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[MetroidPrimeRib]

Dragon Ball Super 37

D-does this mean I can't call it Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan anymore?

If you know of something else like Concrete Revolutio, please let me know because I'd like to see it!

I don't even find Concrete a challenge to figure out, so I'm not sure where are the complaints about it being convoluted are coming from. Sure, it's not told in a chronological ordering, and I can see how that would be disconcerting, but the storytelling has a thematic logic to its flow that makes it easy enough to see where it's going. Baccano is more convoluted.

Well, I kind of rambled on and just listed what my favorites are but I think this is good for someone not that familiar with comic books,

Well, there's Alan Moore of course, the crazy bastard. Watchmen is the gold standard for what ConRevo is doing. Or Miracleman but good luck finding that legally. Then there is Frank Miller who is also kind of a crazy bastard, but he's right up there along with Moore as a defining character. Although I think they hate each other now. These are like the most base recommendations possible but they are the defining writers for this kind of deconstructionist style and Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (especially TDKR. I am so sick of TDKR) are still being drawn from today. If you like the Cold War/Historical aspect of ConRevo then definitely do Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns while also looking at other works of Moore and Miller, and maybe Neil Gaiman as well. If you really want to get into it in the meta sense, look into how comics have been used as propaganda from their inception in World War II and what the Comic Codes Authority did during the Cold War.

I also like American Flagg, what I've read of Citizen Jack is quite good but that is more satire. Superman has the best repertoire for this kind of deep dive into the nature of what it means to be a hero and what heroism means for the common man when he's not being handled by a hack fraud like Zac Snyder because of the nature of the character himself. So check out Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? (by Moore) All-Star Superman of course, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel is probably my favorite Lex, Must There Be a Superman?, For All Seasons and What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? But if you must read one, read All-Star Superman. I cannot say enough good things about it. It fully deserves its reputation as the best Superman story. Most of these ask kind of the same question about Superman and the nature of heroes in general but thats the most interesting part of Superman. Of course on the flip-side for vigilantism there are plenty of good Batman stories like Year One, Year 100, The Man Who Laughs, Gotham by Gaslight, Really most of the Elseworlds stories for DC, a kind of What If? collection of stories that aren't bound by shitty canon and given much more room to breathe are some of the best stuff you can get. For someone like me a lot of this stuff has been drawn from so many times that it is no longer all that interesting but for someone new it should be a great collection of works.

I'm trying to keep to more cape/more traditional comic focused stuff because there's other things like Persepolis and these aren't exactly obscure, but in my mind they are a great jumping off point.

 

[astrogamer]

Kumamiko 1
The first half was alright though it required some familiarity with Japan for the quiz. The second half generates some complex feelings but the little girl shouting sexual harassment in english was pretty funny. And the ED is pretty good with funny lyrics

 

[Narag]

That's a fine list.

 

[sonicmj1]

Dragon Ball Super 37

Well, I kind of rambled on and just listed what my favorites are but I think this is good for someone not that familiar with comic books,

Well, there's Alan Moore of course, the crazy bastard. Watchmen is the gold standard for what ConRevo is doing. Or Miracleman but good luck finding that legally. Then there is Frank Miller who is also kind of a crazy bastard, but he's right up there along with Moore as a defining character. Although I think they hate each other now. These are like the most base recommendations possible but they are the defining writers for this kind of deconstructionist style and Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns (especially TDKR. I am so sick of TDKR) are still being drawn from today. If you like the Cold War/Historical aspect of ConRevo then definitely do Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns while also looking at other works of Moore and Miller, and maybe Neil Gaiman as well. If you really want to get into it in the meta sense, look into how comics have been used as propaganda from their inception in World War II and what the Comic Codes Authority did during the Cold War.

I also like American Flagg, what I've read of Citizen Jack is quite good but that is more satire. Superman has the best repertoire for this kind of deep dive into the nature of what it means to be a hero and what heroism means for the common man when he's not being handled by a hack fraud like Zac Snyder because of the nature of the character himself. So check out Whatever Happened To The Man Of Tomorrow? (by Moore) All-Star Superman of course, Lex Luthor: Man of Steel is probably my favorite Lex, Must There Be a Superman?, For All Seasons and What’s So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way? But if you must read one, read All-Star Superman. I cannot say enough good things about it. It fully deserves its reputation as the best Superman story. Most of these ask kind of the same question about Superman and the nature of heroes in general but thats the most interesting part of Superman. Of course on the flip-side for vigilantism there are plenty of good Batman stories like Year One, Year 100, The Man Who Laughs, Gotham by Gaslight, Really most of the Elseworlds stories for DC, a kind of What If? collection of stories that aren't bound by shitty canon and given much more room to breathe are some of the best stuff you can get. For someone like me a lot of this stuff has been drawn from so many times that it is no longer all that interesting but for someone new it should be a great collection of works.

I'm trying to keep to more cape/more traditional comic focused stuff because there's other things like Persepolis and these aren't exactly obscure, but in my mind they are a great jumping off point.

I wouldn't pretend that Concrete Revolutio is entirely original, but I find it refreshing for tackling its themes in a specifically Japanese context. That's not a perspective you're going to get in Western comic books. It's very deeply connected to the era it depicts, and it's a period that anime pretty much never explores.

 

[Narag]

huh the conrevo special had a bit of new footage in it.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

I wouldn't pretend that Concrete Revolutio is entirely original, but I find it refreshing for tackling its themes in a specifically Japanese context. That's not a perspective you're going to get in Western comic books. It's very deeply connected to the era it depicts, and it's a period that anime pretty much never explores.

Yeah that's true. ConRevo totally feels like something tailor made for me but I just haven't gotten into it, even trying multiple times and you are right about the Japanese context which is something you don't get. I think I'm done for now until its actually over when I may try one more time.

I find reading about the show more interesting then watching it.

 

[OniBarubary]

Re:Zero - 01

Interesting. I thought they'd use the double length episode to get the first arc out of the way, but they're taking the long way.
Definitely benefitted from its length, tough.
Subaru is a pretty fun protagonist, he reminds me a bit of Kazuma, but without the condescending attitude. He's easy-going, casual and has no problem saying whatever is on his mind and approaching others.
His chemistry with 'Satella' is also showing through already. The banter between those two is a lot of fun.

They also didn't shy away from the violence. There's a lot of blood and no censoring. Some neat action scenes and pretty shots, but all around it's nothing mindblowing on the visual side.

Mmmm. These impressions give me hope. I will say I was hoping the hour long 1st episode would mean it got the 1st arc outta the way but as long as it's not like...4 more episodes it should be alright.

 

[pbayne]

Hopefully the motorcycle show is good.

There is an OVA for it already floating around. It's...eh hard to judge from the OVA though what the show will be like since it just plows on and never sets anything up.

Edit: Though it did have a guy playing excitebike, which was great

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 3 13 END

You mother fuckers.

YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!!!!

 

[Narag]

is this a bad reaction or did they run a really long con to deliver with the last ep?

 

[Qurupeke]

huh the conrevo special had a bit of new footage in it.

Did Captain Mac Donald kill GAF?

 

[Ascheroth]

Mmmm. These impressions give me hope. I will say I was hoping the hour long 1st episode would mean it got the 1st arc outta the way but as long as it's not like...4 more episodes it should be alright.

Should be over in another 2 episodes at most.
As for your other concerns: the banter is still there and they also didn't shove needless ecchi in it.
But yeah, I also hoped they'd get it out of the way today..

 

[Narag]

Did Captain Mac Donald kill GAF?

No doubt just Japanese culture via commercialization in the 70s.

 

[Cornbread78]

Yamishibai: Japanese Ghost Stories 3 13 END

You mother fuckers.

YOU MOTHER FUCKERS!!!!

Milfs are great huh? Not sure if everyone here loves 'em though.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

is this a bad reaction or did they run a really long con to deliver with the last ep?

Both!

It would have been cool if the show wasn't terrible!

 

[Narag]

Both!

Well that's promising at least. :lol

Still love how the first cour was non-stop slow atmospheric horror so

Spoiler

that final jump scare really got one.

 

[Moonlight]

The Lost Village 1

I'll never look at a

Spoiler

basketball

the same way again. Fucking amazing, holy shit. It's so in love with its' own misery, and expresses it in the most self-indulgent and over-theatrical terms. As ridiculous as the unlucky hippopotamus song is, it feels like it sums up a lot of the space this show occupies - this inscrutable zone somewhere between pessimism and intentionally goofy melodrama (yet somehow executed with a complete lack for self-awareness) that makes for something supremely entertaining. It's all kind of refreshing.

It all comes to a boiling point by the second half and I just lost my shit completely. Good stuff. And the soundtrack is weirdly excellent.

My Hero Academia 1

Had to temper myself a bit going into this, knowing that not everything I like about MHA is going to happen in the span of twenty-two minutes. On the contrary, it's getting at things at a rate a bit slower than I expected, and just shy of where I began to see MHA move itself away from the pack. Probably a bad habit to get caught up on the rate that they're adapting, though, especially when there's really nothing especially glaring about how this episode was paced.

Still couldn't help but think a couple scenes could have stood to be cut down, or at least kind of demonstrated how different the pacing can feel when panels of a manga are more or less directly reinterpreted to animation as was more or less the case for the flashback.

Spoiler

Deku rewatching the video after being told he's Quirkless

stands out as something that feels like a half-minute too long, and a little too tinged with melodrama. Though the latter point is something you could hand to the source material as well.

But I think it gets the most important thing right, and that's that the show's admiration for superheroism, and its' enthusiasm to share that really shines through. It's easy to see what Midoriya finds so inspiring about heroes, and it gives everything about the show's energy (of which it has tons) a really infectious quality. While I think the flashback did ultimately drag a bit, kid Midoriya bouncing around over All Might struck a chord in me as just something so quintessentially what heroes are about. Not many series in my experience really capture how the idea can inspire people. It's something MHA just feels really good at.

Excited for what's to come, and what's here is executed with aplomb.

Interesting to see that Hayashi is composing for both this and Kiznaiver this season. Hope this is a sign to come that Sawano's out of fashion now. Could stand to trade up. :v

 

[Aki-at]

Kumamiko - 1

SEXUAL HARASSMENT!

First half was okay if a bit boring but humour and character expressions picked up in the second half. Decent first episode.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

I wouldn't pretend that Concrete Revolutio is entirely original, but I find it refreshing for tackling its themes in a specifically Japanese context. That's not a perspective you're going to get in Western comic books. It's very deeply connected to the era it depicts, and it's a period that anime pretty much never explores.

Yeah. Concrete Revolutio is explictly unoriginal in how it takes bits and pieces from a lot of Japanese political and social history during the 20th century as well as a multitude of its cultural products, but the way it mixes them together, its eclectic visuals, the linkage of pop culture with political and moral issues - those are things you don't see often, especially in a Japanese context.

I did read Watchmen years ago. That was good.

 

[veloxStrix]

ReZero seems fairly solid but my god, I cannot stand the main characters braindead state of being that he lives in. How did he not figure out what was going on before he got to the house? Like, for fuck's sake, I've seen some dense protagonist but this guy might actually have some sort of mental disorder keeping him back.

Aside from that, it has my interest.

 

[BluWacky]

Re:Zero and Endride 1 aka Boys in Parallel Worlds

Two boy-in-another-world shows already this season, and neither of them are harems. My cup truly runneth over.

Endride feels like a relic of the 90s. Partly this must be deliberate - its selling points are character designs by two mangaka who are best known for stories from that point, and a director mostly known for character designs from the same period. Partly it's thanks to its rather quaint storyline - a chipper hero obsessed with minerals (of all things!), an evil king, the immediate surprise of a big-ass sword appearing from your chest etc. etc. We're supposed to be along for the adventure almost immediately just from seeing two guys with big magic weapons fighting injustice, flat characterisation be damned The continued ghetto-isation of anime broadcast slots makes this feel very out of place nowadays - once upon a time this would have been 6pm on TV Tokyo stuff. Perhaps there's world-building in the show that will do the half-decent background art some justice along the way.

Re:Zero, by contrast, is much more a product of today, with its very self-aware lead and perma-blushing female characters (I can't quite imagine any situation in which ANY girl, when embarrassed, would crouch in the middle of a public bridge with their hands over their head, but what do I know?). Despite occasionally indulging in some tedious mild fanservice (yes, cut the top off your heroine's head while she's talking to leave her breasts in the centre of the screen, that makes perfect sense...), it does a much better job of putting the audience into its fantasy world. The streets are populated with (forgiveably CG) people and vehicles, and the character art is pleasantly distinctive; moreover, the director has an eye for attractive storyboarding (ANN suggests he's only directed one show before, some moeblob thing from last year; he's also ex-KyoAni which is more likely to explain his talent). The show benefits from a decent budget in its relatively high-quality animation and orchestral soundtrack; the script, while very wordy, actually makes its characters sound like real people (and the mostly non-screechy voice acting does too).

I don't know whether it's that I haven't watched much anime in the past few years, but Re:Zero actually seems pretty decent and I'll try and watch the next episode.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

About the heroes conversation I think I realized one of the reasons I like My Hero Academia is that it has a basic and genuine distinction of what a hero is. All Might is a fucking hero. Everything about his design, mannerisms and voice convey that kind of Golden Age hero view. The villains are also just villains. Like League of Evil shit. There's something very appealing to me of just going back to basics. It's part of the reason why I like Dragon's Dogma a lot - it is a generic-ass DND fantasy game but no one makes those anymore. I can appreciate the design of monsters in Souls games and the narrative in those games but I can also appreciate Dragon's Dogma having Evil Eyes, Cockatrice, Golem, Gryphons and Chimaera.

It's somewhat similar to One Punch Man but OPM is more of a parody and playing up the tropes and not really celebrating them.

In reality I'm just tired of the morally grey stuff despite just saying how much I love a lot of morally grey stuff but that stuff is from the late 80s/early 90s and is played out to me by now, and given Batman vs Superman's box office it seems I'm not the only one sick of TDKR.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Re:Zero and Endride 1 aka Boys in Parallel Worlds

Re:Zero, by contrast, is much more a product of today, with its very self-aware lead and perma-blushing female characters (I can't quite imagine any situation in which ANY girl, when embarrassed, would crouch in the middle of a public bridge with their hands over their head, but what do I know?). Despite occasionally indulging in some tedious mild fanservice (yes, cut the top off your heroine's head while she's talking to leave her breasts in the centre of the screen, that makes perfect sense...), it does a much better job of putting the audience into its fantasy world. The streets are populated with (forgiveably CG) people and vehicles, and the character art is pleasantly distinctive; moreover, the director has an eye for attractive storyboarding (ANN suggests he's only directed one show before, some moeblob thing from last year; he's also ex-KyoAni which is more likely to explain his talent).

Just a slight clarification here - he's using a different name for this and Wakaba Girl, but this is the animator most well known under the name Gorou Sessha, who was very active in the Naruto series for years.

 

[Exalted]

Re:Zero Episode 1

The first half wasn't really anything special, thought it was just an average fantasy show. But after the incident in the second part, and all that sudden gore and the twist that happened with the MC.

Spoiler

( fantasy Groundhog day)

I'm definitely interested to see more. Wish that the MC wasn't so slow, he should really already figure it out what is happening when he was before the apple stand the last time.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

About the heroes conversation I think I realized one of the reasons I like My Hero Academia is that it has a basic and genuine distinction of what a hero is. All Might is a fucking hero. Everything about his design, mannerisms and voice convey that kind of Golden Age hero view. The villains are also just villains. Like League of Evil shit. There's something very appealing to me of just going back to basics. It's part of the reason why I like Dragon's Dogma a lot - it is a generic-ass DND fantasy game but no one makes those anymore. I can appreciate the design of monsters in Souls games and the narrative in those games but I can also appreciate Dragon's Dogma having Evil Eyes, Cockatrice, Golem, Gryphons and Chimaera.

It's somewhat similar to One Punch Man but OPM is more of a parody and playing up the tropes and not really celebrating them.

In reality I'm just tired of the morally grey stuff despite just saying how much I love a lot of morally grey stuff but that stuff is from the late 80s/early 90s and is played out to me by now, and given Batman vs Superman's box office it seems I'm not the only one sick of TDKR.

Stuff like Synder's movies seem not so much grey as black and blacker, and that can get tiresome. Plus I think one of the functions of art and entertainment is to give people hope, and especially in today's world I think it's really important that there are works of art providing that hope and trying to elevate people rather than being post-post-ironic or whatever and encouraging people to be more cruel.

 

[kewlmyc]

The Lost Village 01

Interesting premise so far, with this first episode really only introducing you to the plot and character personalities and nothing else. MC seems unstable, which hopefully will lead to something promising. Can't wait to see what kind of mystery this is. Since it's a large cast, I'm assuming it's going to eventually turn into a murder mystery. The whole show so far had a very "Another" feel to it. Hopefully it doesn't turn into a flat out comedy like that show did.

 

[Jarmel]

Re:Zero-1

This was bad. The set-up for these shows are getting lazier after every incarnation. There's no background on either of the main characters and the protoganoist is just haphazardly thrown into the other world. It's so unbelievably lazy. That said, the show does give you a grasp on their personalities and some of their underlying issues but the world building on display is extremely lackluster. It's like Konosuba but without much of the charm.

The red eye effect was funny but goddamn, how old is his phone?

The animation is fairly subpar besides closeups and very particular parts of the fight at the end. There are tons of obvious CGI models walking around in the crowd that end up being distracting, the character animation is generally mediocre at best, and the art direction is woefully generic barring the slums at the end of episode 1. It's just not a good looking show. The character designs remind me of Range Murata's work weirdly enough but not as 'soft' as his stuff, Satella's design in particular.

You know she's a sexy assassin because she licks her lips.

My main lack of enjoyment with this episode orients around how goddamn dumb the lead is. The dumbass doesn't figure out what happens after literally two dead-ends. It should have been fairly obvious after the first cycle and even at the end of the second cycle, he catches on way too late. This might be an interesting premise but when you watch the protagonist fall into the same damn trap he already saw coming, you can't help but groan. I'm also not sure I'm a fan of the tone at the end as events came off as a bit comical with how dark it tried to be.

I'll probably keep watching for the time being as I like Puck and Satella. It was definitely the right call to air both 'episodes' at once as people would have dropped this cold after the first one.

 

[veloxStrix]

Re:Zero Episode 1

The first half wasn't really anything special, thought it was just an average fantasy show. But after the incident in the second part, and all that sudden gore and the twist that happened with the MC. I'm definitely interested to see more. Wish that the MC wasn't so slow, he should really already figure it out what is happening when he was before the apple stand the last time.

Not sure what to spoil or not so I'll just hide the whole thing. It must have been a decent episode because it has me angrily waiting for the next episode.

Spoiler

I think there was a lot of neat setups. Subaru has some degree of relationship between both Satella and Felt at this point, yet neither have any relationship to him. The history behind Satella is interesting since her name carries such a stigma that it causes streets to stop when it's yelled. The insignia, what it means, and why supporting them would be enough to be killed is something else. These first two parts did an excellent job of establishing the setting, something that some anime never even get around too sadly - looking at you Phantom World and your allegory bullshit.

I can't agree with you more about MC being slow. The apple stand was one thing, but ending up in the exact same alley with the exact same people trying to mug him should have done it. And if, somehow, by some horrific force of mental blockage, that didn't reveal what was going on, surely, surellyyy the house being completely repaired, everyone alive, no sign of a struggle, and the GOD DAMN FACT THAT FELT HADN'T EVEN GOTTEN THERE YET when he KNEW that she should have arrived already really killed me.

 

[Sölf]

Luluco 01
This show is already so much Trigger, I love it.

Kuma Miko 01
The first part was okay, got better in the second. SEXUAL HARASSMENT!!111

Mayoiga 01
I like it so far. Haven't seen Another, so no idea about that. But yeah, it's good so far.

 

[TheFlow]

Has Erased finished yet?

 

[Qurupeke]

Has Erased finished yet?

Yeah, it's been a while now.

 

[TheFlow]

Yeah, it's been a while now.

just looked it up. apparently two weeks. I don't think crunchyroll has updated it yet

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

just looked it up. apparently two weeks. I don't think crunchyroll has updated it yet

They did

 

[nintendoman58]

About the heroes conversation I think I realized one of the reasons I like My Hero Academia is that it has a basic and genuine distinction of what a hero is. All Might is a fucking hero. Everything about his design, mannerisms and voice convey that kind of Golden Age hero view. The villains are also just villains. Like League of Evil shit. There's something very appealing to me of just going back to basics. It's part of the reason why I like Dragon's Dogma a lot - it is a generic-ass DND fantasy game but no one makes those anymore. I can appreciate the design of monsters in Souls games and the narrative in those games but I can also appreciate Dragon's Dogma having Evil Eyes, Cockatrice, Golem, Gryphons and Chimaera.

It's somewhat similar to One Punch Man but OPM is more of a parody and playing up the tropes and not really celebrating them.

In reality I'm just tired of the morally grey stuff despite just saying how much I love a lot of morally grey stuff but that stuff is from the late 80s/early 90s and is played out to me by now, and given Batman vs Superman's box office it seems I'm not the only one sick of TDKR.

I feel the exact same way with the state of mecha today. I'd be super, super happy if we got a show like GaoGaiGar or Getter Robo in this day and age. A show guys in giant robots who beat giant monsters/other guys in giant robots that look super silly.

But ever since Evangelion came out and took the world by storm, that part of the mecha genre changed. Now, 95% of the time whenever a show like that comes up, it's usually some dark, downbeat, despair-ridden show where the fun is practically non-existent.

It's why I don't want to watch Fafner. Maybe its sequel Exodus is good, but I am really, really, not in the mood for the kind of show where characters die left and right and the mood is in a constant state of "everything's screwed". And when I am in a mood for that, I'll check out a mecha show made before Evangelion came out! (I.e. VOTOMS)

TL;DR give me stuff like Combattler V and less stuff like Fafner.

 

[UltraGunner]

Dimension W 4-5
Something about alternate reality ghosts I thing? Honestly I still have a hard time grasping the plot of these eps.

Dimension W 6
Why is it that the only black people in Africa are criminals tho? I did like how the dub got the African Wind guy voiced by Rashid of the Turbulent Wind.

 

[BluWacky]

Jarmel - re: the protagonist's phone in Re:Zero, clamshell/flip phones have long been a staple of the Japanese mobile phone market. As he's a self-proclaimed hikkikomori, he can't necessarily afford a smartphone - a quick check on Amazon, however, reveals that a new model flip-phone is only around 8,000 yen, so probably much more affordable.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

About the heroes conversation I think I realized one of the reasons I like My Hero Academia is that it has a basic and genuine distinction of what a hero is. All Might is a fucking hero. Everything about his design, mannerisms and voice convey that kind of Golden Age hero view. The villains are also just villains. Like League of Evil shit. There's something very appealing to me of just going back to basics. It's part of the reason why I like Dragon's Dogma a lot - it is a generic-ass DND fantasy game but no one makes those anymore. I can appreciate the design of monsters in Souls games and the narrative in those games but I can also appreciate Dragon's Dogma having Evil Eyes, Cockatrice, Golem, Gryphons and Chimaera.

It's somewhat similar to One Punch Man but OPM is more of a parody and playing up the tropes and not really celebrating them.

In reality I'm just tired of the morally grey stuff despite just saying how much I love a lot of morally grey stuff but that stuff is from the late 80s/early 90s and is played out to me by now, and given Batman vs Superman's box office it seems I'm not the only one sick of TDKR.

But the big bad in Dragon's Dogma

Spoiler

isn't fully evil he's more of a tragic villain

 

[Line_HTX]

"a human is fine too"

This is Narag in my football nightmares.

 

[Narag]

I feel the exact same way with the state of mecha today. I'd be super, super happy if we got a show like GaoGaiGar or Getter Robo in this day and age. A show guys in giant robots who beat giant monsters/other guys in giant robots that look super silly.

But ever since Evangelion came out and took the world by storm, that part of the mecha genre changed. Now, 95% of the time whenever a show like that comes up, it's usually some dark, downbeat, despair-ridden show where the fun is practically non-existent.

It's why I don't want to watch Fafner. Maybe its sequel Exodus is good, but I am really, really, not in the mood for the kind of show where characters die left and right and the mood is in a constant state of "everything's screwed". And when I am in a mood for that, I'll check out a mecha show made before Evangelion came out! (I.e. VOTOMS)

TL;DR give me stuff like Combattler V and less stuff like Fafner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I71tKoa-DiM

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Jarmel - re: the protagonist's phone in Re:Zero, clamshell/flip phones have long been a staple of the Japanese mobile phone market. As he's a self-proclaimed hikkikomori, he can't necessarily afford a smartphone - a quick check on Amazon, however, reveals that a new model flip-phone is only around 8,000 yen, so probably much more affordable.

Yeah. It took a while for smartphones to catch on in Japan because of Galapagos Phones, which were more advanced flip phones, called "Galapagos" because they evolved separately from the rest of the ecosystem. This happens a lot in Japan.

But the big bad in Dragon's Dogma

Spoiler

isn't fully evil he's more of a tragic villain

Yeah but he is also a big-ass dragon.

 

[Jarmel]

Jarmel - re: the protagonist's phone in Re:Zero, clamshell/flip phones have long been a staple of the Japanese mobile phone market. As he's a self-proclaimed hikkikomori, he can't necessarily afford a smartphone - a quick check on Amazon, however, reveals that a new model flip-phone is only around 8,000 yen, so probably much more affordable.

Maybe it was the UI that also made it look antiquated as dirt.

 

[Dedication Through Light]

Re:Zero and Endride 1 aka Boys in Parallel Worlds

Two boy-in-another-world shows already this season, and neither of them are harems. My cup truly runneth over.

Endride feels like a relic of the 90s. Partly this must be deliberate - its selling points are character designs by two mangaka who are best known for stories from that point, and a director mostly known for character designs from the same period. Partly it's thanks to its rather quaint storyline - a chipper hero obsessed with minerals (of all things!), an evil king, the immediate surprise of a big-ass sword appearing from your chest etc. etc. We're supposed to be along for the adventure almost immediately just from seeing two guys with big magic weapons fighting injustice, flat characterisation be damned The continued ghetto-isation of anime broadcast slots makes this feel very out of place nowadays - once upon a time this would have been 6pm on TV Tokyo stuff. Perhaps there's world-building in the show that will do the half-decent background art some justice along the way.

Re:Zero, by contrast, is much more a product of today, with its very self-aware lead and perma-blushing female characters (I can't quite imagine any situation in which ANY girl, when embarrassed, would crouch in the middle of a public bridge with their hands over their head, but what do I know?). Despite occasionally indulging in some tedious mild fanservice (yes, cut the top off your heroine's head while she's talking to leave her breasts in the centre of the screen, that makes perfect sense...), it does a much better job of putting the audience into its fantasy world. The streets are populated with (forgiveably CG) people and vehicles, and the character art is pleasantly distinctive; moreover, the director has an eye for attractive storyboarding (ANN suggests he's only directed one show before, some moeblob thing from last year; he's also ex-KyoAni which is more likely to explain his talent). The show benefits from a decent budget in its relatively high-quality animation and orchestral soundtrack; the script, while very wordy, actually makes its characters sound like real people (and the mostly non-screechy voice acting does too).

I don't know whether it's that I haven't watched much anime in the past few years, but Re:Zero actually seems pretty decent and I'll try and watch the next episode.

I think I like the world design that we've seen of Endride a bit more, the area they were in felt more fantastical, colorful, and majestic, while the world of Re:zero thus far doesnt feel that different from a few other shows like Log Horizon or Overlord.

I think I prefer Endride a bit more, Re:Zero though appeals to my LN normal human lead cool atractive male character in an trapped in another world scenario, so I like it too. Kind of wish they didnt skip over how he can understand the people when he talks but cant read, unless I missed it.

 

[nintendoman58]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I71tKoa-DiM

I keep forgetting this exists. Time to fix that.

EDIT: It apparently takes place fifty years after the original. Should I watch that first?

 

[pbayne]

Kuma Miko 1

First half was a bit rough. It had some charm but it was really unfunny.
Then oh lord the second half happened. Drop the bear and make the show about the park ranger, that guy is great. I laughed at how lewd it got, so out of left field. Dunno if ill continue it but eh it got my attention.

The little 2D rpg ED was nice. Won't even mind if a show really looked like that.

RE Zero 1

10 minutes and nah not for me.

 

[Narag]

I keep forgetting this exists. Time to fix that.

EDIT: It apparently takes place fifty years after the original. Should I watch that first?

It's a loose relation and not necesary.

 

[duckroll]

Yeah. It took a while for smartphones to catch on in Japan because of Galapagos Phones, which were more advanced flip phones, called "Galapagos" because they evolved separately from the rest of the ecosystem. This happens a lot in Japan.

I think the real reason is just that the iPhone wasn't invented in Japan and the best Android phones for sone time were Korean. Nationalism can be a real bitch.

 

[jgminto]

All this comic book talk, all I've ever read is Seconds and a few issues of Sandman.

 

[Narag]

All this comic book talk, all I've ever read is Seconds and a few issues of Sandman.

You should be reading all of Sandman.

 

[Jarmel]

You should be reading all of Sandman.

I'll just wait for the movie.

 

[Narag]

I'll just wait for the movie.

He'll be inserted into the Knightmare and Morpheus will be played by JGL.