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Spring 2014 Anime |OT2| about as likely as a second season of Hyouka

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Okay, what are the essentials when it comes to UC Gundam?

There is a lot. But the essentials would be -

Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ
Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (Movie)


These all take place in UC as well -

Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket (OVA)
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (OVA)
Mobile Suit Gundam F91 (Movie)
Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team (OVA)
Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO (OVA)
Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn (OVA)

Those are the main entries, I would say. I think that's everything that takes place in UC that's not G Saviour. I have not watched them all, it would take a lot of time. You could cut the fat down to the first 4. Also to be noted is that Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta, and Stardust Memory have recap movies. But I wouldn't really recommend that as a first watch. (I have not seen Zeta or Stardust Memories' recap movies, that's just what everyone says)
I'm not the biggest Gundam fan in the world (inb4 :avatarquote) but I think that about wraps it up. I'm sure someone from the Gundam thread is yelling at me right now though
 

Quasar

Member
Well. Have now wrapped pretty much all my shows that are ending.

And the anime season wraps up.

Plenty of stuff I enjoyed well enough, with some surprises (I actually liked a normal sports anime, in Baby Steps, for the first time). The additional surprise was that The World Is Still Beautiful turned out to be my most enjoyed show.

Wasn't surprised that I liked it, I mean I have a soft spot for shojou and I liked what I read of the manga. Just surprised it turned out to be my favourite.

Others high up on my liking list would be One Week Friends and Knights of Sidonia. That being the first space anime since Valvrave that I liked enough to get past episode one.

Also found Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou fun enough. Would probably watch more, but I guess for more I'll need to read the manga instead.

Overall I found it an enjoyable season, though not one with a grand standout that I was raving about, like last seasons Log Horizon.
 

Rhapsody

Banned
Okay, what are the essentials when it comes to UC Gundam?

Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counterattack

You can skip ZZ if you want. Takes place after Zeta and is pretty different. Watching the movie or the original series for the first one is up to you. The movie still leaves stuff out, but it's not badly done either. Zeta might be better to watch the original. The movie's ending is completely different and would end up changing the chain of events where CA might've never happened.

The other UC Gundams aren't necessary, but 08th MS team would be a good watch. Unicorn too if you want to see how the UC stuff pretty much closes out.
 

Superflat

Member
Was Mekaku City Actors worth watching?

I've only seen episode 1 but prioritized other stuff.

Depends on if you prefer traditional storytelling to something completely out of sequence and bizarre. The overarching narrative doesn't come together until the last quarter so if you don't have patience for stuff like that, you might be frustrated with it.

Watch it for the style, not the substance.

I would say it has both, but I actually like the characterizations and story more than the visuals.
 
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counterattack

You can skip ZZ if you want. Takes place after Zeta and is pretty different. Watching the movie or the original series for the first one is up to you. The movie still leaves stuff out, but it's not badly done either. Zeta might be better to watch the original. The movie's ending is completely different and would end up changing the chain of events where CA might've never happened.

The other UC Gundams aren't necessary, but 08th MS team would be a good watch. Unicorn too if you want to see how the UC stuff pretty much closes out.

Yeah, it'd be alright to skip ZZ if you don't like it.

I probably need to watch the Zeta movies sometime. I'll bump them up on the list

ZZ HAS THE BEST OP THOUGH DON'T SKIP THAT
 

Tenumi

Banned
With the gaming stuff, I'm Tenumi on Steam, NNID, PSN, and Xbox Live. Lucky me.

Also, I finished Futari wa Pretty Cure today. Gonna do my final series writeup tommorow.
 

Superflat

Member
Oh yeah, and while I'm here, I might as well list the shows I enjoyed from this season (in no real order):

Love:
Ping Pong
Mushishi 2 (incomplete)
Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka?


Really enjoyed:
No Game No Life
Mekakucity Actors
One Week Friends


Good/Fun:
WIXOSS
Black Bullet



Shows that I'm enjoying but need to catch up on:

Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
Nanana's Hidden Treasure
Bokura wa minna Kawaisou



Shows I put on hiatus, maybe indefinitely:

Brynhildr
Captain Earth
Chaika
Soul Eater NOT
Mahouka



In the end, I think my favorite of the season is actually Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka, with Ping Pong close behind.
 
Slector Infected WIXOSS - 10

Just like oreimo proved to everyone, if you're doing incest , just hide it from your familly and friends and it'll work !

I still think that the WIXOSS system is crap BTW.
So next challenge is iona, hopefully this won't end like before since i kinda want to see a serious battle ( it's been a while )
 

Narag

Member
Girls und Panzer 8

jqfl8Qql.jpg

rBGVaWyl.jpg

Well that was another tense one. Actual tank combat just draws me in entirely.
 
Mahouka 13


Fantastic episode, Shun Morisaki feeling inspired to do well after seeing how much praise Tatsuya was gathering was rather unexpected.
I would have thought everyone would be all trying to get the entire team to score points but this friction from within was just unforeseen.
Really good scene.

Crimson Prince and Cardinal George are such a great team and pair in there. The scene gathering the details and mindblowing their cohort with their hypothesis was stunning. Also loved their little smiles to each other.

Finally the drama with Tatsuya and Miyuki sharing their concerns over the cage they are in with the Yotsuba family and worst how even if they try to take Maya down theyd still be facing stiff opposition or a new nefarious leader was really well done. The hug sealed it especially with Miyuki taking up his emotions even though he could do little to show beyond feelings of disappointment in himself as well as in their situation. Someday they can break free or if Miyuki can be the next leader.

One of the most brilliant episodes of the season and the highlight of the arc thus far, great writing and realistic characters.

Music was rather stunning too especially in the Inferno match (Ice Pillar Break) but also that Battle Boards match, the musician is really going all out and even outdoing the award winning composer on Black Bullet. I need aniplex to bring us Mahouka sets with the OST please.
 
Mahouka 13
Batman-nii sama doesn't want to be credited because he's Batman and doesn't have magic. He also broods over how he can't overcome the structure since he does not have magic. He still does the impossible however, inventing magic left and right. Batman-nii-sama ignores his evergrowing harem as well. Meanwhile, shady villains devise an evil plan to make Batman's school lose to make the dirty money because they clearly need to involve criminal syndicates now.
 

Defuser

Member
Mahouka ep 13
"I win motherfuckers"


Look at this, the girls love him while the guys loathe him. Every single girl wants tatsuya to 'take care' of them and blatantly insults the other guys. Just another day in Mahouka.

If Tatsuya didn't give a shit about some family feud he could be the goddamn president with his skills.
 
Selector infected Wixoss - 11

The power of friendship is supposed to win it all.

Oh and that tournament was a cool idea...i gtuess the biggest obstacle was to secure a place big enough so that people wouldn't be interrupted and other selectors woulddn't be pulled into the space too.

"my dad own this building"

How convenient !
 
So I decided tonight was a good night to watch Sword Art Online Extra Edition to get used to the Japanese voices with SAO S2 starting soon... oh god all those painful memories are coming back, but I'm laughing my ass off all over again

The worst part

I'm 50 minutes in and I still have another 50 to go

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Edit: "Nothing he did was suspicious" HOW IS TRYING TO MARRY A COMATOSE 17 YEAR OLD THAT WAS TRAPPED IN A GAME HE HELPED CREATE NOT A SIGN THAT SOMETHING WAS HORRIBLY WRONG
 
The super ominous evil building that the show was constantly showcasing, no less!

Get ready for a spike in visual quality :U

AH AH AH AH AH
It sure was a great finale.
----------------------
Selector Infected WIXOSS - 12

That finale was ...

I don't have the words ..i don't know if i can call that deus ex machina or superb planning.

I don't even know if i understand WHAT THE HECK happenned properly.. but that was one masterfull way use a cliffanger...

Selector Infected WIXOSS get a splendid 8/10 ... what a ride , what a mess . Episode 12 ended and NOTHING was resolved, things got worse in the most ackward/awesome way possible and i'm not even kidding.

Selector Spread WIXOSS in the fall will be a MUST SEE as a result , i just can't let something like that go
 
I have to admit I'd probably side with DTL this episode. I thought it was really nice. Probably the best episode so far.

I liked the episode too , but i disagree with DTL on the music. I still think however that the flow of events is not properly conveyed to the viewers.but that's a complain about the adaptation as a whole.
 
Soredemo Sekai Wa Utsukushii 12
This was just so sweet. How she missed him in the second half was just so heartwarming. The song from the grandma was also nice. This is probably the best romance of the season.
 
Free 04


The struggles of teaching the guy who can't swim how to swim in a week. Dude was rocking a speedo during most of the episode before he decides that he needs a new swimsuit which will somehow allow him to swim. Really, this is all an excuse to show a montage of all the guys trying out a variety of different swimsuits when they go to buy a new one. Even G/Kou was getting sick of it by the time they were done.

After all of that and Haruka finally steps in to teach Rei. However, he still can't swim and sinks like a rock. Something finally clicks with him by observing a butterfly flying around the pool and suddenly he is swimming like a pro. Whatever works I guess.
 
Free 04



The struggles of teaching the guy who can't swim how to swim in a week. Dude was rocking a speedo during most of the episode before he decides that he needs a new swimsuit which will somehow allow him to swim. Really, this is all an excuse to show a montage of all the guys trying out a variety of different swimsuits when they go to buy a new one. Even G/Kou was getting sick of it by the time they were done.

After all of that and Haruka finally steps in to teach Rei. However, he still can't swim and sinks like a rock. Something finally clicks with him by observing a butterfly flying around the pool and suddenly he is swimming like a pro. Whatever works I guess.

Nagisa and Haru had the best ones from the episode, glad I got the magazine's pencil board of Nagisa's too.
tumblr_mqg80vcY4Y1rxow8bo5_500.jpg
tumblr_mqg80vcY4Y1rxow8bo4_500.jpg
 
If any of you like the Paper Mario games, and also happen to like South Park, then go fucking buy South Park: Stick of Truth right now. Fucking fantastic game. Just beat it.

10/10
 

Clov

Member
I approve of them. Can't wait to see more Nagisa in the second season.

I've watched about 8 episodes of Sailor Moon R so far. Not very fond of the new villains, I hope it gets better.
 

Syrinx

Member
Baccano! 3

A few threads are starting to come together. Wager there will be more on the crash of the Flying Pussyfoot in the next episode. Old man is responsible for the regeneration (or whatever) powers seen earlier, and the lady that Firo bumps into (her name escapes me) gets it. Jacuzzi Splot is still a lame dork, and he's wanted. Probably for his business with Nice and her gang, but I wonder why he was singled out.

What I am wondering is what Dallas has to do with any of this, and why his whereabouts are such a secret.

Also according to Isaac and Miria, "slaughter" means "an island made of money". Sometimes I wish I could appreciate Japanese puns.

Did I mention that the OP is rad?
 
Free 05


I think I'm getting used to anime tropes. There always seems to be a training camp in these high school club animes.

So they decide to do a training camp that involves swimming between 4 islands separated by at least 1 kilometre of ocean. There is some type of flashback that shows why Makoto has some phobia or problem with the ocean but I have no idea what. Rei also decides to be smart and as the new swimmer try swimming in the ocean by himself. Suddenly a storm picks up out of nowhere when the previous shot shows completely clear skies. So Rei is now drowning and the guy who hates the ocean has to go save him.
 

Hattori

Banned
Alien Chaika 12
Second season please!
thank goodness Fredirica is alive. I actually kind of feel bad for Blue for a couple seconds but she's still terrible. I have a feeling the Gillette fan girl is going to play a major role in the eventual second season, I'm guessing a villain/main antagonist role.
 

sonicmj1

Member
Parol's Future Island

This is another charming Anime Mirai short. It's got a bit of a Saturday morning cartoon feel that reminds me in a sort of superficial way of Little Witch Academia, and while I don't think it's as tightly paced, it's quite visually accomplished. The colors really pop, and the character designs are expressive and lively. There are a few scenes with relatively dense crowds that feel like they're bursting with energy.

It's definitely one to look out for.
 
Alien Chaika 12
Second season please!
thank goodness Fredirica is alive. I actually kind of feel bad for Blue for a couple seconds but she's still terrible. I have a feeling the Gillette fan girl is going to play a major role in the eventual second season, I'm guessing a villain/main antagonist role.

I am pretty sure a second season was confirmed for a fall airing.
 
Girls und Panzer 8

Well that was another tense one. Actual tank combat just draws me in entirely.

When I first subscribed to crunchyroll, Panzer and Toradora were the first two shows that I watched. Loved them both. I wanna get Girls und Panzer on Blu-Ray, but it's still a smidge pricey on Amazon for a 13-episode TV series... But then I did just pay $95 for the Toradora blu-ray set.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
So I decided tonight was a good night to watch Sword Art Online Extra Edition to get used to the Japanese voices with SAO S2 starting soon... oh god all those painful memories are coming back, but I'm laughing my ass off all over again

The worst part

I'm 50 minutes in and I still have another 50 to go

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

Edit: "Nothing he did was suspicious" HOW IS TRYING TO MARRY A COMATOSE 17 YEAR OLD THAT WAS TRAPPED IN A GAME HE HELPED CREATE NOT A SIGN THAT SOMETHING WAS HORRIBLY WRONG

FUCK I HAD FORGOTTEN ALL ABOUT THIS UNTIL NOW
I HATE YOU KAWAHARA YOU SUCK
 
Free 06


So after Makoto and Rei nearly drown, it's up to Nagisa and Haruka to save them. They get stranded on the island closest to their camp during the storm and find an abandoned rest house to stay in until the storm passes. Makoto goes into why he is scared of the ocean and I will admit I didn't expect it to be that sad. As someone who has a fear of drowning, I get where he is coming from.

Overall, a good character building episode and we get a bit of backstory from all of the characters. Haruka's obsession with water is still as crazy as ever.
 

Eusis

Member
. . . Huh, is Modbot on lockdown for non-Steam stuff for the sale? I have a spare Crunchyroll 48 hour code to throw out, but if it really is locked down I guess I'll just give it to the old fashioned way.
 
mahouka 13


them slowmo boobs gyrating

boobs.gif

i still have no clue why they try to give each of these side characters some 'character'. They should focus on one or so, instead of trying to develop like a dozen at the same time :/


and lol.

"I can't take down our aunt just yet, even though i can snipe you with tactical magic nuke bullets, because we need to sell more light novels"


and what, why outfits?
 

CorvoSol

Member
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam Char's Counterattack

You can skip ZZ if you want. Takes place after Zeta and is pretty different. Watching the movie or the original series for the first one is up to you. The movie still leaves stuff out, but it's not badly done either. Zeta might be better to watch the original. The movie's ending is completely different and would end up changing the chain of events where CA might've never happened.

The other UC Gundams aren't necessary, but 08th MS team would be a good watch. Unicorn too if you want to see how the UC stuff pretty much closes out.

I kind of disagree. If you go straight from Zeta to CCA it makes no sense, given the ending of Zeta. I mean, at the end of Zeta,
Haman Khan is in power, Char is MIA, and Kamille's lost it.
Without ZZ to explain
how Haman is defeated, that Char is alive and planning *something* and how Kamille is healed, you're effectively skipping a vital part of the story. It bleeds into Unicorn, too, with Marida Cruz.

I kinda hate this "it is okay to skip ZZ" mentality because it acts like people think ZZ is unimportant and bad. I'm cool with people not liking it, or just not as much as Zeta, but it's still a full 50 episodes of the story you're skipping out on.

Anyway, here are some reviews of stuff while I was gone, guys. I don't remember what has spoilers and what does not, so I'm just gonna mark it all as such, and apologize to those of you who find that egregious and unnecessary for shows of such age.

Mazinkaiser
An enjoyable reimagining of the original Mazinger Z series, filled with homages to the original as well as reimaginings. Though brief, the Mazinkaiser series provided some excellent battles. Chief among these are of course the confrontation with Hell King Gordon and the Great General of Darkness. The animation was stylish, going for a thick black outline to everything, and the soundtrack consisted mainly of Project JAM songs, which are suited better to the Mazinger franchise than perhaps any other. It was also surprising, but not entirely negative, to see that Nagai managed to concentrate almost all of his fan-service into a single, easily skipped episode, allowing those who have no intention of viewing it to proceed onward without any major detriment to the flow of the series. It’s really a toss up for me as to whether or not this or Shin is the best the franchise has put out thus far.

Mazinkaiser SKL
I honestly did not enjoy this outing. Though a mere three episodes, I found it fairly grating. SKL should be commended before I speak further ill, however. The animation was top notch, and the addition of gun-kata to the Kaiser’s arsenal made for some truly impressive feats during the series short run. The alternate universe imagining was also done well enough, with no shortage of little visual gags for fans of the franchise to sink their teeth into. Conceptually, one also has to applaud the decision to show the “I choose to be a devil” side of the whole Mazinger “you can be a god or a devil” set-up. However, I could not find myself a fan of the series’ cast. The women, though numerous, seemed to serve far less of a purpose than those seen in other Mazinger titles, and the male characters all felt entirely derived from a 14 year old’s view of what would be edgy and cool. The heroes are flat psycopaths who, rather than resembling their august predecessors, seem closer to the much maligned yaoi fangirl bait protagonists of other franchise I will not here mention. The villains were honestly no better, being the exact “this guy is a loser” and “this guy is really arrogant” archetypes that the Mazinkaiser SKL protagonists would lead me to expect. Too much time is spent talking about how much they like killing and dropping f-bombs and not enough time wrecking enemy mecha and shouting at the top of their lungs.

Shin Getter Robo
An absolute masterpiece; if SKL represents all that can go wrong when trying to turn a long running mecha anime series into something “dark and gritty” then Shin Getter is all that can go right. For me, personally, it wasn’t even the “oh no the end of the world!” set up that did it. Rather, it was seeing the cast in a decidedly crueler light than Getter Robo and G had shown them in. Although the Getter team had always been rough and violent, there’s an added element when one sees Ryoma actively trying to kill Doctor Saotome, who in turn admits to wanting him dead, and the dirty secrets surrounding the already rather serious departure of Michiru Saotome from the series. As Hot Blooded as any Super Robot show can be, the series also boasts tremendously well done animation, bolstered by its striking visual style, perfectly chosen soundtrack and voice direction which is just far enough over the top to really work. Whether you are a fan of the Getter Robo series and have enough know-how to get the numerous references peppering the work, or only a newcomer to the realm of Super Robots, Shin Getter Robo is an excellent series for one and all!

Macross 7
It is difficult to put into terms exactly what I think or how I feel about Macross 7. One the one hand, the character designs are pretty bad, and mouths, when viewed from the side, are notably unusual. Characters themselves range from decent, like Ray, Miria or Max, to downright one note bad. The two largest offenders in this category are undoubtedly the Protodeviln Sivil and Gabil. Sivil, though beloved of the plot for some reason, rarely forms sentences of more than three words. Most often she says “__________ SPIRITIA!” and then jumps off. She gets into all manner of antics, but for a character as central to the plot as she, too often she felt more like an object than a character. Gabil is just a terrible character and that he does not die an awful death for the repeated use of his annoying “The Beauty of INSERT RANDOM, VAGUELY RELEVANT TOPIC HERE”. Combat animation is acceptable, since this is Macross, after all, and the world it builds is actually fairly interesting as a sort of science fiction galactic exploration fleet. Likewise, I found it admirable that the series adhered so wholly to its premise that “Rock and Roll solves EVERYTHING” and took that premise to Super Robot levels. However, I must point out that this series suffers in no small way from Kawamori’s strange method of getting his point across: namely, never getting his point across and acting like some character and the audience are all idiots for not getting something so obvious. Usually the point is also insane: “Rock and Roll is the ultimate weapon!” Basara embodies this in Macross 7, but his dedication to peace and the relative ease of Rock and Roll solving everything to grasp as a concept, plus its coherence within the Macross universe, softens his character considerably compared to other such Kawamori characters, like Arjuna’s Chris. Although I came around to the show more or less, I decided to skip over 7 Dynamite because I feel like I’ve had enough of this for now.

Armored Trooper VOTOMS
An absolutely stellar real robots series, which also serves as a tour de force of just about every kind of action movie setting one can think of. From Woodo’s sleazy, crime-rife streets to the humid jungles of Kunmen, to the wastes of Sunsen where vengeance hounds him at every turn, to the surreal finale in Quaint, VOTOMS has it all. Chirico is the archetypal strong and silent soldier of mecha anime, and though he only becomes somewhat more talkative over the series’ course, he most certainly lays the groundwork of softening up for the likes of Heero Yuy and Sousuke Sagara. His one-man war never ceases to entertain nor excite, and moments when Chirico is not present tend to be upheld by his stunning supporting cast. The final arc may perhaps best be described as Code Geass R2 if it had retained its sanity.

I also finished Zeta Gundam, Yamato 2199 and Shining Heresy, but haven't had time to put my impressions (or alteration of impressions in Zeta's case) onto paper yet.
 
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