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Spring Anime 2013 |OT -7| My Giant CG Pony Can't Possibly Read This Much Baudelaire

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Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon] 041
hIdlpzKl.jpg
ACESIiGl.jpg
This episode was so anti-:sdburton. I really liked Ami's character in this one, though. She needed a bit of a push, but she still was a lot more proactive than usual. She can kick some serious butt when she's arsed to!

I also really like
Endymion
as a villain, and not just because he finally brought some fisticuffs into Stock Footage Killer Move: The Animation.
He's a much better antagonist than Kunzite, and although his plans are not any more effective at least the stakes feel more personal with him. Poor Usagi, she almost had him in this episode.
:(
lol Usagi telling shounen to sod off
Minako episode next! Finally!
 

Jex

Member
[Aku No Hana] - 2

akunohana2_zpse64f8129.png:original


You know what, this actually looked a bit better than last weeks episode. In parts. At other time's it looked as rough as it did before. It's pretty safe to say that if you can't put up with it then bail out now because it's not going to change anytime soon.

On the other hand, if it doesn't phase you then there's much hear to like. The overall direction and pacing is still very effective at creating an unpleasant and shameful mood. I really like the use of long takes in this series because they really enhance the mood of individual scenes. Without a cut the audience doesn't get any relief from the build up of unpleasant feelings that pervades a scene and the longer they hold without cutting the worse it gets. Of course, if you hold it too long then it just becomes a drawn out, boring scene but they've found the right balance here.

I didn't really talk about the audio direction last week but I should have done because it's very important. They use a technique which is more common in horror movies where a constant, low level noise is played in a number of sequences. It's a weird, off putting noise without any particular rhythm or structure and that really keeps the audience off-balance which is important because if you lose the mood of the show then you've lost everything. Occasionally more traditional music is played but it's really an occasional thing compared to the eerie noises that are used throughout last week and this week.

Oh, I suppose I could comment on the story as well. The writing is surprisingly naturalistic, the way Kasuga looks down on people who haven't read his fancy books and who he assumes wouldn't understand is extremely true to life. The way he immediately shifts blame and dissociates himself from his own actions is extremely believable as well. Most of the episode focused on his inner turmoil which would have been interminable if this had the same quality of writing as a normal anime series. Nakamura is certainly shaping up to be a delightful character.

I still prefer the first episode in terms of the quality of the direction but I imagine this will be far more digestible for the rest of you peasants.
 

Jex

Member
Oh come on he doing the storyboard.. and no way he not involved in art direction.

Well yes, I'm sure Tomino played some part in making his own film. I'm just suggesting that stuff like really beautiful mechanical animation and excellent action choreography and cinematography are not Toimno's strong point. That's the result of other, more talented people working on the production.

I've seen what Tomino does on his own and it's not pretty. He can't even edit a normal conversation.
 

Regulus Tera

Romanes Eunt Domus
[Aku No Hana] - 2

I still prefer the first episode in terms of the quality of the direction but I imagine this will be far more digestible for the rest of you peasants.
You are starting to sound like an egocentric middle-school brat who just discovered nihilism.
 
Okay so in my wait of waiting for the first episode of Railgun S to be subbed I've decided to hit up the Steins;Gate in a 2-day marathon just like Sword Art Online.

Steins;Gate

I really can't explain how engrossing/entertaining this show was for me.

The show tackles the common sci-fi theme of time travel in its own original way. I understand that it was adapted from a VN of the same name. So many twists/turns within the plot that I didn't expect and the balance between serious and comedy was seamless for me.

Character interaction overall wasn't anything special except that of Okabe and Kurisu (though that's to be expected) however the characterization of each character was enjoyable especially during the second half of the show.

The only major critique I have for the show was its slow start but was soon evaporated around 4-5 episodes in. I still recall the awesome ending song transition in episode 9.

Steins;Gate is definitely up there in my top 5, a 9.1/10
 
Love Live 4

iK1ZWOFSxYxS3.jpg

Imouto pls

New members, sugoi! Except with a horrible thing in exchange:
Hanayo losing her glasses FOR THE MOST AWFUL CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF ALL TIME

DROPPED
DOUBLE DROPPED
LOVE DROPPED
DROPPED LIVE
USAGI DROPPED
 

Jex

Member
After watching all of Martian Successor Nadesico in a relatively short period of time I started to think about anime consumption habits. If I had had watched Nadesico under 'normal circumstances', as in airing weekly, I would probably have dropped it without much hesitation. Yes, there's something about having access to an entire series at once that makes it that much easier to get off my disappointments with a particular episode and more onto the next one.

Of course, if I'm watch a really bad show I'm going to drop it regardless of whether or not I have the option to marathon it, but perhaps the very act of marathoning makes it easier to watch a show that would otherwise put me off. It's been so long since I truly marathoned a show that it hard to say but if that's true then watching a show week by week puts each episode under far more scrutiny than normal because that's literally all you have for a whole week so of course you're going to be more critical about it.
 
After watching all of Martian Successor Nadesico in a relatively short period of time I started to think about anime consumption habits. If I had had watched Nadesico under 'normal circumstances', as in airing weekly, I would probably have dropped it without much hesitation. Yes, there's something about having access to an entire series at once that makes it that much easier to get off my disappointments with a particular episode and more onto the next one.

Of course, if I'm watch a really bad show I'm going to drop it regardless of whether or not I have the option to marathon it, but perhaps the very act of marathoning makes it easier to watch a show that would otherwise put me off. It's been so long since I truly marathoned a show that it hard to say but if that's true then watching a show week by week puts each episode under far more scrutiny than normal because that's literally all you have for a whole week so of course you're going to be more critical about it.

I think I've definitely enjoyed a lot more shows that I've marathoned than ones I've watched say one or two episodes a day, though my marathoning is more often than not caused by my internet being out than from interest. It's definitely those shows that I've marathoned with plenty of distractions at hand that I end up really loving.
 

Shergal

Member
I just can't marathon some shows. For example, recently I watched Usagi Drop and I kept it steady at one episode per day, but never more than that. It's not that the series is bad (in fact, it's very good), but it is simply not the type of show that hooks you and makes you want to see the next episode ASAP. Most shows of this slice of life type, and comedies, are like that for me.
 

Jex

Member
I just can't marathon some shows. For example, recently I watched Usagi Drop and I kept it steady at one episode per day, but never more than that. It's not that the series is bad (in fact, it's very good), but it is simply not the type of show that hooks you and makes you want to see the next episode ASAP. Most shows of this slice of life type, and comedies, are like that for me.

Well certainly, some genres don't really lend themselves to that kind of consumption. On the other hand it's my preferred way to get through action shows and robot shows.
 

wonzo

Banned
Chihayafuru S2 14

chihayas214.jpg


The single biggest problem with this show is the internal monologues and how they're used. It's alright if it's just a brief line or two getting into the technical nitty gritty of the game but when it's used over-and-over again to state the incredibly obvious, it just strips away any sense of tension and slows the pacing down to an utterly painful crawl. Hell, even
Desktomu's moment of truth
just felt so empty, void of any sense of climax to it.

tl;dr SHOW, DONT TELL MOTHERFUCKER
 

JordanN

Banned
PhotoKano 1
A show about DSLR, and it's actually enjoyable. Although, this may be my own bias for learning how to use one.

Show looks rather good visually and I already like alot of the characters. Will continue to watch.
 

mAcOdIn

Member
maou-sama 2

So good. Emilia <3

Fun relationship, and its great that it isn't just a simple SoL show.
You know, I like Emilia but I kinda don't. The Emilia you see in the otherworld was crazy. I know you don't really see anything but her in her armor but through backstory you're told she led an army and liberated the islands and led a direct assault on Satan's castle and fuck, even when they're sitting there talking lunges at Satan with her sword and now she's some kind of jittery tsundere that sorta half-assed attacks him but otherwise is a shell of her former self.

Unless they make some kind of backstory blurring the lines between the humans and demons back in the other world, or muddying Emilia's role as some kind of Heroic crusader I'm going to be disappointed with what they've done to her character.
 
Mushibugyo 1

Love how they added bug into the title lol.

But yeah looks like a normal battle anime with all the normal cast you can expect for one.

The tone is always shifting from dark and light so it gets kinda annoying but its only the 1st episode.

2nd episode looks to be a lot of fun.
 

Dresden

Member
Unless they make some kind of backstory blurring the lines between the humans and demons back in the other world, or muddying Emilia's role as some kind of Heroic crusader I'm going to be disappointed with what they've done to her character.

I think it's been made clear with what we've seen of Sadao that their depiction in the fantasy land was a bit off.
 

sonicmj1

Member
You know, I like Emilia but I kinda don't. The Emilia you see in the otherworld was crazy. I know you don't really see anything but her in her armor but through backstory you're told she led an army and liberated the islands and led a direct assault on Satan's castle and fuck, even when they're sitting there talking lunges at Satan with her sword and now she's some kind of jittery tsundere that sorta half-assed attacks him but otherwise is a shell of her former self.

Unless they make some kind of backstory blurring the lines between the humans and demons back in the other world, or muddying Emilia's role as some kind of Heroic crusader I'm going to be disappointed with what they've done to her character.

Well, to be fair, everyone here is a shell of their former selves. Maou ruled pratically the entire world in the fantasy land, and nearly everyone feared his power. Here, he's a model service employee hunting for sales in his spare time. His assistant, a powerful mage, is now just a cook, doing a little research on the side that doesn't really accomplish much.

Emilia seems to have secured herself a nicer apartment and a better job than Maou, so she's doing better than the competition in that respect.
 

mAcOdIn

Member
I think it's been made clear with what we've seen of Sadao that their depiction in the fantasy land was a bit off.
True.
Well, to be fair, everyone here is a shell of their former selves. Maou ruled pratically the entire world in the fantasy land, and nearly everyone feared his power. Here, he's a model service employee hunting for sales in his spare time. His assistant, a powerful mage, is now just a cook, doing a little research on the side that doesn't really accomplish much.

Emilia seems to have secured herself a nicer apartment and a better job than Maou, so she's doing better than the competition in that respect.
Well, yeah, everyone's off but Sadao acted more out of self preservation in the other world than Emilia ever did so in a way him moving to fit in with humanity makes more sense.

Plus, I don't care about what they do to the guys.
 

Videoneon

Member
You know, I like Emilia but I kinda don't. The Emilia you see in the otherworld was crazy. I know you don't really see anything but her in her armor but through backstory you're told she led an army and liberated the islands and led a direct assault on Satan's castle and fuck, even when they're sitting there talking lunges at Satan with her sword and now she's some kind of jittery tsundere that sorta half-assed attacks him but otherwise is a shell of her former self.

Unless they make some kind of backstory blurring the lines between the humans and demons back in the other world, or muddying Emilia's role as some kind of Heroic crusader I'm going to be disappointed with what they've done to her character.

Ashiya (or was it maou-sama) sort of touches on this idea at the end of the episode where she has no one else from her home world. It's supposed to be a pretty profound isolation...I mean, as far as we can tell. Then again you wouldn't expect that isolation to cause her to do stuff like whimpering at their house, and you would expect more from a great holy warrior. You could half-explain it by her being obsessively fixated on eliminating Satan and wanting to return to Ente Isla (and this is also what will give the shippers romansu fuel)

If this is the angle they're aiming for I think it's really jarring and a letdown that she sort of wilts without her comrades, but as far as I can tell this is a comedic anime anyway and Maou-sama and Emilia will have UST. I'll give it some time; I sort of know they're going to fall in love or whatever, but hopefully she regains more of her warrior princess pompousness.

See, as funny as this show is at times one of the weirdest things for me was the first half of the first episode, because it makes a ton of shit pass by quickly: Satan and Ashiya getting a house, a bank account, jobs, all that shit must have taken a month or something, but the anime breezes through it. And the other thing is it almost looks like Satan fits in to Japanese society. We have no reason to assume Satan was so laidback or has sympathetic moments in the past. But in Japan he's changed, though it's under the guise of not blowing his cover so he can rule the world or whatever. The weirdass speeches seem more out of character than his adolescent persona.

Emilia seems to have secured herself a nicer apartment and a better job than Maou, so she's doing better than the competition in that respect.

Even she doesn't feel that way =P

I think it's been made clear with what we've seen of Sadao that their depiction in the fantasy land was a bit off.

....

Damn. Did I really miss this? What makes you say that?
 

Jintor

Member
Take people out of a context they're presented in and they'll change. It's nothing terribly profound. Especially when the escape clause of 'magic' gets brought into it.

What I find more interesting is how they'll treat Maou-sama. See if he gets escape clause'd out of shit. The four minute scene from the first episode makes it pretty clear that his army certainly killed people in the other world, and he is most likely ultimately responsible, so we'll see if his past as a demon overlord who presumably has killed a bunch of people just gets swept under the rug or not.

Even she doesn't feel that way =P

I really do think her being alone instead of being with another person to share the bizarreness with would have had a major psychological impact. We don't even know if she had hypnotic powers to shortcut her way to getting a house, ID and bank account, and learning the language like Maou-sama did.
 

mAcOdIn

Member
Ashiya (or was it maou-sama) sort of touches on this idea at the end of the episode where she has no one else from her home world. It's supposed to be a pretty profound isolation...I mean, as far as we can tell. Then again you wouldn't expect that isolation to cause her to do stuff like whimpering at their house, and you would expect more from a great holy warrior. You could half-explain it by her being obsessively fixated on eliminating Satan and wanting to return to Ente Isla (and this is also what will give the shippers romansu fuel)

If this is the angle they're aiming for I think it's really jarring and a letdown that she sort of wilts without her comrades, but as far as I can tell this is a comedic anime anyway and Maou-sama and Emilia will have UST. I'll give it some time; I sort of know they're going to fall in love or whatever, but hopefully she regains more of her warrior princess pompousness.

See, as funny as this show is at times one of the weirdest things for me was the first half of the first episode, because it makes a ton of shit pass by quickly: Satan and Ashiya getting a house, a bank account, jobs, all that shit must have taken a month or something, but the anime breezes through it. And the other thing is it almost looks like Satan fits in to Japanese society. We have no reason to assume Satan was so laidback or has sympathetic moments in the past. But in Japan he's changed, though it's under the guise of not blowing his cover so he can rule the world or whatever. The weirdass speeches seem more out of character than his adolescent persona.
Right, crying outside his door like a lost puppy, afraid to walk home when in her fantasy world they probably didn't even have trains and probably walked around all the fucking time, they've totally nerfed her!

And like Dresden said, I think they got the fantasy stuff off somewhat. I mean, first episode had demons killing humans, his generals were sorcerers and they even had some skeleton necromancer dude raising the dead.

I guess they could kinda pull it off with Satan if they come up with some crazy story about how over there Demons are persecuted and that this war of human subjugation was really a benevolent act to provide a safe and peaceful environment for the misunderstood and persecuted demons to live. But, for Emilia, I think they've just goofed as they broke her resolve down way too fast for them to tie it into any kind of character development.

I still like the show, it's amusing, but I would like it if it were different.
 

Jintor

Member
Man I don't think that's true at all. It's like being a foreigner alone in a foreign land but not even knowing that anybody else you could possibly communicate with and who would know about your world and even be able to speak to you, let alone treat you as though you were sane, existed. So somehow she gritted her teeth and learned Japanese, somehow got a relatively alright job, managed to get an apartment somehow - we still don't know if she shortcutted any of that or not - and then suddenly she sees people who know what she's going through, who maybe could get her back to her world, with the people she cares about, a land that's familiar to her - but it's the worst possible people she could meet. And then she's prepare to fight them, but they have zero interest in it whatsoever - in fact, she's pretty much no threat to them at all! You know how powerless you would feel there? Back home, she was, well, the hero of the land. Here she's fallen as low as these jerkbags, and they're the only ones who even have an inkling of what she's going through.

And she wasn't afraid to walk home - she didn't want to sleep in the streets. She lost her wallet and couldn't take the train home.
 

Steroyd

Member
I had to make this my avatar because it's single handedly the cutest way Ume-sensei has drawn Yuno.

It's almost sad since I've had Strike Witches avatars for various sites years for two whole years.

Sweet mother of earth, you're killing me everytime you post.

I'll probably regret asking, but what kind of improvements/changes would you make to Sailor Moon?

I've already been with this with him over Magica Madoka, and I've translated.

Dull character design = Female
Compelling character design = Male.
 

Seraphis Cain

bad gameplay lol
K-On! S1 (everything but the OVA)

Well, I certainly burned through all that quickly. And still have a second season that's over twice as long and a movie to go! Great, great show. I can see why it's made such an impact. And I'm sure S2 only gets better.

And let's see...I suppose I have to do this, so...

Ritsu > Yui > Azunyan > Mio > Mugi

Although this doesn't mean much, since I like all the characters just about equally. It's not like iM@S where I wished Miki wasn't in the show at all. :lol

And also, I'm kinda starting to feel like I'm OD'ing on anime again, so...time to add something a bit different to the rotation while I carry on with K-On!:

 
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun S 1
Good episode was good. Captured why I liked the first season in the first place. Nice throw back to S1E1 Railgun also. Can't wait for the next episode! ^-^
 

Quasar

Member
So here's a lengthy interview about that new international Daisuki streaming service that's going to be starting up at the end of the month.

Curious see see what it gets content wise give its owners and the fact that its a free service (though I guess that means loaded with ads). You'd think it would be all second run and classic stuff whilst the new stuff stays over on the other services that generate revenue from watchers. A bit like what is over on Crackle.

Glad you posted this though, I had no idea this was even a thing. Wonder if the video stream will be using flash or just a html5 thing. Hopefully the latter, as that would make it a little easier to get to a TV whilst apps get worked on.
 

cajunator

Banned
But the Karuta parts are the best part of the show!

Though maybe I'm crazy. I got so hooked on the game that I'm learning it in real life.

I love the idea of Karuta. If I had more than a laughably inferior grasp of the langauage I'd try to pick up the game without hesitation.

photo kano 2

show is too lewd... but I do like the cahracter art. Will keep watch for now.

A show is too lewd for chickdigger? whaat?

Is it time?

Miku_titan_zps5bc94d7d.jpg


No, I did not make this, found on pixiv

This reminds me of Stay Puft Marshmallow man in Ghostbusters.

I fucking hate Kuroko.

SHe just wants to protect the garden. I hate Misaka.

So here's a lengthy interview about that new international Daisuki streaming service that's going to be starting up at the end of the month.

A few of the key info points:




More in the full article.

This is great that more services are streaming anime but wqhat does it mean for physical media? I hope that doesnt go away :(

I actually like the animation of Aku no Hana. Its the art that bugs me or specifically the characters' expressions. They just look off.

Same here. the art is meh but the animation itself is what I appreciate.


Well that is hilarious!

Okay so in my wait of waiting for the first episode of Railgun S to be subbed I've decided to hit up the Steins;Gate in a 2-day marathon just like Sword Art Online.

Steins;Gate

I really can't explain how engrossing/entertaining this show was for me.

The show tackles the common sci-fi theme of time travel in its own original way. I understand that it was adapted from a VN of the same name. So many twists/turns within the plot that I didn't expect and the balance between serious and comedy was seamless for me.

Character interaction overall wasn't anything special except that of Okabe and Kurisu (though that's to be expected) however the characterization of each character was enjoyable especially during the second half of the show.

The only major critique I have for the show was its slow start but was soon evaporated around 4-5 episodes in. I still recall the awesome ending song transition in episode 9.

Steins;Gate is definitely up there in my top 5, a 9.1/10

I give it a perfect ten after two viewings. Its such a fun ride from beginning to end and Okabe/Kurisu chemistry is worth the entire trip. This show just makes me happy.

K-On! S1 (everything but the OVA)

Well, I certainly burned through all that quickly. And still have a second season that's over twice as long and a movie to go! Great, great show. I can see why it's made such an impact. And I'm sure S2 only gets better.

And let's see...I suppose I have to do this, so...

Ritsu > Yui > Azunyan > Mio > Mugi

Although this doesn't mean much, since I like all the characters just about equally. It's not like iM@S where I wished Miki wasn't in the show at all. :lol

And also, I'm kinda starting to feel like I'm OD'ing on anime again, so...time to add something a bit different to the rotation while I carry on with K-On!:

Hmmm. Azu too high, Mio WAY too low. Ritsu is in the right place <3
 
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