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Spring Anime 2017 |OT| Don't be a SukaSuka for Gacha
- Thread starter TUSR
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PshycoNinja
Member
Soon. Soon I will have the Hyouka blu-ray in my hands!!!
(Part 1 at least...)
I see. Looking forward to it.
(Part 1 at least...)
I see. Looking forward to it.
*old man yelling at missile*
The finale was entertaining which at the end of the day does what it should. A lot of the storytelling issues leading up to the climax still obviously exist but unlike most episodes this was fun to watch. The show obviously wasn't interested in the characters as people so the least it could do is go crazy with the visuals and spectacle.
I pretty much agree. I don't care what the story is like, a film or show is about being entertaining first. If it fails as entertainment, it fails as media. Berserk proves that wholeheartedly.
Crimson_Echidna
Banned
Shokugeki no Soma Episode 16: So Erina has a crush on Soma's dad. That's interesting lol
mrpallyguy
Member
huh I'm surprised their adapting that quiz manga for summer season
Uchouten Kazoku/Eccentric Family S2 12
I can certainly understand some of the confusion or apprehension that exists around this finale. The climactic battle here is fairly underwhelming, and it's all that much more unimpressive when the ideas for the imagery hold a certain amount of power that just seems unrealized.
...all of these should really pack a stronger punch but they come up pretty short. There's not much help from the VO side either, but that should probably be expected at this point given the performances we've seen out of Benten and the Nidaime, it just becomes all that much more apparent when their final confrontation misses the mark.
Even in spite of those shortcomings I feel that the conclusion of things here manages to successfully unify its characters under centralized ideas involving heritage and the path that can put people down, and we get a wide range of characters approaching that concept from a different perspective who all feel very unique. Benten's desire to succeed Akadama even though she was forcefully set down that path, the Nidaime's rejection of the role he is supposed to adopt...both of these get nice epilogue sort of moments of the struggles these characters face as they circle the same role in completely different patterns. The end note here also really nails how the Shimogamo boys follow in the footsteps of their father, each in different ways based on how they saw their father. There is a certain order here that falls into place with Gyokuran and Kaisei that lets this feel like a story about the tanuki first and foremost even if much of this season involved the conflicts of the tengu.
I can certainly understand some of the confusion or apprehension that exists around this finale. The climactic battle here is fairly underwhelming, and it's all that much more unimpressive when the ideas for the imagery hold a certain amount of power that just seems unrealized.
Benten igniting, the Nidaime's house on fire, the resulting storm
Even in spite of those shortcomings I feel that the conclusion of things here manages to successfully unify its characters under centralized ideas involving heritage and the path that can put people down, and we get a wide range of characters approaching that concept from a different perspective who all feel very unique. Benten's desire to succeed Akadama even though she was forcefully set down that path, the Nidaime's rejection of the role he is supposed to adopt...both of these get nice epilogue sort of moments of the struggles these characters face as they circle the same role in completely different patterns. The end note here also really nails how the Shimogamo boys follow in the footsteps of their father, each in different ways based on how they saw their father. There is a certain order here that falls into place with Gyokuran and Kaisei that lets this feel like a story about the tanuki first and foremost even if much of this season involved the conflicts of the tengu.
Crimson_Echidna
Banned
Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R is even dimb approved.
LWA 25 END
This is a show that just makes you feel good watching it. Pure joy, from end to end.
10/10. The anime of the year. Praise Trigger.
Benighted creatures of cynicism and misery will, of course, be repulsed by it, in much the same way that a vampire cannot bear the presence of God.
This is a show that just makes you feel good watching it. Pure joy, from end to end.
10/10. The anime of the year. Praise Trigger.
Benighted creatures of cynicism and misery will, of course, be repulsed by it, in much the same way that a vampire cannot bear the presence of God.
Cornbread78
Member
Seven Deadly Sins ep.11-12
Well, that took a dramatically dark turn real quickly. These "Holy Knights" are pure assoles for sure.
Well, that took a dramatically dark turn real quickly. These "Holy Knights" are pure assoles for sure.
Cornbread78
Member
Genshiken ep.6
Ahahahaha, so this is where that famous quote is from, lol. Damn imouto's... This episode was actually hilarious compared to some of the others.
His and Her Circumstances-1
Decided to finally watch it this week. I'm way behind on more current shows but fuck that, I watch what I wanna. What amazed me the most about this episode is Gainax's dedication to the gag.
The Big Baller Brand of protagonists.
Most directors would have played up a gag like that by cutting to her immediately standing off the ground or just treated like a normal kick. Instead it freezes with her in that position then has her slowly float down defying gravity. It gives the scene more weight while also being comedic in its own right. I'm sort of rewatching FLCL and that treatment of gags is there as well such as when Haruko does a slowmo scene and then it cuts to all the characters in a trailer joking about the effort to act out said scene. They treat the gag as if it's a physical part of their world. Here's another example in the episode:
It's super meta and now that I think about it, that meta style of directing is almost completely gone nowadays. It's not unusual in most modern anime to have characters point out how they're not light novel protagonists or that this isn't an anime but those visual style of jokes has mostly died out. The other thing too is how fast the joke delivery is, I almost want to say that it's 4-koma like in nature. I don't even think Gintama does this visual style of comedy that much.
There's just so much dedication to the gag. Look at how the flowers physically stay in the scene until they're pulled a second later. Things that might seem to be pure artistic flourishes are instead treated as actual props. It's that extra effort that stands out to me as the show being exceptionally directed due to the creativity and playfulness involved. Besides those visual jokes, there's also a lot of emphasis on contrast which makes it fun to watch.
Besides the shift in character art, even the background changes to have a more cartoony effect. Compare that with a similar revelation scene in Himouto:
Pretty strong intro so far. I'm worried the guy is going to screw it up, he seems too straight-laced to be good comedy fodder.
Little Witch Academia - 25
A spectacle without a meaning, a frenzy of great animated segments with style and flash but no substance. It's something I feel a bit mixed on, I enjoted everything I watched but it sort of lacked any sort of "punch" to what I was watching unfold to leave an impact. The team up with the girls that ends up with everyone just pushing Akko and Diana on (Both Lotte and Sucy become background characters by the end it's disappointing) didn't really sit too well with me. It was still a quite bombastic finale and about what I've come to expect from Trigger but it was missing something to be a memoriable conclusion.
In the end Little Witch Academia doesn't live up to it's previous OVA counterpart with too many misses compared to hits that leaves much to be desired, that's not to say it's great episodes aren't something special to see but there just wasn't enough of them in the series for me. 6/10
Still hyped for Trigger's next show!
A spectacle without a meaning, a frenzy of great animated segments with style and flash but no substance. It's something I feel a bit mixed on, I enjoted everything I watched but it sort of lacked any sort of "punch" to what I was watching unfold to leave an impact. The team up with the girls that ends up with everyone just pushing Akko and Diana on (Both Lotte and Sucy become background characters by the end it's disappointing) didn't really sit too well with me. It was still a quite bombastic finale and about what I've come to expect from Trigger but it was missing something to be a memoriable conclusion.
In the end Little Witch Academia doesn't live up to it's previous OVA counterpart with too many misses compared to hits that leaves much to be desired, that's not to say it's great episodes aren't something special to see but there just wasn't enough of them in the series for me. 6/10
Still hyped for Trigger's next show!
Cornbread78
Member
Fantastic Children ep.15
So Thoma will end up being the new Jin now, huh? Poor kid just doesn't realize his own fate even though he tries so hard...
Joe Molotov
Member
bless up
LWA 25 was the most LWA TV episode of LWA. Amazing animation and main/almost-main character payoff interspaced by "oh my god who cares" and "shut up Croix". But it had Diana x Akko and Chariot working the crowd so I can put up with like a third of the episode being spent in a room with a bunch of nameless old dudes.
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
Hozuki no Reitetsu 01
I gave this a shot back when it aired but it was 2Japanese4me - not in the "lol japan is so weird!!!" way but in the actual way where its so steeped in Japanese mythological culture that its impenetrable. Nearly all of my knowledge of Japanese hell comes from Dragon Ball Z and Asura's Wrath (that was Japan right? Or at least Buddhist?) so its a bit of a hurdle to overcome but I watched/read all of Akagi and I still don't know how to play Riichi Mahjong so oh well.
I think the chief difference is just how much of a deep cut this is. I know what the legend of Momotaro is but only on the surface level so
I really like the art style and theme of this show. The backgrounds look very painterly like old woodblock cuts of Hell, like that painting in The Eccentric Family and the character designs are good. The setting of "Hell's Management Team" is an immediately good pull but I dunno if the rest of it is interesting enough for me.
I gave this a shot back when it aired but it was 2Japanese4me - not in the "lol japan is so weird!!!" way but in the actual way where its so steeped in Japanese mythological culture that its impenetrable. Nearly all of my knowledge of Japanese hell comes from Dragon Ball Z and Asura's Wrath (that was Japan right? Or at least Buddhist?) so its a bit of a hurdle to overcome but I watched/read all of Akagi and I still don't know how to play Riichi Mahjong so oh well.
I think the chief difference is just how much of a deep cut this is. I know what the legend of Momotaro is but only on the surface level so
I really like the art style and theme of this show. The backgrounds look very painterly like old woodblock cuts of Hell, like that painting in The Eccentric Family and the character designs are good. The setting of "Hell's Management Team" is an immediately good pull but I dunno if the rest of it is interesting enough for me.
Cornbread78
Member
Damn, looks like the "backlog summer" has already kicked off with a bunch of old shows being started this weekend.
time to find someone to deathpact folktales from japan with you
Hellwarden
Member
I don't understand how New Game! is somewhat popular with such boring character designs.
It was kind of a boring show as well.
Cornbread78
Member
Nah, it was a pretty fun show and I really don't like the whole cgdct stuff. It was more cwdct with New Game though, so I'll take it.
firehawk12
Subete no aware
Heh, that reminds me of that youtube viral video that went around a while ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLt5qSm9U80
I guess this confirms that it's their new version of TAN.
I think Sentai is run by a script that reads 4chan comments for directions.
I forgot this was coming out... guess I should get it...
ThatChairMan
Member
Anyone know whether the Aquarion series connected, or can they be watched standalone?
Not original but I thought they were fine. Also the visual appeal of the show leans on animation than designs.
No.
Crimson_Echidna
Banned
Because cute girls making video games.
Heh, that's pretty much it. The other big issue when actually speaking Japanese is that they are kind of forced to probe and check your fluency in Japanese before committing to complicated words, which I guess is kind of why they'd rather fall back to English rather than having to go through their vocabulary by trial-and-error... but then even that kind of falls appart if you don't speak or understand English.
Still, I'd say that many Japanese people, after making their generic initial reaction of "Oh, your Japanese's good!" would then proceed to speak with me normally, which was pretty recomforting.
... Anyway, back to anime. I've mostly dropped AoT since a few weeks ago, and I guess all that's left for me to watch now is the final episode of Alice & Zoroku to see how it ends.
The second Aquarion series, Evol, has quite a few connections to the original. The third series, Logos, is completely stand-alone.
hosannainexcelsis
Member
Same art director!
anarchycupcake
Member
Little Witch Academia 8/10
It had some pacing issues, especially early on, but Little Witch Academia was still a very charming series. It was frustrating to see Akko regress even when she'd already learned her lesson, especially since it seemed like it was used just when it made the plot better, which was a downer. And I feel they tried to weasel out of Chariot not being a 100% great person by
, which left a bad taste of my mouth. But I enjoyed how Diana and Akko's relationship progressed. And it ended how it should have, in my opinion.
Alice to Zouroku 7/10
I have to admit, I had some high hopes for this show, which it didn't entirely reach. It couldn't decide if it wanted to be something like a Elfen Lied-lite with the evil research facility, or a Poco's Udon World with a father-child meets magic vibe or total fantasy. But it still ended up being a cute, gorgeous anime and I enjoyed seeing Sana's development.
Eromanga-sensei 6/10
First, I have to be honest that I'm not a fan of sibcest, so that factored into my ehh score. Following the the struggles of an LN author trying to get published is interesting and the humor wasn't too bad, but I wasn't a fan of how it descended into a harem at the end.
Clockwork Planet 4/10
The two redeeming things about this show were Ryu-zu's sassy personality and the fairly interesting setting. Everything else was pretty mediocre, and what was with the villain?? I was so confused as to what his motivation was. I thought this was going to be like No Game No Life with clocks and no, it was not.
Hinako Note 5/10
It's cute girls doing... nothing? They made it seem like it was supposed to be about acting but that only made up like half the show? Even when it was about acting, it still felt aimless though. I guess, just to sum it up, Hinako Note was aimless and dull. So boring. It's like it wanted to be a Lucky Star but it had none of the relatable humor and interesting characters.
Kabuki-bu! 6/10
Kabuki-bu! hit its stride in the second half with the tension between the club and Ebihara. But its first half was too dull to bump it to a 7. Still a pretty good show, though, and it's neat to see one highlighting something like Kabuki.
Renai Boukun 6/10
Honestly I just didn't think the humor was there. It's not a bad show, but I just really didn't find it that funny. And when a parody show isn't funny, there's a problem. Also, that penguin... where did that come from???
Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records 6/10
There's a lot I didn't like about this show. The ridiculous fanservice uniforms, the fact that basically no questions that the story brought up got answered (What are the Akashic Records? What do the villains want? What is the deal with Rumia's powers?), the kidnap Rumia-rescue her rinse repeat, etc. But I didn't dislike watching it, and Glenn wore on me.
Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine 7/10
Again, a charming show. It was fun watching all the princes warm up to Haine. The biggest issue for me was the deal with the bad guy and the eldest prince. Was the eldest prince behind it all but changed his mind when he heard the other princes' passionate plea at the end? It just felt sort of tacked on to the second half to add drama.
Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2 8/10
Definitely better than the first season because we finally got some answers. The fact that we did makes the wait for the next season easier. Eren continues to be insufferable but a good supporting cast makes up for it.
Sekai no Yami Zukan 4/10
The mixture between still images and live action was weird. Also some really weird story choices. Definitely not as good as Yami Shibai.
It had some pacing issues, especially early on, but Little Witch Academia was still a very charming series. It was frustrating to see Akko regress even when she'd already learned her lesson, especially since it seemed like it was used just when it made the plot better, which was a downer. And I feel they tried to weasel out of Chariot not being a 100% great person by
having her not realize she was taking her audience's magic
Alice to Zouroku 7/10
I have to admit, I had some high hopes for this show, which it didn't entirely reach. It couldn't decide if it wanted to be something like a Elfen Lied-lite with the evil research facility, or a Poco's Udon World with a father-child meets magic vibe or total fantasy. But it still ended up being a cute, gorgeous anime and I enjoyed seeing Sana's development.
Eromanga-sensei 6/10
First, I have to be honest that I'm not a fan of sibcest, so that factored into my ehh score. Following the the struggles of an LN author trying to get published is interesting and the humor wasn't too bad, but I wasn't a fan of how it descended into a harem at the end.
Clockwork Planet 4/10
The two redeeming things about this show were Ryu-zu's sassy personality and the fairly interesting setting. Everything else was pretty mediocre, and what was with the villain?? I was so confused as to what his motivation was. I thought this was going to be like No Game No Life with clocks and no, it was not.
Hinako Note 5/10
It's cute girls doing... nothing? They made it seem like it was supposed to be about acting but that only made up like half the show? Even when it was about acting, it still felt aimless though. I guess, just to sum it up, Hinako Note was aimless and dull. So boring. It's like it wanted to be a Lucky Star but it had none of the relatable humor and interesting characters.
Kabuki-bu! 6/10
Kabuki-bu! hit its stride in the second half with the tension between the club and Ebihara. But its first half was too dull to bump it to a 7. Still a pretty good show, though, and it's neat to see one highlighting something like Kabuki.
Renai Boukun 6/10
Honestly I just didn't think the humor was there. It's not a bad show, but I just really didn't find it that funny. And when a parody show isn't funny, there's a problem. Also, that penguin... where did that come from???
Rokudenashi Majutsu Koushi to Akashic Records 6/10
There's a lot I didn't like about this show. The ridiculous fanservice uniforms, the fact that basically no questions that the story brought up got answered (What are the Akashic Records? What do the villains want? What is the deal with Rumia's powers?), the kidnap Rumia-rescue her rinse repeat, etc. But I didn't dislike watching it, and Glenn wore on me.
Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine 7/10
Again, a charming show. It was fun watching all the princes warm up to Haine. The biggest issue for me was the deal with the bad guy and the eldest prince. Was the eldest prince behind it all but changed his mind when he heard the other princes' passionate plea at the end? It just felt sort of tacked on to the second half to add drama.
Shingeki no Kyojin Season 2 8/10
Definitely better than the first season because we finally got some answers. The fact that we did makes the wait for the next season easier. Eren continues to be insufferable but a good supporting cast makes up for it.
Sekai no Yami Zukan 4/10
The mixture between still images and live action was weird. Also some really weird story choices. Definitely not as good as Yami Shibai.
TheGamingBox
Banned
so has anyone signed up for hidive? does the free trial make a pre auth charge?
MetroidPrimeRib
Banned
rip was the first thing that came to mind
Jex
Member
I'd say that, at its best, His and Her Circumstances is an outrageously well directed series. Anno really captures something different with his approach. No-one directs comedy at this level anymore.
There's a lot of negativity surrounding the show, for obvious reasons, but that doesn't detract from the quality of the work when it's still good.
This is going to be somewhat weird for me to describe the directorial style as such but it reminds me of Ikuhara in some ways. The heavy shift in character art, the faces, the surrealness of the show aided by 'real' props, and symbolism up the ass (those stupid stoplights). It's not as batshit crazy as Ikuhara is but that might be due to the script.
Jex
Member
LWA SPOILERS FOR ALL EPISODES BELOW
I understand why people could conceivably enjoy the finale to LWA TV. I am not commenting in an attempt to shoot such opinions down. But I'm trying to get to the bottom of why this finale worked for some people such as yourselves and did not work for others, such as me.
I can see that you've explained your position by highlighting the visual spectacle present in this episode and I certainly wouldn't disagree that there is a fair amount of spectacle to go around. However this spectacle didn't move me and the reason is twofold. Firstly, this is essentially the exact same spectacle that we've seen take place in dozens of other works, so I find it hard to care about things I've already seen so many times (even if the execution here was certainly good. I could probably forgive this issue if it wasn't for my second point: that this finale feels hollow and unearned.
It felt to me that last week's episode was the true culmination of the series. We had Chariot vs Croix (both the actual battle and the ideological battle), we had a big spectacular monster, we had Croix's ideology of hate turn against her, we had the triumph of Akko's ideology vs Croix's ideology and we had the payoff of Chariot and Akko's relationship. We even had the boring lore tied up as Akko fully activated the Shiny Rod and Croix broke the magic seal. With all these key elements of the series tied up, what was left to carry us for the 2nd finale? Well, basically nothing, it turns out. The big evil missile is basically unconnected from all the ideas in the show (and last week already showed us the danger of Croix's magic going out of control) so defeating it doesn't do anything for any of our main cast. The only person who gets a shred of character growth from this is Andrew, who kind of almost stands up to his Dad. But that mini arc cannot and does not carry this episode and this finale. It feels like a dangling character arc that a better writer would have folded into the previous episode. In fact, that's how I essentially feel about the entire episode. It felt like they couldn't quite squeeze everything they wanted into a single finale episode, so they divided it into two. However, the first 'finale' episode carries 99% of all the storylines in the show so the balance is completely screwed.
The whole thing comes across as a bit of action fanservice that supplements the series, rather than a satisfying conclusion to the story.
(If magic was just people's hearts all along, why was it dying anyway? Why did it need to be harvested by anyone? When did witches stop inspiring people to produce this magic?)
I understand why people could conceivably enjoy the finale to LWA TV. I am not commenting in an attempt to shoot such opinions down. But I'm trying to get to the bottom of why this finale worked for some people such as yourselves and did not work for others, such as me.
I can see that you've explained your position by highlighting the visual spectacle present in this episode and I certainly wouldn't disagree that there is a fair amount of spectacle to go around. However this spectacle didn't move me and the reason is twofold. Firstly, this is essentially the exact same spectacle that we've seen take place in dozens of other works, so I find it hard to care about things I've already seen so many times (even if the execution here was certainly good. I could probably forgive this issue if it wasn't for my second point: that this finale feels hollow and unearned.
It felt to me that last week's episode was the true culmination of the series. We had Chariot vs Croix (both the actual battle and the ideological battle), we had a big spectacular monster, we had Croix's ideology of hate turn against her, we had the triumph of Akko's ideology vs Croix's ideology and we had the payoff of Chariot and Akko's relationship. We even had the boring lore tied up as Akko fully activated the Shiny Rod and Croix broke the magic seal. With all these key elements of the series tied up, what was left to carry us for the 2nd finale? Well, basically nothing, it turns out. The big evil missile is basically unconnected from all the ideas in the show (and last week already showed us the danger of Croix's magic going out of control) so defeating it doesn't do anything for any of our main cast. The only person who gets a shred of character growth from this is Andrew, who kind of almost stands up to his Dad. But that mini arc cannot and does not carry this episode and this finale. It feels like a dangling character arc that a better writer would have folded into the previous episode. In fact, that's how I essentially feel about the entire episode. It felt like they couldn't quite squeeze everything they wanted into a single finale episode, so they divided it into two. However, the first 'finale' episode carries 99% of all the storylines in the show so the balance is completely screwed.
The whole thing comes across as a bit of action fanservice that supplements the series, rather than a satisfying conclusion to the story.
(If magic was just people's hearts all along, why was it dying anyway? Why did it need to be harvested by anyone? When did witches stop inspiring people to produce this magic?)
I think Trigger just wanted a fun note for the series to go out on after all the more serious episodes recently. That's not particularly unusual in that a director will wrap up most of the emotional points and then just screw around in the final episode.
Also Trigger is all about that fanservice...
Also Trigger is all about that fanservice...
_/¯I'd still probably put it in my top 5 anime romances. As with many things, until I came here I didn't really know there was negativity towards it.
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