What anime are you watching?

[blkmage]

So K-ON!! is technically "finished" as of episode 24, with two extra episodes to round out the cours. I've mentioned before that the first season didn't really meet my expectations and I had a bunch of suggestions or wishes. Those were more performances, less dumb drama (lol episode 11), and more character development. All of those were granted, beginning with the DVD episode of the first season (the one where they performed at an actual club outside of school). The second season is essentially the show that I was anticipating back when the first season aired. Some particularly impressive episodes were the outdoor music festival episode and the string of episodes leading up to the finale. Even the art and animation improved! So yeah, good stuff.

And I finally got to watch the thing I've been anticipating since the beginning of the year: the Bungaku Shoujo movie. At first, it was kind of disorienting, because not only was the movie not an adaptation of the first book like I expected, but some of the character personalities and roles were really different from what I was used to. From the plot of the movie, it's possible that the movie actually covers the last book, but I have no idea since I don't really know the plot of the later novels. However, the art was fantastic in general (didn't like some of the CG though), Konoha and Touko were spot on, and the plot was pretty interesting because I'd been wondering about this specific plot thread when I read the first book. Although it's made to be a standalone movie, I'm not sure if it would have the same appeal to someone completely unfamiliar with the series. However, unlike Break Blade, with the way they chose to adapt it (and considering the nature of the series), I can see why they didn't go for a TV series. Another good jaerb.

[Juliannesan]

Kyaaaa! XD I love/hated the ending of Neo Angelique Abyss: Second Age.
But it was definitely worth the watch, I just bought it. teehee.

I'm finishing up GetBackers now, I'm on episode 38. I love it, but it's taking me awhile to finish it...
After that though, I'm taking a biiiiig break.

Shido & Modoka! <3

[MightiMidget]

I finished the first season of Clannad, and starting the second season (eps 1-3). I adored the first, the second I am going through very slowly because I'd rather not rush through it. . .

Also started Kino's Journey (eps. 1-8) which I am positively adoring, Gurren Lagan (eps. 1-12) which I'm finally starting to enjoy a little more but still not exactly...attached. But I do love Simon.

And episode 11 of Shiki was annoyingly unsatisfying.

[Beau Soir]

I just watched episode 1 of My Bride is a Mermaid... it was the most terrible anime ep I've ever seen...
which is really sad, because I have a penchant for ocean-related stuff, and I wanted to like it, but just couldn't. >__<

Except when Nagasumi was carrying Sun away, that was cute.
[spoiler]And when he asked her dad for his permission to marry her, that was actually a really good far-too-short moment.[/spoiler]
But the rest, in all its unnecessary hyperactive-ness, was horrible. Quite sad. Moving on...

[KeybladeWarrior]

Now watching Hetalia World Series.

I have watched episodes 1-8 so far.

I have to agree with Beau Soir. My Bride is a Mermaid episode one was not good.

[Juliannesan]

I have to agree with Beau Soir. My Bride is a Mermaid episode one was not good.

Yes, the first episode was bad, I actually thought the sub to it was worse than the dub though. Which isn't THAT common for me. But I mean, alllll the characters were really awful that first episode. The second gets alittle better.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Marathoned The Skull Man 1-13 thanks to Anime Network's apparent 180 in regards to large amounts of free streaming content.

This was a show I liked but didn't love, and maybe b/c I don't know anything about Kamen Rider (Skull Man is an Ishinomori work that is meant to be loosely connected to KR). I was very intrigued by the mysteries hidden beneath layer upon layer of corruption, and I thought the show did a decent job of resolving some of the big ones.

The Skull Man himself is a pretty cool anti-hero w/ an appealing character design (though I don't think the designs are too faithful to the original material).

Towards the end, there is a bit of a tonal shift: the show goes from being a methodically-paced detective story to a monster battle-royal...whether this is a good thing depends on your taste. I didn't mind so much.

Some of the aspects of the world felt a little underdeveloped. Though the show did a fine job juggling a large cast, there were just so many characters that some of their motivations got lost. The series also felt like a giant prologue to...something (KR?).

A 7/10 for me.

[MightiMidget]

I just watched episode 1 of My Bride is a Mermaid... it was the most terrible anime ep I've ever seen...
which is really sad, because I have a penchant for ocean-related stuff, and I wanted to like it, but just couldn't. >__<

Yay! I'm not alone! I managed to get through the first six episodes, but finally gave up. The headache indusing-ness of it...could not...handle. And I also tried, hard, to like it...it was very disappointing. :/

Thanks for the Skull Man review, Doc. I was looking at that on Hulu and unsure what to think of it...

[Lilac#18]

[color="Plum"]Watched Naruto Shippuden episode 178 just a little while ago.[/color]

[Atria35]

Ramen Fighter Miki 1-3- decided to try this one out since it was on Hulu, and I would say that (as there were essentially two segments of every show, making this about 6 eps total) the average show quality ranged from 3 to nearly 4 stars. But it just didn't entertain me enough for me to keep watching.

School Rumble 1-3- also free on Hulu, unfortunately only dubbed >.>" I hate the main girl's VA. Seriously. She sounds 12. I want the 16 year old to sound 16! GAH! But I like the antics enough to keep watching. So far, a solid 4 stars from me!

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Thanks for the Skull Man review, Doc. I was looking at that on Hulu and unsure what to think of it...

Sure =).

Content-wise it is on the dark and violent/bloody side. Members of the Catholic Church are present and there is also a cult at the center of the story. No out-and-out nudity (thanks to some well-placed items in front of the camera).

It's the kind of show that I think lots of people will like more than me (though I really did like a lot about The Skull Man), people who (a) love all things Kamen Rider or (b) appreciate relatively action-devoid detective stories more than myself.

---

Started Legend of the Dark Kings: A Fist of the North Star Story

For Hotuko no Ken fans, this is pure bliss. It's the "gaiden" or origin story of Raoh (King of the Fist, baby!), the central villain in the TV series. Fantastic.

[blkmage]

Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi is incredibly mediocre and is much more by the book J.C. Staff than their usual fare. It's character archetype all-stars following the standard twelve-episode series setup that's all the rage nowadays: two or three episodes of introduction and two or three episodes of wrapping things up at the end with the entire middle being irrelevant sidetracking. If you're looking for anything new at all, then lololololol, but if you know what you like and this is what you like, well, have fun.

I guess it makes sense to talk about Amagami according to its arcs so here goes. We've cleared three of the six arcs so far, so this is the halfway point. The thing about Amagami as a series is that there's going to be one or two incredibly awkward scenes in each arc. For those of us who don't know Japanese, it wouldn't have occurred to us that this fact is openly advertised in its title, which translates roughly to play-biting.

Each arc is about a girl. As someone has pointed out to me, the advantage of this format is that no one feels slighted because their favourite character didn't get an arc and the arcs are short enough that if you really don't like a character, it's not too much effort to just bide your time. Each arc essentially boils down to how interesting each girl is. So, Haruka is the most interesting and hers was the most fun to watch because she's weird. Kaoru is also interesting because she's the bro kind of childhood friend. Sae is not very interesting because she's shy and socially inept and has the worst voice.

tl;dr, you probably don't want to watch Amagami.

[GeneD]

Currently on episode 45 of FMA: Brotherhood [spoiler]I rewound and rewatched the Greed/Bradley fight in the previous ep about 5 times.

This is something not related to where I am in the story, but I only fully realized it when watching Brotherhood, so I want to point it out. Although I'm sure everyone else got this immediately, I only recently came to grips with the fact that Hughes may not have died if he did not carry a photo of his family everywhere! This makes his death so much sadder for me. It didn't impact me so much when watching the original anime because someone spoiled it for me. So yeah, just a belated FMA revelation. When I finish watching it, there's a good chance that I will go back and rewatch some of my favourite eps and drop some more comments about them.[/spoiler]

I'm also watching Paranoia Agent on Animax, currently on episode 10, but I missed 7 and 8.

[Tsukuyomi]

Clannad episode... 10 or 11.. I think 11 xD;

*Runs to prepare for the next sad part* Such a tear jerker <33

[Atria35]

I'm also watching Paranoia Agent on Animax, currently on episode 10, but I missed 7 and 8.

That'll probably screw with your understanding of the story. Trust me, it's a good idea to go back and watch them.

Edit: Also watched School Rumble 4-6
Shiki 11
Gankutsuou 1

[ABlipinTime]

just finished watching Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
Very American-looking. Cliche at times, and unrealistic physics (which drives physicists off-the-wall (pardon the pun)). But hey, with good side commentary, it's something to relax and enjoy.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

American-looking and cliche? Are you for real? It's classic Miyazaki (or haven't you seen Studio Ghibli movies before?) It's a great old-school sci-fi/adventure movie that's not trying to be anything else. Don't go looking for real-life physics in this sort of movie (I don't understand why people insist of this). If it's a realistic movie, sure, they're appropriate. But it's not.

[MrKrillz0r]

Eyeshield 21, I think I'm at like episode 80 of 120-140... Best sport anime I ever watched out of the amazing THREE that I even gave a try. ^^

[Juliannesan]

American-looking and cliche? Are you for real? It's classic Miyazaki (or haven't you seen Studio Ghibli movies before? It's a great old-school sci-fi/adventure movie that's not trying to be anything else. Don't go looking for real-life physics in this sort of movie (I don't understand why people insist of this). If it's a realistic movie, sure, they're appropriate. But it's not.

Yeah, Castle in the Sky is very much a classic part of Miyazaki's style.
And in my opinion... Amaaazing!

[Juliannesan]

Finished Get Backers. A very fun show!
The only thing I didn't like was the parts with fanservice. Other than that. T'was awesome.
Kind of reminded me of RK & Trigun.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
Very American-looking.

Though I disagree with this assessment, I can understand where you are coming from in regards to the character designs. Miyazaki characters don't look anything like anime character stereotypes or even what you'd see in current TV series.

unrealistic physics

Expecting realistic physics from a film called Castle in the Sky was probably a teensy bit misguided =).

[Juliannesan]

Though I disagree with this assessment, I can understand where you are coming from in regards to the character designs. Miyazaki characters don't look anything like anime character stereotypes or even what you'd see in current TV series.

Yeah, his films definitely take a different animation style then most anime styles. But I love it! It's unique and lovely in its own way.

[Mithrandir]

Just finished Clannad and Clannad After Story. *sniffle*

[That Dude]

I'm watching more of Aquarion. I honestly hated it at first, but I decided to stick it out, and thankfully it's gotten a lot better. It took a while, but about half way through, I didn't despise all of the characters.

[ABlipinTime]

American-looking and cliche? Are you for real? It's classic Miyazaki (or haven't you seen Studio Ghibli movies before?) It's a great old-school sci-fi/adventure movie that's not trying to be anything else. Don't go looking for real-life physics in this sort of movie (I don't understand why people insist of this). If it's a realistic movie, sure, they're appropriate. But it's not.

Yeah, Castle in the Sky is very much a classic part of Miyazaki's style.
And in my opinion... Amaaazing!

It's all a matter of experience; other than Castle, I haven't seen anything else of Miyazaki (other than Google pictures, but those don't really count). My apologies that I don't have the same tastes as you two.

Anyways...
I am currently searching for something else to watch...

[Atria35]

Anyways...
I am currently searching for something else to watch...

I recommend other Ghibli movies- they're always worth watching! XD


Gankutsuou 2-3- Dark. A very nice dark. I can't wait to see where this goes!
School Rumble 7- Still cute/funny.
Himitsu -Top Secret- 5- The draaaamaaa. But I think this is also a 2-ep arc, so I haven't seen the ending yet. Interesting stuff, though. Reminds me of Grey's Anatomy, just with police investigators instead.

[That Dude]

I recommend other Ghibli movies- they're always worth watching! XD


Gankutsuou 2-3- Dark. A very nice dark. I can't wait to see where this goes!
School Rumble 7- Still cute/funny.
Himitsu -Top Secret- 5- The draaaamaaa. But I think this is also a 2-ep arc, so I haven't seen the ending yet. Interesting stuff, though. Reminds me of Grey's Anatomy, just with police investigators instead.

I just picked up Gankutsuou again...And I finished Aquarion, which, the first half was straight up awful, the third fourth good, and the last fourth of the show was actually quite good.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

Tegami Bachi ?-18 Still love it, and the fillers are actually quite a bit like some of the manga's chapters, so it doesn't really grate on me.

[Atria35]

Gankutsuou 4- Not min-bending, necessarily, just really good. I don't like the main guy (seriously, he worships the Count without knowing a thing about him and already knowing how he feels about human life- Carnival, anyone?). The Count himself is an.... interesting fellow.

Himitsu 6-8- R for a reason. This reminds me of Law and Order: SVU crossed with the emotional drama of Grey's Anatomy. Interesting stuff! And pretty well-handled.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Super Dimensional Fortress Macross 1-36 Complete

For plot summary/content review go here.

In the review linked above, CDLviking mentions three longstanding traditions in the Macross franchise: war, pop music and the love triangle. After seeing the SDF Macross TV series, I can understand why the people creating the later Macross series employed those elements: because balancing those three particular plot devices is Macross. The blend created by this balance is totally refreshing, even for someone who is seeing it for the first time (me). A certain...facet of the war that has nothing to do with the battles is what really makes the human/alien conflict compelling and unlike any interstellar war I've seen in anime (though, from what I hear, it will be somewhat familiar to those of you who have seen Star Blazers/Yamato). The pop songs are really fantastic, as is the journey of the series' pop star. SDFM's portrayal of celebrity is quite fair, highlighting what fame causes one to gain and to lose. And the love triangle...the love triangle. So, so well-done. I enjoy that Macross doesn't tell you how to feel about either relation of the love triangle. There isn't a straight-up good/bad girl or guy...all three are flawed, yes; but all three are also redeeming in some ways as well. I, for one, was extremely happy with how this part of the show ended =). Avoid the dub, though.

tl;dr: Go watch SDF Macross if you haven't. Can't recommend it enough.