What anime are you watching?

[SierraLea]

I finished Vandread over the weekend. I'm not sure if I liked it or not. There were some definite cute moments, especially between Dita and Mr. Alien, but some of those characters just rub me the wrong way.

[skreyola]

@SierraLea: Did you watch the second season? I agree that there were some cute moments. Like you, I'm not sure how I feel about the series as a whole. It is an interesting take on the battle of the sexes, but I think it's a bit askew on several points.

So, tonight, I watched two episodes of Kimi ni Todoke (I finished it, and while I loved it, the thing I anticipated didn't happen, unless I missed it), one of SILY and one of Honey & Clover. I'm probably going to watch another show, too. eto....

[Atria35]

So, tonight, I watched two episodes of Kimi ni Todoke (I finished it, and while I loved it, the thing I anticipated didn't happen, unless I missed it)

Did you finish the first season or the second season, and what were you anticipating?

(also, it depends on the Ferris Wheel. The London Eye is a Ferris Wheel, and that seats 25 in a pod. Unless it's a super-small local fair Ferris Wheel, there does tend to be seating for 4 because families also like to go on them.)

[skreyola]

Second season, and I thought there would be... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a kiss.
25 people is a lot. But I meant the 4-seaters. They provide a couple with seating tete-a-tete or side-by-side as they scud across the sky.

I ended up watching another episode of Honey & Clover (with sleeping beauty).

[Atria35]

Second season, and I thought there would be... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a kiss.

Oh. No, you didn't miss it. But from how slow the show goes with developing their relationship, are you actually that surprised?
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Sawako is love-dumb, and was barley even ready for a confession, let alone a kiss, at the end of it.

[SierraLea]

@SierraLea: Did you watch the second season? I agree that there were some cute moments. Like you, I'm not sure how I feel about the series as a whole. It is an interesting take on the battle of the sexes, but I think it's a bit askew on several points.

I watched both seasons. I really don't like Jura or that helmsman, but most of the other characters are good.

[MightiMidget]

I started Blue Exorcist a few days ago. I do like it quite a bit! But I think going through Bleach wore out my patience with interesting stories being ruined by slapstick humor...

[skreyola]

Second season, and I thought there would be... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a kiss.

Oh. No, you didn't miss it. But from how slow the show goes with developing their relationship, are you actually that surprised?
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Sawako is love-dumb, and was barley even ready for a confession, let alone a kiss, at the end of it.

I thought someone told me it would happen in the second season. Are there more seasons?

Tonight: Chance Pop Session x2, Honey & Clover

[Neane]

I saw the Madoka Movies in Seattle on Monday. I greatly enjoyed them. I actually want to see them again I enjoyed them so much. There are some added scenes and it overall is a bit more violent and several key scenes had more emotional punch to them. That's pretty much all I can say without spoiling it.

The crowds were okay, the only notable part was there was a mother who brought her 3 daughters (the oldest of which was probably 13 years old) to the movies, and they were behind me in line, and the 13 year old one kept saying "Why are there so many men here? This is so weird!" and "Why are so many guys at this show?". And then I heard a shriek a few rows in front of me when the end of episode 3 took place, and they left shortly after a certain event that happens in episode 6.


Also, saw Yamato 2199 eps 7-10

Oh wow. They really are taking things into new directions, these episodes made it explicit.





oooh dear (ep 7 subs didn't work in MPC and VLC showed them like that, ehh)

First they delivered fantastic new versions of two of my favorite Yamato eps (one where they make last calls home to Earth and the oh-God-it-is-gigantic-space-cloud-devouring-everything-run episode) and then two fully original episodes which are probably the best this series has offered so far.

Color me increasingly impressed. This show is really going places and no fan of old school SF should miss it.

Can't wait for February and the next batch.
(You know the World is screwed up when Strike Witches: The Movie gets 5 fan-sub groups as soon as it is released, and Space BattleShip Yamato has only one good group and it takes 65 days for a batch to be ready...at least it's not as bad as Hyouge Mono's situation [I swear to God most High, I will not die before they finish subbing Hyouge Mono...that means that I will live longer than Jeanne Calment as the last episode will probably be subbed sometime around 2122 AD.])

As a really nice touch they played the classic ED (MAKKANA NO SUKAAAAFUUUUUUUU) in episode 7. Oh man.

[LupoRedgrave]

Gunslinger Girl.
Haibane Renmei

[Atria35]

Second season, and I thought there would be... SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a kiss.

Oh. No, you didn't miss it. But from how slow the show goes with developing their relationship, are you actually that surprised?
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Sawako is love-dumb, and was barley even ready for a confession, let alone a kiss, at the end of it.

I thought someone told me it would happen in the second season. Are there more seasons?

Nope. Given its popularity, it's possible it will get another season eventually (the manga release is fairly slow to release, but they finally kissed in Chapter 71).

Kobato 1- Cute. Actually far better than what I'd been led to believe.

[SierraLea]

Currently watching rosario + vampire, fanservice much?

[skreyola]

Gunslinger Girl.

That is one of my favorites. How are you liking it?

[skreyola]

Quiet day. Nobody's posted all day in this thread?

Tonight, I went to a "faux company Christmas party" and then watched an episode each of Robotics;Notes, Honey & Clover, and El Cazador de la Bruja.

[Mouse2010]

Tonight, I went to a "faux company Christmas party"

Okay, I have to ask: what does this mean? Is it a Christmas party for a fake company? Or what? Also: why isn't the quote function working? Am I doing something wrong, or is it just One of the Those Things?

Anyway, back to anime: I've been watching Chihayafuru (eps 16-17), Shin sekai yori (eps 6-7), and am now through episode 5 on My Daddy Long Legs. The last one is the one I want to talk about, but I realize that probably no one but Neane has seen it. (I don't suppose I can convince anyone to watch it so that I have someone to talk to about it? Ah, I thought not!) In some ways it's interesting, and in some ways it's frustrating. I am kind of wishing it were a shorter series, because 40 episodes is more than I usually commit to watching by myself.

Edited to add: never mind the comment about the quote function. Apparently it is the preview button that wasn't working.

[Atria35]

Currently watching rosario + vampire, fanservice much?

As one of the main genres is 'ecchi', this should not be surprising >.>" No, it will not get better.

Taisho Baseball Girls (complete) - Soooo cute! While I am not really interested in the girls playing baseball, I rather enjoy them getting together to do it. Some of their antics are rather hilarious. And as a period piece, it's pretty interesting - I really like seeing the clash between traditionalism and more modern thinking. I mean, it's the 1920's, and really shows!

[Neane]

Taisho Baseball Girls (complete) - Soooo cute! While I am not really interested in the girls playing baseball, I rather enjoy them getting together to do it. Some of their antics are rather hilarious. And as a period piece, it's pretty interesting - I really like seeing the clash between traditionalism and more modern thinking. I mean, it's the 1920's, and really shows!

I'm sooo glad I'm not the only one on this site who knows of this show. These days, picking anime with teenage female casts is like walking through a minefield. For every show that’s good on its merits, another show is called good because “it is what it is.”
The Taishou period was the perfect historical setting. It was old enough to feel classic yet modern enough to relate to. The men wore manly hats and had manly haircuts with manly sideburns. (Even the kids had manly sideburns. What a glorious era.)

I love how the plot is about girls learning to play baseball at a time when girls did not play baseball. I think the best part of the show is it’s sense of humor, which never lets up.
[Watch at your own risk. This is twice as awesome when you don’t see it coming.]

[skreyola]

Tonight, I went to a "faux company Christmas party"

Okay, I have to ask: what does this mean? Is it a Christmas party for a fake company?

episode 5 on My Daddy Long Legs. The last one is the one I want to talk about, but I realize that probably no one but Neane has seen it. (I don't suppose I can convince anyone to watch it so that I have someone to talk to about it?

It was mostly people who have home-based businesses and, thus, don't have enough coworkers/employees to have a company party. It was fun.

Is it free of suggestive nudity/suggestive near-nudity? Where can I watch it? Maybe I'll pick it up.

Tonight: Steins;Gate (what? NOOOOOOO!) and Honey & Clover (What a difference a title can make, neh?).

[Neane]

Finished Angel Beats (Note: Angel Beats is a fancy way of saying "plot holes") , detailed thoughts in spoiler:


SPOILER: Highlight text to read: If nothing else at least this anime brilliantly illustrates what happens when Jun Maeda hits self-admitted creative block. Angel Beats is basically a collection of Maeda’s own clichés in half-baked pineapple cake of a anime also marred by insipid director not up to job and Jun-kun’s inexperience at scripting tv anime. What may work in separate lenghty routes in visual novel doesn't automatically work in anime, especially when you only have one cour worth of screen time to create a narrative that isn't utterly jerky hodgepodge of half-***edness. Too bad that pretty much describes AB in a sentence.

To give series its due PA Works does a beautiful production job with the clearly huge budget they were blessed with. Background art, character animation and such are generally excellent with minimal amount of off-model cuts. Character designs, while quite boring mostly, have two winners in Yui with her funny devil tailesque clothing thingy and Tenshi is not a bad Rei/Ruri-type gal. As for the rest, well, Totally-Not-Haruhi is just Totally-Not-Haruhi without Haruhi’s charm and since when guys have got any attention in anime like this? Concert scenes are where the team really shows off with all the wonderful lighting effects and painstaking animation… and while the in-story songs performed by the diversion band and BGM are very unmemorable and decidedly mediocre the OP is fantastic both visually and musically. It’s not Tori no Uta but unquestionable highlight of the series and as good argument as any for Maeda being a better songwriter than story smith.

In the frontiers of content the episode about MC Otonashi’s past is cheesy but nonetheless emotionally evocative and probably the clearest example of good episode lost in bad series I can think of – I guess Yui’s penultimate one was pretty nice as a standalone. Tenshi is also semi-decent and quite the likeable moeblob. I guess these merits count for something.

In a way it’s admirable achievement how a purgatory story, one of the most potentially cathartic and meaningful story templates there is (Haibane Renmei, Colorful), has been so utterly wasted on the worst “reliving the imaginary sunny youth” VN trappings. We’ve got the stale as ever high school setting decorated with with stale as ever palette of Maeda’s twodimensional characters with a quirk or two with stale as ever “miniarcs” and story leanings of Key titles. Since the idea of series is a purgatory for young people who need to be freed of their emotional baggage it’s acceptable the setting is high school in heaven or and it’s acceptable helping these individuals affected by Singular Trauma of Unhappy Life Forever ends up being practically little different from completing character route of uguu #3 in Air/Kanon/Clannad. Something being acceptable doesn't make it good or any less lazy however and pseudo clever 4th wall break with non-characters being literally NPCs doesn't actually make the writing subversive in any way. Excluding the concert scenes the directing of Angel Beats is state of art in its artlessness and largerly responsible for how series turned out. Kishi Seiji, director of such masterpieces as Magikano and Kamisama Dolls, clearly was inept at guiding/keeping reins on Maeda when it comes to writing series composition and as such AB’s shocking shortcomings in pacing, character development and generally not being **** is a responsibility for both to share.

It looks like the team and mr. Kishi exhausted all of their visual inventiveness and creativity at opening sequence because rest of the show is formally put together in the blandest way possible – a fact somewhat overshadowed by high production values but not enough, especially if viewer has any experience with KyoAni’s KEY titles. What director like Ishigara can do to make nearly identical material engaging vs. what Kishi can do is not much of a contest. Angel Beats is free of interestingly put together sequences, bold storyboarding or thematically meaningful framing. I also have problems with how some scenes are edited together: they drag in places where they shouldn’t (too long pauses in discussion) and proceed all too hastily in others. There’s utterly inept use of music here and there to irk me even further – most blatantly when show tries to do absurd comedy with it. At its best the form is little more than "decent enough".

Still, serviceable yet mostly unnotable directing on formal side of things has never turned well directed films into bad ones so there must be more to it if I pay this much attention to director not being up to task – and there is.

As mentioned before Angel Beats has absurdly bad sense of pacing, both in terms of overall storyline as well as within episodes. The series constantly loses its focus and jumps from original starting point of rebelling against God to episodic soul-of-the-week-to-be-saved formula to megalomaniacal sadist trying to take over the setting to more formulaic soul saving to WTF EVIL SHADOWS out of nowhere before it all resolves in the most ham-fistedly narmtastic ”graduation” ever. Icing on the cake: last minute mega plothole that really overshadows all others in series that didn’t exactly lack them.

As if the overall plotting being terrible wasn’t bad enough your average episode is generally even worse with WAY too much stuff crammed in. The episodic storylines and characters comically stumble from one plot point or mood into another with grace of legless elephant. Maeda wrote as if he had three cours worth of running time to use while Kishi again showcased his ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENCE at shifting from serious to light, from drama to comedy, from episodic content to material relevant for the whole series. The mood whiplashes are as bad and uncontrolled as they were in Kamisama Dolls if not worse. You also haven’t experienced **** episode pacing if you haven’t seen episode reach obvious, emotionally poignant end note halfway through and then follow it up with “comedy” hijinks for remaining ten minutes. First episode is also a delightful cluster of stuffing too much stuff in 20+ minutes and then we also have episode that sets up a character as a big bad and turns him into a good guy by end of it. (In next episode he’s one of the good guys whose personality doesn't actually make any sense as it carries traits he got “purified” from in previous episode but hey, never mind that, Angel Beats and good writing don’t walk hand in hand). Speaking of comedy, Angel Beats has mostly atrociously unfunny anime comedy which is especially grating because a) there’s a lot of it and b) Kishi’s comedic timing is very poor so you can't even claim the execution is good.

To sum it up: below average director + Jun Maeda run out of ideas + high production values = expensive failure fated to be successful thanks to Maeda’s name and anime fandoms inability to resist sappy KEY melodrama, no matter how weak the ground under it is.

For this sthick stick to KyoAni’s KEY adaptations which may or may not be hated for UGUUness regardless but it’s undeniable they execute this kind of thing far better.

Overall rating would be a generous 2/10

[skreyola]

Did you file a review in the review section?

Tonight, I only (re)watched the first episode of Cross Game. Such a great show.

[Neane]

There's already a review there that was made by Maokun.

Also finished Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse.

The only reason I watched it is because Muv-Luv Alternative is one of, if not the best, visual novel(s) of all time.


The anime:

Oh God......it's even worse than Macross Zero.

Oh, and saw Berserk Golden Age Arc II: The Capture of Doldrey

The same abominable piece of garbage like the first movie, maybe even worse. At first I thought something was not right with my codecs but the animation has actually frame-downs like you get when you are trying to play a modern shooter on an inferior video card. Like, did Studio 4°C ever look at the footage once and think for second: "well, that kind of looks like garbage, don't you think?" And the direction is a complete mess, jumping from one event to the other, skipping scenes and changing things as they go along. For example, there was absolutely no reason for leaving out Zodd (Fact: Zodd the Apostle who wanders from battlefield to battlefield looking for people to slay and kill is the cutest character in Berserk) throwing Guts the sword and instead going into full detail how Griffith seduced the princess.

I wish I could say something positive but these movies have bad animation, are a hollow shell of the story of the manga ( The manga is basically what if Shakespeare wrote a story about the nature of pure unadulterated evil and then turned it into a manga. ) and make the characters look bland and uninteresting which is a pretty amazing feat in itself. Still, I'm going to watch the 3rd too just out of morbid curiosity to see how bad they can mess up something as simple as the utter and complete gorefest that is the Eclipse.

[Zeldafan2]

Right now, I'm starting Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It looked really dumb when i saw the premise, but after watching the first episode, it looks really interesting.

This is why I shouldn't judge on first impressions.

[skreyola]

Neane: Fair enough, but you are welcome to add your own rating (and comments).

Tonight, I watched Steins;Gate (I hated this episode), Honey & Clover, and Cross Game.

[SierraLea]

I found an English dub of the Story of Saiunkoku. I'm having a blast, since the emperor is played by one of my favorite voice actors.

[skreyola]

Tonight, I watched an episode each of Honey & Clover and Say "I Love You", and two of Cross Game (It's funny how Senda never has a real clear idea of what's going on. *smile*).

[Mouse2010]

Is it free of suggestive nudity/suggestive near-nudity? Where can I watch it? Maybe I'll pick it up.

Re: My Daddy Long Legs-- there is a bathing scene in the OP. That's the only nudity I've seen so far. It's not really the kind of show that has a lot of fanservice, because it's clearly being aimed at girls. But I'm only a few episodes in, so I can't promise that there is no nudity! Maybe if/when I finish I'll do a review.

Unfortunately, it was never licensed in the US, so you can't find legal subtitled versions online. Some of the usual non-legal anime streaming sources have the series, but I don't think there's any legal way to watch it subbed.

In other news, I've continued watching From the New World and really like it, despite the unexpected relationship changes in episode 8. Also, I'm trying to finish up the first season of Chihayafuru (sp?).

I am very much looking forward to next week, when my schedule may actually allow me to make progress on some of the shows that I started but haven't been able to finish!

[eightluvver888]

I'm almost done with Paranoia Agent, having started it last night. I like it a lot, but that theme song creeps me out more than any other... Too many creepy laughing faces.

[Oddood198]

Just finished Shugo Chara!! Doki, I begin Shugo Chara!! Party! in the morning. I hope it's not as bad as I think it will be...

[Neane]

Impressions after watching 10 episodes of Macross Frontier: I'd say it's so addicting to watch.

MF carries all the requisite ingredients of a epic blockbuster, properly selected and measured, before they're combined and then cooked to perfection, fresh and hot...

Not just that, it's like I'm this boy who, from the seedy streets of Hell's Kitchen, walked into the lights and glamor of 1939 New York's World Fair with a golden ticket in hand.

Frontier, IMHO a full-blown overhaul of that 1982 classic, has everything: tons of "service", moe, action, comedy, romance, drama, music (yes, the GLORIOUS MUSIC), politics, and space combat on a grand scale.

*sigh*

This. Epic. Will. Be. Treasured. On. My. Shelf.

[skreyola]

Unfortunately, it was never licensed in the US, so you can't find legal subtitled versions online. Some of the usual non-legal anime streaming sources have the series, but I don't think there's any legal way to watch it subbed.

Aw. So sad. I can't join you in discussing it. *pout*

Tonight, I watched one episode of Honey & Clover and oops! three episodes of Cross Game. I meant to stop at one.