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Fall of Anime 2012 |OT2| O cursed spite, that ever I was born to UUURRRRYYY!!

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Ultimadrago

Member
Jinrui wa Suitaishimashita 5-8

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9-12 [END]

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Now that's more like it.
 

Jex

Member
Also, I hate ever nullifying anyone else's recommendations, but if you're a fan of traditional mecha, it's highly unlikely that you're going to like Rinne no Lagrange. It's a curious hodgepodge of moe and mecha that really only utilizes the most superficial elements of the mecha genre. Cute girls are far and away the main focus.
You should never hate to tell the truth! Rinne no Lagrange isn't even a series that I consider notable in the 'cute girls' genre, let alone the mecha genre. It's faded from my memory remarkably quickly. The best thing I can say about is that I was impressed how much fanservice they crammed into the first episode - not that's a good thing, mind you, but it was impressive.
 

cajunator

Banned
Only Yesterday, Pom Poko, Porco Rosso, Whispers of the Heart, Princess Mononoke - the 90's were pretty darn good for Ghibli movies.

journeys to the past, giant tanooki balls, flying pig fighters, Japanese john Denver, and massive killer animal gods. Ghibli is the shit.
 

Thoraxes

Member
watch Star Driver instead.
If three minutes of robots per episode with 1 minute of repeated introduction animation is enough awesome, than sure.

I liked it, but there was not nearly enough of the stuff I wanted in SD (aka more robots) (Also not enough Benio smh).

Also Wako sucked and was like 10 times worse than anyone on Rinne.
 

Jex

Member
That's funny.
This is the same score IGN printed on the back of my Blu-Ray box.
I trusted you, Grzi...

Joking aside, I am not fond of reviews pasted to the back of boxes. For example, my Haibane Renmei box has a Zac/ANN quote pasted right above the synopsis. Secondly, the IGN Editor's Choice Award excerpt on the Gunslinger Girl box which simply states, "Impressive. 8/10" It's not the least bit informative nor helpful. Reviews are posted on the concept of authority, but I've hardly heard IGN's expertise on critiquing animation. The quote itself is even completely separated from the other two; it's tucked away in the bottom-right-hand of the body. It's quite an eyesore on the packaging. There are two more quotes, but they are lesser offenders as they at least support wording that (briefly) describes their experience.

I also don't like the eye-catcher line used to sum up Haibane Renmei: (Semi-spoilers?)
"Sometimes God can not forgive you. Unless you forgive yourself."
Explicit mention of
God
doesn't fit the mold for Haibane Renmei's approach to its themes.

I'm guessing the older version's packaging didn't have to such issues.
This doesn't really excuse this particular practice but I can kind of understand where the folks designing the packaging are coming from. Unlike with say movies or videogames there's not that many known sources of serious criticism when it comes to anime. Major newspapers might review, say, the latest Hayo Miyazaki movie but beyond that who else is there? Who do you turn to for when you want to find a trusted source of information? People in that 15 - 25 year old target demographic for anime probably know what IGN is and as such an opinion from them might move a potential buyer to pick up the release.

Now we all know that all falls down for one pretty big reason: most people probably turn to the internet when they want to hear critical impressions about an anime. Now, not everyone knows where to look, but I imagine the majority of people will turn to some forum or some review site to help guide them through the murky jungles of anime. The other problem, of course, is that IGN is hardly the New York Times and so they don't carry much critical weight.
 

cajunator

Banned
This doesn't really excuse this particular practice but I can kind of understand where the folks designing the packaging are coming from. Unlike with say movies or videogames there's not that many known sources of serious criticism when it comes to anime. Major newspapers might review, say, the latest Hayo Miyazaki movie but beyond that who else is there? Who do you turn to for when you want to find a trusted source of information? People in that 15 - 25 year old target demographic for anime probably know what IGN is and as such an opinion from them might move a potential buyer to pick up the release.

Now we all know that all falls down for one pretty big reason: most people probably turn to the internet when they want to hear critical impressions about an anime. Now, not everyone knows where to look, but I imagine the majority of people will turn to some forum or some review site to help guide them through the murky jungles of anime. The other problem, of course, is that IGN is hardly the New York Times and so they don't carry much critical weight.

I really like THEM anime reviews, but its not a really well known review site.
 
Toriko 77
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Looks delicious. Shining Gourmini + Melk Stardust looked and seemed so delicious. I like seafood so Id probably have it as one of my favorite dishes, but Rainbow Fruit is still the best, and though I dont drink dark soda, Id probably want to try Mellow Cola. Century Soup is definitely up there as well as Jewel Meat.

Ah so ranked, Rainbow Fruit, Shining Gourmini, Century Soup, Ozone Grass. Top 4.
 

Jex

Member
I really like THEM anime reviews, but its not a really well known review site.

I really have no idea how well known it is but if you google "anime reviews" they're like the 4th hit, so I assume they must get a fairly high volume of traffic. I certainly used their site, among others, to help me out as I was 'getting into' anime.
 

Ultimadrago

Member
Since I recently watched a Fatal Fury OVA (sadly), I've been listening to some of the music from the game series (Geese Howard's theme specifically). It's unfortunate that the music didn't get licensed to the OVAs. Instead it received...well, not-that-music. Not that throwing game music on an anime is guaranteed to improve the quality of the experience, but I could imagine anything would have been better.
 

SDBurton

World's #1 Cosmonaut Enthusiast

Cwarrior

Member
I really like THEM anime reviews, but its not a really well known review site.

hmm...looked up there one piece review

One Piece

Synopsis

It all started when the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, was publicly executed. He was said to have accumulated unimaginable wealth during his journeys, and when asked by the mob where he hid his treasure, he said: "You can have it if you find it. I have hidden all of it in one piece!" His final words inspired a surge in piracy, as men took to the seas eager to hunt down the treasure and claim the mantle of the Pirate King for themselves. The Age of Piracy has begun!

Review

At the risk of losing all my readers, let's start with some math. Four hundred and fifty episodes, roughly thirty minutes each, comes out to 13,500 minutes, with some generous rounding. There are 1,440 minutes in a day, meaning that would take over nine days to catch up to the latest episode of One Piece if you start from episode one and never sleep. It takes some extreme dedication to get that far; such dedication that, in fact, it should pointless to ask me what I thought of the series. The numbers can't lie: I loved it. I have dedicated half a year of my free time between work and college to this anime, and it was consistently one of the highlights of my week. I don't think you should just go watch One Piece; I think you should go watch One Piece right now. I have joined a large chorus of fans and writers online who will all tell you with the zeal of a cultist that this series is awesome. This is the crème de la crème of shounen series, it has reached the zenith of what anime can do several times over, if you even think you can make the time to see this, you must at least try. And our voices are so loud and so strong...

... that a perfectly natural reaction from someone who hasn't seen this series, or has seen some of it and didn't care to continue, is skepticism. After all, I'm talking about a cartoon about a rubber pirate who acts like he's five years old. It's essentially just another shounen fighting series for 11-year-olds; it hardly seems like the Citizen Kane of anime. Hyperbole in the name of exuberance can have the odd effect of putting people off, and spending over hundred hours on anything requires a lot of exuberance. That skepticism is understandable, especially since explaining what makes this series work might not sound all that different from why people enjoy Bleach, Naruto, or similar series.

So let's start with something we can all agree on- visually and conceptually, One Piece is a unique series. Anime is littered with ghost hunters, ninjas and teenagers endowed with mystical powers inspired Eastern mythology, but Oda hit on something special when he came up with the idea of 17th century pirates with superpowers. And that's really the beginning of One Piece's creativity. For such a long series, a constant flow of creativity is a must, and Oda has generally shown that he is up to the challenge. One of the conceits of the series is that each island the characters travel to is a strange world unto itself. One island could be under the thumb of tyrannical mermen, another a mystical island where it always snows, and still another where all the plants and animals have grown to be really l o n g. It's wonderful world building, but not in the sense that it's carefully crafted like Fullmetal Alchemist. It's more like a child's glee at making things up as she goes along. Unlike most shounen series, where superpowers and wonders have some kind of pseudoscientific explanation, the series follows an unrelenting dream logic that it doesn't explore very deeply. Why does eating a fruit that gives you superpowers also mean you can never swim? It just does, dammit. It's a refreshing change, and it keeps the sense of wonder intact for many episodes.

Take the superpowers our heroes wield. Luffy is a kid who ate the Gum Gum Fruit, and now is a rubber man: literally, a man made of rubber. That sounds like the start of a bad joke, but in One Piece, it's a potent power that leads to some crazy, awesome, and crazy awesome fights. He can take a lot of damage, and since his rubber fists and feet can stretch to huge lengths, he can give as good as he takes. One of the main villains, Buggy, ate the Chop Chop Fruit, so he can divide his body however he pleases. And there are many more, and for over three hundred episodes, we are constantly introduced to wave after wave of new characters with strange abilities that range from the silly to the sinister, and, sometimes, are even both at the same time. And one of the small delights of the series is that when our heroes get strong by developing their powers, they break from the shounen formula of "defeat - training - victory." No, the characters develop their skills on the fly- they make it up as they go along. This burst of creativity lasts so long and is so strong, that when the anime does finally bring back some old characters beyond the core cast, it's a bit of a disappointment.

Of course, for the series to be any kind of success, these characters would have to be better than your garden variety heroes. They'd have to be characters you could care deeply about and watch develop beyond what crazy things their powers do. Luffy can't become the Pirate King by himself, so he brings along a ragtag group of people he befriends in his travels. Though the small crew keeps adding new characters, there's roughly five core members: Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji. While you could safely describe each of these characters by whatever their particular kook is- Sanji is the cook who loves the ladies, Nami is the domineering navigator who loves money, Zoro is the samurai swordsman who wields three blades and sleeps all the time, Usopp is the sniper who tells outrageous lies- but that doesn't quite do them justice. They develop and grow close to each other, reinforcing the anime's central theme of friendship. The cast is probably One Piece's greatest strength, because when the story lags and things slow down, it's still a pleasure to spend time with the Straw Hats. I would hold them up to any of the great crews of anime, from Lupin, Urusei Yatsura, or Cowboy Bebop. And save a kind word for the villains: after all, what's a good hero without one or a dozen great enemies? They are all hateful bastards who deserve to get their face smashed in. It's a delight to see it happen every time.

The concept of One Piece is very open ended; "Boy tries to be the Pirate King" leaves a lot of room open for how that could happen. Appropriately enough for a series about a long odyssey, the series has been leisurely working its way towards an ending. So far, the anime has covered about five major story arcs, some of which have several mini arcs. It starts out with short, mostly silly stories that are quickly resolved, but as we get to know the characters more and the world opens up, it gradually, confidently builds towards high drama with some epic storylines. Two examples stand out: the Alabasta Arc and the CP9 Saga. The Alabasta Arc starts shortly after the core of the crew is assembled and spans over fifty episodes. It's a big, meaty storyline with conspiracies and secret identities, rebellions and politicking, and has one of the most effective villains I've ever seen in anime. It's only topped many episodes later, with the epic CP9 Saga. This one spans a hundred episodes and is a more emotional viewing, and it's where the Straw Hats show the most growth.

I really mean it when I say One Piece has the elusive "spirit of anime." As a series, the serialized storytelling has a lot of impact that builds from episode to episode, and shows extensive planning for arcs a couple hundred episodes in advance. It's one of the few series that can only be realized in animated form, and it has so much impact because of its extreme length. And it may be nowhere near finished. When recently asked how close the manga was towards completion, which the anime sticks very close to, Oda estimated that he was about halfway finished. And while he's known to be a jokester in interviews, I don't know of any reason not to take his answer at face value. And while recent episodes haven't quite lived up to the same level as earlier, since Oda has started to dip more often into the pool of Shounen Jump cliches, it says a lot that my reaction to this news was happiness.

A memorable cross of story and characters; even the filler arcs (of which there are few) for this is generally pretty strong.
http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1197

The Citizen Kane of anime, animgaf not going to be very happy about that.
 
Magi 4
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Slow and mellow episode which I found to be alright. I wish we did get more time with Alibaba but tales and lessons of friendship and family is always something I like to see in series.

Horse scene did look odd though, but so minor. I was more shocked at how Dorji managed to not kill the dude after harming the other girl. Unfortunately, I hated what happened with Baba sama there :( What a ruthless kingdom that empire is if it has such terrible people.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
I checked out there one piece review

http://www.themanime.org/viewreview.php?id=1197

The Citizen Kane of anime, animgaf not going to be very happy about that.
There's no Gintama review though!

Seems not pointless to me.
I suppose so. :p lol

The episode just reminded me that the entire second season, beyond being weird because it was only 10 episodes, also didn't really do anything other than show cute girls being cute. It's the Joshiraku of harem anime or something!
 

Kagami

Member
This doesn't really excuse this particular practice but I can kind of understand where the folks designing the packaging are coming from.
Quotes could go on wraparound paper sashes or stickers on the outside plastic wrapping rather than as part of the case/box.
 

Cwarrior

Member
There's no Gintama review though!

Anyways anime reviews mean nothing cause there written by miserable filthy sick hollow shells that once resembled a human being a long time go, that chose too continue to self harm by poisoning and killing there brain with the toxic drivel known as anime.

Poor filthy creatures should be taken out to the shed and put out of there misery.

animefans

I dunno
the best parts of One Piece are some of the best anime scenes
but the worst parts are some of the worst

Do you even know what worst parts of anime even mean, sounds like you have no idea how bad anime can get to even begin to qualify as some of the worst parts.
 
I dunno
the best parts of One Piece are some of the best anime scenes
but the worst parts are some of the worst

the worse parts of one piece are the fillers ( apis , rainbow graveyard, etc etc )...
it's bad but when you factor in the awesome best parts it's worth it ..
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Anyways anime reviews mean nothing cause there written by miserable filthy sick hollow shells that once resembled a human being a long time go, that chose too continue to self harm by poison and killing there brain with the toxic drivel known as anime.

Poor filthy creatures should be taken to shed and put out of there misery.

Yet still better than game journalists!
 
I dunno
the best parts of One Piece are some of the best anime scenes
but the worst parts are some of the worst
Well even worst parts of One Piece are lightyears ahead of worst parts of Belach and Naruto. God damn some of those fillers were almost abusively bad.
 

Uchip

Banned
Do you even know what worst parts of anime even mean, sounds like you have no idea how bad anime can get to even begin to qualify as one of the worst parts.

I do
And One Piece filler is not only bad but it also suffers from the minimal animation that the series generally showcases
Of course there are some worse examples, but not in anything with a significant audience
 

Noirulus

Member
Gankutsuou - 09

Been half a year or so since I've watched the previous episode, so i'm a bit hazy on some of the details, but a lot happens in this one.

As Albert recovers from being poisoned, Franz and Maximilien continue their exchange about marriage. They both seem to come into an agreement that marriage should be between people that love each other, which even Maximilien finds strange as Franz was so opposed to the idea just a short while ago. Also, during their conversation Franz stares off towards the recovering Albert and whispers "If you love her, that's all that matters" to himself. Another subtle hint that Franz is secretly in love with Eugenie? Hmm...



There's also a lot of cryptic talk throughout the episode.
Long-haired blond dude saying he's the only one who can understand the Count's feelings. The count asking his bodyguard to "follow him to hell" and a few more. It seems that there will be a lot of revealed secrets in the upcoming episodes.



This was a powerful scene, I thought. Watching your granddaughter suffer while you're bed-bound? :(



You would enjoy the VN.
until you find what the solution is.
and see the ending.

I can't tell whether that's a recommendation or a warning, lol.
 

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Well even worst parts of One Piece are lightyears ahead of worst parts of Belach and Naruto. God damn some of those fillers were almost abusively bad.

Bleach probably has a clean sweep for the worst ten individual episodes in the history of shounen anime.
 

Cwarrior

Member
I do
And One Piece filler is not only bad but it also suffers from the minimal animation that the series generally showcases
Of course there are some worse examples, but not in anything with a significant audience

oh you talking about animation that's fine anyways with 570 episode your bound to have bad eggs it's generally good majority of the time even at it's worst it's above or at the usual anime standard(what you normally get with anime by that i mean not good but anything special bad) .

bad animation doesn't make an episode or anime exceptionally bad I would take a decent story over any sort of lavish animation(yes with each anime i watch am starting to care less and less about animation).

good story &average/mediocre animation > horrible story& incredible animation -every time

one piece has never reached anything as low as "now when where why"or "eva" so it's nothing to write home about.

and no one screen grab of shitty art doesn't make an entire episode animation bad or an entire series it's all about the average how it looks majority of the time.


Very sly of you to stealth backpedal by now only including animes with "significant audience" in your statement.
 

Erigu

Member
Fatal Fury - Legend of the Hungry Wolf (OVA 1)
[...]
OVA 1-3
Because Fatal Fury is serious business, a quick note:
The first two animated adaptations, Battle Fighters Garô Densetsu and Battle Fighters Garô Densetsu 2 were both made for TV and aired on December 23, 1992 and July 31, 1993 respectively. The third one, The Motion Picture Garô Densetsu, was a theatrical feature released on July 16, 1994.
So none of them are OVAs, actually.

(also, you don't know true pain unless you've subjected yourself to the animated adaptations of Ryûko no Ken / The Art of Fighting and Samurai Spirits / Samurai Shodown)
 

Uchip

Banned
Very sly of you to stealth backpedal by now only including animes with "significant audience" in your statement.

have to set the bar somewhere!
you have made up your own standards here by way of only measuring them in their entirety. The worst scenes of One Piece are really bad, some of the worst, and the best scenes are really good, some of the best. This is what i was trying to say.
 
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