seems like pretty much every Toei movie has a stupidly long title.
Yes! Precure 5 Movie: Kagami no Kuni no Miracle Daibouken!
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon S: Kaguya Hime no Koibito
Dragon Ball Z Movie 05: Tobikkiri no Saikyou Tai Saikyou
Dragon Ball Z Movie 08: Moetsukiro!! Nessen - Ressen - Chou Gekisen
Suite Precure♪ Movie: Torimodose! Kokoro ga Tsunaku Kiseki no Melody♪
Dragon Ball Z Movie 04: Super Saiyajin da Son Goku
Fresh Precure! Movie: Omocha no Kuni wa Himitsu ga Ippai!?
Heartcatch Precure! Movie: Hana no Miyako de Fashion Show... Desu ka!?
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon SuperS: Sailor 9 Senshi Shuuketsu! Black Dream Hole no Kiseki
Dragon Ball Z Movie 07: Kyokugen Battle!! Sandai Super Saiyajin
Futari wa Precure: Max Heart Movie 2 - Yukizora no Tomodachi
Dragon Ball Z Movie 06: Gekitotsu!! 100-oku Power no Senshi-tachi
Yes! Precure 5 GoGo! Movie: Okashi no Kuni no Happy Birthday
Precure All Stars Movie DX: Minna Tomodachi - Kiseki no Zenin Daishuugou!
Futari wa Precure: Splash☆Star Movie - Tick Tack Kiki Ippatsu!
To Son Goku, Thanks for Everything! Prince Vegeta
Don't Be a Menace to South Kibougahana While Purifying Your Heart Seeds in the Hood
I have finals next week and pulling an all-nighter today (right now 10PM), totally forgot my series review in all the stress. Well now I'm taking a break so I'll use this time to get this out on here.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai - Series Review
Immediately continuing off from the first season, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, Kai starts to unravel and answer the many question that formed in its first season essentially being the answer arc show while the first season was the question arc show. While Kai's overall purpose is to be the answer arc it still throws in more questions that are only solved/revealed in the later half/quarter of the show to still keep the mystery and psychological thrill present in the first season, though not as prominent.
Music and soundtracks are the same as the previous season, meaning they are great and the new OP is just plain awesome.
Animation had a decent improvement as well transforming the sub-par quality from the first season to average to above-average in this season, wish they used this style/improvement in the first season.
Overall I was quite satisfied in how Kai slowly and steadily gave revealed answers to the many questions I've stated while watching both seasons and at the same time providing more questions to fuck around with the mind.
I actually didn't expect Miyo to be the main villain until the reveal, though I guess the Hinamizawa Syndrome causing the afflicted to go batshit crazy had a part in it. One little tidbit that bothers me concerning Miyo being the main villain is what was the purpose of her giving the scrapbook to Rena in the first season. Said scrapbook contained occult/alien writings yet contained some amount of truth, was it to confuse Rena (and in the turn the audience?) or just old musings she grew out of over time? Another thing is why the Yamainu were in cahoots with Rena and Mion back in the first arc of the previous season? I know that the Hinamizawa Syndrone caused Keichii to kill/suicide in his own paranoia, but why would he include the Yamainu with the two girls in his head?
It's not a super-tragic show that will bring one to tears but it still is pretty damn exciting to watch. One of the best animes I've watched and definitely would recommend to those who enjoy these kind of murder-mystery psychological horror thrillers.
Well I feel like I'm getting hit over the head over and over, over how good of a tactician Taiki is. I think I get it at this point. Just show me the more interesting other team instead.
OH man, I'd sorta picked up on the more affectionate bits Nakamura would demonstrate throughout this but seeing it all together in that flashback montage was heartbreaking. So was Kasuga reading through her notebook and holding tangible proof of her loneliness in his hands. I was riding pretty high on this as is but that montage was something else.
---
I take it the color montage that followed the black & white one is the unadapted material that we might never get. It'd be nice but I'm content what I got here though. Wild ride though and I'm glad I finally got around to this. Loved the rotoscope in the end. Think it helped contribute to grounding the material in a sense that made it more easy to relate to. Also helped convey emotion via body language and whatnot to a great degree.
It's a great show but it's missing the super fucking awesome JP OP that helps set the tone going into each ep. Wasn't pleased about that when I picked it up last year.
Monogatari second season episode 4
Man I don't know why but with every episode I enjoy Senjougahara less and less.
sad because I really liked her way back when I first started watching.
She isn't the worst girl at least but others(Hanekawa and especially Suruga) are just so much more interesting.
I have finals next week and pulling an all-nighter today (right now 10PM), totally forgot my series review in all the stress. Well now I'm taking a break so I'll use this time to get this out on here.
I feel you on that. Starting tomorrow everything is gonna go banaynays for me. I have like, four papers to write and a presentation to do and all of it is do at various points of "right the hell now."
It's a great show but it's missing the super fucking awesome JP OP that helps set the tone going into each ep. Wasn't pleased about that when I picked it up last year.
My last semester at University, I had 3 presentations, 2 oral exams and 3 papers over the course of a week. I, to this day, have no idea how I finished them but its a crowning achievement in cramming for me.
My last semester at University, I had 3 presentations, 2 oral exams and 3 papers over the course of a week. I, to this day, have no idea how I finished them but its a crowning achievement in cramming for me.
Raul and Fino really are pretty adorable together. Also, this episode was WAY too happy, so obviously shit was gonna go down by the end. Dat common anime trope. I just hope things don't get too dramatic from here on out. This is a pretty decent comedy and I'd kinda like it to stay that way.
"Guys we spent all our budget on the OP, break out the slideshow equipment."
Both parts were good. The cultural festival bit was maybe kind of predictable, but it was still pretty funny, and the preview visit was weird and funny as only Zetsubou can be. Case in point:
I like how Science can apparently make Ramen noodles from EM Waves. There is a matter of eccentric qualities to these characters, to the point that I too would love science, but I would lie my ass off just to stay longer.
That being said, it's pretty fun, and not boring, which is how I think certain subjects should be taught. Primarily history at least. I think the one time I put in full focus for History was during Summer school, mainly because of the teachers antics, and not feeling just like a teacher who is there to teach, but willing to communicate on various levels. Anywho...
What I would do to be the apple of his eye.... This dude is really weird. An Apple Fetish? Not many shows have that come to think of it.... CAPITALIZE ON THIS!
I want more of him in the future. Actually, I hope Hertz comes back as well for another challenge against Marika.
TOKIO is a really big music act and they're part of Johnny's Entertainment who are notorious about being assholes about music/image rights. Sentai probably couldn't afford to license the music which is a shame.
Think when it came up last time that it was speculated that licensing it from Sony Music was likely separate from the show license and probably cost too much. Don't know for certain though.
Incest taboos are agriculturalist propaganda meant to enrich the merchant class. By forcing people to marry outside of their family group tribes become so large they can no longer live within their means using proper hunter-and-gatherer techniques, and they form agricultural communities that barter with other communities to acquire the decadent luxuries they now believe they need.
I really hope that the rest of the guild leaders aren't that gullible, though. I had to rewatch this episode because the first time I wasn't really feeling this, but now it's warming up to me.
I like this "Villain in Glassies" personae Shiroe is portrayed as by others in the anime. Makes it seem as if we really are dealing with one of the smartest characters in this show.
Yeah, it's so refreshing to have an anime MC who's actually smart! That is definitely one of the better things about the series, that the lead character is smart and very capable. That helps make up for some of the series' flaws, most notably the questionable game mechanics (in the episodes with fighting in them)... though the good story does that too, as well.
I can't recall crying because of a movie or game, I don't really react like that even if I'm sad most of the time... though this (not anime related) rarely fails to get a tear in my eye:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2JbRYrmf74
As far as sad animes go, though, hmm... it's hard to choose, when there are so, SO many depressing animes out there! Seriously, there are whole genres full of the things. Japan sure likes its depressing stories. Offhand, for "saddest anime list", I'd nominate Texhnolyze, but the genre(s?) of shows like Vampire Princess Miyu, Mushi-shi, Mononoke, and the like... you know, about either people selling their souls, or about demons/monsters who take over people or convince them to do something which leads to their doom... those are often REALLY depressing!
I'm also currently watching SaiKano right now, and shit's dark and dire. Cajun et al. keep telling me it's really heartcrushing but I'm only like halfway in. I also feel like Golden Time could end up being one too.
Eh, ultimately Saikano is just completely stupid, more than anything else. That ending... no, that is not okay. It's got such stupid, juvenile writing...
She's a robot, she does things that no human (not even the horrendously cruel humans in THIS series) would because she really isn't human... and somehow at the end we're supposed to accept that she's still a sympathetic, kind of human-like character? NO! Her actions at the end ruin any chance of what follows working, writing-wise.
If you want an unbelievably depressing series which IS well written, watch Texhnolyze! It's absolutely incredible, and is certainly the best apocalypse anime I've seen. Of course it doesn't hurt that it's got ABe character designs, but the writing and story are great as well... yes, it has some unexplained plot elements, but if you can accept them, it all works. Anyway, Texhnolyze was incredibly dark, depressing, and ultimately hopeless, but I'm glad I watched the whole series -- it was absolutely worth it. It's a great anime. I haven't re-watched much of it, since finishing it that one time, but I might sometime...
To an extent, much of my enjoyment was derived from not knowing exactly how this show was supposed to present itself.
I know that it was popular, just not the reasons as to why. That said, it turns out that it isnt entirely dissimilar to a whole raft of anime, perhaps even in generic in its structure. Yes, it takes place in a high school, and it does have a male and female lead. The caveat being that there is a shadowy organization afoot, intent on catching a girl by the name of Chidori - for even more shadowy reasons. Sosuke arrives to protect her, socially inept but practically adept. He is there to safeguard her personal life, but seems to be much better at sabotaging her personal one.
Ostensibly starting off with a not too dissimilar slice of life premise, I assumed the military conceit was just that something that would never really figure into the narrative proper. As it turns out, this is true, to a degree. Therein lies my main problem with FMP. It sets out to achieve one thing, and it does. Though the fish-out-of-water setup is hardly novel, its executed with aplomb, with both Sosuke and Chidori being likeable leads, and the extended cast are more than up to the task. The high school scenes are perhaps the best parts of the entire show, with Sosukes militaristic diligence being juxtaposed with his utter lack of social graces, as he sets out to protect Chidori by any means he sees fit. Its entertaining stuff; with Chidoris bemusement at her plight (with seemingly most of the animation effort going into her range of expressions) both being amusing, whilst also not feeling like your typical relationship. Their dynamic is fun, and though romantic overtures are present, it never really feels like its overbearing.
It perhaps flows through these formative episodes so smoothly, that when it does rather abruptly shift away from this particular rhythm the show never really feels as assured again. Its this early promise that both led me to the very end of the series, along with lamenting what I was ultimately left with. The makeup of the show exists in two distinct parts, and its the weight of juggling these two that ultimately sours proceedings. There is the normal aspect of the show - which deals with Sosukes duty to protect, and there is the other the military drama. Each exists very much in its own sphere, but the interchange between the two is extremely jarring, not to mention frequent. The transition (or lack thereof) is felt so keenly because of the sudden shift in tone that each brings with it.
The aforementioned military aspect, essentially acts as the action segment of the show, what with it parlaying all the mecha stuff into these stretches. Its kind of an odd atmosphere that it lends to the rest of the show, given that it has an almost fastidious approach to how it presents this material. This is to say that its all played surprisingly straight, with the middle section of the narrative conveying a tone that is much darker than anything else in the entire series - something which it doesnt at all justify. Its unfortunate that this section is awash with needless filler, as it bogs it down immeasurably. To their credit, they do try to directly feed some of these events into Sosukes character, but for as much as its leveraged; it isnt really worth the three episode sojourn that it takes. Its the architect of its downfall in this respect, with the execution of the material neither possessing the brevity, nor the nuance to pull off this precarious balancing act.
Perhaps its those broad strokes that endear this show to some, but for me, I wish that it would just decide what kind of story it wants to tell and stick with it. Instead, what we end with is entertaining, though I couldn't quite shake he feeling that it could have been so much more than the sum of these parts. The characters are entertaining, and as mentioned, the premise does allow for some good stuff, but its blighted by inconsistency. There isnt really any sort of forward momentum to anything that happens, with there being a real lack of clarity on where (or how) the story intends to conclude. No better is this embodied in the series main antagonist, Guaron. It speaks volumes that its a role that doesnt really become defined until well after the halfway point
Guaron isnt a bad villain; in fact, hes a pretty good one, being ridiculously dastardly and of all things, actually comes across as a legitimate threat. But therein lies the problem with the character, the writers is a little too enamoured with him. It quickly becomes apparent that they have no conviction to completely erase him from the plot as he slides into each major event, forgetting that death is indeed final. Its extremely silly, but I guess it kinds of feed into the notion that hes such a bombastic foil - that absolutely nothing can stop him. But amidst all this, there isnt any real conflict for this force to hinge on, rather that it feels as though he simply exists as busywork. He acts bad, he is bad, but we dont really know why. His motives are so shallow, that when they (or the lack thereof) are actually revealed, it kinds of take any sort of tension out of the final few episodes
One of the core conceits of the actual plot is left unaddressed until a couple of episodes away from the conclusion, which strikes me as somewhat egregious. Though Its a detail that is sown early
(having Chidori being protected, due her mysterious talents)
, but even then, I dont think its acceptable to reference it the way they do. They attempt to thread together the dangling plot threads in the most haphazard way possible, that its just insulting. The equivalent of the script just throwing its hands up and saying "Oh, by the way." Its one thing to foreshadow, but its something else entirely to contrive plot developments. Its a simply a case of cognitive dissonance. To make this yet more irritating, said exposition is rife with abstract expressions, never really committing ,and only ever existing as a deus ex machina to resolve a specific story beat. The audience is hardly going to accept it as feeling natural and cohesive to the overall plot, when not even the story can manage that. I probably would have preferred it had they only alluded to these elements. There is something to be said for economy in storytelling.
I can already predict as to why most (and probably me) end up preferring the likes of Fumoffu. My favourite sections of this are the slice of life moments, specifically because it lets the interplay between Chidori and Sosuke breathe. Theres also the action which in itself, isnt at all shabby. Its just that its always a vehicle to contrive a situation between the pair, or transition between arcs. When its used so overtly as a bridge, its difficult to find that quite as exciting as what it precedes.
Initially when trying to surmise my thoughts, I thought that FMP seemed analogous to an 80s action film (not least of all for the clear A-Team references the main theme carries). It presented itself as unassuming and fun, but in a way that left you satisfied. As I moved further into the episodes though, a different parallel seemed much more fitting. It ended up evoking a much more modern comparison, what with its tendency to perhaps get a little more serious than it had any right to be. It pretends to be one thing, all the while wanting to be something else entirely. All things considered, It was at least worth the time I spent with it. There's certainly enough here to whet my appetite for what comes next.
Yeah, FMP is great. I highly recommend watching Fumoffu, and then pretending that TSR and everything int he LNs and manga after that simply doesn't exist, because after Fumoffu the series gets dark, and then seriously grimdark and stupid. The school/comedy elements completely disappear after TSR, and there are barely any of them in that series either. It's really not good, which is really sad considering how great S1 is. I'll go into this more in my next reply (below).
There are quite a few people who don't like the military segments but I think the serious components actually work extremely well in the context of the show. By making the action take place away from the school, it allows this dual tonality compared to stuff like KnK or most supernatural high school anime where the students are expected to have normal lives despite their abnormal situations. You might say it's too separated for its own good but I think that was the right call as it prevents the show from getting way too bogged down in drama and have the comedic moments without seemingly artificial. It doesn't try to mix two elements that other shows repeatedly attempt to do, and almost always fail at. For example the arc where Sousuke is in the Middle East was fine for me because it was separated from the events at the school and it really made the audience appreciate the circumstances in which Sousuke is working under and why he would appreciate the 'quiet' times at the school. I also think the military stuff is needed on a character level as it allows the audience to understand why Sousuke is the way he is and also further character relationships by which Kaname isn't isolated from Sousuke's 'true' world. Through Kaname's interactions with Mythril, she has a better understanding of Sousuke. Sousuke likewise gains a better appreciation of Kaname as she's not just some wall flower. The two elements work in tandem with each other to establish both Kaname and Sousuke in their elements and why the two would appreciate each other.
I also recently rewatched the early parts of the show and they do properly foreshadow something being off with Chidori. There were scenes of her muttering stuff when she woke up. A lot of the stuff that is a deux ex machina at that stage of the show does turn out to bite some of the characters in the ass later.
As for the forward movement, what the shows adapted have covered are essentially the prologue to the main part of the narrative. That's partly why some people, like me, want Takemoto to go through the rest of the novels as a lot of the story progression happens later.
No! The anime (first season and Fumoffu) animates the only part of the story worth reading. TSR's already heading into grimdark territory, but as soon as it ends the series goes full grimdark, and as I've said before that's when it completely falls apart. I really liked the first season of TSR, and thought it was quite good, both for the action parts and the comedy parts. Fumoffu was pretty good too, but I wanted some action parts too, like S1 had... but then they did TSR, and it got pretty dark... and then the story after that goes completely off the rails into stupidity and bad things. It was sad, seeing such a good series fall apart so completely... and it has hurt my opinion of S1 too, in fact; I haven't re-watched it in quite some time now, in large part because I know what happens later, and hate a lot of it. S1 got the comedy-drama balance down perfectly! Why the author ever thought that things should change so much is beyond me, but it was a horrible, series-ruining idea.
(spoilers!)
TSR is bad enough, with the murders of those two brainwashed (basically) villain girls and the like, but everything after that gets so much worse. Seriously, between separating the two main characters for so long because Chidori gets kidnapped (this was a quite bad plot point), introducing and then killing off Nami, having the villains TSR hinted at actually turn out to be super-awesome-ultra-powerful guys with a massive army more powerful than anything of any nation on earth even though no one seemed to know they really existed... And on that note, I HATE stupid conspiracy stories like that! They're not plausible, and are awful writing too. Mithril's forces, Tessa's sub excepted, turns out to be completely worthless against the real threat? Giant enemy force that comes out of nowhere? NO! That is not competent writing! But as a result, just about all of the good guys except for the MC and Tessa and co. are all wiped out, changing the story into this war against these stupid villains which never were a plausible storyline (because of what I said already). Etc etc etc, there's more. On the whole it is bad, unpleasant, and not particularly well thought through either. Gauron was a decent villain. The enemies after him are not.
But most importantly, it completely throws away everything that made the series good in the first place -- that great balance between the comedy (school live) and drama action/defending Chidori) elements of the series. That should not have happened. It's really sad, what happened to what was for a while such a good series.
By Onii-chan no Koto ga Suki Sugite Nyan Nyan Shitai Burakon Imouto dakedo Sunao ni Narenai no you're talking about I'm a Brocon Little Sister That Loves Big Brother Too Much and Wants To Do "NyanNyan" But I Can't Be Honest, correct?
because yeah i still think that's the reigning champion
TOKIO is a really big music act and they're part of Johnny's Entertainment who are notorious about being assholes about music/image rights. Sentai probably couldn't afford to license the music which is a shame.
Think when it came up last time that it was speculated that licensing it from Sony Music was likely separate from the show license and probably cost too much. Don't know for certain though.
That's a shame. It is a shame more series are not released with OST CDs like Dusk Maiden of Amnesia (though those CDs only had the piano version of Choir Jail) and a few other of Sentai series.
Well, the "you'll back on it and laugh one day" strategy works any time throughout college! Just imagine how great you'll feel after you've submiited your last paper this sem!
Hmmm. I don't really know how I feel about this. It's not bad in any technical way, but it's also not that interesting, and doesn't feel particularly unique or special. I'm not impressed in any way by this installment, but if this were just two-episode arc in a longer TV series it wouldn't be offensive. It's just sort of disappointing that after two entries in a four-part OVA, the entire thing doesn't feel noteworthy in any way. There isn't any sort of signature represented in the material, and it feels like a series of mainstream action/thriller stories which just happen to be using the Ghost in the Shell brand.
While the first entry felt heavily inspired by The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, this entry feels like any of the numerous number of bland action movies from Hollywood these days with a hacking threat. Stuff like Die Hard 4 definitely come to mind. While the animation is pretty good, I found it hard to get engaged with most of the story, and the action was pretty unexciting to be honest. It feels more like watching a munch of stunt actors go through the motions without any emotions or motivations. A lot of it can probably be chalked up to poor direction and a total lack of ambition.
I don't really expect much out of IG these days anyway, so this wasn't painful to sit through. It just wasn't as entertaining as the first one. Oh well. It won't matter since everyone will probably have forgotten about it by the time the next one comes around in 7 months. Lol.
I really hope that the rest of the guild leaders aren't that gullible, though. I had to rewatch this episode because the first time I wasn't really feeling this, but now it's warming up to me.
I like this "Villain in Glassies" personae Shiroe is portrayed as by others in the anime. Makes it seem as if we really are dealing with one of the smartest characters in this show.
An actual good main character, so much more enjoyable than a Kirito type.
I was a little worried when I saw his design and that he was a mage class character though.
Quite a bit to like so far: Solid production values, a fairly likeable cast of characters, a good sense of adventure, and a threatening enemy. The sound design is also notable as well, as it aids in giving the show a very "old school" vibe which is appropriate given its lineage. Things like the opening song, sci-fi trumpets and 70's funk guitars and even a lot of the sound effects like the battleship sounds and laser weaponry really adds to the retro atmosphere. All of this combined with an updated visual direction makes for a very happy medium between old and new.
The CGI, while used pretty frequently, is also not bad at all which is definitely a benefit from having such a strong art direction. The ship designs, the various landscapes, the UIs, and the character designs are all very well done. Jexhius provided an awesome introspection of the art direction of this show recently so I really don't have much more to add to that. And this is coming from Xebec of all places? Crazy. As someone who has no knowledge of the series whatsoever, it's easy to tell that the staff of 2199 have a pretty big respect for the original and it definitely shows.
Anyways, good stuff so far. Not completely sold on a lot of the cast so far (aside from Captain Okita obviously) but I appreciate the show giving more focus to the cast as the story goes on.
Now to get back to this because holy crap what a cliffhanger episode 5 had.
I'd say that about the uncomfortable thong battle armor. But I'm sure Urobutcher has plans for it. Like maybe she'll be battling a giant monster in the robot, then get really uncomfortable and when she tries to reposition the armor she gets killed.
Also that guy with the guitar? Dies of a splinter that gives him a deadly disease.
And the robot? Forget about it, it goes "supermaaan"
