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[Narag]

rip sonicmj

 

[Articalys]

Well, now I feel substantially less special for quoting this and wanting to say I agreed with it. I mean, I still do, but hosanna stole the thunder.

Kinda disappointed to discover that the School-Live manga is still running. That means either:

A. We'll get an anime-exclusive ending

B. We'll get a to-be-continued ending and the show won't get another season

or

C. Same as B. except we'll get another season like a year from now (if we're lucky)

I think this is a large part of why I mostly got out of anime about a year and a half ago (along with the whole burn-out thing). There's just no telling if something you like is actually going to continue past one season. I mean hell, Hataraku Maou-Sama/The Devil is a Part Timer, despite apparently selling really well, still hasn't gotten a second season after two years. I dunno. Unresolved stories are a huge pet peeve of mine, and that's what you seem to get a lot of the time with anime.

I'm gonna stick with School-Live because it's fantastic, but part of me can't help but wonder if I'd just be better off reading the manga.

Anyway, this also connects back to that whole "[most] anime is really just commercials for the manga/LN/game/whatever" discussion from a short while ago, so I can't say it's without its reasons for happening, but it still sucks.
As pointed out, you'd pretty much need to stick to anime-originals, adaptations of completed stories that are confirmed to cover the whole thing, or slice-of-life shows that have no overarching plot to begin with if you want to be more guaranteed of a sense of closure at the end of an anime series. Of course there are exceptions here and there.

 

[cajunator]

A while ago, I made a watchbet with a close friend of mine. You see, I wanted him to start watching The Wire, a show both staggeringly brilliant and remarkably different from all the other anime/VN stuff that he consumes. I told him I would watch any show he asked of me. He decided that I would watch this...

Clannad 1-9

And while I don't regret making the bet (he's seven episodes into The Wire and loving it), I'm not enjoying myself all that much so far.

My biggest issue with Clannad, the thing that sabotaged this entire arc of episodes, and the thing it does so poorly that the Wire does so astonishingly well, is that (to this point) Clannad isn't about people. Certainly there are characters that look like people, and sometimes they even have human problems (Tomoya returning home and seeing his father in episode 1 is probably the most powerful moment in the show so far). But they don't act like people. They act like walking trope machines. And nobody is worse about this than the focus of the first major arc of the show, Fuuko.



Fuuko is allegedly a high school student. She stands about four foot six, speaks like she's in fourth grade, and has a tendency to become so enamored with things in her imagination that she completely loses touch with reality for a minute at a time. She has a starfish obsession and has decided that by giving people unmarked starfish sculptures, they'll remember to come to her sister's wedding ceremony. And also, she's a

Spoiler

coma ghost astral projection that is slowly forgotten and ignored completely by people, which is sometimes related to them visiting her comatose body in the hospital except when it isn't, and except sometimes she's only kind of forgotten, and sometimes people conveniently re-remember her.

Stories concerning loss of memory can be tragic and heartbreaking. The story in Hyperion of Sol's daughter gradually aging backwards and losing her memory of her prior life one day at a time tore me apart when I read it. But that was a story about a character written like a human being, with problems one can both imagine and relate to real situations (a loved one with Alzheimer's, for instance). Fuuko's story is none of these things. Much as I tried, I could never connect with her problems, and that wall, as well as the melodramatic convolutions introduced to attempt to pull at my heartstrings

Spoiler

(like Nagisa's mother breaking down as she tried and failed to remember Fuuko)

severely muted the impact of this arc's climax.

This problem frequently recurs in less extreme ways across pretty much all the characters in different ways. What seem to be the central cast (Tomoya, Nagisa, Kyou, Sunohara) are less affected, while Tomoyo, Ryou (why is she constantly at the center of LGBT-related humor?) and that library chick are worse. The library girl seems to be the subject of the next arc, which fills me with dread.

The humor is pretty all over the map, and very typical Japanese anime stuff, complete with characters falling down to accentuate punchlines. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it doesn't. The tonal ping-pong early on makes both the comedy and drama less powerful for me, though that evened out as the arc continued. There are also a lot of very visual-novel things going on, particularly the unnatural way the soundtrack is used. The character art is typical Key, and as such looks pretty off-putting. I can't get used to that eye placement.



It's a shame because Kyoto Animation clearly put a lot of effort into the animation. Comedic moments are energetic and fluid. The prologue scenes in the first three episodes look like they're animated on ones, giving them a unique uncanny effect that made them feel appropriately otherworldly. When the show isn't doing plain wipes to pop from disconnected VN scenes, the direction can be fairly powerful. But I can't get behind the material at all.

I knew what I was getting into when I started this. Most of the posters whose tastes hew close to mine don't particularly like this show, and most of the posters who rave about it have very different tastes from mine. I'm going to keep going, because I'm obligated and I hear that After Story is the big payoff, but I find it very frustrating thus far. I can't wait until these anime caricature pseudo-humans get kicked to the curb, because the stories involving the more rounded individuals at the center of the show might actually be affecting.

The people who made The Wire also made Treme. Its pretty good.

 

[jman2050]

A while ago, I made a watchbet with a close friend of mine. You see, I wanted him to start watching The Wire, a show both staggeringly brilliant and remarkably different from all the other anime/VN stuff that he consumes. I told him I would watch any show he asked of me. He decided that I would watch this...

Clannad 1-9

Fuuko is the worst.

Her face is just so punchable, even discounting the keyface factor that makes all faces of that style punchable by default.

Didn't much care for the next girl's arc either, it's really quite odd that their stories end up comprising over half the first show. Not the best decision by KyoAni there.

 

[PshycoNinja]

A while ago, I made a watchbet with a close friend of mine. You see, I wanted him to start watching The Wire, a show both staggeringly brilliant and remarkably different from all the other anime/VN stuff that he consumes. I told him I would watch any show he asked of me. He decided that I would watch this...

Clannad 1-9

And while I don't regret making the bet (he's seven episodes into The Wire and loving it), I'm not enjoying myself all that much so far.

My biggest issue with Clannad, the thing that sabotaged this entire arc of episodes, and the thing it does so poorly that the Wire does so astonishingly well, is that (to this point) Clannad isn't about people. Certainly there are characters that look like people, and sometimes they even have human problems (Tomoya returning home and seeing his father in episode 1 is probably the most powerful moment in the show so far). But they don't act like people. They act like walking trope machines. And nobody is worse about this than the focus of the first major arc of the show, Fuuko.



Fuuko is allegedly a high school student. She stands about four foot six, speaks like she's in fourth grade, and has a tendency to become so enamored with things in her imagination that she completely loses touch with reality for a minute at a time. She has a starfish obsession and has decided that by giving people unmarked starfish sculptures, they'll remember to come to her sister's wedding ceremony. And also, she's a

Spoiler

coma ghost astral projection that is slowly forgotten and ignored completely by people, which is sometimes related to them visiting her comatose body in the hospital except when it isn't, and except sometimes she's only kind of forgotten, and sometimes people conveniently re-remember her.

Stories concerning loss of memory can be tragic and heartbreaking. The story in Hyperion of Sol's daughter gradually aging backwards and losing her memory of her prior life one day at a time tore me apart when I read it. But that was a story about a character written like a human being, with problems one can both imagine and relate to real situations (a loved one with Alzheimer's, for instance). Fuuko's story is none of these things. Much as I tried, I could never connect with her problems, and that wall, as well as the melodramatic convolutions introduced to attempt to pull at my heartstrings

Spoiler

(like Nagisa's mother breaking down as she tried and failed to remember Fuuko)

severely muted the impact of this arc's climax.

This problem frequently recurs in less extreme ways across pretty much all the characters in different ways. What seem to be the central cast (Tomoya, Nagisa, Kyou, Sunohara) are less affected, while Tomoyo, Ryou (why is she constantly at the center of LGBT-related humor?) and that library chick are worse. The library girl seems to be the subject of the next arc, which fills me with dread.

The humor is pretty all over the map, and very typical Japanese anime stuff, complete with characters falling down to accentuate punchlines. Sometimes it works, and most of the time it doesn't. The tonal ping-pong early on makes both the comedy and drama less powerful for me, though that evened out as the arc continued. There are also a lot of very visual-novel things going on, particularly the unnatural way the soundtrack is used. The character art is typical Key, and as such looks pretty off-putting. I can't get used to that eye placement.



It's a shame because Kyoto Animation clearly put a lot of effort into the animation. Comedic moments are energetic and fluid. The prologue scenes in the first three episodes look like they're animated on ones, giving them a unique uncanny effect that made them feel appropriately otherworldly. When the show isn't doing plain wipes to pop from disconnected VN scenes, the direction can be fairly powerful. But I can't get behind the material at all.

I knew what I was getting into when I started this. Most of the posters whose tastes hew close to mine don't particularly like this show, and most of the posters who rave about it have very different tastes from mine. I'm going to keep going, because I'm obligated and I hear that After Story is the big payoff, but I find it very frustrating thus far. I can't wait until these anime caricature pseudo-humans get kicked to the curb, because the stories involving the more rounded individuals at the center of the show might actually be affecting.

As one of the bigger Clannad fans here, I agree in that the Fuuko arc is the weakest of all the arcs in all of Clannad and is pretty overdramatic.

And while, as you stated, it's not for everyone's taste, it certainly gets much better from here. Kotomi's arc is better than Fuuko's arc and after that arc it gets better from there.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

There doesn't exist a set of parents in Shonen, it's always the father or the mother.

No Gohan doesn't count Goku is still the MC!

I was joking but I actually can't think of a shonen MC who has both parents now...
Even in JoJo when you know both of the parents you never see them because they are dead or don't matter, Jotaro's Dad/Jolyne's Mom/Josuke's Father don't matter and you never see them

Right off the top of my head (aside from those mentioned):
Detective Conan
Prince of Tennis (okay, you see Ryoma's mom like one time, but this still counts)
Knight in the Area
Touch
Bakuman
Baby Steps

If you count them, pretty much every Digimon MC has both parents alive. Masaru had an absent father at the start of Savers, but he was still pretty important to the story.

 

[PshycoNinja]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 5-6

 

[Hellraider]

Working - 04

How do I hold all that development? What is happening? Who are you and what have you done to my Wagnaria?

Yamada siblings were a big help this time, especially Kirio. Even freaking Kyoko and whatever Yachiyo's minion name was helped!

Takanashi acknowledged it which was probably the hardest part.Of course he had to screw it up by the end, but the more interactions, even not perfectly good ones, the better. Satou is almost, almost there.

Maximum hype for the next episode!

 

[Crash Station]

Shimoneta 4

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Right off the top of my head (aside from those mentioned):
Detective Conan
Prince of Tennis (okay, you see Ryoma's mom like one time, but this still counts)
Knight in the Area
Touch
Bakuman
Baby Steps

If you count them, pretty much every Digimon MC has both parents alive. Masaru had an absent father at the start of Savers, but he was still pretty important to the story.

guess i should read more non battle shonen

 

[AquaWateria]

Ushio to Tora 4

Tora is just too amazing. His reaction faces are lol worthy. I kept smiling every time he tried to eat a human but failed to do so. It seems Inoue finally knows about Ushio's secret.

Hopefully Tora starts eating burgers from now on.

 

[BassForever]

Ushio & Tora 4

Tora is so entertaining it's almost scary, looking forward to seeing his continued interaction with Inoue going forward. Wonder how long till the other girl figures out Ushio's secret or till the world as a whole begins to realize demons and their ilk exist.

 

[PshycoNinja]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 7

That got really dark in the middle there.

 

[AquaWateria]

Man am I so ready to watch Shimoneta right now.😎

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 7

That got really dark in the middle there.

JoJo is definitely not a lighthearted series. I mean it's fabulous but there're some screwed up things in the series.

Still Speedwagon helps lighten things up as a commentator.

 

[dimb]

Nobody is going to understand what you are posting about if you pick out a three year old episode of a long running shonen series and simply throw out a contextless image reaction. If you are just here to meme at least step up your meme game, or post something that might even be tangentially related to anime.

 

[Puruzi]

Nobody is going to understand what you are posting about if you pick out a three year old episode of a long running shonen series and simply throw out a contextless image reaction. If you are just here to meme at least step up your meme game, or post something that might even be tangentially related to anime.

Jojo's is well liked here. I'm sure that enough people know what he's talking about.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

Nobody is going to understand what you are posting about if you pick out a three year old episode of a long running shonen series and simply throw out a contextless image reaction. If you are just here to meme at least step up your meme game, or post something that might even be tangentially related to anime.

Did somebody poop in your cereal today?

 

[Sterok]

Aikatsu 28

Ichigo finally gets her vengeance. Aoi's perfect winning streak comes to an end. Ran is trying very hard to be crowned top tsundere. Sprinting is probably not Ichigo's specialty. Aoi has found her calling? Lol at them admitting they keep meeting at night to advance the plot.

 

[BassForever]

Gatchaman Crowds Insight 4

So I guess this program guy is gonna end up being a major bad guy in the end based upon the subtle hints that we saw in this episode towards his true nature. I'll give Crowdds credit each episode does a great job of keeping me guessing at what the heck will happen next.

 

[SDBurton]

Prisma Illya S1 - 01

First ship found, and that second shot.... of course they would. :lol

Apparently this series has some good yuri bits that I need to be aware of, so I'm starting from the beginning!

 

[Cornbread78]

Snip, snip and snip

Just watch it and pay attention to some of the finer details. Then, marathon episode 15-End. It is definitely worth it.

 

[PshycoNinja]

JoJo is definitely not a lighthearted series. I mean it's fabulous but there're some screwed up things in the series.

Still Speedwagon helps lighten things up as a commentator.

Oh I get that but what happened with that woman and child was pretty twisted. That was dark as hell.

Nobody is going to understand what you are posting about if you pick out a three year old episode of a long running shonen series and simply throw out a contextless image reaction. If you are just here to meme at least step up your meme game, or post something that might even be tangentially related to anime.

Erm... I am sorry...?

Honestly this show is a watchbet with NMan. All of Jojo for Hyouka, Chihiyafuru and Your lie in April. I think all the shows are pretty solid recommendations.

Anyways the reactions are mainly for him as I am sure he is perfectly aware of what I am talking about when I post. Next time I will be sure to give a bit more context but the gif perfectly sums up the episode along with the important moments of the episode so I don't think the gif is out of connect at all.

Jojo's is well liked here. I'm sure that enough people know what he's talking about.

Did somebody poop in your cereal today?

The only reason I am being so quick with the reactions is that I don't want to spend too long on detailing what I liked about the episode. The show is a lot of dumb fun. The more I extrapolate on here the less time I can use to get through Jojo as I only really have weekends to get through the show. But I am enjoying it so far. It has to charms, the OP is growing on me, and I like the panel style that the show goes for. On that note...

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 8

Dem poses. Dio vs Jojo: Round 2. Fight!

Edit: Ten minutes spent on this... Could've watched half of episode 9 with that time... (I like to give my full attention when watching shows)

 

[Save 'N Quit]

Sasuga Erina-sama.

Already getting like her 5th figure while everyone else in the series has either 1 or none.

 

[Mista]

Check the first post, lots of shows have OTs right now.

Dragon Ball Super |OT| Saiyan God Super Saiyan
Gatchaman Crowds Insight |OT| RETURN OF THE : >
Shokugeki no Soma Anime |OT| No man, foodgasms are TOTALLY a real thing
School-Live! (Gakkou Gurashi) OT - A Perfectly Normal and Moe Slice Off Life Anime
Charlotte anime |OT| 5 Seconds in heaven; show me your power
Ushio and Tora TV |OT| ONE HUNDRED TIMES THE TESTOSTERONE OF DRAGON BALL SUPER
Cinderella Girls |OT| A perfect fit for anime
Gintama° Series 3 |OT| It's Not Digimon Tri, But It'll Have To Do!
Sailor Moon Crystal |OT| In the name of the manga, I'll entertain you!

Great thank you! Someone be awesome and make a Gangsta & God Eater OT U_U

 

[e_i]

Shimoneta episode 4


Holy Shit!!! I knew that

Spoiler

Anna would out to be some goddamned psycho.

 

[Jintor]

Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade

It's just great to see Trigger animation at its best held up for an entire movie. Thematically and storywise it was pretty standard and I think I appreciated the pure simplicity of that first short more, but this has some pretty great new characters, Akko learning not to be such a selfish brat (kinda) and just a tonne of magic all over the shop

 

[AquaWateria]

Sasuga Erina-sama.

Already getting like her 5th figure while everyone else in the series has either 1 or none.

Too bad they won't make a Hisako figure.😑

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

So I just learned that the recently released Prisma Illya 2wei OVA has an homage to Ping Pong the Animation in it:

Would not have expected to see a Yuasa reference in an otaku-oriented magical girl show.

 

[jbug617]

Shimoneta 4

Yo!!!!!!!!!!!! I did not see that coming.

 

[Defuser]

Shimoneta ep 4

This show is crazy now I can't stop watching it.

 

[Kave_Man]

Gonna try Rokka no Yuusha tonight.

Wish me luck!

 

[nintendoman58]

Did this Shimoneta show everyone's talking about suddenly pull a Samurai Flamenco with its latest episode?

 

[R_thanatos]

================================

Looks like I need to check out Symphogear and Prisma Illya. :lol

YOu need to watch both , you won't regret it.

Symphogear GX - 04

Don't fuck with the doll patrol.

Best vilain so far... DAT SMILE.

Prisma Illya S1 - 01

Apparently this series has some good yuri bits that I need to be aware of, so I'm starting from the beginning!

Prisma Illya is legit

 

[fertygo]

Wait, what?

Original character look like poop.

Godammit why the protag not just motherfucking Akane

the monologue would be amaze

 

[gashikunFLCL]

[Shimoneta] - 04

I've been waiting the entire week for Anna reaction, didn't disappoint.

 

[Twin Tails]

Did this Shimoneta show everyone's talking about suddenly pull a Samurai Flamenco with its latest episode?

Not quite, it just went

Spoiler

lewd to the max

.

 

[e_i]

I just noticed that at the end of Shimoneta episode 4, the music at the end (the piano) is right out of a horror movie.

 

[Robotguy]

Did this Shimoneta show everyone's talking about suddenly pull a Samurai Flamenco with its latest episode?

I'd say it's more like it pulled

Spoiler

the sexual equivalent of Code Geass 22

Well, it's not really on the same level, but I think there are some parallels that can be drawn.

 

[Kansoku]

Man this season of Working!! is hitting all the right notes. Fucking amazing.

Gatcha Crowds still amazing.

Durarara!!x2 still okay. The bad animation is really bugging me tho.

 

[SDBurton]

YOu need to watch both , you won't regret it.

Prisma Illya is legit

Will do! May do a marathon tonight and see how far I get.

 

[ShinRPGamer]

Did this Shimoneta show everyone's talking about suddenly pull a Samurai Flamenco with its latest episode?

Let's just say things escalated quickly with the latest episode. Shimoneta certainly is a lot more interesting (and crazy) today then it was 24 hours ago.

 

[Link Man]

Gonna try Rokka no Yuusha tonight.

Wish me luck!

Keep the Dramamine handy!

 

[Shard]

Prisma Illya S1 - 01



Apparently this series has some good yuri bits that I need to be aware of, so I'm starting from the beginning!

I guess somebody did signal you after all.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Sasuga Erina-sama.

Already getting like her 5th figure while everyone else in the series has either 1 or none.

 

[PshycoNinja]

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure 9

I was gonna put the relevant photo here but I forgot spoiler images don't work on mobile

What...

WHAT...!?

WWWHHHHHHAAAAAATTTTTT!?

No! I don't accept this outcome!!!

 

[names2hard4you]

Working!!! 4

Ships sailing everywhere. Nothing can stop them now.

Shimoneta 4

AOTS.

 

[Defuser]

Working!!! ep 4
Goddamn, my heart....... poor Inami, her sad weak punch got me

As for the other couple....more like 2 steps forward and 1 step back.

 

[SDBurton]

I guess somebody did signal you after all.

I have that sixth-sense kind of thing when it comes to yuri.

=============================

Prisma Illya - 02

Newcomer seems pretty badass. Potential ship incoming?

 

[sonicmj1]

Just watch it and pay attention to some of the finer details. Then, marathon episode 15-End. It is definitely worth it.

I'm not going to marathon 9 episodes at a time. It's not how I tend to watch shows.

 

[Thoraxes]

Sound! Euphonium - 07

Short and sweet.

Previous Eupho Reviews:
Episode 01
Episode 02
Episode 03
Episode 04
Episode 05
Episode 06

- Right from the start I love how they present the band warmups. Here, the band plays a descending chromatic scale while alternating fifths. This exercise not only is used to get bands to unify their tempo, but helps warm up the lips because playing fifths like this need a constant tightening and loosening of the embrochure. Fifths are also handy for tuning purposes as well, considering like 98% of music is based in tertian harmonic fundamentals. Overall for an ensemble, it's really handy for establishing balance, tuning, and gets everyone on the same page. I've done this exercise a billion times!

- Haruka's remarks reflect this.

- I love how for the music here they show all the markings in the parts. A common thing for younger players is to color-code everything like is seen here. In this euphonium part they show, it looks like they use yellow for dynamics and grace notes, blue for important parts to bring out (like melody, or something that needs to be brought to fore), and red for phrase breathing indicators. Though some compoers will indicate breathing themselves, some band directors will have their own methods to bring the piece to life in their own interpretation. Having a breath break in a phrase or staggering breathing among players is the best way to keep a conistent sound the whole time.

- I love the intro to this pieces. It's funny that some trumpets still crack the notes lol. Also, Taki-sensei's comments are accurately reflected in the music here.

- Bitchy ribbon. She's gonna get rekt, I hope.

- Nooooo, not Aoi-chan.

- Band drama is some serious shit. For real. It's easy to see the effects it had on this ground.

- The saxes are all over the place in this next part. Taki-sensei is yet again on the job here, and spot-on. I love how the audio really reflects what's going on.

- Aoi didn't sound that good. Too breathy, to disjointed.

- I love Taki-sensei's priorties here. This really is how band directors act in these situations, treating their ensemble as important, if not more, than a student's school-work. I've seen situations like this all the time, and it's never easy. I feel for Haruka a lot here. It hurts.

- Then Asuka comes here and sets things straight. What a badass.

- It hurts Taki-sensei here too. Damn.

- Dem sloppy bass 16th notes. And then they cut out in the middle when they can't do the syncopation.

- This band drama history is some shit. The whole thing just sucks for everyone, and I feel their pain.

- I really like all these conversations delving into people's motive with regards to band politics. The dynamic of this band is so shaky because of these previous events, and to see how it affects our current group is awesome to watch.

- I love how they talk about Asuka here too. She's totally focused on music-making to the extreme.

- That ending, hahahaha. Kumiko's expression is great. You can hear in her voice that she doesn't give a shit about that, haha.

Overall, I liked how this episode really fleshed out the different members of the ensemble here, and showed a lot of their motives. There wasn't a ton of musical technical stuff here for me to comment on, but it was really nice to get a sense of the group dynamic here.