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[SigmasonicX]

Episode 9
Shinku, why are you holding onto that moving clock hand if you can fly? It's hard to care about the fight when it's all just people doing stuff and then Suigintou just no-selling everything.

Oh what, a normal human like Jun can hold back that big energy ball? And everything with the old man is resolved by his wife waking up. I actually didn't know that trick for cooling down soup >_>

Episode 10
It's nice to get back to the comedy: that seems to be the show's strength. Though we're also back to getting weird romantic hints between Jun and Shinku. And undressing too. With Jun's reaction and his later flashbacks to it, we're definitely seeing the start of a fetish. And I wrote that before Jun looked at Shinku undressing, focusing on her joints.

Shinku, that's a dumb reason to think it's fine that the Alice Games are determined by killing the other dolls.

And I suppose I'll give suggestions for shows, looking at shows on Crunchyroll that are 26 episodes or less.

Shows that I've seen:
The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis of Uruk (and I suppose Sword of Uruk)
Tonari no Seki-kun, though the episodes are only about five minutes long.
And I thought I should include an older series (also one I've never seen). Most are fairly long, but this is just right: Sherlock Hound, directed by Miyazaki.

 

[KenjiGlove]

While I can't vouch for any of the shows I'll be mentioning, maybe somebody else has heard of them and believes them interesting enough as a viable recommendation rather than a joke watch:
Time of Eve (6 episodes) - http://www.crunchyroll.com/time-of-eve - Has over 3,000 5-star ratings at CR

Oh, I saw the Time of Eve movie a while back, it's actually one of the first anime I've seen so my memory is a bit hazy but I thought it was kinda interesting. It's about the relations between androids and humans.

Don't know how the series stacks up to the movie though but it's worth checking out.

 

[Chariot]

The Time of Eve movie version is simply better. It's basically the six episodes merged together with additional scenes that give more context of the world and some characters. The OVAs are watchable and certainly entertaining, but you're missing out a bit.

 

[KenjiGlove]

If I had to put in a recommendation I'd say that all the Animator Expo shorts are worth checking out. A few days ago they put back the first and second season (except ep 5) on the site. All the shorts will be removed from the offical site on Jan 31st so if we're gonna watch them legally we should do it quickly.

There are a total of 34, 8 minute shorts so if we watch three of them a day it's about the same format as your normal one cour show. The shorts are super varied by the way, there's definitely something for everyone.

 

[Chariot]

Rozen Maiden - ep 03

“Hahaha! I am Suiginto and I am here to minorly inconvenience you!”

Why would Rozen even make this stupid doll. What possible purpose does Hina have? Get your shit together Rozen, your doll is bad. Somebody really need to cut the sister some slack, she is so good hearted.
The best thing about the episode was the preview, desu!

Rozen Maiden - ep 04

I am happy that desu finally appeared, but for some reason I have the weird idea of her being played by Aaron Paul saying “bitch” instead of “desu”.
But gotta say, I liked the way the presented him realizing what kind of papers the golem was made of. And the OST still rocks.

Rozen Maiden - ep 05

For some reason I remember this episode, probably because it’s so stupidly enjoyable. Jun and Shinko being together very invested in the cartoon was very adorable, as well as the whole petty war with the most stupid tactics. Nori’s side was also good. She has such a good heart ;__;

 

[JulianImp]

Watched up to episode 10, and I've got to say it feels weird that none of the dolls except for Suigintou appear to give a damn about the Alice Game, which doesn't even mix all that well with the slice of life segments.

The MC and Shinku's relationship still feels forced for me, and seeing him act all flustered around the dolls in their underwear (which was appropriate for their gothic clothing and not an attempt at fanservice, thankfully) and then getting fixated on Shinku's joints was a bit weird. At least we got some okay character development when he spoke with the little kid's ghost inside the dream world and he realized that he was being a hypocrite for asking others to step out of their comfort zone when he was a mild hikkikomori at best.

I also spotted a pretty obvious continuity error an episode or two ago:

Edit: I've been looking at this some more, and while the obvious answer would be that the camera's just focused on the mirror since Jun's hair, the brand logo on his clothes and the doors' position are mirrored as well, it's still a bit weird since Hina's body is neither reflected (if she was just facing towards Jun) nor cut off by the mirror's borders (if she was looking the other way, towards the mirror). It's was seriously confusing at first glance, but I guess it being a mirror shot with no easy ways to tell that was the case made it appear to be "wrong" until watched in more detail.

 

[Cornbread78]

C'Mon Jun, she's a doll, why the red face, lol. Good calm before the storm episode eith good humor as well as a full explainaton of the Alice Game.

 

[SigmasonicX]

Episode 11
So, why doesn't Suigintou just kill Jun? And these Alice Games are seriously uneven if Shinku without Jun was doing well against Suigintou, who completely no-sold attacks from two other dolls together.

Oh hey, Hina-Ichigo actually helped. And now Souseiseki's attacks are actually working. That part with Jun being snapped out of his funk was nice. You know, with all of this stuff about how important mediums are, why hasn't Suigintou gotten one? I was expecting a situation like in Zatch/Gash Bell with... er... that one villain, where Suigintou has a human under her thrall who acts as a puppet medium, but no such thing has happened.

The fighting in this episode is actually pretty neat. I didn't expect Shinku's arm to be ripped off, even if she's a doll and thus has no blood. The more surprising part was that Shinku actually got really upset about it.

Episode 12 - FINAL (of this first series)
I'm not sure why Suigintou is so shocked about Shinku's arm being fixed. It's a ball joint, couldn't you just pop it back in? Then again, there's probably magic involved.

OK, I get that being an incomplete doll would make Suigintou want to win the game, but why does she just torture everyone and not really try to win? Shinku, fuck off with that, "Her feelings for our father was the purest of us all!" junk.

I'm guessing that all this stuff with the dolls disappearing only to come back was added by the anime to give a sense of a conclusion, or was just a chapter cliffhanger, since they did nothing at all with it.

Overall
The show was decent. The comedy was better than the serious parts, but I did think the serious parts of these last two episodes weren't bad. A big problem is that the Alice Games aren't well thought out at all, and felt like a complete afterthought, especially with how only Suigintou seems the least bit interested in actually fighting anyone. Compare with Zatch/Gash Bell where there were plenty of dolls who wanted to fight, and the winner had the option of bringing everyone who was defeated back to life.

 

[Skinpop]

what shows from 2015 should I watch? probably won't have time for more than 2-3, maybe 4 if there are some must watch shows.

 

[Chariot]

what shows from 2015 should I watch? probably won't have time for more than 2-3, maybe 4 if there are some must watch shows.

Shirobako.
Gate.
One-Punch Man.
Iron-Blooded Orphans.

(Owarimonogatari if you're an Monogatari fan, but you wouldn't ask for that if you were).

 

[Cornbread78]

what shows from 2015 should I watch? probably won't have time for more than 2-3, maybe 4 if there are some must watch shows.

Depending on your taste:

Great stuff in here:

http://m.neogaf.com/showthread.php?t=1163376


My pics

http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=190689839

 

[Skinpop]

thanks to both of you. those shows look nice and I'll take a look in that thread.

 

[JulianImp]

So I finished this season and then decided to go straight to watching the newer 2013 anime, which supposedly is a lot more faithful to the original story.

While it certainly wasn't an amazing show, I found all the 1-star reviews to be an overexaggeration. All the critiques about the 2013 anime focusing too much on Jun were a bit weird since it always felt to me like he was the true protagonist of the story, and that the rozen maidens and their game were just the catalyst that prompted him to change for the better both times he got involved with them. The edgier take on the story was a bit weird, and things going smoothly for Jun with his job, meeting a girl that might become his girlfriend and his studies only because he met Shinku and co. was a bit too much of a retread for me, though.

I wouldn't say it was an awful watch, but season 1 felt weird and forced at times while the 2013 version was like more of the same, only edgier. The one thing I might commend season 1 for is that Jun's modest character development made sense since being a hikkikomori doesn't seem like something a person could grow out of in an instant, but rather by making progress little by little.

Overall, the series is strange in that it presents the whole alice game thing really early on, but nobody in the whole canon except for Suigintou appear to give a damn about it, making it an obvious excuse plot for dragging Jun into it and having him grow through his interactions with the living dolls. Then the 2013 version was even weirder, since it made the alice game elements a lot more prominent while at the same time downplaying them by focusing a lot more on Jun.

We'll probably need a more welcoming series than this if we intend to prevent Let's Watches from dying

Spoiler

and becoming junk like poor old Suigintou

.

 

[Cornbread78]

Stupid bitch doll, leave Jun alone. Best episode yet with good character moments and pretty good dolly battle scenes.

 

[TUSR]

I nominate Katanagatari for next lets watch

 

[Exalted]

A good option would also be Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse , since we have the new version airing this season, and it's a bit different from the previous shows that have been selected for Lets watch.

Another option is also the original Utawarerumono, since its the same case .

 

[Cornbread78]

I nominate Katanagatari for next lets watch

Jerk.
_______________

Final Fantasy IX (PS4) |OT| The Place I'll Return To Someday

Initial release date: July 7, 2000 (PS1)
* PS4 version available immediately
Composer: Nobuo Uematsu
Writer(s): Hironobu Sakaguchi
Designers: Nobuo Uematsu, Yoshitaka Amano, MORE
Platforms: Android, PlayStation, iOS, Microsoft Windows


Original Boxart:

Steam Link

Features:
This PS4 version is an enhanced version of Final Fantasy IX that includes HD cutscene video, trophy support and boosters to help players level and master weapons faster. When you purchase the game on PSN, it also includes a PS4 theme and a set of player icons.(The FINAL FANTASY® IX Digital Edition includes the original custom theme designed by Toshiyuki Itahana and eight key characters avatars)


General Gameplay Features:
・Abilities:
Learn new abilities by equipping items. When fully mastered,these abilities can be used even without equipping items,allowing for nearly endless customization options.
・Trance:
Fill your Trance gauge as you sustain hits in battle. When fully charged, your characters will enter Trance mode, granting them powerful new skills!
・Synthesis:
Never let items go to waste. Combine two items or pieces of equipment together and make better, stronger items!
・Minigames:
Whether it's Chocobo Hot and Cold, Jump Rope, or Tetra Master, there are plenty of minigames to enjoy when you're not off saving the world. You can even earn special item rewards!


Story
Zidane and the Tantalus Theater Troupe have kidnapped Princess Garnet, the heir of Alexandria. To their surprise, however, the princess herself yearned to escape the castle.
Through a series of unusual circumstances, she and her personal guard, Steiner, fall in with Zidane and set out on an incredible journey. Meeting unforgettable characters like Vivi, who arrived to watch their performance but is at a loss when he realizes that he only has a forged ticket, as well as Quina along the way, they learn about themselves, the secrets of the Crystal, and a malevolent force that threatens to destroy their world


Party Characters

Screens:

Other Info:
Launch Trailer
NeoGAF PC/Android OT
PSN Profiles Trophy List LOLOLOL
FFIX Walkthrough (GameFAQs

*Special Note*
This game is 17 years old and some of you might not have even been born yet when it was first released. What does that mean? Use spoiler tags!!!!

Thanks Scotia for the title.

 

[TUSR]

Jerk.

I've been asleep or at school for the last week, I wasn't able to find your criteria for picking this "Let's Watch"

 

[Cornbread78]

I've been asleep or at school for the last week, I wasn't able to find your criteria for picking this "Let's Watch"

LOL, yeah, yeah, yeah.

50 min episodes was too long or else that would have been perfect. Mononoke it will be.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cornbread78]

Next Let's Watch is up: Mononoke

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?p=191879733#post191879733



Feel free to continue to post your final Rozen Maiden reviews.