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[Sterok]

I want to highlight one small, but notable difference between Raising Project and the recent magical girl pinnacles, Madoka and Yuki Yunna. Madoka and Yuki Yunna follow a curve of hope and despair. They start hopeful, then get hit by a tragedy of some sort. After that they manage to recover a bit, and there's a hope spot, then bam, the latest revelation sinks them back into despair. Repeat as necessary until the end, which ends on a more or less positive note.

Raising Project doesn't have that curve of ups and downs. It's just getting darker and bleaker continuously with no real hope or idea of how to make things better. Any hope spots that exist are dashed in minutes at most. I don't actually mind that too much, since I like seeing a MG show follow a different curve from the norm, but I get why that's drawing apathy at this point. It's certainly not shocking given that we expect everything to go grimderp now.

Seeing that Raising Project has a lot more light novels, I don't see a truly happy ending occurring. At best maybe the main character manages to escape with her sanity intact. And again, I kind of hope that happens, since bad endings are incredibly rare in the genre. Precure fills my cheerful upbeat MG needs, and since Raising Project was never going to be a fifth as good as Madoka, I like that it's trying to take things in a slightly different direction.

Now the big complaint that I do agree with is that all the cool characters are dying faster than the meh ones. La Pucelle was nice to have around for the perspective at least. Magicaloid was the best, Winterprison was neat, Top Speed was the cool big sis, and Mary's destruction was entertaining. Now the weird goth loli is probably the most interesting character left, along with Ripple becoming tolerable. Everyone else is either useless (Snow White, Tama), annoying (Minael), too much of an enigma (Cranberry), or doesn't really make sense (Swim).

 

[mrpallyguy]

Castle Town Dandelion 1-8

Read the manga and found out it had an anime so I checked it out.
Basic premise is that the king of this land is trying to find a successor
to the throne among his nine children. His children all have different powers
and chaos ensues when the king sets up all these cameras to watch their every move.
Its slice of life and the characters are enjoyable but may to some people seem shallow.
I enjoyed this for the interactions between the siblings and all the drama that comes with
being royalty and other things.

 

[Cornbread78]

Poco's Udon World ep.6
Love these feel good episodes. I mean, we all saw it coming from a mile away, but it is really damn cute to watch.

 

[blurr]

Seems to be a little known anime but this scene is so well done. Love the subtle and slow movements in between exaggerated ones.

 

[SolidSnakeUS]

I don't know it if it was discussed, but my opening song of the year is Dimension W. So damn good.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Moana

90s - Disney
00s - Pixar
10s - Disney again

 

[pbayne]

Is that so? Then what was the original "edgy magical girls are now in" series?

Are they really in though or have they always had those elements just people didn't recognize them? After Madoka it mostly seems like business as usual. Precure and the Sailor Moon reboot continue to dominate the genre.
And imo the biggest original mahou shoujos to come out since where the current Flip Flappers, YuriKuma and Kill la Kill, all of which have nothing in common with Madoka at all. But all have elements that are arguably just as subversive as anything found in Madoka.

Heck even the current magical girl killing show, the similarities to Madoka are superficial at best. It has way more in common with trashy survival game shows like Btoom or Mirai Nikki.

What exactly are the Madoka clones everyone points out? I haven't seen it but i guess Yuki Yuna must be one? What others are there? Day Break Illusion?

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Moana

90s - Disney
00s - Pixar
10s - Disney again

I don't get it. Are you saying Disney is dominating this decade? That's not news to anyone. But I guess this is your way of saying the film was good

 

[duckroll]

I don't get it. Are you saying Disney is dominating this decade? That's not news to anyone. But I guess this is your way of saying the film was good

Just.... Let It Go.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I don't get it. Are you saying Disney is dominating this decade? That's not news to anyone. But I guess this is your way of saying the film was good

it was good

I liked Zootopia better but its leagues ahead of Frozen

Super beautiful water effects too

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Frozen blowing up like it did still surprises me. I mean why frozen and why not tangled? It's a better movie.


Better yet why not Anastasia. Better than any of them.

 

[duckroll]

Frozen blowing up like it did still surprises me. I mean why frozen and why not tangled? It's a better movie.


Better yet why not Anastasia. Better than any of them.

Why Your Name and not Wolf Children? The world is cruel and unfair, that's why.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Also I realized that the DreamWorks Face is actually just The Rock doing The People's Eyebrow and he does it in the movie all the fucking time.

I'm so mad I never noticed this. HE INVENTED IT LIKE HE INVENTED JABRONI

 

[Jex]

Why Your Name and not Wolf Children? The world is cruel and unfair, that's why.

Because Wolf Children has a graphic furry sex scene?

 

[8 X 11 Printer Paper]

Because Wolf Children has a graphic furry sex scene?

Didn't hurt Avatar...

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Didn't hurt Avatar...

Blue alien native American cats are hot for America.

 

[Narag]

Time for an Avatar/Wolf Children double feature tomorrow.

 

[Jex]

Didn't hurt Avatar...

Hey people want to bone those giant alien cat people, they don't want to bone dogs.

Go figure.

 

[JulianImp]

Izetta - #7
Okay episode, mostly because the fanservice wasn't overly conspicuous like before. Looks like Fine and Izetta and playing to Germany's tune, though.

Izetta - #8
Fanservice of the episode: German spy mistakenly enters Bianca's room while she's taking a bath, Izetta cuddles up to Fine in embarrasment during the ball, and the gray-haired girl the German special forces guy brought with him to the ball succeeds in doing some mana sharing with Izetta, which apparently unlocked something within her as well... guess they had to make up for the previous episode not fulfilling its quota!

So yeah, Fine keeps setting herself up for disaster. Germany's several steps ahead and has half of some McGuffin gem, information on Izetta's weakness, and that gray-haired girl who reacted to making out with Izetta drinking some of Izetta's blood; all while the United States are considering her a threat as dangerous as the germans. Better prepare for the coming descent to despair...

 

[duckroll]

Hey people want to bone those giant alien cat people, they don't want to bone dogs.

Go figure.

What about Boss Doggie....

 

[JulianImp]

Izetta - #9
Fanservice of the day: Of course Izetta gets tied up by the evil witch, and the camera focuses on how the chains cosntrict her breasts and stuff as that happens... yeah.

So yeah, everything goes wrong for Fine and Izetta. The Germans having so much more information than the rest of the cast on what's actually going on is a pain, because we're constantly being shown how far ahead they are compared to poor Fine, who's actually getting played like a fiddle by both enemies and "allies" alike, making her country's defeat this episode into an easily telegraphed twist that meant her defeat at Germany's hands was only a matter of time.

 

[Dekutulla]

Kuromukuro Final

Wow

 

[Theonik]

Hey people want to bone those giant alien cat people, they don't want to bone dogs.

Go figure.

Should we be concerned for Narag?

 

[Line_HTX]

Should we be concerned for Narag?

Narag is a deviant catgirl.

 

[8 X 11 Printer Paper]

Man Yuri and Euri have both fallen apart quite badly for me these past few episodes (both are still average/5 animes right now) though for some differing reasons, and I'm sorta doubtful they are going to recover if not dive deeper.

 

[Jintor]

it's really depressing to hear this about eupho so i'm gonna stick my fingers in my ears and pretend i can't hear any of it so i can be disappointed all at once when the season ends

 

[Qurupeke]

it's really depressing to hear this about eupho so i'm gonna stick my fingers in my ears and pretend i can't hear any of it so i can be disappointed all at once when the season ends

I still enjoy it a lot.

 

[Jintor]

I still enjoy it a lot.

 

[duckroll]

Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor: Exodus - Episode 17

Dropped.



T_T

 

[Ascheroth]

Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor: Exodus - Episode 17

Dropped.



T_T

That episode was heart-breaking.
NOW YOU CAN SUFFER WITH US

 

[duckroll]

That episode was heart-breaking.
NOW YOU CAN SUFFER WITH US

No, it's over. I'm fucking done. Goodbye Xebec.

 

[TrueBlue]

Man Yuri and Euri have both fallen apart quite badly for me these past few episodes (both are still average/5 animes right now) though for some differing reasons, and I'm sorta doubtful they are going to recover if not dive deeper.

Eupho is still fine, but that's all it is at the moment. Season 1 was consistently great with moments of excellence. At least, that's how I felt.

Shame really. I still like the show quite a bit, I just don't feel it's as good as it can be.

 

[BGBW]

I'm enjoying Eupho for what it is.

Then again, I never placed the first series on a high pedestal so for me it's more of the same.

 

[Jarmel]

Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor: Exodus - Episode 17

Dropped.



T_T

Finally!

You were already doomed the moment you posted this:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=225528609&postcount=10852

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

One of the problems with Eupho S2 is that the music aspect seems secondary to drama. Whereas S1 had nice depictions of the struggles and joy of learning an instrument and such, this season has lost almost all of that. Now we just have this formulaic approach where someone isn't playing to their best due to drama and once resolved, they're now acing it. As Hosanna has mentioned, its particularly cheap to portray it akin to "Oboe-san can finally play very expressive after making up with Nozomi!"

I mean the narrative currently is clearly "band plays badly because Asuka stuff" and the same applies on a smaller scale for Kumiko with her sister.

When performing there's still the great attention of detail but as far as the narrative goes, the music element is almost entirely displayed by generic drama, instead of being at least intertwined with that better.

 

[DeadRockstar]

Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko Ep 1

These are all just from the race launch sequence

What if the best way to find pilots for your fleet’s team—for some space race thing where you compete with another fleet as a means of “tactical economic negotiation" (lol)—was to temporarily time travel 1000 years in the past and scout (stalk) high school girls for several days before propositioning them? This is the reality Yamamoto Yohko presents and it might sound entertainingly silly, so in the interest of not misleading anybody, it isn’t. It’s nothing. Everything is streamlined to deliver a talented-outsider-snatches-victory-for-the-underdogs scenario. That would be fine if there was enjoyment to be had moment-to-moment, in lieu of any tangibly felt stakes, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Every character is boring and textbook, the broader space populations are never shown, and the races don’t clearly establish any meaningful cause and effect between events in the field before the very end; ships appear to reverse course at times and attacks happen that don’t seem to lead to any positional advantages (it’s possibly implied that other teams that are never introduced or even mentioned are eliminated?) and are just followed up by generic intercom banter, before one of the idiot pilots botches the whole race by making the route unusable. Unusable for everyone but super pilot! and . . . you get it. Still, this OVA is directed by Shinbou (though not this ep) and this episode was boarded by him, so it’s not without its moments. HIs launch sequence is dramatic and attractive, using massive initial jet blasts that gradually flare out the frame and then give way to coloured neon trails as the ships begin free flight. Long shots of the trails converging are used later to effectively build anticipation that unfortunately isn’t delivered on. The late game idiot-induced threat is established efficiently using a top-down monitor shot with spectator dialogue to illustrate the size of the danger, followed by an over-the-shoulder cockpit shot of encroaching flames that I liked. It’s all mostly a waste though, because the show just isn’t as fun as it should be. This is admittedly only the first episode of three, but Shinbou’s attachment is about the only reason I would continue to watch more.

Thoughts I failed to work into the main text:

- There are no discernible rules or regulations in place for the ships or race. The Terra team are surprised by an itano circus attack that apparently their shields wouldn’t stop and they can’t escape. It’s mentioned that Madoka’s ship is the fastest towards the end. Yohko’s ship seems to have an amazing laser cannon that nobody else’s does.
- The opening is a fake-out with no real danger, but again the Terra team find themselves surprised by an attack they seemingly have no way of responding to. I don’t know if they’re just oblivious, if their ships suck, or both. Yohko’s ship is the only one that definitely doesn’t suck, because we’re told it’s a masterpiece that needs somebody talented enough to fly it. By which I mean a girl who swims sometimes, is good at arcade games, and has more catlike eyes(???).
- Yohko apparently likes her trophy so much that she skips the post-race celebration to sit alone with it in her cockpit? The episode literally fades out on this shot.
- There is relatively little "new girl" drama and everyone gets on board with Yohko quickly.
- Imagine if I wrote this much about something worth watching.

Anyway, I need to get ready to go and see Your Name (again, for some reason).

 

[TrueBlue]

One of the problems with Eupho S2 is that the music aspect seems secondary to drama. Whereas S1 had nice depictions of the struggles and joy of learning an instrument and such, this season has lost almost all of that. Now we just have this formulaic approach where someone isn't playing to their best due to drama and once resolved, they're now acing it. As Hosanna has mentioned, its particularly cheap to portray it akin to "Oboe-san can finally play very expressive after making up with Nozomi!"

I mean the narrative currently is clearly "band plays badly because Asuka stuff" and the same applies on a smaller scale for Kumiko with her sister.

When performing there's still the great attention of detail but as far as the narrative goes, the music element is almost entirely displayed by generic drama, instead of being at least intertwined with that better.

I also dom't think said drama has been pulled off that well either. Whether it be through pacing, writing etc, I feel like the big dramatic moments haven't have been quite as effective as they can be. Not horrific mind, just kinda undercooked.

I think it kinda sucks how static Kumiko and Reina's relationship has been - and I'm not even considering that from a romantic angle. They're still a lot of fun to watch, but I feel a lot of their scenes together have followed the same note, as it were. There's not been much to really engage their relationship in any sigmificant way, nor has there been any conflict. Granted, I feel this is more due to a change in focus more than anything, so I'm not overly disappointed.

Still, got another few episodes left, and I'm enjoying myself. I wouldn't be surprised if the next few episodes hit it out of the park.

 

[MSMrRound]

All these Sound! Euphonium bashing makes me sad =/

Still enjoying the high level of quality that was put into the making of the episodes every week...but yea, way too little Natsuki x Yuko bullying scenes would be my main issue with it /joke

 

[Camel Master]

Too bad, this series fell to averageness after a promising start. I will still try to get into the second season & spinoff, but not expecting much. Battles weren't that interesting and I didn't like the characterization especially in the second half of this anime. Overall its ok if you have that adventure anime itch but nothing else.

 

[TrueBlue]

I'm trying to not come across as overly bashy, because I wouldn't bother watching it if I didn't still like it. There's still a lot to enjoy - Kumiko on the whole, her small scenes with Reina are still fun, the production values are still great, the VA is still excellent, the music scenes are an audio-visual marvel etc.

I think it's one of those weird little things where it's easier to overly go on about the negatives. :lol

 

[Cornbread78]

I waited and watched all of Eupho S1 right after it aired and was planning to do the same with S2, but all this drama alk the past 3-4 weeks has made that much less of a priority at this point...


But hey, at least they got rid of the yuri baiting, right?!

 

[MikeHattsu]

But hey, at least they got rid of the yuri baiting, right?!

People with their yuri glasses on still finds stuff ;p

 

[JulianImp]

I waited and watched all of Eupho S1 until right after it aired and was planning to do the same with S2, but all this drama alk the past 3-4 weeks has made that much less of a priority at this point...


But hey, at least they got rid of the yuri baiting, right?!

The promotional radio programs they've been hosting has a section where Kumiko and Reina's VAs are given a situation (like "at school" or "studying at home"), and they act out yuri bait for the masses. Really.

Spoiler

No objections here.

 

[Jarmel]

Looks like Blood Blockade Season 2 got announced.

Yay!

 

[Maximilian Kolbe]

Looks like Blood Blockade Season 2 got announced.

Yay!

Hope director don't messed up again lol.

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

Looks like Blood Blockade Season 2 got announced.

Yay!

Will they waste Rie Matsumoto on it again?

 

[duckroll]

New director, new writer, "new series" rather than "second season". Uh oh.

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

New director, new writer, "new series" rather than "second season". Uh oh.

Neat, I'm good then.

 

[duckroll]

Neat, I'm good then.

Did you like Kanamemo, Tokyo ESP, or Dagashi Kashi?

 

[NaDannMaGoGo]

Did you like Kanamemo, Tokyo ESP, or Dagashi Kashi?

No. I like Rie. I don't like Blood Blockade.