Trying to pick a show to get into, since midterms are finished.
JoJo's eps 1 & 2 - Cool
Robotics;Notes ep 1 - Weird, but too early to dismiss, considering Steins started slowly.
Sword Art Online eps 1 & 2 - Not sure if legit entertaining, or if I'm watching because it's so dumb. Dying for real to try and get a bonus item? Wow. Tropey as can be, too.
Also planning to try: Magi, K, Psycho Pass, From the New World, Zetsuen no Tempest.
Worst come to worst I'll watch the LoGH Gaiden series, though I've been putting it off because I'd like to watch at least one current/modern anime.
This was an excellent follow-up to the first episode, since it served as a direct continuation of the story, effectively deconstructing the reasoning Akane chose this seemingly unsuitable career path, while also illuminating her moralistic struggles and temporarily resolving them. This was suffused with an improved sort of essential exposition, as it was a bit less dialogue-centric and more focused on characterization and world-building, elaborating on the nuances of several characters. It was certainly a less eventful episode, but just as integral in the necessary development of the narrative.
The story is incredibly intriguing, as this episode dealt with the direct consequences of Akane's actions and, once again, alluded to the potential fragility of the noticeably flawed Sibyl system, which I'm certainly expecting a more thorough examination of as the story continues. My favorite scene was
Akane's visit to Shinya
, due largely to the vague glimpses of
Shinya's troubled, haunting past
and what may be fueling his motivation, strongly alluding to his tormented psyche and foreshadowing the developments yet to come.
I don't find Akane's characterization tiresome or contrived at all, especially after this episode, as I've grown to appreciate her moral doubts and complexities. Her inexperience has been portrayed quite believably and in a much more realistic manner throughout this episode. The character interactions in this episode were very interesting. As such, her conversations with
Masaoka
,
Kagari
, and
Shinya
revealed a compelling level of insight into their characters as well as portraying the melancholic, disheartening life of an
Enforcer
, and, by extension, the controlled society they inhabit. It effectively illustrates an increasingly sympathetic aspect of the
Enforcers
. I really like Shion, the newly introduced character, but, of course, that's partially due to her being voiced by Sawashiro.
The production values, for the most part, are terrific. The direction, though a bit lacking in this episode, was still quite good, due mostly to how confidently it established the tone, as this episode was entirely contrasting in atmosphere compared to the oppressive bleakness found in the first. The visuals are extremely good, particularly displayed by the lavishly detailed interiors, such as the technologically artificial transformation of Akane's living quarters. Another element that consistently impresses is the music, which accompanies scenes in a brilliantly atmospheric fashion.
The OP is visually fantastic. It's stylistic use of black and white, along with the plethora of quick edits combine to create a visually stunning whole.
All in all, Psycho-Pass continues to be considerably impressive and, up to this point, the execution has been largely exceptional. I'm thoroughly intrigued to see how the story develops, as I'm expecting a particular sort of gradual nihilism to eventually creep into the narrative. I'm really looking forward to the broadened exploration of this dystopian setting and the inherent brutality found within. This is certainly one of the best, most engaging shows of the season.
That was awesome. When the show sticks to action, it's a pure unadulterated and visceral experience. Ando's action direction is top notch, and the action animators at BONES really know how to get the most out of his storyboards. This episode was mostly action, and it really delivered. Great effects animatiom, great action animation, lots of nice motion, environmental destruction, and yes - FACE SMASHING! Ooooh yeah!
Number of dumb quotes: 0
Number of action sequences: Many
Amount of brolust: Pretty high
Yes, this was a great episode, and it totally surpassed the manga content it covered. Like in the previous episode, there are various changes and decisions made by the anime staff which elevate and improve the material and make it not only more exciting, but just much more entertaining to watch. Sogood.gif
The good news doesn't end there. It appears that next week's episode, judging from the preview, isn't even from the manga at all. It looks like an original anime episode showing flashbacks when Yoshino and Mahiro were young, while they do more brolust bonding in present day. It's going to get hot! TL
*Shrug* Personal iM@S fandom aside(*), it's a fun and extremely well made show(**) produced by a staff cursed with an over-abundance of give-a-damn. Regardless of what the show actually is, the fun the staff were clearly have making it is incredibly infectious.
(*) Speaking of iM@S fandom, kind of - I got the first of the Sentai Filmworks release of Xenoglossia a couple of days ago, and finished-up rewatching the first thirteen episodes this morning. I still like that show a great deal. It's genuinely a pretty good show. The kind of surprising thing is that two of my favourite episodes of the early batch -
the one where Chihaya tries to kill Haruka for painting her robot Pink
and
the kind-of subversive "Makoto gets trolled" episode
were written by Hiroyuki Yoshino as opposed to the generally far more accomplished Jukki Hanada... at least according to the credits on the DVD. ANN has Hanada writing the second of those two. Nice to see the omake translated finally too (also, an actual, competent translation for the actual show, minor niggle of them not leaving the goofy "Act On, Standby" alone aside).
I'm also one of the ones that likes Idolmaster Xenoglossia but I can understand how maybe some fans don't like it, especially at the point when it was really the only anime adaptation of the series.
I don't own the show so I haven't seen the Omake's but for the home release of Xenoglossia is the final episode really longer by about two minutes or so? I've heard the ending is slightly longer showing what happened to some of the characters after the events of the series, such as some like
Best precure gets best episode because she's best precure.[/QUOTE]
Ah, there's that gif where Yayoi cycles through all three. I was thinking of using that in my post but could only find one where she kept showing the same one over and over and I didn't really want to take a long time looking for one.
[quote="/XX/, post: 43340029"][url="http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=36521807&postcount=4063"]Yeah, it shows a battle that transcends space and time.[/url][/QUOTE]
Yeah, that's what I was meaning when I said it looked like it started out like Yayoi was maybe just following a pattern of scissors, paper, rock then scissors etc.
She started to mix it up a bit though and even did scissors back to back like I mentioned. I got a loss there as I thought I'd be safe getting at least a draw with paper but then she used scissors again. She's maybe done that a few times before and I've just forgotten too.
[quote="R_thanatos, post: 43349496"]Ditto
[B]SAIN SEYA OMEGA 18[/B]
And when i think this anime will stay in the cliché and predictable , this happens:
Sonia plan was pretty much "ok" ....it wasn't bad but i guess i would have created a situation to separate them properly .. i guess she was overconfident and that was her downfall ..the fight itself i have nothing to say about it because it was well done .. nice esquives , nice attack , nice clashes ..and nice plot elements in the mix and no "burn my cosmo" to see ...
Trully that was a good episode ..for something they hinted so far back , they didn't disapoint ...
AND No mention of the ninja dude .. Really a perfect episode... [B]( i need more episodes like this )[/B][/QUOTE]
I liked this episode but was disappointed with how the fight ended as it seemed like [spoiler]Kouga basically just acted as type of a deus ex machina there.[/spoiler]
I'm also one of the ones that likes Idolmaster Xenoglossia but I can understand how maybe some fans don't like it, especially at the point when it was really the only anime adaptation of the series.
I don't own the show so I haven't seen the Omake's but for the home release of Xenoglossia is the final episode really longer by about two minutes or so? I've heard the ending is slightly longer showing what happened to some of the characters after the events of the series, such as some like
Well, then presently released US set is only the first half of the series, but owning a complete set of the Japanese disk as well, yeah, the last episode has a couple of minutes of additional prologue material which wasn't broadcast on TV and hasn't previously been translated. That spoiler you mention is absolutely something which happens.
What kind of worries me is that, if you've heard about that extra material, it probably comes down to something I've written in the past somewhere ^^;
Well, then presently released US set is only the first half of the series, but owning a complete set of the Japanese disk as well, yeah, the last episode has a couple of minutes of additional prologue material which wasn't broadcast on TV and hasn't previously been translated. That spoiler you mention is absolutely something which happens.
What kind of worries me is that, if you've heard about that extra material, it probably comes down to something I've written in the past somewhere ^^;
Haha, yes, it very well could have been you. I've seen the name DiGiKerot on the forums Mania which I've gone to the rare time and have seen some Idolm@ster news such as CD releases (which I can recall was definitely from you haha). I actually think I saw a screen capture I didn't recognize which is what caught my attention in the first place.
The Japanese release of Xenoglossia was DVD only right? There was no BluRay? The sales numbers weren't very good either I recall, only maybe a couple thousand, if that, per volume, right? It makes doubt if there ever will be a BluRay release then.
I dislike it when a show is going over my head. Didn't get the symbolism at the end of Cowboy Bebop at all, just the
syndicate takeover stuff. One of my personal literary preferences is that I get full closure with no open threads at the end, so it's always a bit frustrating when they go for the 'artsy' open end. Personal grievance, so I don't judge works for it.
Good show though. The characters were interesting to follow, although I had to warm up towards Ed for a while. I really like how Jet, despite being a hardened veteran cop, is pretty much the Team Mom of the group. He's pretty much the only normal-ish guy and I enjoyed his humorous frustrations at the rest's quirks.
Art style reflected the futuristic sci-fi noir style well, but was discrete enough not to detract attention from the storyline.
I found it a bit jarring how the show sometimes jumped between the main plot and the Bounty of the Week episodes
(especially after Faye's tape, broke my suspense of disbelief)
but in the end it didn't matter that much. The only episode I disliked was the one about the cowboy.
The music, despite universal praise on the Internet, was very much hit-or-miss for me. The important tracks, so to speak, were all very very good (Space Lion being my favorite), but some of the background stuff... Never disruptive though, just not stuff I'll be listening to any time soon.
What else is there to say about this show? It was simply, really really enjoyable. All of the components blended well, it was both relaxing and exciting at the same time, delivered on the prospects of the scifi-noir action series I wanted to see when starting this show. Some touching moments
Ed and Ein leaving with that slightly melancholic song in the background
and some goosebumps
Space Lion credit sequence at the end of EP14 (or EP13, forgot)
.
I'm giving this show a 9/10 mark, based on personal enjoyment. Apparently this show is wildly popular on the internet, seeing how everybody has seen it. And now I finally know where that sentence exactly comes from.
The next show on my 'list of anime everybody has seen' is the crown jewel of the mahou shoujo, which is Sailor Moon, a show I know nothing about except that it has women with short skirts doing all kinds of magic trickery, and hundreds of episodes divided between several seasons. Don't know if I'm gonna watch them all though, but the show is 'better than it looks', according to my American friends.
I liked this episode. Not great, but I felt it was a much needed conclusion to the opening episode. While it definitely felt like a "breather" episode coming down from the criminal case in the previous one, I liked a lot of the world building that the first half showcased mostly because I'm a sucker for sci-fi/futuristic settings. As one would expect the life of someone living in such a futuristic setting would feel very convenient and easy going but what I found interesting was that the world comes off as a dystopia masked behind a utopia with holograms seemingly covering everything from walls, to cloths, and quite possibly even entire buildings. Everything seems to be presented as lively and pretty on the outside when in reality it's cold and barren (as seen with Akane's living quarters). It gives us a clear glimpse into Akane's personal life and how she tries to shoulder the heavy events from the previous night.
It was nice to see a few more members of the team get some screen time as I now have a better grasp on their character, especially Shinya. I kind of see him in an entirely different light since
I was expecting him to be more vindictive towards Akane and what she did, but instead came off as rather compassionate yet still bound by his own morals and clearly haunted by events in his earlier life.
The conclusion at the end was really nice as
Akane now feels confident about her decision to stop Shinya now she's had time to dwell on it and seeing that the girl seems to be recovering from the event.
In any case I thought these two episodes were a pretty decent introduction to the series, now I'm sure the real story begins in the next episode. I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, that was really good. I think it might be time to stop considering where the manga went and to just enjoy the ride now. Badass action all throughout with plenty of suspense, like a twenty-minute long boss fight.
No awkward quotes, and the dialogue is pared down to the essentials required to sustain the action so it doesn't come off as being the usual overwrought speech. Also, original content for episode four indicating a potential to divert from the manga???
More like this, please. I can't say anything that duckroll and Dresden haven't already. All action, no Shakespeare, great direction and animation, I'm satisfied.
College here isn't taken very seriously on a few levels. I could write 100's of pages on it, but most Japanese people I know and have talked to look back on their HS years way more fondly.
Their closest friends/lifelong also tend to be people from back during HS. Lack of a western style dorm life is a big reason for this, as are the classes.
One thing I really want to talk about with regards to Zetsuen no Tempy is how much emphasis Ando seems to place on the physical setting. It's something really interesting and grounded which isn't as common place in anime as it should be. Throughout the first 3 episodes, there is a lot of attention to detail in terms of showing where the characters are, and where the places are in relation to each other.
In ep3 in particular, this is used to great effect in the action sequence(s).
When Mahiro propels himself and Yoshino out of the parking lot building onto the roof of the next building, this isn't just a quick escape. It separates the characters from their enemy using actual distance, and when Mahiro jumps back into the fight, Yoshino has to make his way down the mall back into the streets.
This gives the show a chance to flesh out the location more, showing the impact of the outbreak on the normal world, and also to create a really grounded feeling to the supernatural elements. It also shows the difference between Mahiro and Yoshino without any dialogue used - Mahiro is more impulsive, while Yoshino prefers to give himself more time to think about stuff before getting back into the fray.
I'm really impressed with how they take the basis of the action from the manga, and are able to expand on the sequences in such elaborate ways. It's really high effort. Especially considering the source material!
To be fair, Sonia's plan was atrocious. The entire scenario was super-dumb, just like everything related to Souma other than episode 26. Yamatoya is a hack.
The Japanese release of Xenoglossia was DVD only right? There was no BluRay? The sales numbers weren't very good either I recall, only maybe a couple thousand, if that, per volume, right? It makes doubt if there ever will be a BluRay release then.
There are no words in the English dictionary to adequately describe just how much Makoto sucks.
About the episode:
Boobs. More boobs. Boobs everywhere. I saw this coming from a mile away, but... yeah. Speaking of which, what the hell did that girl mean when she said that even when you looked closer at Kotonoha's boobs, they don't get smaller? Of course they don't get smaller dumbass, that's how physics works; the closer you look at something, the bigger they appear.
Makoto's friend (Kaisuke was it?) was really goddamn annoying. This episode also had significantly more shots of his package than I'd prefer (aka 0).
Anyway, now Makoto likes Sekai instead of Kotonoha. I don't know why. Wait a minute, I know exactly why: because Sekai puts out, and Kotonaha doesn't. So he's being cruel to Kotonoha by stringing her along, as well as Sekai because he's giving her a moral dilemma because she doesn't want to betray Kotonoha even though she liked Makoto first and FUCK THIS WHY DO I CARE?!
...
Also what's up with that creepy girl? She's gonna start something, isn't she?
as well as those with Suoh and Mikoto. Finally receiving enough information but not too much to make it feel like an info dump of an episode worked well when mixed with good comedy and a bit of action.
They didnt identify what exactly the Dresden Plates were or if there is some sort of balance with the Weismann powerbetween all of the kings or just Red and Blue for that Sword of Damocles. However they do need to somehow tie that in with the Colorless King, Isana, Im guessing. I also assume that the race against time is to prevent another situation like that Kagutsu Crater, but then again how does all of this tie into Homra wanting to kill Isana, unless I missed it, or what interest Blue has in him
.
I hope Neko follows through with her plan next week. But why change it for the dvd...
The pacing is really the only disappointment I'm having with this show. Almost nothing happened this episode and most of I feel what was shown could have been shortened to make room for something more. Still I'm liking it.
The battle show between the mechs seems so pointless though, but maybe Yuuya will kick some ass.
Mawaru Penguindrum 5
Ahahaha Ringo was awesome in this one. The way she got back from the hole and ran up the stairs. Her next action was mean though, poor Himari.
Red haired girl totally reminds me of the girl in Utena.
How Kanba still has a face after that stunt to get the cap back is anime total.
I'm getting curious enough about the story that I'm itching to watch the fansubs, but I like it better to having to listen while looking at the action and not watching the lower part of the video with a hand on the pause button, so I guess I'll restrain myself.
Started watching Pokemon Best Wishes and although I know it's because there's always a new audience to please, but it frustates me that Satoshi(Ash) is once again somehow an inexperienced trainer, and that Pikachu somehow lost to a level 5 starter Snivy, seriously.
Besides that, I'm liking Hayate No Gotoku: Can't Take My Eyes off You and am continuing to watch PoyoPoyo .
Started watching Pokemon Best Wishes and although I know it's because there's always a new audience to please, but it frustates me that Satoshi(Ash) is once again somehow an inexperienced trainer, and that Pikachu somehow lost to a level 5 starter Snivy, seriously.
Besides that, I'm liking Hayate No Gotoku: Can't Take My Eyes off You and am continuing to watch PoyoPoyo .
There are no words in the English dictionary to adequately describe just how much Makoto sucks.
About the episode:
Boobs. More boobs. Boobs everywhere. I saw this coming from a mile away, but... yeah. Speaking of which, what the hell did that girl mean when she said that even when you looked closer at Kotonoha's boobs, they don't get smaller? Of course they don't get smaller dumbass, that's how physics works; the closer you look at something, the bigger they appear.
Makoto's friend (Kaisuke was it?) was really goddamn annoying. This episode also had significantly more shots of his package than I'd prefer (aka 0).
Anyway, now Makoto likes Sekai instead of Kotonoha. I don't know why. Wait a minute, I know exactly why: because Sekai puts out, and Kotonaha doesn't. So he's being cruel to Kotonoha by stringing her along, as well as Sekai because he's giving her a moral dilemma because she doesn't want to betray Kotonoha even though she liked Makoto first and FUCK THIS WHY DO I CARE?!
...
Also what's up with that creepy girl? She's gonna start something, isn't she?
A poor and terrible episode to what was a great first episode. What could've been a great follow-up episode leading the plot somewhere is bogged down by explicit explanations of how the world works. The problem isn't really the fact that the episode primarily focuses on trying to build the world but it's redundant. There's hardly anything in this episode that the audience couldn't have gleamed from in the first episode.
For instance, the crime coefficient isn't just high when a person's a threat to society, but when they possess thoughts that will lead to some sort of negative result - whether it be to a large amount of people or one. Another is such as the Enforcers being in actuality not really criminals or such but the fact that they possess a well-rounded mental state where they can understand and even empathize with other latent criminals which leads to their possible high crime coefficients.
However, the most obvious thing that they beat to death throughout the entirety of the episode is Akane's role as a detective. It's quite clear from episode 1 WHAT her role in both the squad - and in the grand scheme of things, the narrative - yet they try to explain in a very drawn episode that she's someone special. Unlike others, she holds compassion and upholds a person's humanity in high regard making her different from the Enforcers and the primary inspectors. In addition, while everyone relies on machines and the Sibyl system to make the calls for everything, Akane questions it to a degree and expresses that through action. Anyone who saw the first episode can infer this yet for some reason they HAD to take another episode to focus on this. It's extremely frustrating and for an anime - that at least I think so - that is trying to be smart, it treats the audience like dumbasses. Annoying to say the least.
If anything, the second episode sets things in motion and gives slight foreshadowing of what's to come and that is in and of itself nice. Other than, a very poorly executed episode.
I have no idea where you're coming from on any of those points.
I mean, if you just look at the reactions here, the most common complaint was that people didn't understand how Akane got where she was, and people were confused as to whether her actions in the episode represented a transgression of the system or not. This episode addresses all of those questions. It shows why Akane chose to be an Inspector, why she came across as such a newbie, and why she's able to have such a different attitude from others. More crucially, the routine latent-criminal apprehension and the holograms used in this episode show why society has accepted and submitted to this system.
I mean, think about the contrast between the holographic European paradise of Akane's home life and the way that the Enforcers live. Establishing that contrast (and the rather shallow edifice it's built on) was probably the most crucial thing that this episode did.
A few of the things shown here could be inferred from the last episode, but not all of them, and it's important that at least a few of them are properly illustrated for the sake of developing the plot. The audience has to understand the basic circumstances of the show in order to follow how things develop from there.
I liked this episode a lot. Even if our picture of society is still kind of incomplete, it's much more well-rounded, and I really appreciated a better understanding of how Enforcers lived; not quite criminals but far from free citizens. I thought the foreshadowing concerning Shinya's past was a bit heavy-handed (
I can't die yet... I MUST GET UP RIGHT NOW TO DEMONSTRATE MY BURNING DESIRE FOR REVENGE
), but whatever.
The moment leading into the credits was pure Japanese live-action crime drama.
What a fantastic episode! It was predictable in terms of how things were going to develop, but the actual execution was great. I was definitely feeling it when
the audience just wasn't getting into the show. After the last episode, it made sense to have Miki be the one to rile the crowd
. High quality animation all around and some relatively catchy beats made for a fun 24 minutes.
Looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
What a fantastic episode! It was predictable in terms of how things were going to develop, but the actual execution was great. I was definitely feeling it when
the audience just wasn't getting into the show. After the last episode, it made sense to have Miki be the one to rile the crowd
. High quality animation all around and some relatively catchy beats made for a fun 24 minutes.
Looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
I loved the episode just because of Sanae. The analysis that she's a full blown idiot is an accurate one and the way she literally roped herself up was amazing.
I loved the episode just because of Sanae. The analysis that she's a full blown idiot is an accurate one and the way she literally roped herself up was amazing.
TL
