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Fall Anime 2014 lOTl Unlimited Tomino Works
- Thread starter Narag
- Start date
- Status
NCR Redslayer
NeoGAF's Vegeta
Watch Stargazer instead. Its better.
Jex
Member
I'm just going to leave this here because not everyone is on IRC or Twitter: http://tamerlane420.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/japanimation/
Dedication Through Light
Member
I cant wait until the other Shonen Hollywood full versions come, the one for 永遠never ever is one of the best songs from the anime.
ZachDeKoromaru
Banned
We're just now getting full adaptations of Jojo so it's not that odd!
Im not too sure who this person is, do they frequent the thread?
Voting is open to anyone though.
Okay.
I almost took his blog post seriously until I realized he probably proofed it with a thesaurus.
Okay. Maybe some other time then.
Well, we got Jojo. And Level E got an anime in 2011 despite the manga finishing in 97. So it's not completely strange.
Boooooo. Where's the fun in that? Don't you enjoy having your hopes dashed against the walls when a show you were hyped for devolves into shit? Also makes it sweeter when the rare show actually lives up to the hype
Within the context of this thread, not the anime/game/book/etc. fandom at large, the only times I've seen Gary Stu thrown around has been in reference to SAO, Mahouka, certain Gundam series, etc. Has it really been a misused term IN THIS THREAD?
He frequented the thread for some 2/3 weeks and then got banned for unrelated stuff. his alts kept getting banned too lol
Sibersk Esto
Banned
Speaking of old mangas getting animes I want my Samurai Deeper Kyo anime and I want it done RIGHT goddammit.
Log Horizon 23
Minori is really growing. All she needs now is a higher level and a few more years of experience and she could be a force to be reckoned with.
So this isn't going to end with a trip to Minami. It's going to end on a cliffhanger because some bizzare looking guy is stopping by to say hello.
Minori is really growing. All she needs now is a higher level and a few more years of experience and she could be a force to be reckoned with.
So this isn't going to end with a trip to Minami. It's going to end on a cliffhanger because some bizzare looking guy is stopping by to say hello.
M3 24 END
What a weird show.
It was aiming for the same sort of "What gutwrenching revelations will occur this week" as From the New World, of all things, but didn't execute it nearly as well. Too slow and repetitive, particularly in the first half. Once characters actually started developing the show actually got kind of engaging, it just took too long. Monster designs bordered on incoherent, and mechanical designs were dull; the fighting scenes were moderately entertaining at the best of times. It didn't even turn into an Okadabot melodrama trainwreck, really. Emotional reactions were heightened, of course, but nothing incomprehensible.
Probably should have been a single cour.
What a weird show.
It was aiming for the same sort of "What gutwrenching revelations will occur this week" as From the New World, of all things, but didn't execute it nearly as well. Too slow and repetitive, particularly in the first half. Once characters actually started developing the show actually got kind of engaging, it just took too long. Monster designs bordered on incoherent, and mechanical designs were dull; the fighting scenes were moderately entertaining at the best of times. It didn't even turn into an Okadabot melodrama trainwreck, really. Emotional reactions were heightened, of course, but nothing incomprehensible.
Probably should have been a single cour.
ShinRPGamer
Member
Macross II: The Movie
I had 4 people tell me that I was making a mistake watching Macross II. Naturally it's the best place to start on my to watch-list.
I'll admit, apart from Macross: Do You Remember Love, I haven't seen anything Macross related so maybe by Macross standards this is considered to be pretty bad. On it's own, I think it's an alright movie. The movie's biggest problem is the overarching story being essentially a retread of the original Macross and does not really add anything different or new to the formula. On the other hand, the animation is a lot better here than in DYRL which has the result of making the battles more interesting when it isn't being absurd. (Minmay Attack? Really?)
Character-wise, there's not a whole lot to say. Apart from Ishtar, Hibiki and maybe Silvie no one here really stands out.
I really like the music in Macross II, both in terms of the background music and the songs. If i'm being bold, I'd say the music is almost better here than in DYRL.
What I don't like at all though is the dub. Poor direction, bad acting and (minor nitpick) barely matching lip flap lead me to switch to Japanese after 20 minutes. Suffice to say I miss the DYRL dub.
So yeah, it's an okay film overall. Not unwatchable by any means but I would have regretted buying it if it weren't on sale.
I had 4 people tell me that I was making a mistake watching Macross II. Naturally it's the best place to start on my to watch-list.
I'll admit, apart from Macross: Do You Remember Love, I haven't seen anything Macross related so maybe by Macross standards this is considered to be pretty bad. On it's own, I think it's an alright movie. The movie's biggest problem is the overarching story being essentially a retread of the original Macross and does not really add anything different or new to the formula. On the other hand, the animation is a lot better here than in DYRL which has the result of making the battles more interesting when it isn't being absurd. (Minmay Attack? Really?)
Character-wise, there's not a whole lot to say. Apart from Ishtar, Hibiki and maybe Silvie no one here really stands out.
I really like the music in Macross II, both in terms of the background music and the songs. If i'm being bold, I'd say the music is almost better here than in DYRL.
What I don't like at all though is the dub. Poor direction, bad acting and (minor nitpick) barely matching lip flap lead me to switch to Japanese after 20 minutes. Suffice to say I miss the DYRL dub.
Also the pairing I wanted to happen loses to a far less interesting couple.
So yeah, it's an okay film overall. Not unwatchable by any means but I would have regretted buying it if it weren't on sale.
Not entirely wrong, but I'm not sure what he expected out of a generalist anime thread on a gaming forum, or a voting process that was neither juried or controlled other than by format and date. I guess the problem might be that there's no way to delve deeper into the medium than, well, here, and some blogs; twitter is useless for sustained commentary, and as English fans of animation there's such communication issues with the Glorious Nihon Motherland that all information tends to be secondhand or worse, while barring any real efforts to engage with the creators, or critics dealing with the medium firsthand. There's no real critical culture associated with anime, and there's an active disdain for even a thought of such that permeates these communities (a common symptom among any interest that nerds cluster around).
And uh, he's kinda abrasive even in that mostly mild parting post, so that's going to rub people the wrong way too. Good luck to him wherever he goes, though it should probably be Northeast.
Damn, didn't know about the bolded. I'll have to add it to my watchlist.
There is an animeGAF IRC?
Noses are such ugly, sinful things.
MikeHattsu
Member
Yes.
He had alts?
Turin Turambar
Member
They are doing a live action movie, that's why.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
Sinon is definitely in the Kirito harem, dude. I mean, unless something about the non-stop camera panning over her ass and chest convinced you they're planning to respect her character development and not make her into yet another doe-eyed haremite.
I understand trying to look deeper into things. I know I don't know the staff behind shows as well as I should - I know more about the people behind tokusatsu if anything - but that doesn't stop me from trying to find the meaning in any kind of show. So I do this with the more "otakubait" shows rather than anything else, but I believe those can be art, too. Being smart about art is a good thing, and I agree with his point about not looking at things as a cumulative rating scale - I've never been a fan of numbering things myself.
But he sounds as exclusive as the community he's shunning in that post. When I think of a cultured art critic, I think of someone like Kyle from Brows Held High. Well-researched, but seeking to educate in a way that's open and encouraging. He said himself as much:
I don't know what can be done to improve criticism in anime, or how much one person can change. Especially because it's an international, yet still highly central to one country, kind of art form.
Being critical about critics is a good thing, but being welcoming goes a lot further.
But he sounds as exclusive as the community he's shunning in that post. When I think of a cultured art critic, I think of someone like Kyle from Brows Held High. Well-researched, but seeking to educate in a way that's open and encouraging. He said himself as much:
I don't know what can be done to improve criticism in anime, or how much one person can change. Especially because it's an international, yet still highly central to one country, kind of art form.
Being critical about critics is a good thing, but being welcoming goes a lot further.
Angry Grimace
Two cannibals are eating a clown. One turns to the other and says "does something taste funny to you?"
In proper context they don't apply to anyone other than fanfic characters.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
I still can't believe Yamato won AOTY last year outdoing KLK. Sogood.
Which has the biggest group of animeGAF, IRC or Twitter? Twitter, isn't it...
Jex
Member
That's basically how I feel about. I agree with some of his critiques but ultimately I don't feel that an anime thread on a gaming board was ever going to be a bastion of well written criticism. That's far too much to ask from people who simply contribute to the discussion on a casual basis. There aren't even any professional anime critics, let alone amateur ones.
While I certainly enjoy reading illuminating content on the occasion that I come across it I don't expect that as the norm of even the aim of this thread.
All that we ask of people here is that they discuss anime and follow the rules. There's no expectation for posters to produce content of a certain quality or style.
The one thing that I'd like the thread to do is have a welcoming attitude which helps disseminate information about anime to new viewers. I think we handle that pretty well through recommendations etc.
I like Tamerlane, but he needs a few more years to mature or something.
That's cool and all, and that's probably the most you can really ask for in what is essentially an open popularity poll. At the same time I think it's a little disappointing that votes are so heavily consolidated, and there isn't much exposure to titles that are creatively eccentric.
I find his post to be encouraging, actually. He's not wrong about the assembly line nature of most of (at least, my) posts that are intended to be critical analysis. I don't think it would hurt anyone here to have a less stringent approach to any one title when it comes to that. That being said, I'll mimic the thoughts of Dresden and Jexhius regarding the actual discourse here. I think this place is pretty remarkable given that it's just a casual community thread in a gaming sub-forum.
At any rate, tamerlane wrote some really excellent articles on the medium and it's too bad to see him go. Check out his stuff (or, honestly, just his twitter feed) for really informative and insightful write-ups.
I can identify with the idea that assessing shows based on a sort of "checklist" is crippling. It's rarely worth anything and speaks nothing about the work as a whole. It's at best an insight into a particular work's constituent parts which isn't remotely the same thing. I know from experience in trying to critique works this way.
I think his most salient point in the whole thing was this particular sentence.
Nevertheless, it overall it reads like typical high brow and condescending expressions about what "true art" is that are used as a platform to claim intellectual superiority, but then that may just be me. He seems like a generally smart and well-learned individual, there's no need for that type of posturing to validate himself.
So I actually enjoyed two points from this: that people don't often rewatch shows and that people tend to prefer a mechanically well-made piece and overlook the meaning of the piece instead.
The first makes perfect sense because my time is limited and I don't want to spend it devoted to retelling all of you why Clannad is a piece of shit when I can spend it watching G Gundam.
The second I agree with. It's understandable, why we do it, it has practical reasons like the above. The second, though, I think happens a lot. People take a look at say, ZZ Gundam and see the weak beginning, tonal dissonance with the rest of the UC and they judge it a piece of trash, overlooking that being tonally different from the rest of the UC was always Tomino's intent for this show. Does that invalidate the criticism that the show's beginning is weak? Certainly not, but it may overlook other aspects of the whole.
So basically it's demonstrated to me some things which are less important for when I'm casually watching shows--which I think a lot of AnimeGAF should just remain, enjoyment of what we enjoy--but it shows me too things I can improve on for when I do want to get serious.
They say when you have nothing nice to say, it's best not to say anything at all. So I won't. I will say it is a shame when someone no longer has the drive to do something that they enjoyed and excelled at.
Instead, I'm going to play some games, and watch the latest HapCha Precure for my own enjoyment.
Instead, I'm going to play some games, and watch the latest HapCha Precure for my own enjoyment.
whats the last one that was that "bad"?
Youre damned right AWESOMEBEAR!
Subs, although I watched dub afterward and quite liked it too.
Pay very close attention!
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Summer 2014
The fact has now dawned on me that I watched way too many goddamn shows this season. I blame most of this on myself, for refusing to drop carry overs from the previous season. This was a decent season, with enough mild disappointments and enjoyable surprises to balance each other out, but I dont think there really was one big stand out show like Ping Pong. You could argue Space Dandy was that, but I dunno.
Obligatory next Season looks way better comment, where I will of course be relying on the impressions of my comrades to pick up straggler shows, so that I can again be watching way too much stuff. Im in your hands.
#1: Space Dandy S2
Really, it was impossible for this series to live up to the insane standards people had set for it and the precedents it had set for itself, and to be fair, the first season was not doing it many, or at least enough favors. Many people after the first few episodes cast aside it for good (despite S1s improvement to the end) and when S2 came about spoke in tones such as Bah! Another season of Space Blandy! Who cares? Itll be more of the same, boring half fulfilled potential tripe!
Well, those people were WRONG. I cant really fault people for not expecting much out of this season, but Space Dandy is so back heavy on quality that youd be doing yourself a disservice on not watching at least a few select episodes from the second season, regardless of your thoughts on the first one. Its really hard for me to choose which of the two is episode of the season between Episode 21, A World with no Sadness, Baby and the finale Never Ending Dandy, Baby for a multitude of reasons. 21 was near movie quality for a TV episode, had the best alien designs, a real good underworld tale (who doesnt like those), good music, amazing direction, and for those who complain about no continuity, it actually had some.
The Finale was a culmination of the entire series with callbacks to a lot of the previous episodes (although wouldve liked to see a few more) and just an all out fun and amazing final episode with animation that I would say was somehow even better than 21s, and wraps up the entire show nicely while ending on a May Be Continued? which will torture me forever just like Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Easily one of the best TV finales for a series. They are probably two of the single best episodes Ive ever seen, and if the show was just those two episodes alone Space Dandy would still probably be the top of the list. I would still probably give the edge to 21 though, if I had to choose.
Other great episodes were 14 (multiverse Dandy), 16 (Yuasa Dandy), 17 (Viva All), 20 (Dropkix), 23 (Dancy x Scarlet).
#2: Hunter x Hunter 2011
You guys. After 148 episodes, Hunter x Hunters second anime adaptation is over. Yes, that means you should be watching it now. I have to give props to Madhouse for having such a consistent quality the whole way through (save parts of the Chimaera Ant Arc, but you could almost entirely blame that on the arc itself if you had the mind to.) This is probably one of my favorite adaptations of all time, and one of the only ones I would recommend over the original. Madhouse did a stellar job in every department, animation, music, direction and adapting the scenes themselves. But the best part is they kept Departure as the OP for the entire thing giving the people with bad taste who didnt like it Stockholm Syndrome.
But this is about the Election Arc. And about Ging. And about PARISTON, who is basically the best character. Ill be honest, I pretty much completely forgot the order of what happened in this arc, so I really enjoyed this one and was surprised at how many moments I had forgotten. The one part in the series I can say that I wasnt so sure about was adapted very well, and now Im a bit less sour on it. It seems like a handful of people didnt really like this arc a lot, which surprised me because before it was animated it seemed pretty well regarded but maybe this is just anecdotal. I always thought the Election Arc was pretty good, but felt like two different arcs going on at the same time and that could make it feel kind of messy. Even the name, Election Arc is kind of weird when I dont even think most of the time is spent on the Election, more on the other half with Killua and Alluka.
Now I just got to wait for more chapters to come out now that the manga is on hiatus again FUCK
Im not sure if I feel worse for the used-to-it manga readers like myself, or the un-initiated anime viewers who have yet to experience it.
#3: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
I feel like this was the comedy I had always wanted, but never knew I wanted. The most consistent show of the season, pretty much all of the skits hit the marks (except for maybe the editor ones, I didnt really dislike them as some others did, but I can agree that they are weaker than the ones about the other characters.) I dont think Ive enjoyed a comedy this much since Nichibros, or had the immediate want to pick up a manga as soon as the anime has finished so hard. The characters are all great, some of the best for a comedy, and how the interactions and relationships play out never really gets old, surprisingly. Not to say that the characters are really one dimensional, it's just that they don't really have much to them besides their quirks and relationship to another character (unless you are Mikorin) but the series keeps coming up with new ways and interactions. Definitely want a season two for this the most, and it looks like it could feasibly happen so I'm pretty happy about that.
I dont really have much to say on this one. Its a good show. You should watch it, even if you don't typically like comedies. Ive already read the whole manga up to current. Seo the best, etc.
#4: JoJos Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Its more of JoJo Part 3. My allegiances are known. Im more looking forward to the next two cours of this, but fights I had forgotten about or didnt really care for were animated and I found myself liking them more this time around. Still a good adaptation.
I must say I will be sad not having two of my three favorite Jump series airing in Fall, but Im not gonna start watching Toeis One Piece garbage to compensate. If waiting a season means the DIO fight will be amazing, Ill wait. You have not squandered my faith yet, DP. Really my only disappointment is that they didn't keep the scene were Kakyoin lays the egg, come on.
Also of note this show has FAR BETTER Engrish then its competitor Terror in Resonance
#5: Barakamon
Comfiest show of the season easily, and a respectable choice for AOTS. Slipping into the unfortunately small genre that is Small Town Slice of Life while also having the surrogate father/daughter relationships other series like Yotsuba, Usagi Drop and The Last of Us have had, this is a show that I could just sit down and watch and then suddenly it would be over (the episodes are a bit shorter than the usual, but probably not enough to make a difference.) I thought that the first and last two episodes were the best of the series, not to say the middle episodes were bad at all. The characters are all great (the child ones especially, by the mark of not being annoying all the time and being voiced by actual children) and everyone else too, the main character Sensei (he has a name but everyone just calls him that) goes through a nice character arc. Also I think this was the only series this season to make me a bit emotional, so I guess it can get some points for that.
#6: Sabagebu!
I hate to say this, but the middle part of this show was not nearly as good as when it started and ended. Not to say it ever really was bad, just that it lost its luster and I think it was the same for a lot of others as well. I really liked this show to begin with so Im kind of sad that probably half the episode were just average.
The main draw of the show for me was of course, Momokas tendencies to be an awful human being. Its just so unexpected watching the first two episodes and all of the sudden the generic looking cast and MC suddenly just starts being a huge dick, and from then on I was drawn in. The other characters are fun too, and the constant action movie reference and parodies (Predator one was great) added a lot.
But the best character was Fried Chicken Lemon, no contest.
#7: Terror in Resonance
Also known as YER KIDDEN, YES MAAM, GIVE ME DAT CROSEUP ON CAMERA FRIFTEEN, MY APOLOGIES the Animation
Hey, Watanabe and Yoko Kanno working on a project together about terrorists? Sounds like it should be the best shit ever, right?
Well, unfortunately not. While the directing and the music were great/amazing (enough that they were pretty much holding up the entire show, some might say) the core plot and characters really failed those two strong points. Being only one cour (and later around half way, learned it was 11 episodes) at the beginning I was wondering where this exactly was going to go. At that point I would say that it was still enjoyable, with the back and forth between Nine/Twelve and Shibazaki (but mostly Nine and Shibazaki) were interesting enough to hold attention. Lisa was just kind of there and she never really evolved beyond that. Which is a shame, but she could be way worse.
She could be Five. Now when Five is first introduced, its to shake up the current formula of mindgames between Sphinx and Shibazaki. Sphinx wants to disarm their bomb but Five wont let them. Thats fine, series like this will usually have someone like that come into play at some point. The problem is Fives inclusion, character and motivations really just make no fucking sense, and when her part is concluded near the end, I was just left wondering Wait, why was she even thrown into this to begin with?.
Five is more of a threat then Sphinx ever was (Sphinx never intended to kill anyone, which is also kind of dumb but I can roll with that) because she is psychotic. Why she is in control of these FBI agents is never really explained (ok shes a savant or a prodigy or whatever, does that really matter when she would rather play virtual chess with the targets that are within grasp rather than just capturing them?) and the FBI agents just kind of listen to her and her psychotic orders because shes a higher rank I guess? Five and the FBI caused more damage than Sphinx did until the last episode.
There are more things to talk about but I think a lot has already been said for me in the thread (I'm not saying Five alone or Five's entrance made the show bad, but I don't think I've ever seen one character ruin something so hard). How they spend half an episode explaining stuff we already know, how Lisa never really got any character development, how Shibazaki is the only competent person on the police force, how Sphinxs big plan and reveal is kind of dumb.
But the show isnt really bad, just not as good as it should be. And I think that disappointed me more than just your regular bad show, because this show couldve been amazing, but tripped over itself one too many times.
#8: Akame ga Kill!
It has come to my attention that the beginning of this series (about the first four episodes) is kind of rough and shitty. But it has also come to my attention that this series is far more divisive than I ever thought it was. It seems people watching this either love it and have already picked up the manga, or hate it and haven't took a look at it since.
Well I was reading the manga prior to the adaptation (I don't think the series is amazing or anything, just competent enough and fun to read with a group) so I can say that this isnt really a great adaptation, its more of a better than I expected it to be adaptation which, in all seriousness, is good enough for me. Sure they skip a few things but I can let that slide, although I am kind of bummed they skipped the part with the giant boiling pot. The OST is decent (that CHA CHA CHA CHA theme that plays every episode is pretty hilarious a lot of the time, Episode 9 in particular) and I dont really have much to complain about.
I was certain eventually this show would become waifu wars but apparently not, or at least not yet, as it seems everyone who has picked this show up and continued with it has taken up the mantle of the Esdese Fan Club (who I now realize acts like some kind of psychotic hellspawn between Haman Karn and Graham Aker) so for better or worse, this place is full of a bunch of hardcore masochists.
Maybe we could get along with MangaGAF better than one may think.
#9: Aldnoah Zero
Uh
This show kind of sucks?
I mean, I dont really know what to say. Every Saturday for the past season has basically laid out the groundwork with the constant chatter on the series and tables being flipped. This was supposed to be a Gundam Killer (apparently?) and yet I dont even know how. It seems more like they had a checklist of Gundam Things and they were required to put them in the show. Bigass ship main ship, check. Bigass things being dropped on Earth, check. Young boy piloting a mech who is amazingly good at it for no discernable reason, check. Massive crew on this ship who seems to be only fodder for dying, check. I mean I never watched Turn A Gundam but even I can see the similarities between that and this. But I think the biggest point on where this fails is the villains. They are garbage. As one dimensional as can be. Ive said this before, but if they wanted to be a Gundam Killer they shouldve had a focused antagonist like Char Aznable (but maybe Slaine could be that in S2, he only needs a mask) or at least arc villains like Ramba Ral instead of these boring Martian Generals who all just hate stupid Terran Scum then make the most moronic mistakes, like doing the only weakness their mechs have when its easily avoidable (looking at you rocket punch girl).
Also the character motivations really make no sense. Slaine in the last episode directly contradicts his own actions by saving someone who he knew wanted to off the Princess, then when HE DOES, Slaine freaks out like it was a big surprise or something. Saazbaum is mad his soon to be wife died because the Martians blew up the Moon. So its the Terrans fault and he will kill the Princess because REASONS
Inaho is I guess he doesnt like the Martians for reasons well never really get?
Rayet couldnt fucking decide on whether she wanted paper or plastic at a damn grocery store let alone which side she was on
I think the Princess is the only one who isnt shaky and wavering in her standings. And look where that got her. Three times.
Despite that I am a bad person and easy to titillate so I will watch the second season, less for hopes that it will get better (they are low) and more because its there and Ive already come this far so hey why not right.
#10: Sword Art Online II
Well its better than the first two parts but it still retains that good ole SAO charm we know and love. For the first few episodes there wasnt really much wrong, it was middling the line of average/decent and some good fight scenes animation. But eventually Sinon and Kirito get into a cave and yadda yadda yadda. Of course it was what I was expecting, but I needed to see how it plays out. Now I dont really have much to say about that, because again it doesnt come as a surprise, it was expected.
In Episode 13, when Sinons beta orbiter friend comes in and turns into a psychopath with his psycho face and tries to rape her and says he is also Dess Guns subordinate surprise, now THAT caught me off guard. Thats the SAO I came to appreciate in the Fairy Arc. There was no tear licking though so I cant say it loved up to that amazing scenes standards.
Apparently the next arc is the good one? People were saying this about this arc, but maybe this adaptation is just crappy all around because of how they are going back in time to insert things that happened into SAO that were super important that we never fucking saw, and apparently that stuff was in the novels? Well whatever. Its hard to make GGO a continuation of SAO storywise when the plot points its jumping off of are from things we were NEVER SHOWN
#11: Sailor Moon Crystal
This show hardly ever airs so its pretty hard to say anything about it, combine that with my general lack of knowledge for this series and you have a recipe for almost complete apathy. It looks better than your average :Toei show (which is still not very good) so I can give it some pity points for that, and I have little reason to shit on it as I have no real connection with the series as a whole. Its just not very interesting, and the twice a month airings dont really help its case. I don't think many others really care about this either, and it'll be for a 9 months more, so if I was interested I would probably just go back and watch the older series and this one would still be going.
Also I forgot to watch Episode 6 so I guess its dropped.
#12: Captain Earth
Itd be unfair to say this is the most generic and dull mech series Ive seen in a long time because Argevollen was airing this season. But I feel like most, if not all of the goodwill the series had to begin with in the first half has just been pissed away as everyone dropped it, one after the other. I dont feel disappointment or anger at any of the admittedly stupid events that happen in the last few episodes, I had pretty much abandoned all hope for some kind of amazing turn around at that point. The definition of average, will use it to compare with other series. Puck does not lie etc etc
Its gonna be sad when the thing this series is most known for is goddamn bellybuttons.
#13: Mahouka Koukou no Reittousei
At the end of last season, my thoughts on this were basically Magic was interesting, not actually that bad, could be worse could be better. Well I pretty much completely lost interest in this since the Nine Schools Arc was a borefest and the Yokohoma Disturbance was even more boring until the end, and the magic system really wasnt enough to keep me interested. This is a good example of my awful tendencies of sticking things through to the end when I should probably drop them. I at least got to give props to it just simply accepting the fact that Tatsuya is an OP motherfucker, instead of trying to play him into cliffhangers where he might lose or situations where he struggles like Kirito. No, not here. When you can bring people back from the dead and just set off nukes with your magic gun and shit theres really no need to try and humanize someone. Ill say again that this show isnt terrible, just in that painful spot where its not bad enough to drop but not interesting enough to watch, yet I do it anyway. Probably not going to watch the inevitable second season of this. Maybe itll eat away at my consciousness until I cant take it, I need to know if Onii-sama and Miyuki bang.
I laugh my goddamn ass off everytime that ED comes on though.
WORST SHOW I WATCHED THIS SEASON?
TOKYO GHOUL.
(Sorry AquaWateria) Alright now Rail Wars may technically have less production values or be more shameless then this, but I gotta give it up to the trainwreck of an adaptation this is. After seeing the censorship in this, it made me feel a bit better about JJBA. Plus Parasyteis airing next season and thats by Madhouse so its gonna make it look even wose
BEST SHOW I DID NOT WATCH?
HANAYAMATA.
I think? I dont even know what its about. Its probably better then Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!
SHOW IM GLAD I DID NOT WATCH?
GLASSLIP.
From every single comment made by the people who stuck around, it seems like the show was just a mess of characters and melodrama and some bullshit about chickens and time travel(?) thrown in there and Im glad I didnt deal with any of that. Really I dont even know the reason why its so bad, I just know it is.
BEST OPENING?
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. Runner up would be Terror in Resonance.
BEST ENDING?
Sabagebu!, because it makes me laugh really hard. Runner up would also be Terror in Resonance.
BEST GIRL?
Seo, runner up to Kashima both from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.
WORST GIRL?
Five, runner up to Lisa both from Terror in Resonance.
DO YOU SEE A PATTERN HERE
The fact has now dawned on me that I watched way too many goddamn shows this season. I blame most of this on myself, for refusing to drop carry overs from the previous season. This was a decent season, with enough mild disappointments and enjoyable surprises to balance each other out, but I dont think there really was one big stand out show like Ping Pong. You could argue Space Dandy was that, but I dunno.
Obligatory next Season looks way better comment, where I will of course be relying on the impressions of my comrades to pick up straggler shows, so that I can again be watching way too much stuff. Im in your hands.
#1: Space Dandy S2
Really, it was impossible for this series to live up to the insane standards people had set for it and the precedents it had set for itself, and to be fair, the first season was not doing it many, or at least enough favors. Many people after the first few episodes cast aside it for good (despite S1s improvement to the end) and when S2 came about spoke in tones such as Bah! Another season of Space Blandy! Who cares? Itll be more of the same, boring half fulfilled potential tripe!
Well, those people were WRONG. I cant really fault people for not expecting much out of this season, but Space Dandy is so back heavy on quality that youd be doing yourself a disservice on not watching at least a few select episodes from the second season, regardless of your thoughts on the first one. Its really hard for me to choose which of the two is episode of the season between Episode 21, A World with no Sadness, Baby and the finale Never Ending Dandy, Baby for a multitude of reasons. 21 was near movie quality for a TV episode, had the best alien designs, a real good underworld tale (who doesnt like those), good music, amazing direction, and for those who complain about no continuity, it actually had some.
The Finale was a culmination of the entire series with callbacks to a lot of the previous episodes (although wouldve liked to see a few more) and just an all out fun and amazing final episode with animation that I would say was somehow even better than 21s, and wraps up the entire show nicely while ending on a May Be Continued? which will torture me forever just like Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt. Easily one of the best TV finales for a series. They are probably two of the single best episodes Ive ever seen, and if the show was just those two episodes alone Space Dandy would still probably be the top of the list. I would still probably give the edge to 21 though, if I had to choose.
Other great episodes were 14 (multiverse Dandy), 16 (Yuasa Dandy), 17 (Viva All), 20 (Dropkix), 23 (Dancy x Scarlet).
#2: Hunter x Hunter 2011
You guys. After 148 episodes, Hunter x Hunters second anime adaptation is over. Yes, that means you should be watching it now. I have to give props to Madhouse for having such a consistent quality the whole way through (save parts of the Chimaera Ant Arc, but you could almost entirely blame that on the arc itself if you had the mind to.) This is probably one of my favorite adaptations of all time, and one of the only ones I would recommend over the original. Madhouse did a stellar job in every department, animation, music, direction and adapting the scenes themselves. But the best part is they kept Departure as the OP for the entire thing giving the people with bad taste who didnt like it Stockholm Syndrome.
But this is about the Election Arc. And about Ging. And about PARISTON, who is basically the best character. Ill be honest, I pretty much completely forgot the order of what happened in this arc, so I really enjoyed this one and was surprised at how many moments I had forgotten. The one part in the series I can say that I wasnt so sure about was adapted very well, and now Im a bit less sour on it. It seems like a handful of people didnt really like this arc a lot, which surprised me because before it was animated it seemed pretty well regarded but maybe this is just anecdotal. I always thought the Election Arc was pretty good, but felt like two different arcs going on at the same time and that could make it feel kind of messy. Even the name, Election Arc is kind of weird when I dont even think most of the time is spent on the Election, more on the other half with Killua and Alluka.
Now I just got to wait for more chapters to come out now that the manga is on hiatus again FUCK
Im not sure if I feel worse for the used-to-it manga readers like myself, or the un-initiated anime viewers who have yet to experience it.
#3: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun
I feel like this was the comedy I had always wanted, but never knew I wanted. The most consistent show of the season, pretty much all of the skits hit the marks (except for maybe the editor ones, I didnt really dislike them as some others did, but I can agree that they are weaker than the ones about the other characters.) I dont think Ive enjoyed a comedy this much since Nichibros, or had the immediate want to pick up a manga as soon as the anime has finished so hard. The characters are all great, some of the best for a comedy, and how the interactions and relationships play out never really gets old, surprisingly. Not to say that the characters are really one dimensional, it's just that they don't really have much to them besides their quirks and relationship to another character (unless you are Mikorin) but the series keeps coming up with new ways and interactions. Definitely want a season two for this the most, and it looks like it could feasibly happen so I'm pretty happy about that.
I dont really have much to say on this one. Its a good show. You should watch it, even if you don't typically like comedies. Ive already read the whole manga up to current. Seo the best, etc.
#4: JoJos Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders
Its more of JoJo Part 3. My allegiances are known. Im more looking forward to the next two cours of this, but fights I had forgotten about or didnt really care for were animated and I found myself liking them more this time around. Still a good adaptation.
I must say I will be sad not having two of my three favorite Jump series airing in Fall, but Im not gonna start watching Toeis One Piece garbage to compensate. If waiting a season means the DIO fight will be amazing, Ill wait. You have not squandered my faith yet, DP. Really my only disappointment is that they didn't keep the scene were Kakyoin lays the egg, come on.
Also of note this show has FAR BETTER Engrish then its competitor Terror in Resonance
#5: Barakamon
Comfiest show of the season easily, and a respectable choice for AOTS. Slipping into the unfortunately small genre that is Small Town Slice of Life while also having the surrogate father/daughter relationships other series like Yotsuba, Usagi Drop and The Last of Us have had, this is a show that I could just sit down and watch and then suddenly it would be over (the episodes are a bit shorter than the usual, but probably not enough to make a difference.) I thought that the first and last two episodes were the best of the series, not to say the middle episodes were bad at all. The characters are all great (the child ones especially, by the mark of not being annoying all the time and being voiced by actual children) and everyone else too, the main character Sensei (he has a name but everyone just calls him that) goes through a nice character arc. Also I think this was the only series this season to make me a bit emotional, so I guess it can get some points for that.
#6: Sabagebu!
I hate to say this, but the middle part of this show was not nearly as good as when it started and ended. Not to say it ever really was bad, just that it lost its luster and I think it was the same for a lot of others as well. I really liked this show to begin with so Im kind of sad that probably half the episode were just average.
The main draw of the show for me was of course, Momokas tendencies to be an awful human being. Its just so unexpected watching the first two episodes and all of the sudden the generic looking cast and MC suddenly just starts being a huge dick, and from then on I was drawn in. The other characters are fun too, and the constant action movie reference and parodies (Predator one was great) added a lot.
But the best character was Fried Chicken Lemon, no contest.
#7: Terror in Resonance
Also known as YER KIDDEN, YES MAAM, GIVE ME DAT CROSEUP ON CAMERA FRIFTEEN, MY APOLOGIES the Animation
Hey, Watanabe and Yoko Kanno working on a project together about terrorists? Sounds like it should be the best shit ever, right?
Well, unfortunately not. While the directing and the music were great/amazing (enough that they were pretty much holding up the entire show, some might say) the core plot and characters really failed those two strong points. Being only one cour (and later around half way, learned it was 11 episodes) at the beginning I was wondering where this exactly was going to go. At that point I would say that it was still enjoyable, with the back and forth between Nine/Twelve and Shibazaki (but mostly Nine and Shibazaki) were interesting enough to hold attention. Lisa was just kind of there and she never really evolved beyond that. Which is a shame, but she could be way worse.
She could be Five. Now when Five is first introduced, its to shake up the current formula of mindgames between Sphinx and Shibazaki. Sphinx wants to disarm their bomb but Five wont let them. Thats fine, series like this will usually have someone like that come into play at some point. The problem is Fives inclusion, character and motivations really just make no fucking sense, and when her part is concluded near the end, I was just left wondering Wait, why was she even thrown into this to begin with?.
Five is more of a threat then Sphinx ever was (Sphinx never intended to kill anyone, which is also kind of dumb but I can roll with that) because she is psychotic. Why she is in control of these FBI agents is never really explained (ok shes a savant or a prodigy or whatever, does that really matter when she would rather play virtual chess with the targets that are within grasp rather than just capturing them?) and the FBI agents just kind of listen to her and her psychotic orders because shes a higher rank I guess? Five and the FBI caused more damage than Sphinx did until the last episode.
There are more things to talk about but I think a lot has already been said for me in the thread (I'm not saying Five alone or Five's entrance made the show bad, but I don't think I've ever seen one character ruin something so hard). How they spend half an episode explaining stuff we already know, how Lisa never really got any character development, how Shibazaki is the only competent person on the police force, how Sphinxs big plan and reveal is kind of dumb.
But the show isnt really bad, just not as good as it should be. And I think that disappointed me more than just your regular bad show, because this show couldve been amazing, but tripped over itself one too many times.
#8: Akame ga Kill!
It has come to my attention that the beginning of this series (about the first four episodes) is kind of rough and shitty. But it has also come to my attention that this series is far more divisive than I ever thought it was. It seems people watching this either love it and have already picked up the manga, or hate it and haven't took a look at it since.
Well I was reading the manga prior to the adaptation (I don't think the series is amazing or anything, just competent enough and fun to read with a group) so I can say that this isnt really a great adaptation, its more of a better than I expected it to be adaptation which, in all seriousness, is good enough for me. Sure they skip a few things but I can let that slide, although I am kind of bummed they skipped the part with the giant boiling pot. The OST is decent (that CHA CHA CHA CHA theme that plays every episode is pretty hilarious a lot of the time, Episode 9 in particular) and I dont really have much to complain about.
I was certain eventually this show would become waifu wars but apparently not, or at least not yet, as it seems everyone who has picked this show up and continued with it has taken up the mantle of the Esdese Fan Club (who I now realize acts like some kind of psychotic hellspawn between Haman Karn and Graham Aker) so for better or worse, this place is full of a bunch of hardcore masochists.
Maybe we could get along with MangaGAF better than one may think.
#9: Aldnoah Zero
Uh
This show kind of sucks?
I mean, I dont really know what to say. Every Saturday for the past season has basically laid out the groundwork with the constant chatter on the series and tables being flipped. This was supposed to be a Gundam Killer (apparently?) and yet I dont even know how. It seems more like they had a checklist of Gundam Things and they were required to put them in the show. Bigass ship main ship, check. Bigass things being dropped on Earth, check. Young boy piloting a mech who is amazingly good at it for no discernable reason, check. Massive crew on this ship who seems to be only fodder for dying, check. I mean I never watched Turn A Gundam but even I can see the similarities between that and this. But I think the biggest point on where this fails is the villains. They are garbage. As one dimensional as can be. Ive said this before, but if they wanted to be a Gundam Killer they shouldve had a focused antagonist like Char Aznable (but maybe Slaine could be that in S2, he only needs a mask) or at least arc villains like Ramba Ral instead of these boring Martian Generals who all just hate stupid Terran Scum then make the most moronic mistakes, like doing the only weakness their mechs have when its easily avoidable (looking at you rocket punch girl).
Also the character motivations really make no sense. Slaine in the last episode directly contradicts his own actions by saving someone who he knew wanted to off the Princess, then when HE DOES, Slaine freaks out like it was a big surprise or something. Saazbaum is mad his soon to be wife died because the Martians blew up the Moon. So its the Terrans fault and he will kill the Princess because REASONS
Inaho is I guess he doesnt like the Martians for reasons well never really get?
Rayet couldnt fucking decide on whether she wanted paper or plastic at a damn grocery store let alone which side she was on
I think the Princess is the only one who isnt shaky and wavering in her standings. And look where that got her. Three times.
Despite that I am a bad person and easy to titillate so I will watch the second season, less for hopes that it will get better (they are low) and more because its there and Ive already come this far so hey why not right.
#10: Sword Art Online II
Well its better than the first two parts but it still retains that good ole SAO charm we know and love. For the first few episodes there wasnt really much wrong, it was middling the line of average/decent and some good fight scenes animation. But eventually Sinon and Kirito get into a cave and yadda yadda yadda. Of course it was what I was expecting, but I needed to see how it plays out. Now I dont really have much to say about that, because again it doesnt come as a surprise, it was expected.
In Episode 13, when Sinons beta orbiter friend comes in and turns into a psychopath with his psycho face and tries to rape her and says he is also Dess Guns subordinate surprise, now THAT caught me off guard. Thats the SAO I came to appreciate in the Fairy Arc. There was no tear licking though so I cant say it loved up to that amazing scenes standards.
Apparently the next arc is the good one? People were saying this about this arc, but maybe this adaptation is just crappy all around because of how they are going back in time to insert things that happened into SAO that were super important that we never fucking saw, and apparently that stuff was in the novels? Well whatever. Its hard to make GGO a continuation of SAO storywise when the plot points its jumping off of are from things we were NEVER SHOWN
#11: Sailor Moon Crystal
This show hardly ever airs so its pretty hard to say anything about it, combine that with my general lack of knowledge for this series and you have a recipe for almost complete apathy. It looks better than your average :Toei show (which is still not very good) so I can give it some pity points for that, and I have little reason to shit on it as I have no real connection with the series as a whole. Its just not very interesting, and the twice a month airings dont really help its case. I don't think many others really care about this either, and it'll be for a 9 months more, so if I was interested I would probably just go back and watch the older series and this one would still be going.
Also I forgot to watch Episode 6 so I guess its dropped.
#12: Captain Earth
Itd be unfair to say this is the most generic and dull mech series Ive seen in a long time because Argevollen was airing this season. But I feel like most, if not all of the goodwill the series had to begin with in the first half has just been pissed away as everyone dropped it, one after the other. I dont feel disappointment or anger at any of the admittedly stupid events that happen in the last few episodes, I had pretty much abandoned all hope for some kind of amazing turn around at that point. The definition of average, will use it to compare with other series. Puck does not lie etc etc
Its gonna be sad when the thing this series is most known for is goddamn bellybuttons.
#13: Mahouka Koukou no Reittousei
At the end of last season, my thoughts on this were basically Magic was interesting, not actually that bad, could be worse could be better. Well I pretty much completely lost interest in this since the Nine Schools Arc was a borefest and the Yokohoma Disturbance was even more boring until the end, and the magic system really wasnt enough to keep me interested. This is a good example of my awful tendencies of sticking things through to the end when I should probably drop them. I at least got to give props to it just simply accepting the fact that Tatsuya is an OP motherfucker, instead of trying to play him into cliffhangers where he might lose or situations where he struggles like Kirito. No, not here. When you can bring people back from the dead and just set off nukes with your magic gun and shit theres really no need to try and humanize someone. Ill say again that this show isnt terrible, just in that painful spot where its not bad enough to drop but not interesting enough to watch, yet I do it anyway. Probably not going to watch the inevitable second season of this. Maybe itll eat away at my consciousness until I cant take it, I need to know if Onii-sama and Miyuki bang.
I laugh my goddamn ass off everytime that ED comes on though.
WORST SHOW I WATCHED THIS SEASON?
TOKYO GHOUL.
(Sorry AquaWateria) Alright now Rail Wars may technically have less production values or be more shameless then this, but I gotta give it up to the trainwreck of an adaptation this is. After seeing the censorship in this, it made me feel a bit better about JJBA. Plus Parasyteis airing next season and thats by Madhouse so its gonna make it look even wose
BEST SHOW I DID NOT WATCH?
HANAYAMATA.
I think? I dont even know what its about. Its probably better then Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!
SHOW IM GLAD I DID NOT WATCH?
GLASSLIP.
From every single comment made by the people who stuck around, it seems like the show was just a mess of characters and melodrama and some bullshit about chickens and time travel(?) thrown in there and Im glad I didnt deal with any of that. Really I dont even know the reason why its so bad, I just know it is.
BEST OPENING?
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun. Runner up would be Terror in Resonance.
BEST ENDING?
Sabagebu!, because it makes me laugh really hard. Runner up would also be Terror in Resonance.
BEST GIRL?
Seo, runner up to Kashima both from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun.
WORST GIRL?
Five, runner up to Lisa both from Terror in Resonance.
DO YOU SEE A PATTERN HERE
Admiral Woofington
Member
Buddy Complex S2 01
What does it say about Aldnoah Zero when I'm more entertained and question less the stupid anime concepts in this popcorn-show over the "elobarate" Aldnoah Zero?
I tell you what it says. It says that DTL will love all the new BOYS BOYS BOYS being introduced, one who specifically calls Aoba senpai and wanted to be noticed by him. Hijinks ensue.
What does it say about Aldnoah Zero when I'm more entertained and question less the stupid anime concepts in this popcorn-show over the "elobarate" Aldnoah Zero?
I tell you what it says. It says that DTL will love all the new BOYS BOYS BOYS being introduced, one who specifically calls Aoba senpai and wanted to be noticed by him. Hijinks ensue.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
For anyone who collects DVDs, Aniplex is making those out of print at the end of October.
Turin Turambar
Member
I needed a dozen of seconds to see the connection between Hunter x Hunter and the photo... then I remembered.
Admiral Woofington
Member
Btw has anybody made a neat little chart with what shows air which day? That'd be handy
firehawk12
Subete no aware
After finishing the latest new chapter of Sunrider, I am convinced that it is a moe, western version of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. It has the same themes about hegemonic political empires, but infused with moe anime tropes as seen by a western artist/writer.
The best part is that it's still better than Mass Effect.
The best part is that it's still better than Mass Effect.
Joe Molotov
Member
I'm glad they're keeping Blue Exorcist Vol. 3 in print.
randomc.net has the schedule for all first episodes in its frontpage.
That's fanservice. They're doing it to pander to a certain demographic (teens and young adults) and try to rake in the dough. It's the sad state the anime industry is currently in. Harem, as a plot frame, doesn't apply to SAO. There's really only one romantic interest and it's resolved in the very first arc.
Kirito is really good at video games. I remember people were complaining that he got incredibly OP in an MMORPG even though he just barely started. I don't know about you, but watching him kill 10,000 boars just to have the belief that he raised his stats legitimately would get boring very quickly.
Now I'm not questioning your level of suspension of disbelief. I just think it's amusing people get worked up about this sort of trivial stuff and not about actual plot points, like for example Kirito not calling the police. Though to be fair, having him personally stop the villain's evil scheme makes for much better television, innit?
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