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Summer 2012 Anime |OT3| Where All the Waifus Are Made Up and the Points Don't Matter

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S

Soma

Member
Hyouka Episode 21

imAFKDxtxbPDh.jpg


Wow. That was quite possibly my favorite standalone episode of this show thus far.

I can't get over how good this show can be at times. It's undoubtedly a contender alongside Fate/Zero for my AOTY at this point. Fantastic direction and atmosphere. I found Satoshi's story quite fascinating and I appreciate the ending a lot. A bit open-ended but still very satisfying. One detail I liked was
how Houtarou kept bringing up Chitanda when chastising Satoshi for his deceitfulness. To me it showed how much he cares not only for other people but for Chitanda especially. Even the fact that he knows her so well that he knows exactly what to say and how to deal with her in order play her out of the room so he would be able to confront Satoshi. It really does feel like they're already a couple at this point and even if the show doesn't 'officially' make that happen, I like their relationship a lot and I really enjoyed their development through out the entire show.

Also, Cajunator's favorite character makes an appearance!
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
Instro said:
Eureka 7 AO 19

A fairly solid episode. I had some issues with the pacing, things were happening really rapidly, particularly with what Truth was doing during the episode.
The destruction of the space station was really abrupt as well, not really much impact was given to the scene
The ending was great though, love how it went down, and the art to go with it. It seems like each week we are getting answers to previous questions, and big shit is happening. Next week looks no different in that regard since it appears that everyone is headed to full on war now.
Click to expand...

I thought the space station wasnt destroyed, didnt they subsequently say it is alright?
 
P

PoeticProse22

Member
Hyouka 21

oweLv.jpg
StGWF.jpg
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Wow, that was a fantastic, intense, emotionally-charged episode. It was also my favorite one yet. This had an extensive amount of exceptional character development, particularly with the considerable insight into Satoshi. I felt that the story impressively weaved between a large variety of emotions and scenery quite briskly, making for a highly engaging episode.

The larger focus on Satoshi and Mayaka was welcome here, and it seems that they have a far more complicated relationship than Chitanda and Oreki. Said relationship development was fantastically thorough and refreshingly complex, never slipping into peaceful, simple conclusions, but allowing for some natural conflicts to arise, however temporary those might have been. It was great to see that Satoshi does, in fact, have significant feelings for Mayaka, and, after having stolen the chocolate and hurting her and Chitanda in the process, the moment where he finally calls Ibara towards the end, likely explaining to her what he had just told Oreki, was quite satisfying and an optimistic note to end that particular story-line on.

There was this subtly melancholic atmosphere that permeated through the entire episode, from the theft of the chocolate to the final word spoken by Oreki - "Bitter", that amazingly highlighted specific emotions, causing them to strongly resonate. The conversation/argument on the bridge between Satoshi and Oreki
was a brilliant, excellently directed scene, in which a plethora of various, complicated emotions were briefly touched upon in a particularly graceful manner, allowing for every tiny flicker of emotion to be plainly visible. Once again, the music accompanied this and many other scenes wonderfully, very effectively setting the tone for many scenes.

R6EpT.jpg
3bahv.png
Click to expand...

The extremely high quality of the animation continues here, and it's really incredible how impressively masterful that element consistently is. I felt this episode was paced quite nicely, never lingering for too long on one moment or faltering into a slightly dull monotony, and I thought this episode's mystery, though predictable, was quite interesting, due to the rather personal nature of it compared to most others.

Oreki was great throughout this entire episode, as he seemed even more like a detective than usual. It was particularly nice to see how concerned he was that Chitanda had been emotionally hurt.
I'm hoping for more romantic development with their relationship in the last episode, and, judging from the preview, it looks to be a distinct possibility.

All in all, Hyouka delivers another terrific episode, and it was likely the best Valentine episode I've seen, due to it's impressive handling of these characters, their relationships, and their emotions. It really is a shame that there's only one episode left, as this is easily one of my favorite shows of the year. As such, I expect it to provide a thoroughly satisfying and excellent conclusion.
 
C

Chet Rippo

Member
Oda Nobuna 9
vPVyJ.jpg

Who are you again? Oh right, her.
Click to expand...
Odd episode I gotta say. I guess we are now completely out of the historical realm and into pure fiction, if the fact that Nobunaga is a girl wasn't enough. Unless my poor grasp on Sengoku history is failing me.
This episode had some pretty cool fighting going on and tit play too.
There's going to be 12 episodes right? I'm really interested in seeing how this show will end.
YSzei.jpg

Couldn't resist.
Click to expand...
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Kokoro Connect 07-08

My 2nd favorite show of the year and definitely the best of anything going on this season. This is a show that manages to pull off the feels and it was really striking in this episode. So glad Taichi's White Knighting constantly bites him in the ass - really enjoyed the dialogue in the latter episode about his motivations, whether he was trying to protect because he cared about her or whether he was just trying to make himself feel better.

Iori steps up in these episodes. While Taichi is busy being trying and failing at the role of white knight hero, and both Inaba and Yui running away from reality, she tries to be the glue that holds everything together. And all she gets for her trouble was some
domestic violence.
Not cool!
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
Hyouka 21: A Filthy Tease

Excellent story yet again but I feel a little down about this whole Chitanda thing.
Oreki needs to grow a pair and talk to her because she's clearly to fickled to hint one way or another. If he's looking for positive reads, this episode is the best he's gonna get. Also, I thought for sure Satoshi was going to reveal he was Gay but the rought he went about just being obsesive made and reject the feelings of someone he loves because of it seemed line a fools erend.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Mad Pierrot said:
Oda Nobuna no Yabou 10:

and for firehawk, in case he was actually asking me what happened in this episode:
Unless I'm mistaken, Nobuna decides to take her army to Echizen, the territory of the Asakura clan who is one of the few to still oppose Nobuna. Azai Nagamasa allows Nobuna safe passage through his territory, however when Nobuna is between Azai's territory and Echizen a coup against Nagamasa occurs and Nobuna's army becomes trapped by opponents on both sides. This forces Nobuna to retreat directly through enemy lines, however she's tormented by the thought of ordering a detachment of her troops to basically stay behind to sacrifice their lives in order to slow down the Asakura forces even though it's the only way for the remainder of her army to survive. She considers surrendering to save her entire army, however protag-kun talks her out of it and volunteers to lead the sacrificial detachment, promising to come back etc etc. Protag-kun actually manages to hold off the Asakura forces through the use of a rapid-fire gunner formation that he remembered from his Sengoku history, but Nobuna gets sniped and TO BE CONTINUED.
Click to expand...
Well, I was more curious as to how this matches up to history... if it does in anyway. lol
Is this how Nobunaga falls in real life?
Kagami said:
Well now you have to go and make things difficult!
Click to expand...
I know! lol
Have to ask novel readers about this one I guess.
Click to expand...
I expect it's not all that different...

yn-neko hates a cat said:
Tari Tari

Good episode. I didn't expect the twist to be that big. The emotionally worn-down Vice Principle renews my hope of her hooking up with one of the male Choir members :)
Click to expand...
Hahahaha.
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
One Piece special edition 1
A2ZIn2MCAAAEY7R.png:large
Click to expand...

Actually my first time hearing it in the JPN, on my dvd's I always just default to eng dub, We Are will always sound strange not in english. Anyway it seemed being in High Resolution makes lots of scenes look a bit more crisp and clear, but then it makes it easy to spot out all these moments where they seem to have smeared characters faces, it was odd.
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
I have a question about Sket Dance:

I don't get the show and stopped watching around episode 6 or 7. It didn't seem like it was going to get better or have some shift in premis so I cut my loses.

The thing is it seems to have a following so ask: Did the premis change? Did it get better after epsidoe 6 or is it more of the same and just simply isn't my cup of tea?
 
M

madp

The Light of El Cantare
firehawk12 said:
Well, I was more curious as to how this matches up to history... if it does in anyway. lol
Is this how Nobunaga falls in real life?
Click to expand...


The Retreat from Kanegasaki is a real historical event, yeah. It's not directly related to Oda's eventual death, though.
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
yn-neko hates a cat said:
I have a question about Sket Dance:

I don't get the show and stopped watching around episode 6 or 7. It didn't seem like it was going to get better or have some shift in premise so I cut my loses.

The thing is it seems to have a following so ask: Did the premise change? Did it get better after episode6 or is it more of the same and just simply isn't my cup of tea?
Click to expand...

Thers still school stuff, club stuff and skits, and the occasional really good drama events. Its pretty good, these 74 or so episodes out.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
So im almost caught up with Hyouka, Accel World, jinrui, Joshiraku, Sword Art Online, and Dog Days
My week off is coming up.
K-On!! Is on the menu but what else do yall suggest?
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
Oda Nobuna 10

You just know the smart phone stopped the bullet! I'm willing to bet the lives of at least 3 GAFfers that this is how it will playout :D (of course not my own life...)

- - - - - -

Dedication Through Light said:
Thers still school stuff, club stuff and skits, and the occasional really good drama events. Its pretty good, these 74 or so episodes out.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback. Maybe one day I'll revisit if something I really enjoy opens up that style to me.
 
M

madp

The Light of El Cantare
firehawk12 said:
Ah, so it wouldn't work as a
final arc for the series?
Click to expand...

Well, nothing saying that the show can't play with the ordering of events since the timeline is already altered anyway, but
historically, the Retreat from Kanegasaki happened 12 years before Honnouji.
 
C

Crash Station

Member
yn-neko hates a cat said:
I have a question about Sket Dance:

I don't get the show and stopped watching around episode 6 or 7. It didn't seem like it was going to get better or have some shift in premis so I cut my loses.

The thing is it seems to have a following so ask: Did the premis change? Did it get better after epsidoe 6 or is it more of the same and just simply isn't my cup of tea?
Click to expand...

It doesn't really change, but it does have a few episodes that are REALLY different than the norm in tone and stuff. Episode 24 and 25 actually changes your opinion of a character to the point that it's sometimes retroactively hard to laugh at his antics.

If nothing else, I would say at least watch those 2 episodes.
 
M

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita 09:

2Bgljl.jpg


My heart freaking melted when Watashi said "hey, boy".
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Brilliance. The primary reason that I'm able to tell that this episode was on the level of the first two was because it posed questions about humanity and the nature of modern society that made me extremely uncomfortable again. This kind of darkly-humorous exploration of human nature, culture, and industrialism is precisely the thing that the show has been missing, even in episodes with otherwise-highly entertaining subject matter. I really enjoyed the focus on modern man's rapacious destruction of nature in the name of an unsustainable lifestyle, and the various commentaries on the dark side of monarchy, utopia, collectivism, genetic tampering, monocultures, and population growth didn't go unnoticed. Pound for pound, this episode probably has more philosophical food for thought than anything else this year. Just as importantly, it was a hell of a lot of fun.

It was also an important episode for the fairies. This is the first time that they've exhibited any sort of individuality and fallibility, and it served to make them seem less overtly malevolent or manipulative and just simply different from the old humans. For a species so intellectually advanced beyond humans that they can recreate the entire technological advancement of mankind in a number of days, they're shockingly lacking in forethought and the ability to consider the consequences of their own actions. It's much more difficult now to view them as objectively "superior" to the old humans, which gives me hope for an ending that assures coexistence.

Also, given what's been said about fairies being inherently "lucky" in the past, I would have liked to have seen that play out with Watashi on some grand scale given the enormous quantity that she encountered every day on the island. She would basically be invincible for the duration of her stay. 10/10 episode regardless.

SCHJHl.gif


Damned amazing.
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse 11

I think all the politics and stuff was just kind of dumb and annoying.
All this effort just so they could steal the Type 99 for themselves, shouldnt the greater concern be the BETAs? Now we have to endure the loss of the Japanese Doll :( I didnt want none of the Argos team to die!
 
R

R_thanatos

Member
wonzo said:
Tanken Driland 7


It looks like some semblance of an overarching plots finally starting to come together. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing the other King Monsters.
Click to expand...

i'm 3 eps behind ...i stopped watching to get more faster since i like it is this 13 eps or more ?
 
D

Dedication Through Light

Member
wonzo said:
Tanken Driland 7


It looks like some semblance of an overarching plots finally starting to come together. I'm kinda looking forward to seeing the other King Monsters.
Click to expand...

I thought the dragon is the only King Monster, I dont think they will continue beyond that, already seems like some end game boss for a 13 episodes, unless this is some how continuing for another season?
 
Y

yn-neko hates a cat

Banned
Dedication Through Light said:
Muv Luv Alternative Total Eclipse 11

I think all the politics and stuff was just kind of dumb and annoying.
All this effort just so they could steal the Type 99 for themselves, shouldnt the greater concern be the BETAs? Now we have to endure the loss of the Japanese Doll :( I didnt want none of the Argos team to die!
Click to expand...

It's all too human though... that's exactly how people are. If the world was going to be destroyed tomorrow, people would be fighting for power till the last minute. It made me sad.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
Watashi is not mentioned as often as other quality females this season but she is incredibly cute and probably the best girl overall.
 
I

Instro

Member
Hyouka 21

jkWY8yt18XXNU.jpg
Click to expand...

A confrontation on a snowy bridge, how very genre appropriate. It really is amazing how well Kyoani can convey character's emotions through animation and excellent direction, of course its on display even more so in this episode where the stakes are a bit higher for our characters. The complexities of each character are immediately recognizable even without any dialouge to back up what is happening. There's never a wasted shot during the key moments, and it really all comes together in this episode with a mystery that all the characters are heavily invested in, even though the solution is completely obvious from the get go.

I really like the shot above btw. It's part of a really great scene, one that is pretty powerful emotionally. The timing of the cut with Hotarou grabbing her, the suddenness of her turn as we are given a close up of the tears and the shadow running across her face, and even the little bit of blurring on the left side of the shot; it all comes together to really cap that segment of the episode in a moving way.

Without a doubt one of the best episodes of this show, if not the best. I certainly loved it...although I would have been more happy with
an extra dose of Mayaka suffering.
 
K

kayos90

Tragic victim of fan death
Instro said:
Hyouka 21



A confrontation on a snowy bridge, how very genre appropriate. It really is amazing how well Kyoani can convey character's emotions through animation and excellent direction, of course its on display even more so in this episode where the stakes are a bit higher for our characters. The complexities of each character are immediately recognizable even without any dialouge to back up what is happening. There's never a wasted shot during the key moments, and it really all comes together in this episode with a mystery that all the characters are heavily invested in, even though the solution is completely obvious from the get go.

I really like the shot above btw. It's part of a really great scene, one that is pretty powerful emotionally. The timing of the cut with Hotarou grabbing her, the suddenness of her turn as we are given a close up of the tears and the shadow running across her face, and even the little bit of blurring on the left side of the shot; it all comes together to really cap that segment of the episode in a moving way.

Without a doubt one of the best episodes of this show, if not the best. I certainly loved it...although I would have been more happy with
an extra dose of Mayaka suffering.
Click to expand...

Mayaka is super small. She's so short compared to Oreki.
 
F

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Mad Pierrot said:
Well, nothing saying that the show can't play with the ordering of events since the timeline is already altered anyway, but
historically, the Retreat from Kanegasaki happened 12 years before Honnouji.
Click to expand...
Ah, so at least
12 more years
of Oda Nobuna then! Yay!

yn-neko hates a cat said:
Oda Nobuna 10

You just know the smart phone stopped the bullet! I'm willing to bet the lives of at least 3 GAFfers that this is how it will playout :D (of course not my own life...)
Click to expand...
I really hope they don't do that anyway. lol

---

Hyouka 21

Trolling sister is best sister:
jXul7l.jpg
Click to expand...
Best character of the year, hands down!

knBhgl.jpg
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And you know, it's like they're not even trying to hide the allusions any more. He just needs that hat and the outfit would be complete.

Given that the mystery this time around focuses again on people we know, I'm not surprised that people enjoyed it. Certainly it serves well as one of the last episodes of the series, since the two
side
characters have been absent the last couple of weeks.
 
M

madp

The Light of El Cantare
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita 10:

8jKNWl.jpg
2UNR7l.jpg
8zen3l.jpg


As you can see, this episode had some really really superb backgrounds.
Click to expand...

Knocked out of the park yet again with a fantastic backstory episode detailing
Watashi's first job as a mediator
. The nature and lifestyle of the fairies has received so much quality attention in the past two episodes and I'm just ecstatic about how well-executed both of these stories have been. For now, it's officially back into "hook it into my veins" levels of quality and it's a damned shame that it's almost over.

Man,
the diary entries of the previous mediator
are really freaking dark and ominous, though. Surely, surely that's going to be fully explained at some point. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but I feel like I'm being lead to believe that
he was intentionally killed by the fairies through gluttony
.
 
C

cajunator

Banned
Hyouka is all things considered a pretty good show.
Ive been mostly entertained by it.
Misaki being in it more would make it so much better though. She brings a really fun dynamic that the show lacks from other characters.
 
D

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Kokoro Connect 09

Very solid brofist to start this episode, the little hand twist before they brofist was fantastic and the solid impact of knuckles with the slight bounce then reconnecting a split second later makes this a 9/10 brofist.

The episode itself was really enjoyable as usual. Loved the bits about the
love hotel
, talk about picking up the pace. And speaking of that, the discussion with
Heartseed and Inaba
was long overdue. The show hasn't directly addressed the relationship with Inaba and Taichi since the time she tried to
rape him in the classroom
so looking forward to see where that goes. Nagase is so boring so I welcome this as well and it looks like its going full out next episode too.

And at the end of that scene I was lol'ing when Heartseed basically says that the reason he chose Goto was because
the dude is a giant stoner who wouldn't blink twice about experiencing some short term memory loss
.

ps - hyouka is garbage.
 
Go_Ly_Dow

Go_Ly_Dow

Member
Hyouka 21

6Uj7e.gif
fiWKO.gif

I really loved the contrast in these scenes and the timing of the events.
Click to expand...
Wow, wonderful character building. I loved how non-anime this all was for a Valentines Day episode. Once again the direction and animation is just on another level. The small, but great selection of music really made the scenes a a joy watch.

Best part of the episode:

koVeM.gif


It is a real shame there's only one episode left. The second half of the series has just been wonderful throughout and a pure joy to watch. I just know the finale will end on a high note.

Episode summary (spoilers)- http://i.imgur.com/nTxrW.gif
 
K

kayos90

Tragic victim of fan death
M_Night said:
Hyouka 21


Wow, wonderful character building. I loved how non-anime this all was for a Valentines Day episode. Once again the direction and animation is just on another level. The small, but great selection of music really made the scenes a a joy watch.

Best part of the episode:

koVeM.gif


It's a real shame there's only one episode left. The second half of the series has just been wonderful throughout and a pure joy to watch. I just know the finale will end on a high note.

Episode summary (spoilers)- http://i.imgur.com/nTxrW.gif
Click to expand...

LOL at that spoiler gif.
 
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