(Some of) Funi's free streams finally went up, so those are now included below (though there are still two more I have to wait just a bit longer for).
Also, I decided to pass on
Ushio And Tora for now because it's going to be three (split) cours in length, and if I do end up deciding to watch it, I'd rather marathon all that in one whole big batch than space it out weekly over the course of several seasons; and I also passed on
Overlord and
Million Doll because I just do not have the time for them right now, LOL. Oh, and I *also* actually added one brand-new show that wasn't even on my to-check-out radar before--
Gakkou Gurashi!, a.k.a.
SCHOOL-LIVE! (more on that below).
Akagami no Shirayuki-hime, a.k.a.
Snow White With The Red Hair, episode 1:
YES! YES! YES!
......*Ahem*-- I am pleased.
I wasn't too fond of the character design changes at first glance, but while they're still not quite as pretty as they are in the manga, in motion they're actually fine.
As for the ep. itself: Heh, I had actually forgotten just how many 'Snow White' references there were in the first chapter or so of the manga (because that's pretty much the only time it's ever referenced, LOL!
). And I LOVED the exaggerated expressions on the more humorous characters, it was so perfect. <3
Actually, pretty much everything was perfect!
Indeed, this ep.'s adaptation was so great that my concerns have now evaporated completely, and I absolutely cannot wait for when it gets to the *really* good stuff!
Aoharu x Machinegun:
(...Actually, I've decided to put this on hold for a week, watch both ep. 2 & ep. 3 together next week, and decide then if I want to continue watching it or not.)
Charlotte episode 2:
ROTFL!! Oh my gosh, Takajou's super-speed (which I'm getting a little annoyed at the continually-improper translation of, LOL...
) continues to be totally hilarious.
Humor aside, though, the whole process of investigating/intercepting the power-users (and the reason why they do so) went from funny, to interesting, to dangerous, to moving (...oh man, Nao and her brother's backstory...
). Also interesting is the fact that there seems to be a common thread of
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: fulfilling some immediate wish/need-- financial difficulties, wanting to help the family, etc.-- with the various powers seeming to (incompletely try to ) provide a means to an end for those specific desires in concert with their specific personalities. As for the foreshadowing,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: again with the intriguing outer-space theme... Also, 'the only person she can trust...'? Yeah, somehow I think that he's going to turn out to be the Otosakas' 'other family member...' Am really looking forward to seeing where this goes!
Classroom☆Crisis episode 2:
LOL, that self-introduction ("I urge you to find new occupations for yourselves as soon as possible...").
Anyway, a good chunk of this ep. was framed as an in-universe TV documentary program, but it was rather amusing because of that (LOL, those interviews... and then Kaito actually making himself cry while watching, bwahaha!!
). Mizuki's interactions with Nagisa were pretty amusing, too.
And the internal politics of the corporation (and Nagisa's position, etc.) are pretty interesting, as well. (Also: Oho, Nagisa told Kaito to
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: try and undermine him by any means possible, and try to convince the 'current management,' if he could? Hmm...
)
Gakkou Gurashi! (a.k.a.
SCHOOL-LIVE!) episode 1:
Okay, so I decided to check this out because I'd heard that it actually has a pretty intriguing
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: horror twist underneath its
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: façade of moe-ness, and oh my goodness were those comments right.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: The different-colored uniforms, the food, the expressions on the other girls' faces at certain points, the different camera angles/perspectives depending on who's looking into rooms/etc., the suspiciously 'not-quite-there' other students, the hints of broken glass, the barrier of desks, that scene on the roof, those messages on the blackboard, the shovel-as-weapon and 'no casualties' comments, etc... all leading up to that reveal in the ending where we see what the place *actually* looks like, and that the MC suffered a mental break and consequently uses delusions as a coping mechanism... I got goosebumps.
Definitely interested in watching more!
Gatchaman Crowds Insight episode 2:
Ah, that was an interesting little explanation from Paiman about the alien. LOL though at the TV program's super-fast (and quite *un*-informative) 'in-depth analysis' of the Red CROWDS.
I also have to note that the whole thing with the smartphone/tablet elections is quite interesting because I could totally see that happening at some point in RL. Finally: Okay, so baddie most definitely has a screw loose, but he still has a bit of a point nonetheless. It'll be interesting to see how they manage to deal with this...
Rampo Kitan: Game Of Laplace episode 1:
Ha, wow, this didn't beat around the bush, did it?
And oh man, the MC... not only does he have quite an observant and analytical mind (and is already thinking like a detective), but holy crap, his personality
... from the fact that he is so bored/disconnected that he doesn't even see people as anything but gray silhouettes until they interest him... to the fact that he is so *completely* unfazed by
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the graphic scene in front of him when he woke up or the fact that he's the main suspect (for *multiple* things!)... to him even saying that this is the first time
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: anything's ever seemed fun and exciting to him (which also happens to be exactly the same thing that motivates the *other* young detective)... to the other detective bluntly stating that it'll break him, and him saying that he *wants* that... ...Um, yep, the two
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: detective MC's are both sociopaths, then.
That does make it more interesting, though.
And speaking of interesting, I have to admit that I wasn't actually expecting the
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: initial victim to have been a sick homicidal psycho himself , but that and the even-more-thorough framing of the MC at the end adds yet another interesting layer here. (Also, yikes, that new teacher's wrists... ) Looking forward to seeing where this goes!
Rokka: Braves Of The Six Flowers episode 2:
The beginning of this ep. was so beautiful and peaceful and fun <3 ... but obviously that wasn't going to last.
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: For example: Gah... all those little things Nashetania said about being with Adlet and him being the first person she can talk to on equal terms and really open up to (etc.) and then resting her head on his shoulder... she's totally going to die, isn't she...? I mean, I hope not, of course, because I *love* Adlet (he's crazy-prepared, brilliantly tactical, good-hearted, and funny-- oh my gosh those faces, he's too adorable!
<3 -- yeah, he's just awesome
), like Nashetania quite a bit, and
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: would totally be shipping them together right now if I could just trust the story to not kill her off; however, something about this particular series does seem to suggest that it really just might... ). As for the new characters: The third Brave, Fremy-- the sniper girl with the affinity for animals <3 -- was quite intriguing. I'm not buying for a moment that she's
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the Brave-Killer, though, despite how much both the end of this episode as well as the title of the next episode want you to think so-- it's waaaaay too early to reveal that for real.
(In fact,
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the fourth Brave, Goldorf, is way more suspicious, precisely because he
SPOILER: Highlight text to read: said it was her...) I am really loving this, and I can't wait for more!
And
Durarara!!x2 Ten episode 2:
Comments on this are in the dedicated DRRR!! watch thread, as usual!