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[Femmeworth]

I know she is an alien, but there is so much wrong with her anatomy.

 

[frostbyte]

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee: Yune & Alice 1-7 END

Nothing more but an over-glorified collection of production stills and clips from the TV series. Pretty disappointing

It looks incredibly cute though. Is the TV series like that too?

 

[BluWacky]

So there's new info on Tari Tari out, the new show from PA Works. Summary shows that this will be about a choir and the friendship between the 3 girls. Its also based in Enoshima on the beach. Whats with these beachside towns and anime recently (Kamogawa in Lagrange).

Interesting. Tsuritama is also set in (on?) Enoshima.

Have you got any more information on the show at all like a link or anything? Although I'm interested in the idea of an anime based around a choir, it depends on what that means - if it just means lots of anime-ish singing I'm not sure I'm that interested, but if there's some actual talent in there it could be intriguing (even given my low tolerance for all-girls slice of life shows).

 

[Jarmel]

Yes, I'd agree about Ano Natsu being inferior to Toradora. Contrived is also spot on.

I wouldn't be so harsh on the whole Deus Ex Machina in the last episode. It's supposed to be a light hearted romantic comedy about aliens. The

Spoiler

MiB thing

is slightly surprising but I was okay with it since the tone was set from the start to be an unrealistic rom-com.

I thought the characters were handled decently well. In fact, the character development was stronger than I expected especially in regards to Kanna and Mio. Ichika's character was way too by-the-books and I'd agree that Kaito and Ichika were off into their little world a bit. Still, I give credit to the character development the majority of the cast had.

Here's my short review I did some time ago.

One of the criticisms I see in regards to Toradora is the amount of drama in regards to the earlier half and how people expected it to remain a romantic comedy. The thing though that Toradora did that allowed it to successfully do the drama was the character building in the earlier half. We see how these relationships form so when the drama happens we already care about these characters and so the emotional impact is amplified than it would be otherwise. The problem here is that JC Staff just dumps on the drama without the buildup thus leaving us to watch a trainwreck most of the time. Also the characters and writing in of itself certainly isn't as sharp as the only person even remotely comparable to Ami is Remon. The heroines themselves as you stated in your review aren't particularly that interesting either. Ichika definitely felt like a Mary-Sue character and I would argue the main reason Kanna is interesting is because she just gets stomped on so many times. Even then I would argue that Kanna isn't a great character either as she's mostly reactive to events throughout the anime.

Kaito himself is somewhat dull and it feels like we're watching Toradora through Yūsaku's eyes rather than Ryuji's. This is a problem when you have the the secondary male lead being more interesting than the male and also more involved with the drama going on. Kaito himself really doesn't change that much except being more confident which is a trait almost any lead goes through.

 

[wonzo]

It looks incredibly cute though. Is the TV series like that too?

Here's the PV so you can get some idea of what the TV series looks like. It's still pretty damn cute.

 

[Envelope]

They thing you really haven't said, however, is how TTGL did anything better. Aside from TTGL having to coherently present a premise more bizarre, relatively--which it did just fine, both episodes did their job of giving a very clear view of the setting;

Spoiler

Kamina and Simon made it to the surface, after the antics, with a pan out at the vastness, and Bebop employed rather simple bit of visual storytelling in showing that the 'cars' (parking in the spot, as if it was one) of their day are jets...that would further be shown to be not just 'jets' as one might have assumed initially, but space vehicles;

letting the viewer deduce from there. Both demonstrated the primary traits of the focal characters;

Spoiler

Kamina's bravado and, ultimately, Simon's cowardliness, and in the case of bebop, Spike's heavy-handedness

. And both gave not only an indication of what trajectory the characters would take, but how the shows would be furthered structured, imo;

Spoiler

Kamina and Simon only had one real direction, and Jet and Spike were bounty hunters--

pieceworkers.

I personally feel that Bebop was directed with much more tact, but do feel that both did what first eps are to do.

It's been at least 2 years since I watched that first Episode of Bebop, but I remember Spike as being, overall, rather characterless and aimless. Perhaps the word "subdued" fits better. TTGL is of course vastly different in the way it approaches its main characters in the first episode, and left me wanting more than the first episode of Cowboy Bebop did.

Spoiler

I should really give Cowboy Bebop another try someday

It looks incredibly cute though. Is the TV series like that too?

Yune is incredibly cute, and the TV series had some nice music as well.

 

[frostbyte]

One of the criticisms I see in regards to Toradora is the amount of drama in regards to the earlier half and how people expected it to remain a romantic comedy. The thing though that Toradora did that allowed it to successfully do the drama was the character building in the earlier half. We see how these relationships form so when the drama happens we already care about these characters and so the emotional impact is amplified than it would be otherwise. The problem here is that JC Staff just dumps on the drama without the buildup thus leaving us to watch a trainwreck most of the time. Also the characters and writing in of itself certainly isn't as sharp as the only person even remotely comparable to Ami is Remon. The heroines themselves as you stated in your review aren't particularly that interesting either. Ichika definitely felt like a Mary-Sue character and I would argue the main reason Kanna is interesting is because she just gets stomped on so many times. Even then I would argue that Kanna isn't a great character either as she's mostly reactive to events throughout the anime.

Kaito himself is somewhat dull and it feels like we're watching Toradora through Yūsaku's eyes rather than Ryuji's. This is a problem when you have the the secondary male lead being more interesting than the male and also more involved with the drama going on. Kaito himself really doesn't change that much except being more confident which is a trait almost any lead goes through.

True, true. Toradora succeeded because of the strength in character development throughout the story, and how masterfully our investment in the characters is used to draw us into the drama at the end. Kaito and Ichika are also extremely flat characters compared to Ryuji and Taiga. Even Kanna and Tetsurou are more well developed than the main pair in Ano Natsu.

Do you think Ano Natsu would have benefited from being two-cour like Toradora? Or are Ano Natsu's characters too fundamentally flawed and boring to become interesting/Okada's writing isn't good enough to pull through?

 

[Envelope]

True, true. Toradora succeeded because of the strength in character development throughout the story, and how masterfully our investment in the characters is used to draw us into the drama at the end. Kaito and Ichika are also extremely flat characters compared to Ryuji and Taiga. Even Kanna and Tetsurou are more well developed than the main pair in Ano Natsu.

Do you think Ano Natsu would have benefited from being two-cour like Toradora? Or are Ano Natsu's characters too fundamentally flawed and boring to become interesting/Okada's writing isn't good enough to pull through?

I think 2 seasons would have made the flaws in Ano Natsu far more apparent. One season, and despite the flaws, Ano Natsu was a very enjoyable RomCom. I don't think the cast could have supported another season, unlike Toradora.

 

[Lain]

Durarara!! 12-17

Well, episode 12 was an interesting way to end that event, thought it underlined how Izaya

Spoiler

is the mastermind

, so everything

Spoiler

that happens after and that happened before being all part of his plan

isn't surprising. Not even the reveals are surprising in regards to Dollars and Yellow Scarves because I had been spoiled about them some time ago after I had dropped the show (and the show tells enough about it before it's plainly revealed for anyone to connect the dots), though I admit it was nice to actually see unfold. Anri I didn't know about, but I had some suspicions that

Spoiler

she was linked to the slasher, though for some reason I was expecting her to pull out that she was the real slasher during episode 17 when no katana was being used and indeed she was.

Shizu is a fucking boss, Izaya is a goddamn god tier troll, and all the other characters having so much more screen time compared to Mikado/Kida/Anri is what I liked most and what is making me glad I picked this back up.

 

[NewFresh]

Let's not forget the amazing CG in Another:

Truly, the glorious future of CG is upon us.

Wow. I wonder if this will win for worst CG of the season.

Last seasons contender was good as well.

 

[Basileus777]

Ano Natsu isn't really a character focused show. None of the characters have any real development that isn't related to their romances. What makes Ano Natsu better than most romance anime is it's pacing and how it handles all the contrivances and misunderstanding inherent in the genre. It's a show that benefited from being 12 episodes.

 

[frostbyte]

I think 2 seasons would have made the flaws in Ano Natsu far more apparent. One season, and despite the flaws, Ano Natsu was a very enjoyable RomCom. I don't think the cast could have supported another season, unlike Toradora.

Yeah, I get that feeling too. and Okada would probably mess it up

Here's the PV so you can get some idea of what the TV series looks like. It's still pretty damn cute.

Yune is incredibly cute, and the TV series had some nice music as well.

Thanks. I'll check it out when I'm in the mood for a historical slice-of-life.

 

[Noirulus]

Saint Seiya Omega - 2

Good episode. I liked the interaction between Kouga and Souma -- them fighting at the start and later bro'ing it up was relatively fast and painless, and was fairly realistic as far as character relationships work.

 

[wonzo]

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Picture Drama 1-3

*heart explodes*

 

[Envelope]

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Picture Drama 1-3


*heart explodes*

Multiple Yunes? I need to watch this!

 

[zeroshiki]

Interesting. Tsuritama is also set in (on?) Enoshima.

Have you got any more information on the show at all like a link or anything? Although I'm interested in the idea of an anime based around a choir, it depends on what that means - if it just means lots of anime-ish singing I'm not sure I'm that interested, but if there's some actual talent in there it could be intriguing (even given my low tolerance for all-girls slice of life shows).

Its just 1 scan from the usual sources. I didn't link it because of the scan. It doesn't say much outside of what I wrote. I guess there's a staff list and some rehash about HanaIro Home Sweet Home.

 

[Jarmel]

I think 2 seasons would have made the flaws in Ano Natsu far more apparent. One season, and despite the flaws, Ano Natsu was a very enjoyable RomCom. I don't think the cast could have supported another season, unlike Toradora.

I agree with this. The best character in Ano Natsu is Remon and that's because of her insight into the relationships and her trolling. Even then she is a pale shadow of Ami who understood what was happening, was bitter about everything, but also in love. Is it possible the show might have worked better if longer, possibly if there was more complexity added to the characters themselves rather than the relationships. The foundation for any relationship is the characters. Do I think the author could have done it? No and that's because of the final episode. The way things are handled are so hamfisted such as the mech robot and the physical MiB agents that I'm not sure he's capable of a subtler approach than what we got. Toradora also was more mature in regards to the themes it handled such as what Ryuji would do after graduation that much of the entire show would have to be rewritten.

I mean look at what the author of Toradora is writing now. They're writing about relationships in law school for god sakes. Do you think the writer of Ano Natsu would be capable of writing something that complicated?

 

[BluWacky]

Its just 1 scan from the usual sources. I didn't link it because of the scan. It doesn't say much outside of what I wrote. I guess there's a staff list and some rehash about HanaIro Home Sweet Home.

Ah, okay, fine. No worries. Thanks for the info anyway.

 

[wonzo]

Multiple Yunes? I need to watch this!

it's a gift from the gods of cute!

 

[Jarmel]

Jormungand 1

Is this really the group who did Steins;Gate?

 

[Envelope]

Jormungand 1

Is this really the group who did Steins;Gate?

Considering it's just as average as the first episode of Steins;gate, yup! But just like Steins;gate, the source material is good, so there's still hope for it.

 

[wonzo]

Jormungand 1

Is this really the group who did Steins;Gate?

You say this as if the first episode of Steins;Gate wasn't a huge mess.

 

[Envelope]

it's a gift from the gods of cute!

The SD characters from Ikoku are just about as good as the ones from Boku X Inu, so adorable.

 

[Jarmel]

You say this as if the first episode of Steins;Gate wasn't a huge mess.

Considering it's just as average as the first episode of Steins;gate, yup! But just like Steins;gate, the source material is good, so there's still hope for it.

There was a very good narrative reason why the first episode of Steins;Gate was a mess.

The problem here is the production values. Steins;Gate for the most part looked good and had great character design(yes that's because of huke). The fucking eyebrows in this distract me to no end. It seems like the artists couldn't keep to one consistent artistic style.

 

[wonzo]

The SD characters from Ikoku are just about as good as the ones from Boku X Inu, so adorable.

yeah, the sd parts are cute as hell.

 

[Envelope]

There was a very good narrative reason why the first episode of Steins;Gate was a mess.

The problem here is the production values. Steins;Gate for the most part looked good and had great character design(yes that's because of huke). The fucking eyebrows in this distract me to no end.

Steins;gate had a very washed out, unappealing, drab look without any good direction to help it out. I remember plenty of poorly drawn characters at times too.... White fox isn't that great a studio, but they do get good stuff to adapt, hopefully they can pull this one off.

 

[Articalys]

Jormungand 1

Yeah, it's nothing special so far, but I'm inclined to give it a bit of time to prove itself.

 

[Jarmel]

Steins;gate had a very washed out, unappealing, drab look without any good direction to help it out. I remember plenty of poorly drawn characters at times too.... White fox isn't that great a studio, but they do get good stuff to adapt, hopefully they can pull this one off.

We'll see however the inconsistencies in regards to the character designs are very offputting right now.

 

[wonzo]

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Picture Drama 4

oh my god

There was a very good narrative reason why the first episode of Steins;Gate was a mess.

The problem here is the production values. Steins;Gate for the most part looked good and had great character design(yes that's because of huke). The fucking eyebrows in this distract me to no end. It seems like the artists couldn't keep to one consistent artistic style.

Steins;Gate also had it's far share of issues when it came to the production values. Most notably just how washed out everything looked. Fortunately the source material was strong enough for the series to overcome those issues and hopefully that'll be the same case here (which I kinda doubt tbqh).

 

[A Black Falcon]

Saki A Side 1: Mahjong moe. Those CG tiles~ I was kind of looking forward to more Saki but I didn't know it was going to be a prequel/side story. In a way it's refreshing to have a new set of characters but it's going to take some mental work to be able to recall all of them.

I think the story is that they wanted to do another Saki anime, but the main manga series wasn't nearly far enough along to make another anime, so she (the artist/author of Saki) started this up, drawn by a different artist (the one who drew Bamboo Blade), and it's the one that gets an anime. Saki may well get another anime too, eventually, once it's farther.

I hope they have defining game breaking mahjong abilities to separate them. This was a firehawk episode. Cherry blossoms all over while teaching youngins about MJ. I find that really funny because some Chinese elderly I know call it an evil game. Teaching kids an evil game!

Yeah, it was a pretty firehawk episode for sure... also, I assume the "evil" comes from that it's gambling, along the lines of poker? But with special powers like the Saki characters have, there's less chance involved...

I do like Shizuno, all that genki energy and the lack pants strike witches style.

Sort of like Strike Witches, yeah, except without the panties (but with a slightly longer coat). But yeah, the genki energy makes her a likeable character, I agree.

Nodoka being well endowed even in middle school. That she becomes the figure Ako and Shizuno chase after isn't a surprise.

Yeah, pretty much. A lot of characters like Nodoka, for sure, but with her looks and personality, why not?

I hope we get into some ridiculous mahjong soon. Tile slamming, hell waiting, tsumo drawing action. Additionally Saki is totally a monocle show.

It's Saki, so I'm certainly hoping for lots of great mahjong action as well! The crazy mahjong matches certainly are one of the best things about the franchise.

 

[Lafiel]

So there's new info on Tari Tari out, the new show from PA Works. Summary shows that this will be about a choir and the friendship between the 3 girls. Its also based in Enoshima on the beach. Whats with these beachside towns and anime recently (Kamogawa in Lagrange).

I think the staff is old but its basically the HanaIro staff except Ando, he's been replaced by Hashimoto Masakazu who directed a Layton movie.

The premise sounds like up my alley. Hope it's good!

 

[Lafiel]

Ah, the good ol Funi 'simulcast.' Honestly, after all the impressions here, I'll just wait till they get it out. In White Fox, I trusted.

Why the hell would you trust in White fox? you should be hoping that the source material is good enough to make up for White fox themselves.:lol

 

[wonzo]

MACAROONS

 

[Noirulus]

Dusk Maiden x Amnesia - 01

So the anime seems to have taken a completely different direction introducing the characters and the back story of Yuuko. I was expecting a more serious adaptation, but while the comedy isn't bad, you only get a general impression of what the characters are like. We'll probably get a real introduction in episode 2, though.

The hair animation at the end was beautiful. It made up for the blatant regurgitation of assets in the episode, lol.

 

[wonzo]

Ikoku Meiro no Croisee Picture Drama 5-6 END

if only Kagari thought of something as insidious as that...

 

[BluWacky]

I don't think there was ever much of a reaction in Japan. I think it continues to be a pretty obscure series over there.

This isn't really true, it's just not the "essential" gateway anime it is in the West.

When it aired Cowboy Bebop was a big hit among fans - it won the Animage Grand Prix in 1999. Spike constantly ranked in "best character" polls across Animage and Newtype until the early part of the 00s at least (and indeed came 16th in Newtype's "best male characters of the 90s" poll in 2010), and Faye didn't do too badly either (this was at the height of Megumi Hayashibara's popularity).

 

[Ultimadrago]

Like playing Russian Roulette with a full chamber.

Even old villain Hix knows the boundaries. Envelope just has no mental inhibition!

Wow. I wonder if this will win for worst CG of the season.

Last seasons contender was good as well.

http://i.imgur.com/T3tYx.gif

Dat walk.

 

[sonicmj1]

Revolutionary Girl Nanami 6

What a stupid episode. This is what filler looks like.

How do you make coloring mistakes this simple?

I don't really want to talk about it. I don't need this much Nanami in anything ever.

Maybe this was extra depressing because I switched over to the English dub out of curiosity a few times. It's pretty awful.

 

[Ultimadrago]

TTGL opening started ok.... than sold me on the show by the end.

That's how premieres should work right?

Too bad, the show found a way to "unsold" me later on.

But yes, the first episode accomplished its mission pretty well.

TTGL started off like some kind of lame shounen complete with bro-ness, annoying big brother and big boobed magical girlfriend that drops from thin air. I don't blame people for getting turned off.

I don't blame those that got turned off by the entire

Spoiler

timeskip

part of the show (See:myself).

[Spice and Wolf]

Well, it's not like you'll be able to experience the story any other way.

lawl!

 

[wonzo]

Unofficial Sentai Akibaranger 1

un-anime of the season

 

[jman2050]

etc etc ... ...

I mean look at what the author of Toradora is writing now. They're writing about relationships in law school for god sakes. Do you think the writer of Ano Natsu would be capable of writing something that complicated?

I think many of your criticisms of Ano Natsu are spot on, but I don't think it's entirely fair to do a straight 1:1 comparison to Toradora in several respects. They're both pretty similar in many ways but in the end they each go about their genre differently.

 

[Jex]

Quite frankly I have issues with Bebop. I think there were too many filler episodes and much preferred ones that focused on the main characters and especially the ones that centered on Spike and Vicious.

The incorrect use of the word 'filler' has really gotten out of control recently!

I don't understand how an episodically-structured show can have "filler episodes".

Magic.

 

[RurouniZel]

Steins;Gate first episode was pretty boring. Maybe TTGL first ep level of boring.

The first episode of Steins;Gate isn't so much boring as it is incomprehensibly edited and tone-deaf.

The difference between the first episode of Steins;Gate vs. Fate/Zero is that Steins;Gate had some characters I liked, namely Okabe who fucking carried that show for the first eight episodes or so. I liked Kurisu, Mayuri and Daru as well, but Okabe in particular made watching some of the slower pacing completely worth it for me. I didn't have a character like that in Fate/Zero. At least, not one who had much screen time anyway. :-/

 

[Jex]

Seemed cliche with the whole 'boy finding magical item in the middle of nowhere' + Kamina was pretty annoying the first time around. I think I picked up and dropped TTGL 3 times before finally getting through it.

Thankfully, everything goes epic after that and Kamina is awesome, etc

I love TTGL but that first episode gives a pretty bad impression.

Well, I don't know about that. The art style, camera work and animation in the first episode is excellent. In particular, the way cinematography portrays the invading evading enemy robot manages to convey an excellent sense of scale quite missing from the far more 'epic' battles towards the end of the series.

We must all accept F/Z 1 into our hearts.

That's just never going to happen.

 

[Ultimadrago]

Hidamari Sketch 3

Principal here sounds just like the one from Nichijou. Makes me laugh thinking about him.

This teacher is hip.

The cat scratches for eyes thing bothered me at first, but I find it growing on me.

Anyways, relaxing watch, perfect to watch when you've woken yourself up and don't care to return to sleep.


Also Yunocchi > Madoka Kaname. /widefaec(likability)powerlevels

And Miya is the bestestest of course. I guess I have a thing for the laid back, "Hakuna Matata" types.

Steins;Gate had a very washed out, unappealing, drab look without any good direction to help it out. I remember plenty of poorly drawn characters at times too....

Having just finished Steins;Gate, I can say you're right about this one.

 

[wonzo]

Kid Icarus Palutena's Revolting Dinner Part 1

that palutena shaft headtilt sure was worth the wait!

 

[Envelope]

Hidamari Sketch 3

Principal here sounds just like the one from Nichijou. Makes me laugh thinking about him.



The cat scratches for eyes thing bothered me at first, but I find it growing on me.

Anyways, relaxing watch, perfect to watch when you've woken yourself up and don't care to return to sleep.


Also Yunocchi > Madoka Kaname. /widefaec(likability)powerlevels



Having just finished Steins;Gate, I can say you're right about this one.

Since when am I ever wrong?

 

[sonicmj1]

Since when am I ever wrong?

 

[Envelope]

 

[Ultimadrago]

Since when am I ever wrong?

Let's not push this, friend! ;D