I think this'll be my last episode for the night, and what an awesome place to stop. A cliffhanger, in between 2 awesome battles, and I crave more.
Lancer saves the day... again, and I'm surprised Kiritsugu is holding his own against Kayneth(and seems to have a trick up his sleeve at the end?). Kayneth being able to manipulate and use mercury as his magic is pretty cool, so that makes him better.
I think this'll be my last episode for the night, and what an awesome place to stop. A cliffhanger, in between 2 awesome battles, and I crave more.
Lancer saves the day... again, and I'm surprised Kiritsugu is holding his own against Kayneth(and seems to have a trick up his sleeve at the end?). Kayneth being able to manipulate and use mercury as his magic is pretty cool, so that makes him better.
Wait, really? I rewatched the part where Chiyuri and Haru meet Taku but it doesn't clearly state that they are dating, it's kind of implied though. So yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I missed something before this.
This is such a feel good show. Looks like the childhood flashbacks are indeed part of the episode formula so far but I think they work well as we're sort of remembering Mutta's dreams along with him. I adore the soundtrack too as it adds so much to the optimistic tone.
Wait, really? I rewatched the part where Chiyuri and Haru meet Taku but it doesn't clearly state that they are dating, it's kind of implied though. So yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I missed something before this.
Space Bros 2
Compared to the first episode, the pacing here is a lot slower. The first ten minutes or so felt a bit oddly paced, but I do enjoy the flashbacks to the past like they had in the first episode.
Halfway in it picks up again with the same sort of pleasant humour episode one had, and we're introduced to some new characters. Both Kenji and Serika appear to be really likeable (much like Mutta is!)
I'd say Space Bros is going to be a real slow burner, and all the better for it. Definitely sticking with this one
I'm not even going to bother posting about Fate/zero because not only is there already enough (well-deserved) praise for it here, but I've determined that there's a zero percent chance that any of the episodes will be less than a masterpiece for me anyway.
The fight was okay, I guess. I don't quite understand why something made of rock would bleed that much, or how Saya's glasses managed to stay on during that fight. I wish I was going into this blind, but oh well.
Space Bros 2
Compared to the first episode, the pacing here is a lot slower. The first ten minutes or so felt a bit oddly paced, but I do enjoy the flashbacks to the past like they had in the first episode.
Halfway in it picks up again with the same sort of pleasant humour episode one had, and we're introduced to some new characters. Both Kenji and Serika appear to be really likeable (much like Mutta is!)
I'd say Space Bros is going to be a real slow burner, and all the better for it. Definitely sticking with this one
... What? What else is there to say about this? It was great! Yeah, I loved Redline. I went in hoping I'd like it -- futuristic racing games are something I've loved for a long time, and I really liked the modern Speed Racer movie too for instance -- but yeah, that was better than I expected for sure. The sheer amount of detail, that they actually hand-drew every frame of a movie with this much constant, screen-filling action... really, really impressive work. This is as good as I've seen animation from stuff from Japan. The visuals were just spectacular. The art style is quite unique as well; this does not look like your average anime, that's for sure!
The music was great too -- all of the action is accompanied with a pounding techno soundtrack, and it fits the style perfectly. It really helps keep the tempo up, when combined with the action and craziness. Great stuff.
As for the story, I think it was actually decently good. It was nothing special, for sure -- the story's pretty average stuff -- but it didn't need to be anything incredible, it just needed to be good enough to do, and it certainly was. I came to like the main cast, and there were some twists in the plot that actually did surprise me, so it wasn't entirely predictable.
Now, the movie has three parts, in general -- the opening race, the long middle section of the film between the races, and then the final race/shootout. I think some people may have complained about how long the middle part was, but I thought it worked fine. It allowed for some more character-building, and let them show off some of the universe this film is set in, too. There are all kinds of crazy characters in this movie, and it did a good job of allowing just about all of them to be themselves and show off what they're like. Sure, a lot of them are probably insane, but it fits the setting for sure... This movie's just packed with detail all around, in the world, in the visuals, in the story, every bit as much in the conversation and plot scenes as in the action.
Negatives... um, the characters smoke too much. I don't like that. Apart from that though, I can't think of anything.
So, the characters. Unlike most anime, the characters here are all adults, not teenagers. The main character is JP, a racer with a somewhat checkered past thanks to his friendship with his mechanic, a guy who's gotten in with the mafia. Despite this, JP doesn't believe in using weapons while racing, unlike everyone else. Those two, along with his third crew member, an old guy who acquires parts for him, are the main characters, along with his love interest, a girl also in the Redline race. She's always cared for racing first and only and not relationships, but naturally he starts to break that down, though not without some issues. Yeah, nobody said the plot was anything original, for sure.
It did add something when it showed how he remembered seeing her race as a child when he was younger, something that seems to have been at least some of his inspiration for getting into racing, so at least on his side it wasn't just a connection that appeared out of nowhere.
Still, she holds her own to the end, so at least it's not a "and then the strong woman became a weak nothing" plot; that doesn't happen. Similarly, the other major plot, with JP's friend and his mafia troubles, reaches a satisfying conclusion in the end as well.
There's a substantial cast beyond these main characters, too -- there are six other teams in the Redline race, some with one-racer teams and some with two, and all with their own unique and interesting characteristics. And then there are the villains, the militarist government of the planet that the race is being illegally held on who want to kill them all before they expose their secrets, and more, including the many minor civilian and military characters throughout the film. The eight race teams and the villains get the majority of the attention, and I was definitely rooting for the racers while they faced the overwhelming odds they were up against as the whole army mobilized against them... and because this is foreign and not American, I wasn't absolutely certain that things would work out well, either.
Fortunately, it mostly does. It's kind of ridiculous that all of the racers (I think?) seem to have survived such a crazily dangerous, explosion-filled race, but they pulled it off... Also, the way they won the race was just so crazy-hilarious... I won't spoil it, but it was just ridiculous stuff. So ridiculous it was great, pretty much!
So yeah, this was just so much fun all around. This wasn't a movie I could just silently watch -- just had to regularly exclaim something about the craziness going on on screen. It's that kind of movie, and I thought it was pretty good for sure. This easily would get an A if I was rating it. Great fun movie, I watched this on a rental, but I kind of want to own this now... probably would buy it if I see it cheap. It's quite the experience.
This wasn't as good as the first episode, unsurprisingly, and the production values won't be winning any awards (which I can forgive for a long-running show). That said, this was a solid episode with a couple nice transitions and good integration of the childhood flashbacks. Mutta is still a charming character, and I liked seeing his motivations and quirks fleshed out. The screw bit was hilarious.
This has been on the backburner for a while as well after I watched the two main Unico movies. It's apparently a pilot film for a tv series that never launched and I assume it hinted at the overarching plotline of Unico making people happy then having to be snatched away by the West Wind which would make for easy episodic stories.
It has a strong ecological theme about unchecked industrialization can be harmful to everyone that's addressed by Unico infiltrating and destroying a factory. The soundtrack is rather fitting and it's wonderfully animated on top of that. It's definitely not the acid trip the other two movies are but that's not necessarily a bad thing in this case. It's shame we didn't get a full tv series like this.
the op owns. the ed owns. omigawa owns. ririka owns. afro insurance dude owns. chiki and her dad own. even space usagi kinda owns. everything about this show owns owns owns
This is the sort of stuff thats sitting on my shelves at home.
On that chart alone I have: Azumanga Daioh (with the english joke guides), .Hack//sign, Full Moon Wo Sagashite (only 7 vols because Viz cancelled it halfway) , Ai Yori Aoshi, Chobits, Twelve Kingdoms, Happy Lesson, part of Pyschic Academy, and Abenobashi. I also see Gatekeepers, which I am planning to buy soon, and I have also seen Tokyo Mew Mew, Tenchi GXP, Pita Ten, and Rizelmine on that list.
So basically I guess I'm saying that was a kick ass and absolutely fantastic season by the looks of it. It was a few years after I started seriously collecting anime, and by that time I was buying up large portions of Suncoast inventory. What glorious memories.
Well that was a pleasant surprise to watch. Funny, entertaining, and I think I might've actually learned something. I had no idea bathing culture was so interesting. The Flash animation only added to the charm for me as this reminded me of early Adult Swim fare. Other things like Lucius' offscreen stare, various less detailed background characters, and the reliance on dialogue and Lucius' internal monologue rather than any sort of action did as well.
Crappy CG and a cringe-inducing, philosophical monologue. This is off to a great start.
That is definitely some sound advice.
Really?
CLAMP has such a fine grasp on human anatomy.
Yeesh, that was tonally inconsistent.
The fight was okay, I guess. I don't quite understand why something made of rock would bleed that much, or how Saya's glasses managed to stay on during that fight. I wish I was going into this blind, but oh well.
You probably have Redline to thank for Chihayafuru's existence because there's no way that would have ever been animated by anything other than a studio that had absolutely nothing to lose. Deadhouse ain't even mad about the Fractale-level BD sales.
You probably have Redline to thank for Chihayafuru's existence because there's no way that would have ever been animated by a studio that had absolutely nothing to lose. Deadhouse ain't even mad about the Fractale-level BD sales.
I am thankful for Chihayafuru's existence. Its one of my top ten favorite anime series now.
I just loved everything about it, except the fact that it had to end.
Well that was a pleasant surprise to watch. Funny, entertaining, and I think I might've actually learned something. I had no idea bathing culture was so interesting. The Flash animation only added to the charm for me as this reminded me of early Adult Swim fare. Other things like Lucius' offscreen stare, various less detailed background characters, and the reliance on dialogue and Lucius' internal monologue rather than any sort of action did as well.
You probably have Redline to thank for Chihayafuru's existence because there's no way that would have ever been animated by anything other than a studio that had absolutely nothing to lose. Deadhouse ain't even mad about the Fractale-level BD sales.
Madhouse wasn't a studio focused on high-sellers. They had many, many shows which sold worse than Chihayafuru.
Just look at 2008: Allison and Lillia, Kamen no Maid Guy, Top Secret ~The Revelation~, Kaiba, Ultraviolet: Code 044, Casshern Sins, Kurozuka, Mouryou no Hako, One Outs, and Chaos;Head all sold worse.
Quite right about the music direction. Also flash isn't inherently bad it's just used poorly too often. A thread on the matter pointed to Wakfu as an example of it used well and as always I'm remembering I still want to check that show out.
Another solid episode, imo. I really feel like I can relate to Mutta's character at times... it's sort of strange, honestly. The screw thing was pretty interesting too. Wondering how these new characters will affect Mutta's aspirations.
