yes, the view of the creators is clearly "yeah, Japan/SDF would be able to handle such a situation" but that's not yet nationalist in my opinion.

Jingoism is probably the more accurate term, but jingoism and nationalism go hand in hand more often than not so I'm not sure the distinction is important.

Certainly the earlier asides to show the US and China being greedy and stuff were nationalist.

[GloatingSwine]

The whole setup to the last episode was ridiculous. You have a treaty - hold up the treaty for the knights to read. They don't believe you, offer to return to the city and talk to their commander. Don't tell your troops to run away and leave you alone unsupervised with knights of unknown origin who may just kill you or otherwise create an even worse incident than the confrontation already was.


When it became clear that they weren't going to back down his other option was literally "kill all of these people, possibly at the expense of my own life".

He surrendered to spare every single one of those knights' lives, because they didn't know what they were getting into (and presumably because having met their commander he trusted that they wouldn't summarily execute him, not unreasonably given that hostage taking of enemy command/nobility was common practice in the real world in equivalent eras and hostages had value and didn't tend to get killed).


Take the attack against the city when they mow down everyone in the inner court. At that point they had demonstrated their superiority, their enemies were without a chance and had seen enough to know they had no chance. They could have commanded them to surrender, maybe the attackers weren't thinking clearly at the point and it wouldn't have worked but honestly a army who had already lost that many people would most likely have already broken and tried to flee if there was anywhere to flee to.

They're a military. If you're an enemy combatant then a military force is not obliged to politely ask you to stop, and in that scene the aggressor force was mere tens of feet away from the civilian militia, so if they had asked them to surrender (bearing in mind they have limited ability to speak their language at all) then they could simply have rushed the civilians and made themselves an impossible target.

The enemy force had not surrendered and made no motions to try, and they were still an active threat to allied forces, it was a good shoot.


When you create a strawman that obvious so you can tear it down it basically leaves no nuance to your position. Which is problematic because in real life things are never as neat and tidy as the scenario you have created.

That character is literally the stock political opponent in every milfic ever. Seriously, you could place that exact character in hundreds of milfic books, SFF or not, and they wouldn't be a millimetre out of place. This scene happens, and will happen, as long as milfic exists.

It's not evidence of nationalism or jingoism in the text (which could be a hell of a lot worse, considering the actual nature and defence limited role of the JSDF).

Though there is a bit of a variation, the stock political opponent is usually either the denier or the appeaser, the denier won't believe that the Threat Is Real and that the hero mans military is doing the right thing when it napalms the villages (or doesn't believe that the threat will come at all, like the Turian Councillor in Mass Effect 2 who doesn't believe in Reapers despite the fact that a mile long starship curled over its noodly appendages and gave him the finger personally when it drove past only two years back) or the appeaser who thinks that the enemies could be swell people if only we were willing to give in to a few reasonable demands (may also be the quisling who wants to surrender.)

[Kato]

Jingoism is probably the more accurate term, but jingoism and nationalism go hand in hand more often than not so I'm not sure the distinction is important.

Certainly the earlier asides to show the US and China being greedy and stuff were nationalist.

Again, how was the court room scene jingoist? Though, I guess I can't recall what the woman's backstory was and if she was some American/Chinese agent I could possibly see hints of it. But honestly, I think you're wrong if you read a (strong) nationalist agenda into the show, I'm going to assume based on it praising the SDF. Not everything that values the work of soldiers is necessarily nationalist.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Jingoism: Aggressive military fervour in foreign policy or an obsession with rating one's own nation above others.

Nationalism: A system of belief where association with a sovereign state is the dominant form of personal identity. In cases where a sovereign state correlating with such an identity is not diplomatically recognised then nationalism is a revolutionary ideology that aims at gaining that recognition. Nationalism is not an extremist ideology in the modern world, if you're not a Communist, Anarchist, Campanilist or Federalist you're probably a nationalist and excepting Anarchism those ideologies usually incorporate some compromise with nationalism anyway.

Militarism: A belief that a nation needs a strong army and should be prepared to use it or a strong level of involvement of the military in national culture. This is against the constitution of Japan but is probably what you actually mean.

Patriotism: Pride in one's nation.

Chauvinism: Being prepared to die for one's nation or just refusing to give up a belief without dying in general.

Imperialism: Use of a one nation's military or economy in order to gain a dominant status over other nations or increase national territory. This is also probably what's actually meant.

Just so people aren't throwing around terms in vague ways that aren't what those words are supposed to actually mean. But due to the board rules this topic should probably be dropped.

[endoperez]

Chauvinism: Being prepared to die for one's nation or just refusing to give up a belief without dying in general.

Thanks, I had never come across the non-gender usage of this word before!

[Ibrinar]

Thanks, I had never come across the non-gender usage of this word before!

I would go with the wikipedia definition (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvinism) or one from a dictionary, I don't think Closet_Skeleton description captures it very well. Yes that level of devotion could be from chauvinism but dying for your nation or ideas could also just be bravery.

[HMS Invincible]

Yea, we should probably move on, the mods are touchy about stuff like this.

The School living club anime continues to delight, which is unexpected considering it's a slice of life comedy bolted on top of apocalypse.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I would go with the wikipedia definition (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chauvinism) or one from a dictionary, I don't think Closet_Skeleton description captures it very well. Yes that level of devotion could be from chauvinism but dying for your nation or ideas could also just be bravery.

If dying for your nation is normal in your value system maybe. The idea that dying is always the brave option is in itself kind of Chauvinistic. Sometimes people die because they are too cowardly to question orders they knew shouldn't be followed. There's a level of prima donna about the Chauvinist in that they'll always choose the most dramatic way to express their beliefs and will therefore deliberately choose dangerous options.

I don't think anything ever comes down to 'just bravery'. The whole point of bravery is that you're resisting one impulse (fear) by following another one, that makes any situation that calls for bravery inherently complicated even when the simplest moral questions are in play. If a man fights because he is more scared of looking like a coward than of the enemy then is he brave or not?

I was trying to keep it simple so yes, all nuance is lost.

[cobaltstarfire]

We are on the second season of K-on (where most of the girls are seniors).

It is cute, we are really enjoying its sillyness. A few episodes even got us to laugh almost as much and as loudly as Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun (which holds the record for most amusing and consistently so for the two of us).

[endoperez]

It looks like Overlord isn't just borrowing RPG clichés, it's pretty much using D&D's magic system pretty much as-is INCLUDING the optimization, at least to a point.

Advanced scrying to get a jump on the enemy (using counters that protect against anti-scrying magic! the follow-up teleportation is optional), and metamagic using very familiar terminology:

"Twin Maximize Magic-ku, Electrosphere"
That's Twin Spell and Maximize, but I wonder if that is a 'Lightning Ball', or Energy-Admixed (Lightning) Fireball?

I had noticed the magic levels went from 1 to (at least) 9, and other similar stuff, but I thought it was just a coincidence and didn't connect it to D&D rules before now.

[Prime32]

Some of the spell names are also taken directly from D&D, and its undead are harmed by healing magic. And then there was the
http://www.headinjurytheater.com/images/d&d%20beasts%20giant%20space%20hamster.jpgThe LNs go into further detail about how all the Floor Guardians have ridiculously cheesy builds designed to cover their weaknesses or confuse invaders into using the wrong tactics.

It's not even the first anime I've seen do it, though. Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (a show that is much better than it first looks) had one character who could apparently apply D&D metamagic feats to their spells.

[DoctorFaust]

I watched Sword of the Stranger (http://myanimelist.net/anime/2418/Stranger:_Mukou_Hadan) yesterday, and after having calmed down from my my initial knee-jerk reaction of "oh my god, this is the best anime action movie I've ever seen", I would still say that it's among the best anime movies I've seen, and probably in my top 5 action anime in general.

It's just a beautifully done movie, with superb animation, fantastic camerawork and choreography, interesting and for the most part easily differentiable characters, an admittedly cliched plot that is still very well executed, and an OST that is simply phenomenal. Obviously, not without flaws, like the section immediately after the two main characters leave the village they're staying in which seemed to drag on for some time, but I think what happened during it was necessary for the viewers to care about the characters. And honestly, most of the things I think the movie didn't do so well were things that I only really realized when I was thinking back on it afterwards, rather than while I was watching it, which I consider to be the hallmark of a good movie.

With one exception.

The ending.

I mean, I understand wanting to keep some ambiguity. That's not exactly an uncommon thing to do. The protagonist, riding off towards the sunset, battered but triumphant, only for some last-second thing to make us start second-guessing his fate is a common enough trope, and I can think of a few instances where that kind of ambiguity has been used to good effect. Personally, I think Nanashi lived, but for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, the ending rubbed me the wrong way and left me feeling... unfulfilled, for lack of a better word. And not in a good way. YMMV, obviously, but that's my own two cents worth.

Oh, and while I'm already in a spoiler box about the end, I would also like to add that, as of writing this, the fight between Nanashi and Rarou/Luo-Lang is a serious contender for the best sword fight I have ever seen in anime.

I know that I have a tendency to exaggerate when I'm talking about shows I like, but seriously, if you like action or samurai, watch this movie. It is very, very good.

[HMS Invincible]

Some of the spell names are also taken directly from D&D, and its undead are harmed by healing magic. And then there was the
http://www.headinjurytheater.com/images/d&d%20beasts%20giant%20space%20hamster.jpgThe LNs go into further detail about how all the Floor Guardians have ridiculously cheesy builds designed to cover their weaknesses or confuse invaders into using the wrong tactics.

It's not even the first anime I've seen do it, though. Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!? (a show that is much better than it first looks) had one character who could apparently apply D&D metamagic feats to their spells.
I think what throws most people off is the WOW/mmorpger traits, like equiping items out of hammerspace, and levels 1-100.
Btw, what episode did they mention undead are harmed by healing magic?

[Hazzardevil]

I watched Sword of the Stranger (http://myanimelist.net/anime/2418/Stranger:_Mukou_Hadan) yesterday, and after having calmed down from my my initial knee-jerk reaction of "oh my god, this is the best anime action movie I've ever seen", I would still say that it's among the best anime movies I've seen, and probably in my top 5 action anime in general.

It's just a beautifully done movie, with superb animation, fantastic camerawork and choreography, interesting and for the most part easily differentiable characters, an admittedly cliched plot that is still very well executed, and an OST that is simply phenomenal. Obviously, not without flaws, like the section immediately after the two main characters leave the village they're staying in which seemed to drag on for some time, but I think what happened during it was necessary for the viewers to care about the characters. And honestly, most of the things I think the movie didn't do so well were things that I only really realized when I was thinking back on it afterwards, rather than while I was watching it, which I consider to be the hallmark of a good movie.

With one exception.

The ending.

I mean, I understand wanting to keep some ambiguity. That's not exactly an uncommon thing to do. The protagonist, riding off towards the sunset, battered but triumphant, only for some last-second thing to make us start second-guessing his fate is a common enough trope, and I can think of a few instances where that kind of ambiguity has been used to good effect. Personally, I think Nanashi lived, but for some reason that I can't quite put my finger on, the ending rubbed me the wrong way and left me feeling... unfulfilled, for lack of a better word. And not in a good way. YMMV, obviously, but that's my own two cents worth.

Oh, and while I'm already in a spoiler box about the end, I would also like to add that, as of writing this, the fight between Nanashi and Rarou/Luo-Lang is a serious contender for the best sword fight I have ever seen in anime.

I know that I have a tendency to exaggerate when I'm talking about shows I like, but seriously, if you like action or samurai, watch this movie. It is very, very good.

I have very fond memories of this having watched it twice. I think I want to watch it again now.

[Felyndiira]

I know this article is more than one month old, though since I just found out about it and didn't see it in the discussions, I just wanted to squee about it a little:

LoGH is licensed by Sentai (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-07-02/sentai-filmworks-adds-legend-of-the-galactic-heroes-higurashi-anime/.89987)

[HMS Invincible]

Rokka anime continue to please, though this feels like it should be a two season show. Seems too slow to be 13 episodes.

[HamHam]

Rokka anime continue to please, though this feels like it should be a two season show. Seems too slow to be 13 episodes.

I'm getting the feeling the Demon King is not going to get defeated by the end of this show.

[Sallera]

Rokka anime continue to please, though this feels like it should be a two season show. Seems too slow to be 13 episodes.

While I'm loving the show, I don't know if the way they set it up really has two seasons in it, what with the whole (supposed) requirement to kill the fake to proceed. If the barrier hadn't been in the story, figuring out the fake while proceeding with their journey might've been able to stretch to two seasons, but they're doing a good job of eliminating suspects and hypotheses without drawing it out too much; I think the pacing will work out in the end.

[Rodin]

While I'm loving the show, I don't know if the way they set it up really has two seasons in it, what with the whole (supposed) requirement to kill the fake to proceed. If the barrier hadn't been in the story, figuring out the fake while proceeding with their journey might've been able to stretch to two seasons, but they're doing a good job of eliminating suspects and hypotheses without drawing it out too much; I think the pacing will work out in the end.

I'm steadily being convinced that none of them are the fake, and that for whatever reason there are indeed seven Braves. The Braves as selected wouldn't have trusted each other - Nachetanya and Gouldov don't trust Hans and Flemie as far as they can throw them, Hans, Chamot and Flemie don't trust anyone, and Mora is ultra cautious about anyone other than Chamot. Adlet's job could well be to be the outsider who doesn't know any of these folks but is willing to trust them anyway. It's further possible that the barrier was meant to keep the Braves in until they learned to trust each other, although that's very much an outlying speculation for me right now. I think it probably is a trap, but that we're being mislead as to who set it.

The show's been one of my favorites this season, although Charlotte is quickly overtaking it. Once again I lament the lack of detail in the Crunchyroll show descriptions - I very nearly didn't watch Charlotte at all but ran out of shows to watch while I was on vacation.

[DoctorFaust]

According to both Crunchyroll and ANN, Production IG just bought the rights to FLCL from Gainax. And there is the possibility of a remake.

Honestly, I'm kinda excited about that. While I doubt they could do as well as the original, the premise of FLCL is quite interesting, and if they get some good people (and The Pillows) working on it, I could see it ending up being very good.

[ex cathedra]

i don't understand why one would remake something that's both very accessible and very nearly flawless.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

The show's been one of my favorites this season, although Charlotte is quickly overtaking it. Once again I lament the lack of detail in the Crunchyroll show descriptions - I very nearly didn't watch Charlotte at all but ran out of shows to watch while I was on vacation.
Hmm, I'm reminded of the fact that I'm planning on starting Charlotte once I knock another show or two off. Once I learned that Jun Maeda was involved, well. I can't wait to see what's in store.

[DoctorFaust]

i don't understand why one would remake something that's both very accessible and very nearly flawless.

Money? As long as it isn't completely panned, I imagine that at least some people will watch and buy, based on the strength of the name alone. And I mean, as long as they don't get rid of the stuff that really made FLCL good, I can't imagine it being much worse than mediocre. Production IG has some very, very good series to its name, including the first two of the Evangelion movies, the entire Ghost in the Shell franchise, Le Chevalier D'Eon, Psycho-pass, Eden of the East, and they did work on FLCL. Actually, I think they may have co-created it alongside Gainax, but I would have to check to be sure.

[Lethologica]

Actually, I think they may have co-created it alongside Gainax, but I would have to check to be sure.
You would be correct. (Incidentally, I love this line from the Wiki page: Director Kazuya Tsuramaki responded to criticism of FLCL, stating "comprehension should not be an important factor in FLCL.")

Still...I'm struggling to see just what the creative goal is here. Somebody had one or they wouldn't be doing it for FLCL of all things, but what fresh take would they even be going for with that show?

[Ibrinar]

Prison School
The part of it counting as an outbreak because he wasn't inside the boundaries although he was back in time was just a bit too contrived for me, I know the whole setting is ridiculous so I guess such things shouldn't annoy me in this anime. But if they are willing to be that ridiculous they might as well just arbitrarily decide "Forget the prison setup we will just kick you out now."

Otherwise the ridiculousness remains entertaining.

Has anyone read/watched Naruto? since it's finished now I wanted to give it a try again so I was wondering, manga or anime?

[Lethologica]

Has anyone read/watched Naruto? since it's finished now
Boy, have we got news for you. :smallamused:

[Rodin]

The anime for Naruto is still ongoing, although I think it's getting close to the end itself. Haven't read the manga so I can't say for sure, but things certainly seem to be moving that direction.

I'm hoping that now the manga's finished they'll just go straight for the finish with a minimum of filler, but I'm kinda doubting that will happen. Cash cows and all that.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Manga-wise: late to the party, but I read the manga of All You Need is Kill (haven't read the light novel nor seen the Tom Cruise version). Really good stuff. In some ways it's a pretty tight, intimate story with a powerful ending. Also, awesome Haloey battlesuits. And Rita's battleaxe.

I bought it this morning and have used my commute to read it twice so far. It comes together better on the second read, with some cool little details I missed the first time.

[Kato]

Well, we do have a Naruto thread (still) but that one is full of spoiler, so, in short:
I'd recommend the manga, unless you find a good source for filtering out the anime filler. Because there is a lot of it and it really drags. Maybe go to the anime to watch the fight scenes, if you care much for that.
In terms of story quality Naruto is rather up and down, but of course it depends a lot on personal preference. Kishimoto can write really well and really bad in my opinion, though. Some things might really break your heart and some may make you break a wall with your head. I often hear the first arc or two or up to the time skip (spoiler, there will be a time skip, but it's a Shounen, so... :smalltongue) are the best parts. Which is... kind of true. At least it predates some of the bad things. Opinions differ on how bad it gets how often...
I'm not gonna say I regret reading/watching (what I watched) but I'm not sure I'd get into it again. Maybe just try the first longer Arc (like... the first twenty episodes or about the same number of chapters, iirc.

[Rodin]

Main issues with Nartuo are the standard fighting-focused powercreep overriding actual tactics and secondary character usefulness, and the way Kishimoto retcons stuff like crazy. Seriously, the show makes NO sense if you watch it with the future knowledge of what's going to happen later, because those characters didn't HAVE those motivations at the time the story was told and thus didn't act in accordance with how we're later told they acted. I watch it with tongue-firmly-in-cheek.

As to the filler, it's pretty easy to filter out for the most part. There's one section near the beginning of Shippuden where they slow the story down rather than do filler, and those episodes are pretty painful. There's another section much later into Shippuden where they sort of weave filler episodes into the main story, which makes telling them apart...difficult. On the plus side, most of those are relatively decent, as filler go.

For me the show's decline didn't really kick off until after the 3rd arc in Shippuden. Even after that, there are a good few fights that are worth watching, but that's the point where the story lost me. By the point we're at now, I'm basically watching so I can get the plot's resolution. Can't do the manga, since I don't like reading fights (tried it with Bleach once the anime ended, only got through the first volume of post-anime stuff) and I'm not prepared to shell out the cash needed when I can watch the anime for free. Well, for a subscription to Crunchyroll, but the cost of that is covered by all the other shows I watch there.

[Fri]

Manga-wise: late to the party, but I read the manga of All You Need is Kill (haven't read the light novel nor seen the Tom Cruise version). Really good stuff. In some ways it's a pretty tight, intimate story with a powerful ending. Also, awesome Haloey battlesuits. And Rita's battleaxe.

I bought it this morning and have used my commute to read it twice so far. It comes together better on the second read, with some cool little details I missed the first time.

I've watched the movie and read the light novel, and both are surprisingly good. I wonder how the manga differs with them, because the light novel and the movie are similar enough that you can see that it's not simply tacking a title to an original script, but different enough that they're definitely a separate thing. They also got different theme and endings and such. If you're interested and doesn't care about spoilers, I can tell you about the difference between the different versions.

Still, there're three things that bugs me from the movie version. One is that the powered armor, eventhough cool, is not very armored at all and more of barebone exoskeleton. There's variant of the powered armor on screen, like the "Tank" that I think would work better as the "main" exoskeleton.

They got a point on all of the powered armor being a real prop that everyone actually wear in RL, instead of CGI. that's really awesome.

Second thing is that the alien just look stupid, really. The "frog-starfish" thing in the novel will also look stupid in screen, to be fair. I wish they designed a better alien.

Third is, for the best soldier of the human army, Rita has... pretty weak first impression. She's awesome later, but in his first appearance before the first time loop (spoiler) in the movie she just killed one or two aliens then got skewered by another one.

Still good.

Also, naruto peaks at the first battle of konoha that end with the third hokago dies. Just stop reading there.

(On unrelated note, Bleach peaks straight before the first shinigami-realm excursion, which is a really short time in the anime and slightly longer in the manga. Bleach simply works better as hip urban-fantasy story, really.)

[Ibrinar]

Bleach… I quite liked it when it began and still was in the normal world, but then
Aizen happened. And then Aizen turned out to be a caterpillar that turned into a pretty butterfly, or something.
Also everything became endless battles, which is normal for long running shounens of course but I just prefer a different action-plot balance. For me fights are there to punctate the plot and resolve some conflicts. And provide some entertainment too. but if most of it is fighting you either have to work on the plot during the fights or the plot just comes too short and the exploration of the setting and the characters too.

[Closet_Skeleton]

(On unrelated note, Bleach peaks straight before the first shinigami-realm excursion, which is a really short time in the anime and slightly longer in the manga. Bleach simply works better as hip urban-fantasy story, really.)

I agree, but might go as far as to say that what it turned into just isn't inherently interesting on any level.

I like bits of the rescue Rukia ark, but its at best entertaining rubbish with any real character moments being rare and undeveloped.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I've watched the movie and read the light novel, and both are surprisingly good. I wonder how the manga differs with them, because the light novel and the movie are similar enough that you can see that it's not simply tacking a title to an original script, but different enough that they're definitely a separate thing. They also got different theme and endings and such. If you're interested and doesn't care about spoilers, I can tell you about the difference between the different versions.
I think I'm actually curious enough that I might just check out the other two versions. From what I hear, the manga is a bit more compressed (and changes some of the outcomes of secondary characters).

Still, there're three things that bugs me from the movie version. One is that the powered armor, eventhough cool, is not very armored at all and more of barebone exoskeleton. There's variant of the powered armor on screen, like the "Tank" that I think would work better as the "main" exoskeleton.
From what I remember of the trailer, the manga does a better job of making it cooler. Reminds me a bit of the Spartan Armor (http://i8.mangapanda.com/all-you-need-is-kill/2/all-you-need-is-kill-4751351.jpg).

Second thing is that the alien just look stupid, really. The "frog-starfish" thing in the novel will also look stupid in screen, to be fair. I wish they designed a better alien.
Huh. That sounds quite a bit different. The manga Mimics (http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140629164433/villains/images/a/a8/Mimic.png) are more like...eldritch Sputniks? I liked 'em, a nice dose of creepy, weird, and deadly.


Third is, for the best soldier of the human army, Rita has... pretty weak first impression. She's awesome later, but in his first appearance before the first time loop (spoiler) in the movie she just killed one or two aliens then got skewered by another one.

Still good.
Aw, that's a bummer. Rita's great.

[Rodin]

I think Rita getting skewered so early in the movie was a deliberate artistic choice. They spend all this time building her up as this badass super-soldier, and then Cruise sees her on the field and is awestruck...and then she gets blown away right in front of him, and the look on his face is priceless.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

I think Rita getting skewered so early in the movie was a deliberate artistic choice. They spend all this time building her up as this badass super-soldier, and then Cruise sees her on the field and is awestruck...and then she gets blown away right in front of him, and the look on his face is priceless.
Huh. Well, that sounds like interesting-different, not necessarily bad-different.

[Lethologica]

Edge of Tomorrow (or Live Die Repeat or whatever the heck they're calling it now) is a very good movie that suffered from terrible marketing. Be advised that it's quite different from Sakurazaka's novel and the manga adaptation. If the manga's storyline differs from the light novel's, I don't remember it.

Apparently there's also an American graphic novel adaptation, which I haven't read.

[HMS Invincible]

Overlord 9
I'm disappointed in watching the maid vs dragons fight. The maid is a caster, and the dragons have magic immunity. I was seriously expecting her to bust out some conjurations or assay spell resistance, not just cast 7th level spells which somehow negate magic immunity. The lack of tactics shown there reflects negatively on the show. Just because you have more power to brute force it, doesn't mean you can't think smart. =|

[Prime32]

The lack of tactics shown there reflects negatively on the show. Just because you have more power to brute force it, doesn't mean you can't think smart. =|Her orders were "show them the power of Nazerick", not "show them that Nazerick can only win through cheap tricks".

Nabe already showed she was capable of altering her tactics earlier, with things like anti-negative-energy buffs and tying her sword into its sheath to use it as a bludgeoning weapon. (Given how closely things follow D&D mechanics, the Skeletal Dragon presumably had DR/bludgeoning)

She didn't "somehow negate magic immunity" - the dragon just had a globe of invulnerability type thing rather than actual immunity, and its creator had no way of telling the difference due to the lack of high-level spellcasters in his world. Nabe meanwhile was familiar with that monster from Yggdrasil, or had at least seen similar "magic-immune" monsters and could guess its limits.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Finished Plastic Memories, it was decent. Do I regret watching it? Nah. Solid show, just doesn't use a lot of its potential and puts way too much weight on stock character types without fleshing them out. It's no Key feelsfest, that's for sure. (And for all its faults, Angel Beats! did a much better job talking about mortality and connecting with me.)

As long as you go in expecting slice-of-life with sci-fi seasoning, you can't really go wrong.

[Spacewolf]

So has anyone watched Letter Bee? Worth watching?

As a side note it anyone watching God Eater? I honestly couldn't tell you why but I'm finding it extremely funny

[Rodin]

I've watched the first three episodes of God Eater, mainly because I was on holiday and needed something to watch. It was...okay, I guess? It seems incredibly unoriginal. Mad scientists accidentally create monsters to destroy us all, yadda yadda only teenagers with swords can save us, [insert generic conspiracy plot twist here]......

Don't think I'm going to continue with it, for pretty much the same reasons Knights of Sidonia lost me halfway through its first season: I've seen this plot before a half dozen times. It needs to bring something new.

[Fri]

Anyway, I feel the need to say this, but after realizing it's constant and not a fluke...

I'm a bit embarassed, but from all the anime I've been watching this and past season (not entirely anime fromthis or past season if you get what I mean), the only one who makes me really want to see the next episode right now after seeing the credit of the current episode I'm watching is Shokugeki no Soma.

Part of it is obviously the momentum. I'm sure that if I say watch Rokka no Yuusha until halfway I'll be engrossed in its mysteries. But Soma is just a really good "serious business sport" series, if you can ignore the questionable early "fanservices" that it relatively moves on from later.

My criteria for that is that most of the friendly and rival characters are likeable or at least you want to see them more later, and eventhough you're kinda sure that the MC will survive to the end (though it's not guaranteed, there's tons of sport series with that twist), you can't be sure who will accompany the MC to later tournaments, because most of them also have good skills, and most of them also have interesting relationships or reasons to be there. Like for example, you can't say "X will be in the semi final from the bunch because he has the most rivalry with the MC," all of them has some sort of similar-level rivalry with the MC and each others.

Anyway, just my embarassment of the week.

[Kato]

Anyway, just my embarassment of the week.

Don't feel embarassed, give in to the food porn :smalltongue:
Okay, slightly more serious, I don't follow that many shows running, but yeah, Shokugeki is what I look forward to most (GATE might have been able to keep up but it's kind of lost my interest recently) Apart from getting my mouth to water it's funny and as you say, while we can be rather sure Soma will make it, it's not as easy to guess who of the huge cast will get one of the few seats right now. It almost makes me want to go read the manga. (But then I'd spoil myself on the anime)

[Ibrinar]

I wonder how many people dropped Rokka no Yuusha near the start since in my opinion it only got good when they started playing mafia. Anyway I think it's my favourite show this season, well Durarara is good too.

[BWR]

I wonder how many people dropped Rokka no Yuusha near the start since in my opinion it only got good when they started playing mafia. Anyway I think it's my favourite show this season, well Durarara is good too.

I gave up after the first episode. It started well with the generally Meso-American design (liberally mixed with more European stuff, sadly) but immediately lost me with the characters it introduced.
I've noticed that the shows people talk about here are rarely the ones I bother watching.

[Ibrinar]

I gave up after the first episode. It started well with the generally Meso-American design (liberally mixed with more European stuff, sadly) but immediately lost me with the characters it introduced.
I've noticed that the shows people talk about here are rarely the ones I bother watching.
I was skeptical at that point too (the exposition in the first episode for instance "let me tell things we both know"), but I do like it now once they start suspecting each other and try to decide who the traitor is so that they can kill them it gets much more entertaining. And makes me want to play mafia again.

Talking about the show the development in the last episode was highly unusual
I mean how often do you see a straight up confession of love that early in an action anime?

[HMS Invincible]

But there's only a couple of episodes left. Were you expecting it at the end?

[Sith_Happens]

Has anyone read/watched Naruto? since it's finished now I wanted to give it a try again so I was wondering, manga or anime?

Personally I'm more of an anime person, give me a few days for me to not be at a convention any more and I can post a full list of which episodes to skip (i.e.- which ones are bad filler).


I'm hoping that now the manga's finished they'll just go straight for the finish with a minimum of filler, but I'm kinda doubting that will happen. Cash cows and all that.

I wish, but right now it's looking like they're going to spend some unspecified number of episodes showing everyone's Infinite Tsukuyomi dreams.:smallsigh:

[Closet_Skeleton]

I gave up after the first episode. It started well with the generally Meso-American design (liberally mixed with more European stuff, sadly) but immediately lost me with the characters it introduced.

There's are Andean South American ruins in the next few episodes. In a supposedly only recently attacked town, which gives a slightly weird effect especially after how much effort they put into making the Meso-American stuff look properly painted.


I've noticed that the shows people talk about here are rarely the ones I bother watching.

That's often the case with me. Sometimes I watch them later and like them (Madoka Magica), usually I have no clue what's supposed to be good about them.



As a side note it anyone watching God Eater? I honestly couldn't tell you why but I'm finding it extremely funny

Watched episode one. Had no interest due to having seen it all before.


It needs to bring something new.

All it really needed was actually engaging characters instead of just caring about trying to be cool.

[Rodin]

All it really needed was actually engaging characters instead of just caring about trying to be cool.

I actually thought the fighter characters were the best thing about it. Yeah, slightly boiler-plate, but likable enough.

They just needed a plot to actually do stuff with.

Meanwhile, Charlotte is showing how to properly take over-used plot devices and make them awesome anyway.



I should have seen the time travel to save Yuu's little sister coming as soon as time travel was a possibility. Using time travel to cheat death normally annoys me, but this one was great for several reasons:

1) Obviously set up well in advance - they've been hinting at the time travel elements for ages, and hinting at Yuu's ability to steal abilities as well. So, no cop out feeling.

2) Sensible use of time travel - go back to the beginning of the day rather than right before the incident, grab the ability well in advance of it being used, actually TELL people you trust what you're doing...

3) Nao instantly believing him. So many times people who should know better refuse to believe a time traveler. Nao knows supernatural powers are a thing, she knows Yuu has no reason to lie to her and is acting weird, so when he runs it past her she instantly accepts. Very refreshing.

4) And finally, the massive hilarity that was the school infiltration.


The one thing that kinda throws me here is that we're back before the Zhiend concert. That means that Yuu can't have the conversation with the lead singer...at least, not the same way it played out previously. Not only will his reactions be off from having lived the day before, but she was incredibly perceptive and he's no longer lost his sister.

I hope we go and see that conversation again now and they get her to go visit Nao's brother for this timeline.

[ex cathedra]

I've noticed that the shows people talk about here are rarely the ones I bother watching.

yeah, i typically go through my backlog while seasonal anime airs and then finish just-aired anime in a couple of sittings once the cour ends, so i get the same impression.

anyways, does anyone have any thoughts on the upcoming season? i've got owarimonogatari and yuru yuri san hai as obligatory sequel watches, but i'm reasonably interested in the new gundam series. i'm not really into mecha and the character designs i've seen don't immediately appeal to me, but despite that i think that iron blooded orphans' choice of director is really interesting and so i'll give it a shot. i still haven't seen about half of nagai tatsuyuki's directorial pursuits, but anohana, ano natsu de matteru, and toradora were all quite enjoyable.

nothing about rakudai kishi no cavalry's synopsis appeals to me but i'm going to watch it based on the recommendation of an LN reader.

people in general seem very excited about one punch man but it really doesn't look like my cup of tea. i'm interested in giving utawarerumono: itsuwari no kamen a chance, though, and i think i'll take the opportunity to watch noragami while its sequel airs.

[kamikasei]

anyways, does anyone have any thoughts on the upcoming season?
Hmmm, let's see... I'll definitely give One-Punch Man a shot, and probably Iron-Blooded Orphans too, although I only got about a quarter of the way in to G-Reco so the odds of it keeping my interest aren't high. The Girls und Panzer and Arpeggio movies are of interest, though as movies I don't know when I'd get around to watching them. Same for the OVAs/specials for Sound! Euphonium and Unlimited Blade Works. Oh, and I'll definitely check out Attack on Titan Junior High too. Aside from that, nothing really jumps out at me, so I'll see what more clued-in observers of the industry suggest might be interesting based on things like staff or adaptation source. I've kept up with a fair bit for the last couple of seasons and have a sizeable backlog, so I'd probably prefer for there to be less to watch this season.

[DoctorFaust]

anyways, does anyone have any thoughts on the upcoming season?

Likewise interested in Iron Blood Orphans, as I'm a bit of a sucker for giant robot shows. Comet Lucifer looks like it's going to be pretty, if nothing else. Kowabon sounds like it could be interestingly weird, since it's a rotoscoped horror show. I'm probably going to be watching Lupin III because, well, it's Lupin III. I might check out One-Punch Man just because it's Madhouse, and I trust them damn near implicitly. The people I've spoken to that have seen the leak of the first episode also said it was pretty damn good, so that's another thing in it's favor. The premise to Sakurako-san also sounds intriguing, so I'll probably give that one a chance.

[Ibrinar]

But there's only a couple of episodes left. Were you expecting it at the end?
Of the anime, it's only the first arc. I doubt we will see them in anime form but there are 5 more LNs.

[Sith_Happens]

So I just watched Kara no Kyoukai 1-7 over the weekend and there's one thing I'm really confused about:

Was Shiki the serial killer in the second movie (A Study in Murder – Part 1) or not?:smallconfused:

[CarpeGuitarrem]

So I just watched Kara no Kyoukai 1-7 over the weekend and there's one thing I'm really confused about:

Was Shiki the serial killer in the second movie (A Study in Murder – Part 1) or not?:smallconfused:
It's been a time, but IIRC it's stated or implied to be SHIKI, her other self.

Edge of Tomorrow (or Live Die Repeat or whatever the heck they're calling it now) is a very good movie that suffered from terrible marketing. Be advised that it's quite different from Sakurazaka's novel and the manga adaptation. If the manga's storyline differs from the light novel's, I don't remember it.

Apparently there's also an American graphic novel adaptation, which I haven't read.
So I noticed the graphic novel adaptation today in a bookstore. Warning sign number one: it was super-thin (100 pages in total). I decided to give it a quick look anyhow. It's abysmal. Took me only a handful of pages to see that it was basically just doing a Cliffs Notes of the story, with none of the caring detail of the manga. If it was my first exposure to the story, I'd be totally confused. I had to rely on my knowledge of the manga to decipher what was going on in the graphic novel. (Also, the comic has no sense of dramatic framing or using art for storytelling; it doesn't even approach the dynamicness of the mangaka.)

[Sallera]

So I just watched Kara no Kyoukai 1-7 over the weekend and there's one thing I'm really confused about:

Was Shiki the serial killer in the second movie (A Study in Murder – Part 1) or not?:smallconfused:

Been a while, but I'm reasonably certain it was implied very strongly, if not outright stated, to be Lio.

[Sith_Happens]

It's been a time, but IIRC it's stated or implied to be SHIKI, her other self.

That's what I meant, and also what I thought at first... But then in the seventh movie (SiM Part 2) everyone starts acting like Mikiya's "She's never killed anyone, that's what I choose to believe" isn't just him doublethinking, including Shiki herself.

...Now that I think about it some more, though, it could just be that neither of them are counting SHIKI's murders as being Shiki's. Which is more or less fair.

Been a while, but I'm reasonably certain it was implied very strongly, if not outright stated, to be Lio.

It was sort of implied once or twice, the main problem being that none of the victims in Part 1 showed any signs of having been eaten or otherwise bitten. Which, incidentally, I spent most of Part 2 internally screaming at everyone for not noticing or caring about. I don't claim to be an expert on serial killers, but I'm pretty darn sure that most don't adopt something like cannibalism halfway through their careers.

[HMS Invincible]

I thought the whole point was that shiki is a serial murderer, who gets reformed by the love interest. Whether or not you buy the two personalities in one body mumbo jumbo is separate from that. The lio framing her is another separate thing altogether.

[DoctorFaust]

You thought it was Shiki, but it was me! Lio (http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Lio_Shirazumi#1995-1996_Murders)!

[Sith_Happens]

You thought it was Shiki, but it was me! Lio (http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Lio_Shirazumi#1995-1996_Murders)!

That's... actually kind of disappointing.
On a different note, Tomoe Enjou looks far too much like Shirou Emiya for me to not believe they're the same person.:smalltongue:

[DoctorFaust]

On a different note, Tomoe Enjou looks far too much like Shirou Emiya for me to not believe they're the same person.:smalltongue:

Well, when you consider how screwy the Nasuverse is, and how similar Araya looks to Kirei, I could almost see this as being true.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

You thought it was Shiki, but it was me! Lio (http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Lio_Shirazumi#1995-1996_Murders)!
RIGHT! That guy! Okay, yeah. Now I remember.

[HMS Invincible]

Having the killer's identity revealed again makes me annoyed. That twist is really stupid. What's wrong with Shiki being a killer? It works, and fits the story.

[DoctorFaust]

Having the killer's identity revealed again makes me annoyed. That twist is really stupid. What's wrong with Shiki being a killer? It works, and fits the story.

If I'm recalling correctly, Ryougi is a killer. She beats Souren Araya during Paradox Spiral pretty damn badly, and I seem to recall the fight ending with him dying, impaled on her katana after bringing down an apartment complex on top of both of them. And she ends up killing Lio as well.

And also, it seemed to me that a lot of the... eh, I can't quite think of the phrase, but it's something similar to intrapersonal conflict, took place because Shiki wanted to be a killer but was never quiiiite able to, whether because of outside interference or because of her own strange sense of right and wrong.

Oh, and another thing. The split personality stuff is not, in fact, mumbo jumbo to be believed or not. It is a confirmed part of the Kara no Kyoukai canon that many of the Ryougi's have the ability to create a second personality within themselves, and that trait determines the next family head.

Or, in Shiki's case, she manifests three. Shiki, SHIKI, and Blank.

Again, all confirmed parts of canon. Not something to be believed or disbelieved, but statements of fact.

[Ibrinar]

Huh I didn't know that anyone considered the two personality thing as uncertain. But that might be because I read translations first before later watching the adaption and I think in the text it was clear enough.

[DoctorFaust]

Huh I didn't know that anyone considered the two personality thing as uncertain. But that might be because I read translations first before later watching the adaption and I think in the text it was clear enough.

Apparently, HMS does. Though I guess I should've quoted that post to make it clearer who I was addressing that towards.

[DoctorFaust]

Sorry for the double post, but, well, I just watched today's episode of Gakkou Gurashi.

Everything...everything is gonna be daijoubu (http://i.imgur.com/Jk53KiJ.png), right? Right? *sob*

[Rodin]

Sorry for the double post, but, well, I just watched today's episode of Gakkou Gurashi.

Everything...everything is gonna be daijoubu (http://i.imgur.com/Jk53KiJ.png), right? Right? *sob*

As soon as I saw that the opening had changed to Taroumaru running by himself, I knew he was toast.

The rest of it though...yikes. Next week can't come soon enough.

[HMS Invincible]

Apparently, HMS does. Though I guess I should've quoted that post to make it clearer who I was addressing that towards.

I'm not saying it's not canon, I'm saying it's stupid that it is canon.

Also, yes, the feels are hitting hard in the school living club. =.=

[DoctorFaust]

I'm not saying it's not canon, I'm saying it's stupid that it is canon.

Also, yes, the feels are hitting hard in the school living club. =.=

I guess I misunderstood this statement then.

Whether or not you buy the two personalities in one body mumbo jumbo is separate from that.
You calling it mumbo jumbo made it seem like you didn't believe it. I wholeheartedly disagree with you, but my apologies for the misunderstanding nonetheless.

And yeah, it's starting to rain a little bit. Haven't felt gutpunched like this since Yu3, and right now I would totally accept that level of unexplained happy endings.

[Sith_Happens]

I'm not saying it's not canon, I'm saying it's stupid that it is canon.

SHIKI being dead is the entire reason why Shiki has the Mystic Eyes, so I'm not sure what you think the "canon" would even be without him.:smallconfused:

[HMS Invincible]

SHIKI being dead is the entire reason why Shiki has the Mystic Eyes, so I'm not sure what you think the "canon" would even be without him.:smallconfused:

There's any number of reasons why a protagonist could get special powers, split personality is one of the poorer ones. The canon would be the exact same, it would just be character development instead of split personality. Hell, the being hit by a car + coma would be a great reason to change and explain the mystic eyes.

In other news, Gate anime is delayed til Saturday. =|

[Fri]

Goddamn it, next episode is last Shokugeki no Soma episode? If it can continue with this kind of fun and tension, I want it to continue for another whole season!

[Felyndiira]

Goddamn it, next episode is last Shokugeki no Soma episode? If it can continue with this kind of fun and tension, I want it to continue for another whole season!

Fellow Shokugeki no Soma fan! :smallbiggrin:

[Kato]

Goddamn it, next episode is last Shokugeki no Soma episode? If it can continue with this kind of fun and tension, I want it to continue for another whole season!

Nooooo, it can't be true! :smallfrown: Though, they were considerably more fan servicy that last episode... Oh well, maybe I really have to read the manga after this...... :smallsigh:


btw, having gone back and rewatched Daiguard I've come to realise how shamelessly Pacific Rim ripped the show off :smallbiggrin:

[Sith_Happens]

btw, having gone back and rewatched Daiguard I've come to realise how shamelessly Pacific Rim ripped the show off :smallbiggrin:

Um, of course it did? Pacific Rim is basically del Toro's love letter to mecha anime and kaiju films.

[HMS Invincible]

Rokka no Yuusha is building to a fine finish. I look forward to the blurays and hopefully a second season.

[Eldariel]

And also, it seemed to me that a lot of the... eh, I can't quite think of the phrase, but it's something similar to intrapersonal conflict, took place because Shiki wanted to be a killer but was never quiiiite able to, whether because of outside interference or because of her own strange sense of right and wrong.

Oh, and another thing. The split personality stuff is not, in fact, mumbo jumbo to be believed or not. It is a confirmed part of the Kara no Kyoukai canon that many of the Ryougi's have the ability to create a second personality within themselves, and that trait determines the next family head.

Touko puts it pretty well during the Fujino/Ryougi fight: "Shiki has a taste for murder, but she still subconsciously understands how serious death is." The whole story, from Shiki's lines, it's pretty obvious she's looking for someone she can kill (she even comments on it when she meets Fujino earlier but decides she can't kill her as she is at that point). Even in the fight against Souren, she states she should be laughing happily at the thought of them having fun trying to kill each other (but in that case she apparently dislikes Souren enough that she can't draw enjoyment from it). Then Ryougi tells Fujino "The way you are now, I can kill you" in their fight. Lio is someone she tries to not kill; trying to turn a new leaf for Kokutou or so. But obviously that doesn't work and Kokutou only accomplishes maiming himself and hurting Ryougi in trying to stop her - Shirazumi dies in the end anyways.

The concepts of "killing", "murder", "massacre" and the "slippery slope" are something the story plays a lot on and I actually find it quite interesting on a philosophical level. Fujino's case, for instance, is all about having to kill to survive and then first murdering out of revenge because someone escaped, but then losing the individuality of targets she's killing and beginning to massacre instead (and according to Aozaki, that sits wrong with Ryougi as she sees no justification for something so mindless). Then there's the lecture Kokutou has for Shirazumi about how he's killed but is unable to become a true murderer; rather just escaping himself, unsuccessfully. Shiki's father presents the idea that a person can only truly kill once: those who live with the guilt from killing can no longer be considered human. Associated is the idea that a human has to save that one kill to kill themselves for a peaceful death.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

So, I knew this was a show about a zombie apocalypse, a bit of a genre swerve.

I was not prepared for the way it happened, though. I was expecting the zompocalypse to happen sometime during the episode. But to have it already having happened, and the whole cute school thing as Yuki's delusions? HOLY SMOKES.

That was intense.

[Kato]

Um, of course it did? Pacific Rim is basically del Toro's love letter to mecha anime and kaiju films.

But not all of them have Kaiju's appearing from other dimensions through fissures around the Pacific :smalltongue: Though, I guess even at its worst Daiguard is still much more silly than PR. Which is kind of saying a lot.


Also, not sure if anyone follows it, but Working!! has finally reached the point where I can die happy now :smallbiggrin:

[HMS Invincible]

So, I knew this was a show about a zombie apocalypse, a bit of a genre swerve.

I was not prepared for the way it happened, though. I was expecting the zompocalypse to happen sometime during the episode. But to have it already having happened, and the whole cute school thing as Yuki's delusions? HOLY SMOKES.

That was intense.

Oh, is only getting started. :p.
The shows has its ups and downs, but overall I'm liking it. Ie there's a couple shows where it's pointless fan service, but others times is poignant and hard hitting.

[Draconium]

Rokka no Yuusha is building to a fine finish. I look forward to the blurays and hopefully a second season.

I just binged the episodes last night and this morning. :smallbiggrin: Can't wait to see who ends up being the seventh, and I would definitely like a second season of it!

[Closet_Skeleton]

I doubt Pacific Rim ripped DaiGuard off since both are so heavily referencing the same older material. I wouldn't be surprised if DaiGuard was watched as part of the research and it may have had an influence but 'rip off' is such a loaded term that generally only non-creative people use.

DaiGuard is a parody that adds a level of detail and realism to make fun of how unrealistic the source material is*. Pacific Rim is a homage that plays it straight and adds a level of detail and realism to add verisimilitude. Both are fun in part because they're ludicrous but the tone is very different.

*I was going to be lazy and say deconstruction but I realised I wasn't actually going to be making a point unless I was specific.

[BWR]

Good news: Kamisama Hajimema****a is getting an OVA that should come soon.
Yay!

[Nerd-o-rama]

btw, having gone back and rewatched Daiguard I've come to realise how shamelessly Pacific Rim ripped the show off :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, and Gurren-Lagann invented drills.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Yeah, and Gurren-Lagann invented drills.

Archimedes invented ripping off drills. Tengen Toppa Plagiarism at its finest.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Archimedes invented ripping off drills. Tengen Toppa Plagiarism at its finest.
Side note: that's a spinoff I need to see.

With this lever, I SHALL MOVE THE EARTH THROUGH THE VAULT OF THE HEAVENS!

[Kato]

Geez, people, do you have to take a stupid joke so serious :smalltongue: (Though, Pacific Rim really hasn't added anything like detail or realism, unless you want to compare it to a Sentai show or such where logic is basically non-existent. Many more serious shows in the genre are more realistic, I'd argue. Not to say PR isn't perfectly enjoyable just... not realistic. (Which reminds me.. didn't Godannar (while being pretty bland when it wasn't hilariously over the top and heavy on the fanservice kind of have that two-synched pilot thing as well? It's been really long since i saw that, though)


Anyway... it seems GATE won't end after 12 episodes which I feared/expected. While the quality has gone down a little I still rejoice, hoping for more Medieval/Modern politic interactions. :smallbiggrin:

[Closet_Skeleton]

Geez, people, do you have to take a stupid joke so serious :smalltongue

:smallconfused:serious?


(Though, Pacific Rim really hasn't added anything like detail or realism, unless you want to compare it to a Sentai show or such where logic is basically non-existent.

Its more gritty than Mazinger. Not more brutal or violent because Go Nagai, but its a very detailed movie if you pay attention. Why wouldn't I be comparing it to a Sentai show? Kitchen Sink drama isn't a fair comparison at all for how realistic a giant robot film is.

The fair comparisons for Pacific Rim are probably the Wachowski Speed Racer and the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers movie. They're all American takes on Japanese concepts that equally revel in ridiculousness and Pacific Rim is the comparatively realistic one. It takes place in a identifiable version of the real world and the robots need a lot of grimy looking infrastructure to support them.

Realism doesn't mean "like the real world", it means "a style that has a pretence of being like the real world compared to other styles".

There's nothing in Pacific Rim that isn't just a reflection of the trend towards mechanical detail in later Super Robot works but the level of mechanical detail it goes into is extreme. The machines are animated to have weight, they also do stuff that would be impossible with that weight but the latter doesn't over-ride the former entirely.

[GloatingSwine]

Anyway... it seems GATE won't end after 12 episodes which I feared/expected. While the quality has gone down a little I still rejoice, hoping for more Medieval/Modern politic interactions. :smallbiggrin:

After the first time it was seen off I was expecting that dragon to come back, so I expect it to be the endboss of the season.

[cobaltstarfire]

Does anyone here know if there's a legitimate means of watching "Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki" (Wolf Children Ame and Yuki)?

I've been seeing some gif sets and pencil tests of it floating around and I'm intrigued.

Edit: Nevermind I was able to track down info on it, looks like I can buy it with English subs, but it's not available to stream anywhere.

[DoctorFaust]

Does anyone here know if there's a legitimate means of watching "Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki" (Wolf Children Ame and Yuki)?

I've been seeing some gif sets and pencil tests of it floating around and I'm intrigued.

It's been licensed by Funimation, so it's available to purchase on their site, but none of the places I've checked yet have it available to stream.

EDIT:Damn, got ninja'd.

[Lethologica]

I got it from my local library! :smallbiggrin:

[cobaltstarfire]

It's been licensed by Funimation, so it's available to purchase on their site, but none of the places I've checked yet have it available to stream.

EDIT:Damn, got ninja'd.

I appreciate the thought though :3

[HMS Invincible]

Gakkou Garashi is building up to the big finale. It's a great episode, minus a couple of odd scenes like the dog or the strangely long time she takes killing a zombie.

[cobaltstarfire]

We finished K-On today, well we still have the movie to go but that's it.

I legitimately almost cried in a few of the last (non extra) episodes, emotions why do you betray me so!

It was a cute anime, those girls were all a little weird/crazy but it was cute. :3

[Closet_Skeleton]

The K-On movie is quite good. Impressed me a lot more than Season 1 did.

I skipped season 2 (probably) due to going to university.

Have you seen Minami-ke yet? That's my preferred Slice of Life due to it being more of a comedy and less moe.

[DoctorFaust]

https://twitter.com/kekkaisensen/status/644798432247287808

The release date for the final episode of Kekkai Sensen has finally been announced! This is the best damn anime news I've heard in a long, long time. So ****ing stoked (http://i.imgur.com/1Dre9Xd.gif), especially since it's supposedly a double-length episode.

[ex cathedra]

tenshi ni fureta yo, the song composed during the movie and certain parts of season two, still makes me tear up and I finished k-on like half a year ago. i'm weak.

the second season ends at about the same point in the character's lives as the movie, but my opinion -- and, I believe, the general consensus -- is that the second season is better than both the first season and the movie. moe is definitely a central element in k-on's appeal, though. minami-ke has been on my watch list for quite a while but I haven't yet found time for it.

[Spacewolf]

https://twitter.com/kekkaisensen/status/644798432247287808

The release date for the final episode of Kekkai Sensen has finally been announced! This is the best damn anime news I've heard in a long, long time. So ****ing stoked (http://i.imgur.com/1Dre9Xd.gif), especially since it's supposedly a double-length episode.

Why did they have the massive gap anyway? Seemed like things where just starting when it stopped.

[DoctorFaust]

Why did they have the massive gap anyway? Seemed like things where just starting when it stopped.

This is just what I recall from when it was supposed to come out, so it might not be entirely accurate, but it was pushed back a week from its original airing date because they decided that it needed to be longer than standard to be able to wrap things up appropriately. However, it turned out that delay meant it was going to be airing the same day as the first episode of Durarara!!, so they delayed it further. I can't quite remember what happened after that delay, but some series of events led to it being delayed indefinitely.

[cobaltstarfire]

The K-On movie is quite good. Impressed me a lot more than Season 1 did.

I skipped season 2 (probably) due to going to university.

Have you seen Minami-ke yet? That's my preferred Slice of Life due to it being more of a comedy and less moe.

We haven't seen Minami-ke, if it's available to stream legally I'll add it to our list though.


If you have Hulu available where you live, you can watch season 2 + 3 extra episodes there. One of the extras hints at the movie I think.

[Fri]

If you're interested in those slice of live thingy but with highschool boys, you might be interested in Daily Lives of High School Boys. I personally find it really funny.

Here, watch the ed credit at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6h74OawKQ

[cobaltstarfire]

If you're interested in those slice of live thingy but with highschool boys, you might be interested in Daily Lives of High School Boys. I personally find it really funny.

Here, watch the ed credit at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln6h74OawKQ

I have no idea what I just watched but it sure was weird, lol.

I'll put it on my list and give it a try.

Slice of life is one of those genres that I'm probably a bit harder on than mosts, usually they either draw me in or they quickly annoy me, with very little middle ground. So just forewarning if anyone else has/had slice of life suggestions.

The next thing on my list is Hanayamata, but it's a slice of life as well, so I think in order to prevent fatigue of the genre we're going to skip to Girls Und Panzer, then come back to Hanayamata.

I'll probably mix Miname-Ke and Daily Lives of Highschool boys in too.

I'd like to add again, thank you all for giving me so many suggestions, you've helped to keep us entertained for almost an entire year, and exposed us to some good anime we likely would not have otherwise watched.

[Eldariel]

If you're interested in those slice of live thingy but with highschool boys, you might be interested in Daily Lives of High School Boys. I personally find it really funny.

I can give my most heartfelt recommendation for this show as well: it's absolutely hilarious, doesn't take itself too seriously and it's short enough to watch all of it. Most of the humor is fairly dry and it leans on the fourth wall but overall, it just works as a show.

[Sallera]

...

Well, it was almost a good ending. I mean, most of the episode was perfectly fine, wrapped up the story nicely. And then 17:10 hits, and we get one of the worst tone breaks I've seen in years. Out-of-place soundtrack, terribly lacking attempts at humour... Regardless of whether they're trying to throw a sequel hook in, did they have to do it like that? Really, it's almost hard to believe that came from the same director that handled the rest of the show.

[Draconium]

...

Well, it was almost a good ending. I mean, most of the episode was perfectly fine, wrapped up the story nicely. And then 17:10 hits, and we get one of the worst tone breaks I've seen in years. Out-of-place soundtrack, terribly lacking attempts at humour... Regardless of whether they're trying to throw a sequel hook in, did they have to do it like that? Really, it's almost hard to believe that came from the same director that handled the rest of the show.

I know... It was totally out of left field. There was so much promise there, too. They could've hooked us all for a sequel without introducing the same problem as before, just with a new flavor. Now... Well, I don't know if anyone would want to see more.

[Ibrinar]

Rokka no Yuusha
Not quite the same setup, for one they dealt with the barrier, they can move which is why they don't have to find the traitor before progressing. So they can actually progress with their mission while having to watch out for the traitor instead it being all about catching the traitor.
Also if the second seasons begins with the first scene of book 2 (started reading today)
Then it starts with a flash forward of someone admitting they are the seventh, I won't say who. Though I think they aren't actually the seventh

[cobaltstarfire]

We watched the first episode of Girls und Panzer last night and the cognitive dissonance is real.

I'm very intrigued though.

The guy was like "wtf?!" at the end of the episode when the camera zoomed out, I thought it was pretty funny.

[VariSami]

Regarding Rokka no Yuusha, never visit the wikia for the series unless you want the mystery spoiled. Each character's page tells of their role in the story briefly at the very beginning, before the spoiler alert. And these introductions are of the form 'X is Y and Z and the Nth fake Brave' for the fakes. I laughed out loud when I saw the spoiler alert below those lines. Although I must admit I was surprised by who the second fake is...

[Ibrinar]

Regarding Rokka no Yuusha, never visit the wikia for the series unless you want the mystery spoiled. Each character's page tells of their role in the story briefly at the very beginning, before the spoiler alert. And these introductions are of the form 'X is Y and Z and the Nth fake Brave' for the fakes. I laughed out loud when I saw the spoiler alert below those lines. Although I must admit I was surprised by who the second fake is...
What are they thinking…
I already read a spoiler about something and looked in the profile and oh man they really lead with that in the very first sentence before the spoiler warning. I'm almost 4 volumes in and while there are hints at that it isn't revealed or obvious. Just a possibility with some support… And the plot description in the article doesn't even mention the fact so why put it there?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Catching up on Yona with my housemate, and actually really coming to enjoy the story now that things are picking up and character dynamics are coming together. I'd say the turning point is around Episode 8 or so.

Also, what is with that second OP? I'm guessing Executive Meddling and the need to slap a techno/pop song onto it, when they didn't really intend to use a second OP, coupled with some lazy cuts from the first OP and a few bits of less than amazing animation (and all the stillframes).

On the other hand, the second ED is fantastic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnrA8kz5f08). Musically, might be my favorite ED next to The Real Folk Blues.

[DoctorFaust]

I fell a few episodes behind on Akagami no Shirayukihime, but I finally caught up to the airing episode today. Which is, of course, the last episode of this cour.:smallfrown: But, ah, how do I put this...

http://38.media.tumblr.com/bfd992d61e52bb8508710a246cfdf08a/tumblr_njmhvjRHN41tjjnubo1_540.gif

Oh my god Shirayuki and Zen are so damn cute together. I am a cold-hearted bastard when it comes to fictional stuff, and the confession scene in episode eleven had me teary-eyed from happiness. The play scene was adorable, the kiss in the watchtower was adorable, Shirayuki is adorable in general on top of being pretty kick-ass, Zen is adorable when he gets flustered, everyone is adorable and things are actually daijoubu!

This show just feels like a fairy tale, and I love it for that, and has consistently been the one that I have looked forwards to watching the most this season, and I await next season even more eagerly. I need my fix, dammit!

[ex cathedra]

This show just feels like a fairy tale, and I love it for that, and has consistently been the one that I have looked forwards to watching the most this season, and I await next season even more eagerly. I need my fix, dammit!

this is how I feel about Non Non Biyori Repeat, which finished airing yesterday. the sense of serenity i get from NNB is unparalleled; i think about it a lot, and i still can't get past the feeling that NNB is an essentially flawless take on the SoL genre.

since most of them have only recently stopped airing, i haven't touched most of this season's anime, but NNB is as of yet the only thing that i've found particularly good. ranpo kitan: game of laplace was all sorts of rough and rokka no yuusha was enjoyable but didn't really seem above-average in any respect. that's a pretty tiny selection, though, so i've still got a bunch of catching up to do.

[cobaltstarfire]

Does anyone here know what kind of helicopter thing that was in Girls und Panzer?

I'm curious about it, or is it a made up thing?

I'm finding the tank fighting parts to be pretty exciting, the guy is pretty unhappy with the social parts of the show though I think. I think those parts are a little weak too, but I find that that doesn't really bother me much. I want to see more of what happens and more tank fighting.


Will the anime ever explain the state of the world and such? I'm really curious about the setting but so far not much has been divulged about it.

[Sith_Happens]

Will the anime ever explain the state of the world and such?

Not really, no.

[cobaltstarfire]

Not really, no.

That's too bad, though I suppose in a way that makes it more interesting.

[Ibrinar]

About Gangsta does anyone else find this arc underwhelming?
A bunch of overpowered people show up and start killing, and I just don't find the conflict particularly interesting.

[Sallera]

Will the anime ever explain the state of the world and such? I'm really curious about the setting but so far not much has been divulged about it.

The school ships were explained in one of the OVAs, but aside from that, nope.

[kamikasei]

Does anyone here know what kind of helicopter thing that was in Girls und Panzer?

I'm curious about it, or is it a made up thing?
My recollection is vague, but if you're talking about episode six, apparently it's this thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Achgelis_Fa_223).

The setting is... largely beside the point in GuP, basically just sketched out enough to say "shut up about how weird the tanks are, everything's weird here". As Sallera says, one of the OVAs mentions that the school ships are a long-standing tradition that basically makes the setting an alternate history stretching back centuries (or millennia, IIRC), but they're not otherwise addressed. Also worth noting: the contest they're participating in is the Nationals, so all those heavily British- and Russian- and American-themed rival schools are actually Japanese.

[Nerd-o-rama]

My recollection is vague, but if you're talking about episode six, apparently it's this thing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focke-Achgelis_Fa_223).

The setting is... largely beside the point in GuP, basically just sketched out enough to say "shut up about how weird the tanks are, everything's weird here". As Sallera says, one of the OVAs mentions that the school ships are a long-standing tradition that basically makes the setting an alternate history stretching back centuries (or millennia, IIRC), but they're not otherwise addressed. Also worth noting: the contest they're participating in is the Nationals, so all those heavily British- and Russian- and American-themed rival schools are actually Japanese.

Given that the Brits, Russians, Americans, and Germans are the best-known producers of armored vehicles, it does kind of make sense to use their militaries as club themes when you're talking about a Tank Club. Sort of. But as I recall it kind of extended to the whole school...

[cobaltstarfire]

Ahh I thought that the American team actually were Americans, the way they were talking suggested it anyway. Though I've noticed Crunchy Roll and Hulu often have slight differences in translations so maybe Hulus translation isn't conveying that properly. (we usually use Hulu if everything is up to date on it, crunchy roll's commercials make us feel like we're going crazy since it often shows the same one like 5 billion times in a row).


I didn't even really need justification for the mix matching of tanks, it makes sense for school clubs to have different ones, or old ones, or up to date ones, just like how say the fencing club at my university has some gear that's so old and grungy...but other clubs or fencing schools have more nice gear that doesn't smell. I take it certain inaccuracies in the anime must make people who actually know anything about tanks a little crazy, fortunately I know next to nothing about tanks, other than that they're neat, and all that internal decorating the girls did is probably a massive fire hazard.

Thanks for helping me find out with what that helicopter was, I don't know a whole whole lot about military things, but I do have a passing interest in the war machines (particularly the flying kinds), and like to see them and read about them.

[Rodin]

"Due to production issues, episode 12 of School-Live! will be delayed. We thank you for your patience and understanding."


AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

[Weimann]

Hey there. I need some help.

Among the many things I want to do at some point is trying to learn some basic Japanese, because I'm a language nerd on top of being just a regular nerd. I'm thinking that it could be a smart move to combine this with getting myself back into anime again, as a way to expose myself to the language in a bigger way, and pick up more of the vocabulary. I might do something similar with manga for the written language.

Now all I need is a couple good anime to watch. That's where you come in.

When I was younger, I and my friends were into anime in a pretty big way. I wasn't the most hardcore, but I have watched my share. As time went on, I found that I was getting irritated with some of the stereotypes of the anime genre, sometimes with the pacing of the shows, and also with what I can only describe as Japanese-centric cultural assumptions and references that I don't understand. When my friends started getting their own lives and move away, I completely dropped anime. I can still think back to when I was binging Naruto and thought it was the coolest **** ever, though. :smallbiggrin:

So, what do I want? There's a list of stuff I've watched and liked below (just the things I can recall off the top of my head). What I know that I don't want, though, is easier. I don't want Love Hina, where the same stereotype getting played for laughs over and over is the one trick it has. I don't want Ranma ½, where the status quo didn't even get resolved by the comic ending. And, frankly, I don't want Naruto, One Piece, Bleach or Dragon Ball, because while I do like them, it gets so shounen that I can barely breathe, and if I'm looking to learn some vocabulary, I'm not sure this where I'm looking to go anyway. I can like a good fight scene, even a combat focus, but it needs some other spin as well.

Cowboy Bebop: One of the first ones I ever watched. It possibly lost a bit of punch due to me not quite understanding just how different it was, as I had no base of comparison. None the less, awesome show with a unique sparse and understated atmosphere.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: It's a classic. Wonderful character work. Again, I probably lacked the genre knowledge (as well as possibly the maturity) to really appreciate the nuances, but it is certainly it's own thing. I could probably stand to rewatch it, come to think of it.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: This one is just awesome. The tight pacing, the constant ramp-up, the efficient character building and the strength of theme makes it possibly my favourite anime ever.

Ai Yori Aoshi: Pretty standard romance thing, I think, but damn was I hooked on this one for a while. Can't really qualify it with anything but being too damn cute.

Trigun: Funny and with spots of deepened character growth, particularly towards the end. Good solid entertainment.

Feel free to ask me questions. I'm up for new stuff or classics. Anyone got a suggestion for me? :smallredface:

[DoctorFaust]

Maybe FLCL, Gunbuster, or Diebuster, all by the same studio that did NGE and TTGL. Also Kill la Kill if you liked the over the top part of TTGL, or any of the Gundam series (especially The 08th MS Team) if you liked the giant mecha part of TTGL. Based on Ai Yori Aoshi, Akagami no Shirayukihime or Non Non Byori. Also potentially Clannad, Your Lie in April or K-On!, the first two being very good and emotional romances, and the last being a very cute SoL where nothing much really happens. Outlaw Star based on Bebop and Trigun, as it's one of the only other space westerns I can think of. And if you want to hear people talking a lot, Joshiraku or Bakemonogatari.

Also just going to throw out my standard recommendations of Baccano!, Madoka Magica, and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Oh, and Fate/zero and/or Stay Night:Unlimited Blade Works.

However, I would like to say that the Japanese that is usually spoken in anime is a lot less formal than the Japanese I learned and heard when I visited Japan. Not meaning this is any way that you shouldn't try and learn Japanese, but do know that anime probably isn't the best teaching tool.

[ex cathedra]

are there any particular genres in which you're interested? it's a pretty broad medium and the chance of any two individuals having a similar sense of taste isn't especially likely.

i'd second the FLCL rec, and i'm fond of a bunch of the shows in Faust's post -- both of two favorite franchises are among them -- but i'll decide whether or not i'd recommend them after i learn more about your interests. oh, i guess the Madoka rec is pretty universally acceptable, too.

[Sith_Happens]

Ahh I thought that the American team actually were Americans, the way they were talking suggested it anyway.

I literally finished the show before someone in this thread told me that everyone in it was Japanese.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

"Due to production issues, episode 12 of School-Live! will be delayed. We thank you for your patience and understanding."


AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Funny story...

[cobaltstarfire]

I literally finished the show before someone in this thread told me that everyone in it was Japanese.

Did they also tell you where they learned that everyone is definitely Japanese?

We're on the "Russian" team now, and the captain has a Russianish sounding name too. The "American" and "Russian" captain even had the stereotypical anime look for a westerner, with sprinkles of other typically western traits like Naomi having freckles. Though I could see it being something like Japanese expansion being successful in this alternate world and swallowing up a good chunk of the world.

My guy explained better what he doesn't like about it, he just hates that all the antagonists are "super terrible" as in terrible people, not terrible antagonists. He seems pretty well entertained by some of the sillier parts (though also getting a lot of wtf reactions from him, like when they all had to do that weird fish dance).

[kamikasei]

Did they also tell you where they learned that everyone is definitely Japanese?
It's not that every character is necessarily Japanese, but that the competition is a national one, and therefore all the schools are Japanese. Pravda (the "Russians"), for example, are from Hokkaido, not Russia. So it might be that some of the least Japanese-seeming characters are actually immigrants or have Russian or American or whatever ancestry, and it makes sense that a strongly Russian-themed school would attract students with connections to Russia... but given the scale, it also seems fair to conclude that the History club are actually the most representative of wider tankery culture. They're all huge cosplay and recreation dorks and it's great.

My guy explained better what he doesn't like about it, he just hates that all the antagonists are "super terrible" as in terrible people, not terrible antagonists.
Hmmm, I don't think I'd agree with that. I don't want to get in to possible spoilers and I forget the sequence of when they fight which schools, but as far as I can remember the opponents only have enough jerkass characters mixed in to provide proper underdog sports story antagonism. Unless you mean Kuromorimine, who, yeah, do seem like big jerks, but they're the elitist top team! That's their job!

He seems pretty well entertained by some of the sillier parts (though also getting a lot of wtf reactions from him, like when they all had to do that weird fish dance).
That's the best part! One of the OVAs is actually a full two-minute version of it. (The OVAs in general are fun, by the way. I recommend checking them out after the show, if your guy hasn't been turned off it entirely.)

[Ibrinar]

Hey there. I need some help.

Among the many things I want to do at some point is trying to learn some basic Japanese, because I'm a language nerd on top of being just a regular nerd. I'm thinking that it could be a smart move to combine this with getting myself back into anime again, as a way to expose myself to the language in a bigger way, and pick up more of the vocabulary. I might do something similar with manga for the written language.

Now all I need is a couple good anime to watch. That's where you come in.

When I was younger, I and my friends were into anime in a pretty big way. I wasn't the most hardcore, but I have watched my share. As time went on, I found that I was getting irritated with some of the stereotypes of the anime genre, sometimes with the pacing of the shows, and also with what I can only describe as Japanese-centric cultural assumptions and references that I don't understand. When my friends started getting their own lives and move away, I completely dropped anime. I can still think back to when I was binging Naruto and thought it was the coolest **** ever, though. :smallbiggrin:

So, what do I want? There's a list of stuff I've watched and liked below (just the things I can recall off the top of my head). What I know that I don't want, though, is easier. I don't want Love Hina, where the same stereotype getting played for laughs over and over is the one trick it has. I don't want Ranma ½, where the status quo didn't even get resolved by the comic ending. And, frankly, I don't want Naruto, One Piece, Bleach or Dragon Ball, because while I do like them, it gets so shounen that I can barely breathe, and if I'm looking to learn some vocabulary, I'm not sure this where I'm looking to go anyway. I can like a good fight scene, even a combat focus, but it needs some other spin as well.

Cowboy Bebop: One of the first ones I ever watched. It possibly lost a bit of punch due to me not quite understanding just how different it was, as I had no base of comparison. None the less, awesome show with a unique sparse and understated atmosphere.

Neon Genesis Evangelion: It's a classic. Wonderful character work. Again, I probably lacked the genre knowledge (as well as possibly the maturity) to really appreciate the nuances, but it is certainly it's own thing. I could probably stand to rewatch it, come to think of it.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: This one is just awesome. The tight pacing, the constant ramp-up, the efficient character building and the strength of theme makes it possibly my favourite anime ever.

Ai Yori Aoshi: Pretty standard romance thing, I think, but damn was I hooked on this one for a while. Can't really qualify it with anything but being too damn cute.

Trigun: Funny and with spots of deepened character growth, particularly towards the end. Good solid entertainment.

Feel free to ask me questions. I'm up for new stuff or classics. Anyone got a suggestion for me? :smallredface:

Mushi-shi, Full Metal Alchemist, Last Exile, Haibane Ranmei, Seirei no Moribito, Darker than Black, Code Geass, Daily Lives of High school boys, Baccano, Tatami Galaxy. There is probably something you will like among these, for more specific recommendations give some more details about your preferences.

[ex cathedra]

Mostly finished Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, Gate, Danchigai, and MonMusu. Moving on to Gakkou Gurashi!, Shokugeki no Souma, Charlotte, and Sore ga Seiyuu!

Akagami no Shirayuki-hime was really quite good! Solid pacing, enjoyable characterization, and good potential heading into its second season. I'm looking forward to it.

Gate, on the other hand, really seemed to suffer at having its second cour delayed. The show moved at a tempo suggesting that it was only hitting its half-way point, and that's exactly how the last episode feels. It's rough.

Danchigai's whole cour amounts to just over half an hour of family dynamics + moe, and it's fairly similar to Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken in that regard. It's difficult to feel particularly impacted by shows of this format -- you get one-and-a-half episodes, max, of development in terms of full-length show duration -- but Danchigai is kinda cute and kinda heartwarming and doesn't try to be anything more than that.

MonMusu isn't exactly what I expected, and in the end I feel like I have less to say about it than anything else I've seen this season. It came off as very typical, and I didn't have any problems with that.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

School-Live! definitely ended on a strong note. Not the best show I've seen, but still really good, and I feel it stuck the landing in a very genre-appropriate way. You can definitely tell it was adapted from a longer manga (there's a few lingering questions about the world that get answered in a sorta vague way that's pretty much unimportant for the anime's core action), but overall very very good. I'm gonna miss the show.

[Kato]

School-Live! definitely ended on a strong note. Not the best show I've seen, but still really good, and I feel it stuck the landing in a very genre-appropriate way. You can definitely tell it was adapted from a longer manga (there's a few lingering questions about the world that get answered in a sorta vague way that's pretty much unimportant for the anime's core action), but overall very very good. I'm gonna miss the show.

Really? I mean, I swaw the first two episodes and while i guess the reveal was a surprise after the second episode I was kind off "yeah, another show like that - except with little girls" and lost interest. is there something amazing I'm missing out on?

Otherwise... Gate didn't quite hold up to what I expected. It's still okay, but I was looking forward to more a) medieval-modern clashing, not only in the comedic way they did it, e.g. in Japan and more "soldiers in a war zone" plot. It's still fine enough but not what i hoped for :smallsigh: (I wonder if the timing of the anime has anything to do with Japan's new, looser restrictions on troop deployment... er, wait, politics. My bad)

Shimoneta was... well, what it said on the tin. Or in the first episode, anyway. Maybe I'd have hoped for a more serious approach to the matter but I'm not surprised it didn't go that way, just a bit disappointed.

Shokugeki was still as much mouth-watering simple-minded fun as I hoped and I guess I'll be forced to go and read the manga now. (Noooooooo...)

Otherwise... spent a bunch of time catching up on DB Kai, hoping I would have finished it before Super but not quite. Still the whole Boo saga to go.

So, what should I watch from last season? (Mostly from a "will make me laugh" angle. I know, I'm a simple minded guy, sue me :smallredface: Overlord? Monster Musume?)

[Weimann]

Maybe FLCL, Gunbuster, or Diebuster, all by the same studio that did NGE and TTGL. Also Kill la Kill if you liked the over the top part of TTGL, or any of the Gundam series (especially The 08th MS Team) if you liked the giant mecha part of TTGL. Based on Ai Yori Aoshi, Akagami no Shirayukihime or Non Non Byori. Also potentially Clannad, Your Lie in April or K-On!, the first two being very good and emotional romances, and the last being a very cute SoL where nothing much really happens. Outlaw Star based on Bebop and Trigun, as it's one of the only other space westerns I can think of. And if you want to hear people talking a lot, Joshiraku or Bakemonogatari.

Also just going to throw out my standard recommendations of Baccano!, Madoka Magica, and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Oh, and Fate/zero and/or Stay Night:Unlimited Blade Works.Thanks for the tips. I'll probably end up checking out your general recommendations first, as I' really not sure if there's any particular genre or style I prefer. If many people like it, though, odds are I will too. :smallbiggrin:


However, I would like to say that the Japanese that is usually spoken in anime is a lot less formal than the Japanese I learned and heard when I visited Japan. Not meaning this is any way that you shouldn't try and learn Japanese, but do know that anime probably isn't the best teaching tool.Duly noted, and thanks for the warning. I will of course be coupling it with other sources like books and online courses (I don't have time to take actually university courses right now as I'm already studying full time). I intend the anime to mostly be a way to surround myself with the language, in addition to using more focused studying tools.


Mushi-shi, Full Metal Alchemist, Last Exile, Haibane Ranmei, Seirei no Moribito, Darker than Black, Code Geass, Daily Lives of High school boys, Baccano, Tatami Galaxy. There is probably something you will like among these, for more specific recommendations give some more details about your preferences.Thanks. Since both of you suggested Baccano, I'm leaning towards that one. I'm also considering picking up a free trial month on Crunchyroll and just check out some random series.

As I said before, I'm not really sure what my preferences are. I suppose I'm partial to anything that's well written in terms of characters and dialogue, and which has a good pacing. Those are really the most important thing. Things that aren't the typical shounen stereotypes (but that said, I'd lie if I said I didn't enjoy me some awesome combat and burning hearts at times). I couldn't really say that I like any subject over the other, since anime has a tendency to be able to both very stereotypical and completely unpredictable at once. :smalltongue:

[Eldan]

Seirei no Moribito was recommended above and it has some pretty damn good character work and some of the best combat I've ever seen. That can be recommended. Generally medieval fantasy, very light on the fantasy (except for being set in a world that isn't Earth.)

Hm. Mushi-shi is very much a matter of taste, I happen to love it. For the most part, it's a gently paced, episodic fairy tale with very unusual and sometimes brilliant creatures and visuals. Occasionally drifts into horror. Follows a scholar travelling medieval-ish Japan-ish solving supernatural problems.

Other shows I like and you haven't seen...
Ghost in the Shell, is, unless I'm missing something, a loose franchise of two full movies for the cinema, a two-season tv series which also has its own movie and now a newer tv series. They are apparently all different, but related universes, where the same characters go in different directions. Genre: post-cyberpunk thriller that follows a government organization of cyborgs solving cyber crimes. Varying levels of weirdness, philosophy, action and investigation.

Death Note is a good one, even if it is not as clever as it sometimes likes to think it is. Pacing very good in the first half, suffering a bit in the second half, as does the plot. The anime, especially, tends to go very overboard on the dramatics. Music, voice-acting, visuals, the entire line-up. You'll know it when you see the dramatic potato chips. Genre... fantasy crime show in modern japan, written from the perspective of the over-the-top bad guy.

Though maybe I'm not the best person to ask, I quit 90% of anime I start very quickly and I haven't watched any in over a year.

Edit: oh yeah, I also like most of Ghibli's movies. A bit moreso those who aren't quite as much written for children.

[Drascin]

Seirei no Moribito was recommended above and it has some pretty damn good character work and some of the best combat I've ever seen. That can be recommended. Generally medieval fantasy, very light on the fantasy (except for being set in a world that isn't Earth.)

Well, it has spirits, and magic, and a separate world, and all that stuff. It's just very low-key, animistic stuff, no BOOM FIREBALL. Helps that Balsa herself is about as aggressively grounded, practical, and nonmagical as a person can humanly be :smalltongue:.

But yes. Seirei no Moribito is a really great anime. Really pretty, the characters are really likable, the few fights are great, and the whole thing just clicks together. And it has a genuine grey morality scenario, which a lot fewer works actually pull off than they think they do. The pacing is slow, however - this is a very talky and character development-y anime. Don't expect heavy action going in.

[Ibrinar]

After watching Seirei no Moribito I seriously considered learning spearfighting…

[DoctorFaust]

Duly noted, and thanks for the warning. I will of course be coupling it with other sources like books and online courses (I don't have time to take actually university courses right now as I'm already studying full time). I intend the anime to mostly be a way to surround myself with the language, in addition to using more focused studying tools.

Alright. Again, don't take what I said in any way to mean you shouldn't do you plan, and I wish you the best of luck with both finding good anime and learning Japanese. がんばってください! :smallsmile:

[ex cathedra]

Thanks. Since both of you suggested Baccano, I'm leaning towards that one. I'm also considering picking up a free trial month on Crunchyroll and just check out some random series.

As I said before, I'm not really sure what my preferences are. I suppose I'm partial to anything that's well written in terms of characters and dialogue, and which has a good pacing. Those are really the most important thing. Things that aren't the typical shounen stereotypes (but that said, I'd lie if I said I didn't enjoy me some awesome combat and burning hearts at times). I couldn't really say that I like any subject over the other, since anime has a tendency to be able to both very stereotypical and completely unpredictable at once. :smalltongue:

Bakemonogatari was recommended once already and is rife with well-written characters and especially good dialogue. Its animation, art direction, and music are also stellar.

Regarding stuff that "many people like," I'd suggest Steins;Gate (sci-fi thriller) and AnoHana (supernatural slice-of-life/drama) as particularly popular and well-regarded entries within their respective genres.

[Weimann]

Yeah, I've watched Fullmetal Alchemist before (though it was long ago), and I've read the entirety of Death Note. Pretty dark, that one, but interesting for its different ideas.

I did pick up a Crunchyroll trial month, and I watched the first two episodes of Kill la Kill. That's something I will watch to the end, I feel. It seems to buy into its own ridiculous style so much that it becomes acceptable; it can't be jarring because it's perfectly clear that there's no point of connection to anything reasonable. I also like that there is a female protagonist in what's clearly a shounen series (the uniform is... geh, but that in itself doesn't have to be a problem depending on what becomes of it). It probably won't touch TTGL, but I can feel some of the same crispness in the storytelling that comes from embracing the over the top style to the point where it's a platform of its own. It might get good.

I also watched the first episode of Food Wars!, which apparently is about making people's clothes explode with bacon? :smalleek: That's... not going to be my first choice, I feel.

[Weimann]

Bakemonogatari was recommended once already and is rife with well-written characters and especially good dialogue. Its animation, art direction, and music are also stellar.

Regarding stuff that "many people like," I'd suggest Steins;Gate (sci-fi thriller) and AnoHana (supernatural slice-of-life/drama) as particularly popular and well-regarded entries within their respective genres.Thanks! Both Bakemonogatari and Ghost in the Shell are titles I've been hearing all my life; I'll definitely check them out if the opportunity arises.

[Sith_Happens]

Bakemonogatari was recommended once already and is rife with well-written characters and especially good dialogue. Its animation, art direction, and music are also stellar.

There's also the fact that you can't shoot a bullet through it without hitting fifty puns, which if you're partly watching anime to familiarize yourself with the language is arguably a very nice bonus.


(the uniform is... geh, but that in itself doesn't have to be a problem depending on what becomes of it)

Mostly, surprising amounts of plot-relevance (for both the actual and facetious definitions of "plot").

[Eldan]

After watching Seirei no Moribito I seriously considered learning spearfighting…

My favourite fight didn't actually involve any spears. It was an unarmed martial arts tournament and the fight took about 2 seconds. And was amazingly well choreographed and animated.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Really? I mean, I swaw the first two episodes and while i guess the reveal was a surprise after the second episode I was kind off "yeah, another show like that - except with little girls" and lost interest. is there something amazing I'm missing out on?

Nothing beyond that, nah. It's one of those shows where if it didn't grab you in the first two episodes, it won't grab you for the rest.

[Eldariel]

There's also the fact that you can't shoot a bullet through it without hitting fifty puns, which if you're partly watching anime to familiarize yourself with the language is arguably a very nice bonus.

Hell, even just the name: 化物 and 物語 - both share the kanji 物 ("a thing") with the first part having 化 ("action of becoming X"; "thingification" - 化物 means "monster" both in the positive sense of "one with monstrous/enormous ability" and the actual "unnatural creature", though can refer more specifically to e.g. "ghost"), and the second part carrying 語 - "language"/"speech" (物語 is literally a "thing speech", a tale or a story). Together, 化物語 is of course used to refer to a "ghost story" with a sort of a portmanteau-like construction. It's just beautiful for a language learner: at least for me it really helps with remembering the various kanji when I have to dig through their etymology.


Completely unrelated, is anyone familiar with this "No Game No Life" thingy? I saw one Youtube video and it was remarkably weird but looked sorta Yu-Gi-Ohish to me in concept. I wonder if anyone here has seen it, and as a corollary, if the show is actually clever enough to play with the idea?

[Ibrinar]

I found it disappointing and I dropped it. It depends on what you want. If you want games like in Liar Games or Kaiji or something look elsewhere. If you want spectacle you might be entertained.

[BWR]

NGNL did absolutely nothing for me except increase boredom. I seem to recall it being liked by a couple of people around here, though.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Bakemonogatari was recommended once already and is rife with well-written characters and especially good dialogue. Its animation, art direction, and music are also stellar.

Bakemonagatari has animation?

[BWR]

Bakemonagatari has animation?

Oh yes. Several of the LNs have been given the animation treatment.

[Spacewolf]

Bakemonagatari has animation?

Very nice animation to especially *Blankframe*monogatari

[kamikasei]

Bakemonagatari has animation?
It's okay, dude, I got it.

[ex cathedra]

Completely unrelated, is anyone familiar with this "No Game No Life" thingy? I saw one Youtube video and it was remarkably weird but looked sorta Yu-Gi-Ohish to me in concept. I wonder if anyone here has seen it, and as a corollary, if the show is actually clever enough to play with the idea?

the show is about clever characters but i don't know if i'd describe the show itself as clever. it's a fairly fun cour, but nothing stellar.

[Sith_Happens]

Hell, even just the name: 化物 and 物語 - both share the kanji 物 ("a thing") with the first part having 化 ("action of becoming X"; "thingification" - 化物 means "monster" both in the positive sense of "one with monstrous/enormous ability" and the actual "unnatural creature", though can refer more specifically to e.g. "ghost"), and the second part carrying 語 - "language"/"speech" (物語 is literally a "thing speech", a tale or a story). Together, 化物語 is of course used to refer to a "ghost story" with a sort of a portmanteau-like construction. It's just beautiful for a language learner: at least for me it really helps with remembering the various kanji when I have to dig through their etymology.

The best part is this is probably the only Japanese pun there is that also works in English; marketing for the show occasionally translates it as "Ghostory."

[Rodin]

Nothing beyond that, nah. It's one of those shows where if it didn't grab you in the first two episodes, it won't grab you for the rest.

The main appeal for the show for me (apart from the initial twist, of course) is that it does a really good job of tugging at the old heartstrings.

[cobaltstarfire]

I really enjoyed the introduction of the tiger....getting stuck in the mud, blowing its engine, and then catching on fire. Also the response of "oh it's on fire again..."




That's all I have to say for now, I don't remember how many episodes there are in the series but I think we're nearing the end.

[HMS Invincible]

I really enjoyed the introduction of the tiger....getting stuck in the mud, blowing its engine, and then catching on fire. Also the response of "oh it's on fire again..."




That's all I have to say for now, I don't remember how many episodes there are in the series but I think we're nearing the end.

You really should label your spoilers...especially when it's not a spoiler. This is about Girls und panzer.

[Weimann]

Since there were multiple suggestions for Seirei no Moribito earlier, I decided to check it out. It turns out that watching it in tandem with Kill la Kill makes for quite the contrast.

That said, I must say that while I think the latter can make something interesting of itself if it really tries, the former had me grabbed by the collar from the first moment. It's beautifully animated, paced nicely, and well... it has Balsa in it. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I encountered an anime character with her particular kind of gravitas. Possibly Spike in Cowboy Bebop, but that's still not quite the same. Her character could carry the whole show. Not that it has to, since the story so far has taken care to present a pretty multifaceted view of the plot. I'm hooked on it.

[cobaltstarfire]

You really should label your spoilers...especially when it's not a spoiler. This is about Girls und panzer.

It kind of is a spoiler, sure it's a minor one but it's still a spoiler to certain developments in the series.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

The main appeal for the show for me (apart from the initial twist, of course) is that it does a really good job of tugging at the old heartstrings.
Definitely so. And I'm also a sucker for dramatic irony, which the show was serving up in heaping spoonfuls from the get-go.


That said, I must say that while I think the latter can make something interesting of itself if it really tries, the former had me grabbed by the collar from the first moment. It's beautifully animated, paced nicely, and well... it has Balsa in it. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I encountered an anime character with her particular kind of gravitas. Possibly Spike in Cowboy Bebop, but that's still not quite the same. Her character could carry the whole show. Not that it has to, since the story so far has taken care to present a pretty multifaceted view of the plot. I'm hooked on it.
Spike definitely carries the whole show, but not really because of gravitas. Almost the opposite: his easygoing mellowness runs through the entire show and gives texture to the rest of it, especially since it contrasts with some of his own character traits.

[Drascin]

Since there were multiple suggestions for Seirei no Moribito earlier, I decided to check it out. It turns out that watching it in tandem with Kill la Kill makes for quite the contrast.

That said, I must say that while I think the latter can make something interesting of itself if it really tries, the former had me grabbed by the collar from the first moment. It's beautifully animated, paced nicely, and well... it has Balsa in it. I'm not sure I can remember the last time I encountered an anime character with her particular kind of gravitas. Possibly Spike in Cowboy Bebop, but that's still not quite the same. Her character could carry the whole show. Not that it has to, since the story so far has taken care to present a pretty multifaceted view of the plot. I'm hooked on it.

Contrast indeed :smalltongue:. Honestly, I would be hard pressed to call Kill la Kill so much as average, while Moribito is one my favorite animes.

And yes. Balsa definitely has presence. Her voice actress has a resonance that not a lot of anime VAs give their characters.

[Lethologica]

I definitely thought I would like Moribito a lot more than KlK going into each, but I didn't enjoy Moribito as much as I expected to, and I wasn't as annoyed by KlK as I thought I would be, so they came out about even for me. I think it's mostly down to pacing.

[ex cathedra]

charlotte was... oh, lord. i had a hard enough time with angel beats, and charlotte feels like its neither necessary nor desirable spiritual successor.

[kamikasei]

charlotte was... oh, lord. i had a hard enough time with angel beats, and charlotte feels like its neither necessary nor desirable spiritual successor.
Hmmm?

I thought it was fine. The tone shifts between silly and serious weren't handled brilliantly, making it feel like two shows awkwardly stapled together, and the silly one was both better constructed and more entertaining in my book, but I didn't have any "ugh god why" reaction. Maybe if they'd gotten a better grip on my heartstrings it'd have had more effect when they pulled on them.

[ex cathedra]

i've literally never seen a show with pacing as poor as charlotte's, and, starting from the introduction of time travel, the whole narrative just became ridiculous. it's deus ex machina after deus ex machina.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Man at Arms forges Saber's sword (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vcVmGb_ff4).

Kinda epic.

[Rodin]

Hmmm?

I thought it was fine. The tone shifts between silly and serious weren't handled brilliantly, making it feel like two shows awkwardly stapled together, and the silly one was both better constructed and more entertaining in my book, but I didn't have any "ugh god why" reaction. Maybe if they'd gotten a better grip on my heartstrings it'd have had more effect when they pulled on them.

This is kinda how I saw it. Having a sudden swerve into darkness was fine, but the show just kinda stayed there and moved away from all the interesting characters onto a second set that we didn't really know.

A lot of the second half of the show just felt unnecessary - they should have gone through the first plot twist, then pulled it back and spent some time there. Instead, the show just went haring off into the sunset. There was probably another entire season's worth of plot that could have been put in to make the transition less jarring.

[kamikasei]

A lot of the second half of the show just felt unnecessary - they should have gone through the first plot twist, then pulled it back and spent some time there. Instead, the show just went haring off into the sunset. There was probably another entire season's worth of plot that could have been put in to make the transition less jarring.
There's also the fact that the entire last episode felt literally unnecessary - as in, they wrapped up what needed to be wrapped up in the penultimate episode, and would arguably have been better off leaving the events the last episode detailed as something that you assume happens (or not) offscreen after the end. Having another full episode to work with for the rest of the series might have helped.

Anyway, I've finished all the shows from this season I was watching live, though I may come back to pick up some later, most likely Rokka. So that's Gatchaman (a bit off near the start, but overall probably the best I watched), Symphogear (a huge disappointment), Ore Monogatari (exactly what it says on the tin, not stellar but plenty cute, could they please write out the obnoxious stalker college guy?), Himouto! Umaru-chan (also exactly what it says on the tin, and possibly my second favourite after Gatchaman, though the lack of any creepy incest nonsense is partly offset by the busty moeblob fanservice character), Charlotte (okay, but a bit too messy to be really good - didn't dislike it as ex cathedra did, wouldn't strongly recommend it), and Gangsta. And... does anyone know what the heck was up with Gangsta? It didn't so much end as just stop. It doesn't even look like it tracked a single full arc from the manga (he says, in ignorance of the manga, just going off how the show seemed). Is it a brazen play for a second season? Are they counting on a bonus episode or two on the BDs? It wasn't a bad show, but I really have no idea what to make of the total lack of closure.

[BWR]

Man at Arms forges Saber's sword (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vcVmGb_ff4).

Kinda epic.

Fun, but not quite Sokka's meteor sword or the scissorblade from KLK. Or Cloud's Buster sword.

[DoctorFaust]

Apparently, Manglobe studios has gone bankrupt. Which is a damn shame, since Genocidal Organ sounds interesting, and I really enjoyed quite a few of their shows.

[kamikasei]

Apparently, Manglobe studios has gone bankrupt. Which is a damn shame, since Genocidal Organ sounds interesting, and I really enjoyed quite a few of their shows.
That's not very Justice.

Guess it answers my question about Gangsta, though.

[Closet_Skeleton]

I haven't finished Charlotte but it does feel more like the author got bored with his original premise than that he actually planned this out.

Anti-hero loses sister and moves on with his life was a lot more interesting than yet another 'save dead person through time travel' sound to me.


That's not very Justice.

Your Justice was flawed from the start.:smalltongue:

[kamikasei]

Your Justice was flawed from the start.:smalltongue:
http://i.imgur.com/ws4w8VN.jpg

[CarpeGuitarrem]

SIT. DOWN.

:smallbiggrin:

[Lethologica]

SIT. DOWN.

:smallbiggrin:
Is that John on the line? Why do I have the sudden urge to open up a window?

[cobaltstarfire]

We finished Girls Und Panzer, woulda finished sooner, but we had to watch some old star trek movies before they fell off of netflix.

I thought Girls Und Panzer was nice, the parts with tanks in them were fun to watch. :smallbiggrin: I think the guy coulda taken or left it though, but it at least kept him engagedish and he laughed on occasion.


Next on the list is Read or Die, or Hanayamata

When we do Read or Die, it'll be the one with "The TV" appended onto it since as far as I can tell the OVA isn't legally available for streaming. I'm not sure which one whoever suggested it intended but that's the one we're going to try out.

[Ibrinar]

I would rate the series over the ova.

[VariSami]

I also prefer the series over the OVA, and watched them in that order (although in immediate succession). The OVA does however provide some information to which the series will allude, making watching it recommended but not necessary.

I just finished watching the best series I have seen since Seirei no Moribito called Rainbow: Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin. It is essentially a drama about seven youngsters in a centre for problem youth in post-war Japan. The creators do not save their punches when it comes to the feels, particularly hope and hate.

[mallorean_thug]

Hihi.

I haven't really dropped by to talk about anime recently, but I just finished watching Ojamajo Doremi Sharp, and it was really really good. Like, the first season was fantastic, and I think I raved about it earlier in the thread, but the second season managed to set the bar even higher. Especially with the arc from the movie to episode 40, and the last episode. I honestly don't know how the rest of the show (two more seasons!) can manage to live up to this, but I'm really eager to find out.

Seriously, if you have any tolerance for kids shows, give this show a shot. Its already easily surpassed Card Captor Sakura as my favorite mahou shoujo, and I'm only halfway done.

Ok, that's it.

(Gatchaman was the best thing last season by a mile, and my hopes for next season mostly rest on Subete ga F ni naru actually being good)

[Rodin]

There's also the fact that the entire last episode felt literally unnecessary - as in, they wrapped up what needed to be wrapped up in the penultimate episode, and would arguably have been better off leaving the events the last episode detailed as something that you assume happens (or not) offscreen after the end. Having another full episode to work with for the rest of the series might have helped.



I didn't understand this post at all for a few days, feeling that the last episode felt necessary to wrap up the plot. Then I realized that there was, in fact, a 13th episode after the one I was thinking of. And yeah, it was unnecessary.

The final episode itself was actually pretty decent - a bit of a step up from the couple episodes prior. However, it again felt rushed - there was probably an entire season's worth of content in that one episode. The show as a whole definitely felt like a 26-episode show compressed right the way down to fit into 13 episodes, which would explain the sometimes breakneck pace and wildly swinging mood. There was simply no time to process the plot twists.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Hihi.

Seriously, if you have any tolerance for kids shows, give this show a shot. Its already easily surpassed Card Captor Sakura as my favorite mahou shoujo, and I'm only halfway done.


I'll probably check it out once I've gotten sick of Pretty Cure. Which could be quite soon if what I've heard about the later seasons is true.

Or I could just actually watch Card Captor Sakura all the way through, but it never grabbed me (admittedly in dub).


Futari Wa Pretty Cure Spash Star
Has the most amusing villains, since all these series are monster of the weak shows the one that actually does the monster of the week part best is the best in my opinion. The heroes are only okay, but the dark magical girl turncoats are the best version of that plot-line I've seen. The final 2 episodes are dedicated to the best Dragon Ball Z fight (beating out all of the even good ones actually in DBZ by condencing it down to a sensible time). The slice of life development of the minor characters is also quite well done. Is moderately YuriGoggles friendly. The main heroine has the worst outfit ever.

Villains: *****
Slice of Life: ****
Heroes: **
Mascots: **
Character Designs: *
Long-term Plotting: ****
YuriGoggles: ***

(clearly the research needed to develop a superior set of categories for rating girl's toy commercials would not be worth the required funding. Crappy CGI is not rated because its all bad. Negative numbers in brackets are adjustments I could make if I wasn't feeling generous, not ones I've already factored in)

Yes! Pretty Cure 5
Has the best good guys. They're totally archetypal but that lets the writers focus on quality over innovation, giving us the best possible versions of those archetypes. Despite having 5 good guys, they're better balanced and get a good share of development and opportunities for individual awesomeness while all the other series focus more on the protagonist. Despite having less focus and being magical girl archetype no1, the main heroine is the best main heroine. Bad guys are okay. Also has the best cute mascots. One of them is an angsty bishonen whose true form is a equally angsty but ridiculously cute cartoon Squirrel called Nuts. I repeat, the mysterious angsty Bishie who every woman in town falls for is actually a Squirrel called Nuts, this is the most hilarious and awesome thing ever. Due to having 5 super heroines, mundane side characters get the short end of the stick. Sadly its also the most heterosexual Pretty Cure; on the other hand it is the only one that has real romance arcs. Is ironically actually the fourth Pretty Cure series.

Villains: ***
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: *****
Mascots: *****
Character Designs: ****
Long-term Plotting: ***
YuriGoggles: *

Futari Wa Pretty Cure
The first series. Probably has the second best good guys after Yes! with probably more actual introspection and character depth, they just aren't quite as well drawn over-all. Also has the best flirtations into Girl's Love. Second half feels like they extended the plot, leading to pacing issues. The Fairy Mascots are also terribly annoying if that sort of thing bothers you. Has the best actual hand to hand fighting. The mundane side characters basically form cast herds of club members to the two protagonists so don't end up particularly interesting or memorable compared to Splash Star where they have recurring drawn out arcs.
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: ****
Heroes: ****
Mascots: *
Character Designs: ****
Long-term Plotting: **
YuriGoggles: *****

Heartcatch Pretty Cure
Terribly over-rated. The long term plot and character stuff is quite good, but the monster of the weak formula is overly simplistic and repetitive and the filler villains, of which there are only three of for 40 episodes; are dull. The two main characters are good examples of archetype breaking but they didn't interest me as much as Yes!'s well done , while the third wheel character is underdeveloped and on the whole it juggles 4 characters much worse than Yes! juggles 5 characters. It also crushes its characters identity by forcing them all into the Fashion club when the other series let its girls all have different hobbies and interests that are independent of their interpersonal relationships. There's some development of minor characters here, but nothing on the Splash Star level. Even the Utena-esque character designs don't help it beat out Futari Wa on the Yuri front.

Villains: **
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: ***
Mascots: ***
Character Designs: **** (-2 depending on how I feel about the art style that day)
Long-term Plotting: ****
YuriGoggles: ****

Yes! Pretty Cure 5 Go! Go!
Is a unnecessary and inferior continuation of Pretty Cure 5. On the other hand, has some of the best magical girl clothes ever. It has to re-open character development wrapped up nicely in the first season of Yes! and doesn't really go anywhere with the new character threads. Also, since it actually is the fifth series in the franchise, it had to have the word 5 in the title three times as a stupid multi-language pun.

Villains: ***
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: ***** (-3 for relying on knowledge from previous series)
Mascots: *****
Character Designs: *****
Long-term Plotting: ***
YuriGoggles: **

Futari Wa Pretty Cure Max Heart
Only seen the first two episodes. I've put it last anyway since that's where it will end up if its truly to the original series as Go!Go! is to Yes!


edit:


Princess Tutu
Villains: ****
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: *****
Mascots: ***** (there aren't any, since mascots are terrible this is a good thing, -5 if you like annoying critters)
Character Designs: ****
Long-term Plotting: *****
YuriGoggles: ** YaoiGoggles: ****

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
Villains: *
Slice of Life: *
Heroes: *****
Mascots: **** (reverse this with villains if you think the Witches are the mascots and Kyubei is the villain)
Character Designs: *****
Long-term Plotting: *****
YuriGoggles: *****

Mai Hime
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: ****
Mascots: *****
Character Designs: ****
Long-term Plotting: ****
YuriGoggles: **** (-2 for not needing any)

Mai Otome
Villains: *****
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: ****
Mascots: **
Character Designs: ***
Long-term Plotting: ***
YuriGoggles: ****

Cardcaptors (aka the dub)
Villains: **
Slice of Life: *****
Heroes: ***
Mascots: *****
Character Designs: ***
Long-term Plotting: **** (-3 with American broadcast order)
YuriGoggles: ****

Pretty Sammy (OVA)
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: **** (-3 for relying on Tenchi Muyo)
Mascots: ***** (as above)
Character Designs: **** (mostly as above)
Long-term Plotting: *
YuriGoggles: ***

Lyrical Nanoha As
Villains: ****
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: ***
Mascots: **
Character Designs: ***
Long-term Plotting: **
YuriGoggles: *****

Lyrical Nanoha
Villains: *
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: ***
Mascots: ****
Character Designs: ****
Long-term Plotting: **
YuriGoggles: *****

Prisma Ilya/Prisma Ilya Zwei (they're about the same)
Villains: **
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: ***
Mascots: *
Character Designs: **** (only a -1 for stealing from Fate)
Long-term Plotting: **
YuriGoggles: *** (-3 for the show itself having them, ruining the fun)

Uta Kata
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: *
Mascots: *
Character Designs: ***
Long-term Plotting: *
YuriGoggles: ****

Sailor Moon Crystal
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: *
Heroes: **** (-3 if being Iconic isn't enough)
Mascots ****
Character designs: * (+4 in rare circumstances where the art style works
Long-term Plotting: *
YuriGoggles: **

Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS
Villains: **
Slice of Life: ***
Heroes: **
Mascots: **
Character Designs: **
Long-term Plotting: *
YuriGoggles: ****

Saint October
Villains: ***
Slice of Life: **
Heroes: **
Mascots: *
Character Designs: *
Long-term Plotting: *
YuriGoggles: ***

[ex cathedra]

Owarimonogatari kicked off with a 48-minute double-episode. Ougi is quickly growing on me, she's shaping up to be a very compelling antagonist.

At the same time, the long awaited Monogatari prequel movie, Kizumonogatari (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRdtWrE9bF8), was finally given a release date: January 08, 2016. Bad (?) news might be that it's being released in three parts, only the first of which will air come January.

[cobaltstarfire]

We gave Hanayamata a try tonight....and Crunchy Roll is doing that thing where it refuses to really buffer the video even if you let it....:smallannoyed:

But it looks pretty interesting so far, what little we saw, maybe we'll be able to finish the rest of the episode tomorrow.

We'll try Read or Die tomorrow to see if it's a series Crunchy Roll will actually allow us to watch uninterrupted.

[Fri]

So... Iron Blooded Orphan is out.

First episode's pretty good. Three quarter infodump though. I assume that's so they can get it out of their system all at once and all other episodes will be fully giant robot punching each others non stop :smalltongue:

[mallorean_thug]

I'll probably check it out once I've gotten sick of Pretty Cure. Which could be quite soon if what I've heard about the later seasons is true.


That's funny, because I was considering moving on to watching Pretty Cure after I get through the rest of Ojamajo Doremi.

Though I was going to go with Heartcatch based on conversations I've read on the topic previously. In light of your ratings, maybe I'll reconsider? I'm not sure. I /really/ like Heartcatch's character designs, and .gifs I've seen of its fight sequences.

You should totally add a "Likelihood of buying the toys after watching" category though. Or maybe a "Would make my niece/daughter watch" category.

[Prime32]

Let's see...

I've watched about half of Splash Star but couldn't really get invested in it. Maybe its age had something to do with it? A lot of people seem to like the enemy generals.
Heartcatch is the first series I watched all the way through. I liked it; the art style doesn't bother me. In regards to your comment on the fight scenes, I won't say it has the best in the franchise, but it's generally held as the most consistent.
Suite Precure is the tale of Hibiki and Kanade, who transform to fight monsters with the power of music. Gungnir is not involved, as far as I'm aware. Was long famous as "the most gay" Precure series, since the protagonists hate each other but have abilities powered by friendship and working together, causing them to come across as tsundere. IIRC it got an English dub somehow?
Dokidoki is the second series I watched all the way through - it's known for good pacing, but having a protagonist who's kind of a Mary Sue. Also for raising the yuri subtext even more than Suite, to the point where the team is practically a harem. I thought it handled the supporting characters fairly well.
From what I hear, Smile Precure is basically the opposite of Dokidoki - not much focus on an overarching plot, but a lot of silly and memorable episodes. It's commonly accused of not doing enough with its fairytale theme, treating the pink Cure like a joke, and pandering too hard to the otaku market with the yellow Cure.
Happiness Charge is a series I've never finished, but was clearly trying hard to be Heartcatch 2.0. While the pink Cure is still the hero, the blue Cure is the protagonist, and she's basically a combination of both the main characters from Heartcatch. Also most of the pink Cure's attacks are references to Mazinkaiser for some reason. Known as "the most straight" Precure series, with an unusual amount of focus on boyfriends and the like.
I watched one episode of Princess Precure out of curiosity and it was the most Disney thing I've ever seen, including Disney. Seriously, the villain is freaking Maleficent.

[VariSami]

While this season seems to have a lot to offer in terms of new seasons in particular, I have mostly been watching Tiger & Bunny instead of the new shows. I must admit, the premise is really captivating. While this is not the RPG section of the forum, does someone more knowledgeable about superhero tabletop games have any hints which systems might be best for a campaign in that setting? I have some ideas for a simple homebrew system as well, but maybe there already exists something with a suitably low power level.

[HMS Invincible]

While this season seems to have a lot to offer in terms of new seasons in particular, I have mostly been watching Tiger & Bunny instead of the new shows. I must admit, the premise is really captivating. While this is not the RPG section of the forum, does someone more knowledgeable about superhero tabletop games have any hints which systems might be best for a campaign in that setting? I have some ideas for a simple homebrew system as well, but maybe there already exists something with a suitably low power level.

My main problem with Tiger & Bunny is mostly Tiger. He's pretty lame. Like his secret plan to solve everything...was to wear his old costume. WTF? There's hints that he's not actually that stupid, but they make him do dumb stuff a lot.

[VariSami]

My main problem with Tiger & Bunny is mostly Tiger. He's pretty lame. Like his secret plan to solve everything...was to wear his old costume. WTF? There's hints that he's not actually that stupid, but they make him do dumb stuff a lot.

You do realize that is something of a spoiler? I just finished episode 16 myself, but luckily I am the type to read up on interesting characters on wikia pages beforehand so I knew about the thing you mentioned.

As for Tiger's personality, admittedly he can be a pain at times. Not that Bunny is all that much better a lot of the time. He does get better, though - and Tiger has clearly been improving with time as well. I think you are right in that he has more to himself than he shows. I particularly enjoyed Bunny's analysis of Tiger's personality when they were training with Blue Rose. The character dynamics are what makes the show in general, not the relatively simple personalities themselves. Plus, of course, the whole premise.

[Kato]

I loved Tiger & Bunny when it aired. Yeah, it didn't quite live up to what the premise could have delivered, but as VariSami says, while the characters could certainly have been done better, they shine when they interact. (Kind of like Steins;Gate) I actually do prefer Tiger over Bunny by a lot, though. Bunny is very straightly played wheat has probably become known as a Sasuke-type character, which gets kind of old. Tiger might be an idiot hero (a trope that is even older, I guess) but at least to me he is such an endearing idiot hero. Also, he is not as useless as he appears at times.

[DoctorFaust]

Does anybody know if Kowabon was picked up for streaming by anyone? MAL says that the first episode came out yesterday, but I haven't seen a legit stream of it yet.

[GloatingSwine]

So the first episode of Iron Blooded Orphans has aired.

It seems promising so far. Soundtrack is good, animation is what you'd expect from Sunrise, it sets up the core conflict of "these people aren't valued by anyone and are caught up in chaotic events", and it seems like it's going to be remeniscent of Dougram, which is super highly regarded but hasn't often been followed up thematically.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Tiger and Bunny never grabbed me. What I saw of the later episodes actually looked interesting but I couldn't get through the early ones.


My main problem with Tiger & Bunny is mostly Tiger. He's pretty lame.

Isn't that kind of the point?


That's funny, because I was considering moving on to watching Pretty Cure after I get through the rest of Ojamajo Doremi.

Though I was going to go with Heartcatch based on conversations I've read on the topic previously. In light of your ratings, maybe I'll reconsider? I'm not sure. I /really/ like Heartcatch's character designs, and .gifs I've seen of its fight sequences.

Heartcatch's character designs are a LOT better in the show than in stills.

There's no reason not to start with Heartcatch, but people who start with Heartcatch tend to have different opinions of the other series than people who don't start with Heartcatch. I originally planned on starting with Heartcatch and then decided to watch the first series instead and (and the third because it was in the same torrent) and then moved on to Heartcatch. From my experience of other people rating series, all the ones before and including Heartcatch are somebody's favourite, but the ones after Heartcatch are generally rated pretty badly, especially by Heartcatch fans. This paragraph has too much instances of Heartcatch so why not have one more?

Oddly enough, my main complaint about the series is actually that the whole "magic exorcism psycho-therapy" thing it does was so much better in The World God Only Knows. So maybe I'm actually just comparing it to a non-magical girl series anyway.

So the only real advice I can give is "if you just want to watch Heartcatch, watch it; if you want to watch multiple Pretty Cure series, start at the beginning".



You should totally add a "Likelihood of buying the toys after watching" category though. Or maybe a "Would make my niece/daughter watch" category.

I don't have the money for toys and if I did, I'd still be buying Gundams instead.

I'm not likely to have a daughter any time soon and even less likely to have a niece. If I did have a daughter I'd probably be showing her Kurau Phantom Memory first instead.


Let's see...
[SPOILER=Precure][list]
I've watched about half of Splash Star but couldn't really get invested in it. Maybe its age had something to do with it? A lot of people seem to like the enemy generals.

Its younger than the first two Nanoha series, so its not that old. It is a different project lead to the later series though.

If you don't like a general (I found the fourth/water one not very interesting and the third/earth one is only worth it because he shares an arc with the evil Twins) they die after 7 episodes. That's formulaic but its a big advantage over some of the later series.

Kintolesky (Gold element and the last one) is the best general in any magical girl show. Sadly the format requiring him to run away at the end of every episode causes some character inconsistencies. The main villain is also one of the better antagonists, most Pretty Cure archvillians are very samey.

I only watch this stuff when eating lunch, so if I get bored of a series I generally find myself bored and eating lunch a few weeks later and start watching it again. This is how I ended up taking three years to get through five seasons.


Heartcatch is the first series I watched all the way through. I liked it; the art style doesn't bother me. In regards to your comment on the fight scenes, I won't say it has the best in the franchise, but it's generally held as the most consistent.


I find it hard to see how something that relies so heavily on animation bumps can be called 'consistent'. I found it really inconsistent but in a structured sort of way. When its good it is really good, otherwise it kind of passes the time. Second half of Futari wa Pretty Cure was the most consistent fight scene wise for me, but I also found it kind of repetitive but that might have been mostly due to a really annoying mascot.

Most Pretty Cure series have rubbish finale episodes, Heartcatch has a good finale arc, this is in my opinion why it leads a strong lasting impression in a lot of people.

Ironic how I always have the most to say about my least favourite things in franchises.

[Prime32]

I find it hard to see how something that relies so heavily on animation bumps can be called 'consistent'. I found it really inconsistent but in a structured sort of way. When its good it is really good, otherwise it kind of passes the time. Second half of Futari wa Pretty Cure was the most consistent fight scene wise for me, but I also found it kind of repetitive but that might have been mostly due to a really annoying mascot.Well in some seasons they seem to... fight like wizards, if that makes sense? They just get beat up for a while then go straight to the stock footage finisher. Heartcatch rarely skipped the hand-to-hand combat, and the characters had a number of special attacks that weren't finishers to keep things varied. Plus the monsters were played up as tragic figures, which helped the fights feel a bit more personal.

[DoctorFaust]

no...

it's raining

[cobaltstarfire]

Hanaymata is turning out to be pretty interesting pretty quickly.

It's also strange to me that it has traits that I usually find irritating (crazy characters that shout all the time and glomp things and are just generally hyperactive and screechy). But they don't bother me in this case...maybe because the crazy character has been very sweet instead of abusive like most crazy characters like this are.

It's also really really pretty, like everything is just so pretty and shiny and sparkly and cute.


Yosakoi in general looks pretty interesting to me too, I don't really dance because I'm gangly and awkward, but I'd willingly try to learn yosakoi if given the opportunity it looks fun and like very good exercise.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Well in some seasons they seem to... fight like wizards, if that makes sense?

We've only seen one season in common, so can't really relate here.


Plus the monsters were played up as tragic figures, which helped the fights feel a bit more personal.

That was a nice way of tying the slice of life into the action sequence (a disconnect in a lot of magical girl series) but the before complained about "magical exorcism psychotherapy" trivialised the character development. None of the 'problem characters of the week' actually works through their problems in an actually relatable and interesting way like in the previous seasons at their best, they just get possessed which is always ultimately a good thing in this series.

Dark Blossom and Itsuki's grandfather ended up standing out to be because they were almost the only side characters to actually get non-magical character development.

While The World God Only Knows uses the same 'exorcism is psychotherapy' concept but makes it the actual focus by limiting action scenes, gives each character multiple episodes to properly have their psychology examined and uses it as a self aware deconstruction of the overly simplistic plots of romance stories.

The first girl from season 2 of also does the exact same "martial arts heir who hides her love of cute things" that Itsuki does. Which I found annoying and simplistic with Itsuki in a Shoujo role model context but didn't mind in a shonen series that makes a point of parodying simplistic female characters (TWGOK girl was also a busty long black haired martial girl and I'm weak to that)

It might also just be that I can't relate to such characters at all so I like them more as love interests than as wish fulfilment heroes. Being a guy who collects stuffed animals I should be able to relate but I care so little about what other people think about me that I can't.

Cure Sunshine also disappointed me because after her amazing showing in her introductory episode she rarely does any martial arts and is just a forcefield backup character.

[Prime32]

That was a nice way of tying the slice of life into the action sequence (a disconnect in a lot of magical girl series) but the before complained about "magical exorcism psychotherapy" trivialised the character development. None of the 'problem characters of the week' actually works through their problems in an actually relatable and interesting way like in the previous seasons at their best, they just get possessed which is always ultimately a good thing in this series.

While The World God Only Knows uses the same 'exorcism is psychotherapy' concept but makes it the actual focus by limiting action scenes, gives each character multiple episodes to properly have their psychology examined and uses it as a self aware deconstruction of the overly simplistic plots of romance stories.Well yeah, but they were never going to make it the focus in the first place. There's usually only a few minutes to set things up in Precure's format, so it's unfair to compare it to a series that spends an entire arc on each character.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Hanaymata is turning out to be pretty interesting pretty quickly.

It's also strange to me that it has traits that I usually find irritating (crazy characters that shout all the time and glomp things and are just generally hyperactive and screechy). But they don't bother me in this case...maybe because the crazy character has been very sweet instead of abusive like most crazy characters like this are.

It's also really really pretty, like everything is just so pretty and shiny and sparkly and cute.


Yosakoi in general looks pretty interesting to me too, I don't really dance because I'm gangly and awkward, but I'd willingly try to learn yosakoi if given the opportunity it looks fun and like very good exercise.
It's because Hana is fantastic. :smallbiggrin: And yeah, the yosakoi in the show is wonderful. The production values on the show are great, and it's really a show about being really really into a hobby or something, and how that can bring people together. It's really wonderful for that.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Okay, so I'm interested in Dragonball, but part of the reason the anime is so long is because it's slow. How long/well-paced is the manga?

[Fri]

Good.

Dragonball manga is actually quite reasonably well paced, and the infamous power level system is actually pretty interesting until freeza. It's a good way to make you feel "holy crap, the MCs are really outpowered here! like, really outpowered.

It just went absurd after that because it's actually supposed to be broken by Super Saiyan (the first one).

I still say dragonball manga is actually one of the better shonen fighting series out there, and it's not because of nostalgia.

Except for one thing.

If only Toriyama could make people from early series relevant in the series...

[VariSami]

Just some more of my random random check-ins... (Partly ecause I really have no comments on the series being discussed right now.)

I just watched this really nice series called Kuuchuu Buranko (Trapeze) over the last few days. I found it by looking for drama TV series ranked at least 8 in MAL, and since I had either seen or read most of them already, I decided to go with this one.

What is the show about? A really annoying psychiatrist and his sadist nurse tormenting their customers until the latter realize either where their problems lie or how to make the best of their situation. The first few episodes were pretty eh but interesting enough to reel me in. However, the quality really climbs towards the end, although the final episode is just business as usual.

Oh. And the psychiatrist has a flower-decorated bear theme. He comes in three varieties representing the ego, the super-ego and the id. At times the series is a bit confusing, partially because it plays around with the art style quite a bit.

Has anyone else happened to see Trapeze? It seemed to be quite an obscure series, and I had never heard of it before for sure.

[DoctorFaust]

I started watching Tesagure! Bukatsumono recently, and I've really been enjoying it. Normally wouldn't be anything particularly special, since it's basically just a show about a bunch of high school girls discussing the tropes common in clubs shown in high school anime and manga with kinda mediocre 3D animation, but it stands out in that each episode (which are only about 11 minutes long, by the way) has a section of improv, essentially, from the voice actresses coming up with new twists on the clubs they talk about in that episode. For instance, in one episode, they talk about art clubs, and this happens (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-5n4EVsmmo).

[Fri]

Just some more of my random random check-ins... (Partly ecause I really have no comments on the series being discussed right now.)

I just watched this really nice series called Kuuchuu Buranko (Trapeze) over the last few days. I found it by looking for drama TV series ranked at least 8 in MAL, and since I had either seen or read most of them already, I decided to go with this one.

What is the show about? A really annoying psychiatrist and his sadist nurse tormenting their customers until the latter realize either where their problems lie or how to make the best of their situation. The first few episodes were pretty eh but interesting enough to reel me in. However, the quality really climbs towards the end, although the final episode is just business as usual.

Oh. And the psychiatrist has a flower-decorated bear theme. He comes in three varieties representing the ego, the super-ego and the id. At times the series is a bit confusing, partially because it plays around with the art style quite a bit.

Has anyone else happened to see Trapeze? It seemed to be quite an obscure series, and I had never heard of it before for sure.

Huh, just checked it, and sounds like something I'd like to watch. Pseudo philosophical gibberish never bother me as much as other people anyway. If people are allowed to like brainless action series, why can't we like mindless pseudophilosopichal series too!

Anyway more stuff from this season.

The thing I've been interested for a while, Concrete Revolutio, turned out to be pretty interesting as well.

The artstyle is... the background is one of those stylish avant-garde anime thingamajig, but the character design is distincitively 80s-90s anime. Basically, got style, which is my catnip.

The premise is about the world where various superhuman with wildly incompatible and differing ability, backstory, power source, mythology, etc, exist. If you're familiar with dreamwidth/livejournal rp you'll feel familiar... And the MC is part of some governmental agency that deal with superhuman. Basically in the MC's word, "The superhuman protect earth, but who will protect them? We care for them so they don't have to change boarding place and look for job often because they have to protect their identity." I think the premise's pretty cool.

And also, at least in the first episode (and from next episode teaser I think later episodes too?) the story is somewhat non linear. I mean, in the first episode there's two stories, separated by 5 years. The "past" is colorful and tells story about the MC's work in said agency. The "future" is drab, for some reason people seems to dislike superhumans, and the MC seems to be called traitor by his colleagues from the past and chased by them.

[VariSami]

Concrete Revolutio, you say? In turn, I must admit that sounds interesting. Particularly because I am drawing parallels to the last series with superhumans protecting the peace, Tiger & Bunny, although this seems very different, of course. But I do like eclectic mixtures of different mythologies when they are done well. (Too bad there are much too many ways to do them badly.)

[mallorean_thug]

Has anyone else happened to see Trapeze? It seemed to be quite an obscure series, and I had never heard of it before for sure.

I have! Trapeze is super good, and I'd definitely second your recommendation.

I think that its not quite as obscure as you think it is though, because of who made it, and where it aired.

First of all, it aired in the noitaminA timeslot (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noitamina), a late night slot that bills itself as dedicated to shows with appeal beyond the normal young male demographic. If you're looking for other interesting and weird tv shows, the list of shows that belong to that small club is a pretty good place to start. Though I would note that its average quality dropped precipitously starting in late 2011 when it started playing host to shows that stopped fufilling its alternative audiences mission like Guilty Crown, Black Rock Shooter, and Gallilei Donna. Not that it stopped having good shows (like Samurai Flamenco, and Ping Pong), just that I can't blanket recommend all of them like I can for pre-2011 noitaminA

Thankfully, this season seems like a great return to form with Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider. Of all of the non-sequel first episodes I've watched, that show has the most promise by quite a bit.

Then, the other reason somebody might have heard of Trapeze is its fantastic director; Kenji Nakamura (Or obviously it can go the other way. You've now heard of him because of Trapeze). Here (https://camonte.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/kenji-nakamura/)'s a great summary of his career, but the short version would be that he wanted to be an animator, but had to stop due to wrist problems. After getting into directing, his breakout moment was the Bakeneko arc of Ayakashi Samurai Horror tales, which he managed to spin off into an entire tv series; Mononoke. His next show was Trapeze, and since then he's done [C], Tsuritama, Gatchaman Crowds, and Gatchaman Crowds Insight. I would unreservedly recommend all of his shows except for [C].

[Sallera]

Oh, Crowds was his? Didn't realize, I might have to check that out after all. Mononoke is still one of my most fondly remembered series.

I'm also rather optimistic about Subete ga F ni Naru. The dialogue was great, and I can see the characters growing on me. Still feels like it has the potential to go either way, but I'm hopeful.

[VariSami]

It seems I have yet another non-sequel show to watch this season. Also, Trapeze might not be obscure in an absolute sense. But I would reckon few people go all the way to search for shows to watch by digging up their directors and such. On average, if you happen to meet someone who 'watches anime', I would imagine they would not have heard of Trapeze.

Also... [C] was not *that* bad. Sure, it had its glaring problems. But I still managed to enjoy the ride.

[Fri]

I also enjoyed [c] for what its worth. Never realized it has the same director with those other anime.

[Closet_Skeleton]

Concretto Revolutio is definitely the kind of show that I can't judge from the first episode but don't have much hope for ending up being memorable.


I would unreservedly recommend all of his shows except for [C].

(C) is the only one of those I liked that much. Couldn't finish Crowds and Tsuritama was only mildly amusing.

[mallorean_thug]

First of all, I have the anime announcement of the century to share with you guys:

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2015-10-11/kyoto-animation-to-produce-a-silent-voice-film-with-director-naoko-yamada/.94031

Koe no Kotachi is getting an anime adaption

as a full length film

produced by KyoAni

and directed by Naoko Yamada

Every subsequent line there basically doubles my hype for this. Something that really deserves an anime adaption is getting top of the class treatment by a company I can trust to do a fantastic job, and directed by one of my absolute favorite directors right now.

I just recently got around to watching Tamako Love Story, and it was fantastic. Like, a lot of anime movies make me think "this couldn't be done as a tv show" but few make me think "This is cinema". Tamako Love Story is cinema. Its also probably the most sappy and adorable thing I've ever had the pleasure of watching. If you haven't watched it because you didn't really care for Tamako Market, you should give it a try anyways. It was written in a way that you don't need to have seen the series at all, and its way way better than the series anyways. Would highly recommend, especially if you're thinking "Why do I care about this Yamada person anyways?"



(C) is the only one of those I liked that much. Couldn't finish Crowds and Tsuritama was only mildly amusing.

Huh, I really strongly disagree with this. To me, his shows are something like:

Mononoke >>> Tsuritama > Trapeze >> Insight > Crowds >>>>>>> [C]

[C] had great visual direction, and an amazing soundtrack from Iwasaki, but the way it was presented I don't think it could really stand alone as an action show. Which means it was really dependant on its political messages and themes, which I thought were poorly done and dependent on attacking straw men (something that Crowds and Insight also suffer from to a certain degree). Like, I want to believe that anime can be used for thoughtful critiques of complicated topics like deficit spending, but [C] was not that. Maybe it was just the extensive report I had done on the topic the year before, but the way [C] presented its ideas just really pissed me off. And again, I don't really think it works as a show if you just try to ignore that stuff either.

Tsuritama, on the other hand, is easily his most cohesive work, telling a very well done story about friendship, passion, and dreams in a wacky magical realism setting designed to accommodate it. As a kid, I never understood fishing at all, but this was a show that could make me care about something I thought completely uninteresting by showing it to me through the eyes of its very believable cast.

[DoctorFaust]

So, ANN kinda makes it sound like Shizune bad end: the anime. How Far off is that impression?

Out of everything I've watched so far, Sakurako-san is the one that's grabbed me the hardest. Really good animation, good sound, interesting characters,and what Inhope will be a very solid murder of the week story.

[Closet_Skeleton]

[C] had great visual direction, and an amazing soundtrack from Iwasaki, but the way it was presented I don't think it could really stand alone as an action show.

Most action anime have terrible animation and are just cool posturing. C is perfectly acceptable on that front and has some novelty value.


Like, I want to believe that anime can be used for thoughtful critiques of complicated topics like deficit spending, but [C] was not that.

There I suppose is your mistake. I basically just treated it like a smarter version of Pokemon.

I think C is a much better economics anime if you're a guy who likes pretentious action and knows nothing about economics. Then it actually inspires you to learn more by yourself. If you're already a master of the dark arts then it doesn't have anything to add.


Tsuritama, on the other hand, is easily his most cohesive work, telling a very well done story about friendship, passion, and dreams in a wacky magical realism setting designed to accommodate it.

The main nakama were all dull. The Sikh guy was al-right but only in that he made no sense what so ever and that was kind of amusing. I can't even remember the two passive aggressive teenagers (were there two? I think there might have been two).

[VariSami]

Funny how I had a very similar feeling form the first episode of Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider as Closet_Skeleton had received from [C]. As in, if [C] takes some basic economics and plays around with then trying to sound special, the former seemed to just play around with pretty basic philosophy trying to sound really deep. This is more than most animated series can claim to their name, however, and luckily does not seem to constitute the whole point of the series. I still have hope.

Concrete Revoltio, on the other hand, was a real disappointment. I am not sure if I have any interest in watching beyond episode 1, because I have tried reducing the amount of mediocre new series in my diet. Somehow the vibes I received reminded me of Punch Line. Ultimately pointless relatively light-hearted bouncing and bumbling around.

[DoctorFaust]

Concrete Revoltio, on the other hand, was a real disappointment. I am not sure if I have any interest in watching beyond episode 1, because I have tried reducing the amount of mediocre new series in my diet. Somehow the vibes I received reminded me of Punch Line. Ultimately pointless relatively light-hearted bouncing and bumbling around.

:smallconfused: Did you miss the fact that the Superhuman Bureau's official policy for dealing with potentially dangerous superhumans is to straight up murder them? Or the implication that the Jiro had a fairly violent falling out with the Superhuman Bureau, resulting in him becoming their enemy at some prior to the parts of the story set in what I assume is the present day?

[VariSami]

:smallconfused: Did you miss the fact that the Superhuman Bureau's official policy for dealing with potentially dangerous superhumans is to straight up murder them? Or the implication that the Jiro had a fairly violent falling out with the Superhuman Bureau, resulting in him becoming their enemy at some prior to the parts of the story set in what I assume is the present day?

No, not really. But these things really do not stand through the mood in which things are presented. For example, I made a comparison to Punch Line, a series full of panty peek humour
and in which the whole of humanity is doomed to die from the plot of social Darwinist conspirators who launched nukes at a meteor to make it hit Earth. Oh, and one of the characters was seriously bullied and made a fake death threat video in response, causing her teacher who harbours illicit feelings towards her to start killing the bullies. Another one is dying from the after-effects of the illegal human experimentation to which she was subjected by aforementioned conspirators.

Krhm. Yes, there was some pretty dark stuff in the spoiler. But none of that really adds too much depth or drama when the visuo-audial framework supports an atmosphere of excessive fanservice. Of course the two can be combined to bring out the absurdity in the latter but it takes a lot of balancing, and Concrete Revolutio's first episode did not get my hopes up on that front. This is a judgement I base on having watched a lot of average chaff over the years. Many flagging tropes were present.

[Fri]

I'm not meaning to compare you with this particular friend of mine, but you just remind me on this guy.

He refuse to watch Madoka because he says the artstyle is too moe. No seriously, that's the only reason why he hasn't watched Madoka. I've told him a lot of times that it's meant as contrast and the story is good and whatever, but he says "the artstyle turns me off because it's too cutesy."

[cobaltstarfire]

I'm not meaning to compare you with this particular friend of mine, but you just remind me on this guy.

He refuse to watch Madoka because he says the artstyle is too moe. No seriously, that's the only reason why he hasn't watched Madoka. I've told him a lot of times that it's meant as contrast and the story is good and whatever, but he says "the artstyle turns me off because it's too cutesy."

Why should someone feel compelled to watch something with an art style that they feel is annoying, off putting, or discomforting? There's nothing wrong with that.

Though I personally won't watch Madoka because I have no interest in an anime who's sole selling point has been "it's so good because it's super emotional and will make you cry".

[Draconium]

Why should someone feel compelled to watch something with an art style that they feel is annoying, off putting, or discomforting? There's nothing wrong with that.

When I first had Madoka recommended to me, I originally thought the art style was too cutesy and moe as well. Then I decided to actually try it out after a while. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only was the anime quite good, the art style was indeed a wonderful contrast to the show's darker theme.

Reflecting on it now, I realize I was judging a book by it's cover - or in this case, an anime by it's art style. I think the friend should at least try watching it, even if the art style isn't his taste. He could be surprised.

[ex cathedra]

I don't think that there's anything wrong with not wanting to watch something because it seems "too moe." It's not something that I'd advise -- I mean, I love moe -- but it's completely believable that something like that can diminish certain viewer's enjoyment. I try not to watch anything that seems "too shonen," and I'm sure that I've missed some at least decent anime because of that, but there's enough TV in the world that even missing out an entire genre worth of material isn't that big of a deal. There's nothing that anyone must watch.


Why should someone feel compelled to watch something with an art style that they feel is annoying, off putting, or discomforting? There's nothing wrong with that.

Though I personally won't watch Madoka because I have no interest in an anime who's sole selling point has been "it's so good because it's super emotional and will make you cry".

I don't think that Madoka is one of 'those' anime, though; I'm also not totally sure what 'those' anime are; AnoHana? Clannad: AS? White Album 2? Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso? In every case that immediately comes to mind, I think that depiction kind of sells the show in question short, but this aside has gone on long enough.

In my opinion, Madoka's strengths are tight and well-stylized animation, a strong narrative, its engaging characterization, and its semi-psychological themes. It certainly gets emotional at times, but that's not even close to the most substantial thing I took out of watching it.

edit:
fwiw i never got around to watching rebellion

[cobaltstarfire]

What does "one of those" anime mean? I'm not sure what is being referred to here...I've never seen or heard of any of the ones listed sooo?


I still can't get behind judging someone negatively for not wanting to watch (or play) something because the visuals aren't a sort they like.

Most of my friends prefer "photo-realism" in games, and won't play a lot of games I like because they "look kiddie" but I don't think they're lesser people for knowing what they like, and preferring to stick with it.

[ex cathedra]

"anime who's sole selling point has been "it's so good because it's super emotional and will make you cry""

[Sallera]

I don't think that Madoka is one of 'those' anime, though; I'm also not totally sure what 'those' anime are; AnoHana? Clannad: AS? White Album 2? Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso? In every case that immediately comes to mind, I think that depiction kind of sells the show in question short, but this aside has gone on long enough.

ef? :smalltongue: Aside or not, it probably deserves a mention. I remember being pretty much emotionally numb for an hour or two after watching the love triangle arc of Memories in one sitting.

But I wouldn't put Madoka in that category either. I mean, if someone were actually looking for a depressing show, it wouldn't even come to mind. It's a show with great art direction, writing, and one of the best uses of an ED I've seen, it has a lot of fun playing with the magical girl genre, and even with all that, I'm not surprised the art style turns some people off. Even I found it a bit odd in context at first (although it never takes me long to get used to a new style), and I was already familiar with it from Hidamari Sketch.

[Lethologica]

W.r.t. Madoka, let's be fair: if one has difficulty detaching from a show's emotional impact, Sayaka's arc will be pretty draining. This is a feature, not a bug, but it's understandable if someone doesn't want that feature in their viewing experience.