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[MikeHattsu]

Love Lab 09

The piano music, sticking together as friends and the overall feeling of the episode... I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.

 

[firehawk12]

Love Lab 09

The piano music, sticking together as friends and the overall feeling of the episode... I'm a sucker for this kind of thing.

http://i.imgur.com/8qArTPL.jpg

:secretbase

 

[Branduil]

Wat. I... what?

Seriously tough, I'm finding myself at odds with people here way too often. There's a lot of animes that I find enjoyable (like Kyoukai no Kanata), or even really good (Like Ano Hana) that people really dislike, and I really can't see why. This happen so often that I even made this:

It's obviously a popular anime everywhere that is not AnimeGAF, it even came in 10th in the AOTY vote on GAF, but there are a number of reasons why I don't think it is a very good anime at all. Maybe I'll detail its flaws later today(I should probably look up the old discussions on it since I've forgotten details), but let's just say for now that it's the show that made Mari Okada an infamous name in AnimeGAF.

 

[firehawk12]

It's obviously a popular anime everywhere that is not AnimeGAF, it even came in 10th in the AOTY vote on GAF, but there are a number of reasons why I don't think it is a very good anime at all. Maybe I'll detail its flaws later today(I should probably look up the old discussions on it since I've forgotten details), but let's just say for now that it's the show that made Mari Okada an infamous name in AnimeGAF.

I feel like that was Fractale.

I would say it was HanaIro. lol

 

[Trojita]

What is live action filth doing on this page!?

 

[Kansoku]

It's probably specifically that it came right off Hyouka. I don't hate it, but in a year where AnoNatsu nailed the high school drama romcom, Chuu2 couldn't even compete on that front.

But why it can't be seen for itself? Just because there's better stuff doesn't make it bad.

It's obviously a popular anime everywhere that is not AnimeGAF, it even came in 10th in the AOTY vote on GAF, but there are a number of reasons why I don't think it is a very good anime at all. Maybe I'll detail its flaws later today(I should probably look up the old discussions on it since I've forgotten details), but let's just say for now that it's the show that made Mari Okada an infamous name in AnimeGAF.

Please do.

 

[Branduil]

I feel like that was Fractale.

I would say it was HanaIro. lol

Was Fractale before Ano Hana? I forget.

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

Okada's infamy should have been clear after True Tears but I assume not many people have watched it, it should be kept that way.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

I feel like that was Fractale.

I would say it was HanaIro. lol

I think the one-two punch of Fractale and Ano Hana are what did it. Both were pretty terrible on the writing front.

 

[batigolalone]

Here ya go http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=744058

I love you, mate.

 

[jbug617]

Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai! Ren 1

Sort of like a reintroduction to the show. Don't like the look for Nibutani. That has to be

Spoiler

Yutta's old friend from middle school that moved into Rikka's old apartment.

Still the best

 

[Branduil]

I think the one-two punch of Fractale and Ano Hana are what did it. Both were pretty terrible on the writing front.

Well, in Fractale's case, you also had Yamakan directing, so people were eager to blame him as well. With Ano Hana, Tatsuyuki is actually a respected director, so almost everyone who disliked it blamed Okada.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Well, in Fractale's case, you also had Yamakan directing, so people were eager to blame him as well. With Ano Hana, Tatsuyuki is actually a respected director, so almost everyone who disliked it blamed Okada.

Yeah, and the fact that they aired back to back didn't hurt. We were basically treated to six straight months of Okada's bullshit. Even someone who shifted the blame with Fractale would have changed their tune after seeing it immediately followed up with that garbage.

I think Factale's writing flaws were worse than Ano Hana's in the grand scheme of things because of just how inconsistent the tone was even within the same scene at times. Although it wasn't nearly as bad in terms of the laughable melodrama.

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

Aikatsu! 27

We solidify our main three (which wasn't hard at all). I think Otome/Yurika/Sakura will be our first defense of the Uber idol group (lolShion??), with Ichigo/Ran/Aoi being the prized idols.

That being said, the amount of fellating Mizuki gets is utterly astounding. She works hard for what she gets, but she was practically Born This Way considering the amount of treatment she gets.

Almost reminds me of "Mana had to work hard to get to where she was!" only for it to be negated by her mother saying she was 2badass4her even as a baby.

 

[Geneijin]

Wat. I... what?

Seriously tough, I'm finding myself at odds with people here way too often. There's a lot of animes that I find enjoyable (like Kyoukai no Kanata), or even really good (Like Ano Hana) that people really dislike, and I really can't see why. This happen so often that I even made this:

http://i.imgur.com/MZdp96w.png[IMG][/QUOTE]
Depends how you're defining what's good about Ano Hana. It was mostly melodrama without much of an actual drama outside of one tragic event to distill any substantial meaning to many of the character's actions within the show. A lot of explanations felt force-feed because of it too. The best thing in Ano Hana was the Secret Base song really.

 

[CorvoSol]

I would say for you to come to Minas, but unless you like old stuff and climbing mini mountains, there's not much to do And you're not missing anything by not going to the beachs (Most of them).

Actually I have been to Minas, haha. I first lived in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais (after a brief stay in Casa Verde, Sao Paulo) and then the last area I lived before leaving was in Uberaba, Minas Gerais.

Mobile Suit Gundam 26

Char's back! Aaaaand he's crazy. I really should just assume that any time Char steps out of the plot for a bit he's gonna be wacky when he comes back. This is also the first time we see under water MS combat, if I'm not mistaken, so there's that. Of note is that Revil says "Y'all's officially in the army now, and BTW if y'all wanna leave y'all're gonna spend a year in prison first. Military secrets and stuff." Kaifun would've cried his eyes out, but perpetual whiner Amuro actually does a pretty good job of not throwing a fit. Mostly because when he does Frau Bow is there to call him out on it.

Time for some more Happy Science.

 

[Branduil]

Depends how you're defining what's good about Ano Hana. It was mostly melodrama without much of an actual drama outside of one tragic event to distill any substantial meaning to many of the character's actions within the show. A lot of explanations felt force-feed because of it too. The best thing in Ano Hana was the Secret Base song really.

Hey man don't forget Anaru's deep struggles with peer pressure that the show completely dropped halfway through.

 

[wonzo]

My first exposure to KyoAni stuff was with Kyoukai.

my condolences

 

[Nordicus]

Chuunibyou Demo Koi Ga Shitai! Ren 1

Sort of like a reintroduction to the show. Don't like the look for Nibutani. That has to be

Spoiler

Yutta's old friend from middle school that moved into Rikka's old apartment.

Still the best

*snip*

*squint*

Is her left leg suddenly turning into a right leg at the end there?

 

[Quasar]

Just power through the first season of Amagami SS

All I have to say is

Spoiler

Kaoru and Ai are the best girls

Thats insanity.

 

[Geneijin]

Hey man don't forget Anaru's deep struggles with peer pressure that the show completely dropped halfway through.

I forgot about some of the subplots they dropped. Yukiatsu got screwed...

 

[Branduil]

*squint*

Is her left leg suddenly turning into a right leg at the end there?

KyoAni... or KyoSHAFT?

 

[Supaidaman]

I lived in Goias, which is the state encircling the Distrito Federal, Brasilia. So like, take a map of Brazil, chuck a dart smack dab in the middle and away from the bikinis and oceans and that's where I am.

I lived in Brazil for 2 years and never even saw a beach. I need to go back.

"We have to go back."

I know that emotion all too well, since I was born on São Paulo. But then I moved to Macaé, and the first time I saw the beach was amazing. Nowadays I don't even go there lol. Being a giant nerd in a city like this is hard

D-Frags 1
This was... okay I guess? I dunno, I found it funny but it was totally nonsensical. Definitely watching for a little longer though.

 

[Kansoku]

Depends how you're defining what's good about Ano Hana. It was mostly melodrama without much of an actual drama outside of one tragic event to distill any substantial meaning to many of the character's actions within the show. A lot of explanations felt force-feed because of it too. The best thing in Ano Hana was the Secret Base song really.

I tough the character's interactions and the way that their development was connected were pretty good. Also for the fact that the ending almost made me cry.

IDK, I think I really don't care about writing, directing, and whatever. I can certainly notice when something is good, link I think Aku no Hana and Another sound design are amazing. I don't really care until it really makes thing really awful, like almost everything in Umineko. In AnoHana's case I tough it was a fun tale about friends dealing with their past, that had a very predictable, yet very emotional ending. If you ask me what I think it's bad about it, I would certainly not know what to say. Nothing stands out to me. It's certainly not a perfect anime, but the things that are not that good about it didn't serve as a detriment to my enjoyment of the show, so everything is alright.

Actually I have been to Minas, haha. I first lived in Uberlandia, Minas Gerais (after a brief stay in Casa Verde, Sao Paulo) and then the last area I lived before leaving was in Uberaba, Minas Gerais.

lol so close.

 

[Midonin]

Venus Versus Virus
Like de Milo, Without Some Arms

This just barely predates when I got into anime (the summer of 2007), but I had acquired the theme and character songs long before I watched the actual show. Felt like doing that, and while the show certainly has some interesting ideas going for it, the best part was the one tried and true staple of my anime viewing experience. The Sumire/Lucia yuri tension was pretty high, very high indeed, and there was plenty to support it, but the show surrounding them wasn't quite polished.

Girls fighting monsters has been a staple of anime for a long time, and starting with a monster of the week type setup before transitioning to a more linear plot is also expected, I don't have a problem with these. There's just a lot of unanswered questions. Why did

Spoiler

Lilith's spirit

make Sumire go berserk? Was it because it was incomplete? What happened in that ending? What's with the ghosts? Then there's the fact that it kept flashing back to that one moment with Lucif, even though the truth of the event was something else entirely. And the elemental aspect of the viruses never felt like it played into things all that much.

The precedent for Yoshiki being a doll was established with the twins, and he always did feel kind of fishy. Lucia's the only one meant for Sumire, anyway. I do like the visual aspects of the show - the school uniform, with its gloves and golden neck choker stand out - but it's clear the OP and ED aren't super fluid. The ED being a zoom out on a single still, and the OP having a lot of money saving stills as well.

Musically, the OP's catchy, and I've always liked Yousei Teikoku's work. They did a fine job on the ED. Character songs are nice, too. "inner world" is a good listen, and "Yami no Kagi Hikari no Tobira" is a good duet between two VAs who can sing pretty well.

The action was serviceable, and the show did make an effort to show both Sumire's normal high school student side and her life as a monster fighter, never playing one as too important compared to the other. The subplot with Riku attempting to ask her out was a nice bit of puppy love, but after all that buildup, the birthday party never came to pass.

Final Thoughts: The yuri goggle inducing moments were by far the best part. It was also nice seeing an early role for Minori Chihara, and one of Ayahi Takagaki's first major parts before she reached the status she has today. By the very nature of adaptation, some things are left unresolved, and while I don't dislike the show (it was entertaining to watch, for the general atmosphere, the yuri), it needs to be tightened up in a few places, because there are some good ideas here.

 

[PdotMichael]

*squint*

Is her left leg suddenly turning into a right leg at the end there?

Reminds me on the two legs related fuck ups in Haruhi. What's KyoAni's problem with legs?

 

[fertygo]

I like AnoHana for what it is, sappy drama and all that *cue secret base song*

A bit shame Okada try to forcefeed the drama in every eps, if the spread is more balanced (beginning, mid-climax, end climax) maybe its could be a lot better even if the show no more than soap opera.

 

[EvilKatarn]

What the fuuuuuuck

That's why Yamato looked so good. They spent all the money on the show and left this poor girl with nothing to work but some paper, a printer and a costume.

I mean, it's entertaining for sure. Her teaching saluting is adorable.

 

[CorvoSol]

I know that emotion all too well, since I was born on São Paulo. But then I moved to Macaé, and the first time I saw the beach was amazing. Nowadays I don't even go there lol. Being a giant nerd in a city like this is hard

We have beaches where I live here in America. But they're not exactly the kind you take a blanket and sit around at, even during the summer.

lol so close.

Tell you what, though, Pao de Queijo Mineiro is the better kind.


So I'm like 13 minutes into Rebirth of Buddha and while I know us Mormons don't have like, a copyright on doodling religious explanatory charts on napkins, I kinda thought we did, so seeing it used here is weird.

 

[SDBurton]

You don't get the Shaft-isms or Ume-wideface designs in other anime though.

Spoiler

None of them are yuri!

Speaking of which, how many copies of this have you preordered?

Shut it!

And I'll preorder it when I get home.

 

[Kansoku]

Tell you what, though, Pao de Queijo Mineiro is the better kind.

Oh Yes.

 

[SDBurton]

Just power through the first season of Amagami SS

All I have to say is

Spoiler

Kaoru and Ai are the best girls

Preeeeach!

 

[Save 'N Quit]

Tokyo Ravens 13

Perfect reaction for being surrounded by two idiots.

Already dreading the next episode with the fight coming up. Expecting it to be just as mediocre as all the other previous ones.

 

[Geneijin]

I tough the character's interactions and the way that their development was connected were pretty good. Also for the fact that the ending almost made me cry.

IDK, I think I really don't care about writing, directing, and whatever. I can certainly notice when something is good, link I think Aku no Hana and Another sound design are amazing. I don't really care until it really makes thing really awful, like almost everything in Umineko. In AnoHana's case I tough it was a fun tale about friends dealing with their past, that had a very predictable, yet very emotional ending. If you ask me what I think it's bad about it, I would certainly not know what to say. Nothing stands out to me. It's certainly not a perfect anime, but the things that are not that good about it didn't serve as a detriment to my enjoyment of the show, so everything is alright.

I thought their interactions and development were terrible because they were rife with emotional appeals that don't make sense outside of that vacuum: Menma's death. Everything can be explained through that one tragic event, and well, it's just not very relatable or reasonable thing to understand or care for.

Edit: Also, you can't say you don't care about the writing when the writing influences the characters' identities, their respective interactions and dynamics with one another, and their development. It's quite important. It's why as Branduil said, people started to learn who Mari Okada was. Myself included.

 

[cnet128]

Oh dear, people hating on AnoHana and Mari Okada. AnoHana was good, you guys! Okada is fine with shows that focus on relationships and human emotional drama, see also: NagiAsu. It's just when she writes for shows that are trying to tell convoluted high concept scifi/fantasy stories (Fractale, Black Rock Shooter TV) that it turns out kind of awful.

I thought their interactions and development were terrible because they were rife with emotional appeals that don't make sense outside of that vacuum: Menma's death. Everything can be explained through that one tragic event, and well, it's just not very relatable or reasonable thing to understand or care for.

Obligatory "Mari Okada was never a traumatised child whose dead friend came back as a ghost, so how can she write about it?!" =p


Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren 1

Chuuni is baaaaaaaack! Feels like it never left <3

Rikka is adorable as ever, and having her actually

Spoiler

living with Yuuta

now is preeeeetty squee-worthy. I just wish they would cuddle more. NEEDS MORE RABURABU.

I do think Dekomori has become ever-so-slightly less petite, which is a shame because she was basically 100% perfect the way she was, but it's not nearly as noticeable as those comparison images made it look, and she's still by and large the same adorable Dekomori we know and love.

Nibutani's new look is fine or whatever, I don't really care about Nibutani except for purposes of giving Dekomori someone to yuri ship with, and judging from the OP and ED it ain't gonna last long anyway.

Kumin-senpai is very Kumin-senpai.

Osananajimi girl who hasn't shown up yet is totally

Spoiler

living right above Yuuta's head RIGHT NOW, it's obvious

.

Yuuta's elder imouto is still cute and unassuming, but why would they ship off the younger imouto to some distant location?! Don't the makers of this series know that everything always needs MORE imouto, not less?!

OP and ED are both nice tunes but I don't think I like either of them quite as much as their predecessors at this point. Loving those visuals in the ED though. Mmmmmmm.

Oh, and this episode's gratuitous battle scene was pretty fabulous. Better than anything in Kyoukai no Kanata, that's for sure.

 

[survivor]

Yozakura Quartet 7

So fucking good

Also the entire cast is broken as hell, they really need to step up the antagonists side with something very threatening.

 

[Branduil]

Oh dear, people hating on AnoHana and Mari Okada. AnoHana was good, you guys! Okada is fine with shows that focus on relationships and human emotional drama, see also: NagiAsu. It's just when she writes for shows that are trying to tell convoluted high concept scifi/fantasy stories (Fractale, Black Rock Shooter TV) that it turns out kind of awful.

But the scifi/fantasy aspect had nothing to do with why Black Rock Shooter TV was such an utterly hilarious trainwreck.

 

[Geneijin]

Oh dear, people hating on AnoHana and Mari Okada. AnoHana was good, you guys! Okada is fine with shows that focus on relationships and human emotional drama, see also: NagiAsu. It's just when she writes for shows that are trying to tell convoluted high concept scifi/fantasy stories (Fractale, Black Rock Shooter TV) that it turns out kind of awful.

Anaru and Tsuruko's relationship does not make any sense beyond its face value and is there as a poor explanation for Tsuruko's resentment to Anaru.

 

[CorvoSol]

Oh Yes.

Wish I could get some here, though.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Oh dear, people hating on AnoHana and Mari Okada. AnoHana was good, you guys! Okada is fine with shows that focus on relationships and human emotional drama, see also: NagiAsu. It's just when she writes for shows that are trying to tell convoluted high concept scifi/fantasy stories (Fractale, Black Rock Shooter TV) that it turns out kind of awful.

Ano Hana was definitely not good, and the focus on relationships really underlined how bad Okada is at that. None of the characters' relationships felt genuine in the least, and there didn't seem to be a very clear reason for how anyone had developed. For the most part, the characters all felt extremely flat, and simply existed to hit on two or three points with little regard as to how those things lined up or how their lives had lead to them being the way they were. And honestly, from what I remember of Fractale (I only watched a few episodes) the sf concept was the best part of it, and it was in the tone and character development that the show completely fell apart, which really contradicts your premise.

The only time I can recall Okada's work turning out fine is on Wandering Son (which was an adaptation and with a good director) and Hanasaku Iroha (which had an extremely talented director who seemed to be able to control Okada and actually get something decent out of her). Aside from that, it's pretty much all bad.

 

[wonzo]

Okada is fine with shows that focus on relationships and human emotional drama

thanks for the laugh

 

[Geneijin]

Ano Hana was definitely not good, and the focus on relationships really underlined how bad Okada is at that. None of the characters' relationships felt genuine in the least, and there didn't seem to be a very clear reason for how anyone had developed. For the most part, the characters all felt extremely flat, and simply existed to hit on two or three points with little regard as to how those things lined up or how their lives had lead to them being the way they were.

Actually there was.

Spoiler

It was that they didn't develop because the tragedy affected them all, freezing them in the past so they could never grow up.

It was too convenient of an explanation to justify the lack of development.

 

[sonicmj1]

I thought their interactions and development were terrible because they were rife with emotional appeals that don't make sense outside of that vacuum: Menma's death. Everything can be explained through that one tragic event, and well, it's just not very relatable or reasonable thing to understand or care for.

Edit: Also, you can't say you don't care about the writing when the writing influences the characters' identities, their respective interactions and dynamics with one another, and their development. It's quite important. It's why as Branduil said, people started to learn who Mari Okada was. Myself included.

Geneijin
He'll Never Forget The
Flower We Saw That Day

 

[Syrinx]

Full Metal Panic! 15

Well, that wasn't going to go wrong from the very beginning.

Interesting how they used shots of Chidori walking around on the beach alone, completely unaware of everything that was going on with Sousuke and Gauron.

 

[Quasar]

Oh dear, people hating on AnoHana and Mari Okada.

The rabid anti-Okada hate on animeGAF does continue to confuse me I must admit.

I've liked the limited amount of stuff Okada has been part of that I've watched.

Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! Ren 1

Chuuni is baaaaaaaack! Feels like it never left <3

Yeah. Exactly what I expected, which for me is good. I do continue to be bored by the overlong fantasy action sequences though.

 

[CorvoSol]

Full Metal Panic! 15

Well, that wasn't going to go wrong from the very beginning.

Interesting how they used shots of Chidori walking around on the beach alone, completely unaware of everything that was going on with Sousuke and Gauron.

I think this was actually the first episode of the show I ever saw. I really liked those shots of Chidori oblivious by the beach while Sousuke was out there

Spoiler

watching his team get slaughtered and fighting Gauron.

 

[Pancakes]

.

Aaaagh, my heart.

 

[wonzo]

Actually there was.

Spoiler

It was that they didn't develop because the tragedy affected them all, freezing them in the past so they could never grow up.

It was too convenient of an explanation to justify the lack of development.

In a world without child psychologists, we'll never forget the trauma we experienced that day.

 

[FelixOrion]

.

Hnnnnggg

 

[cnet128]

But the scifi/fantasy aspect had nothing to do with why Black Rock Shooter TV was such an utterly hilarious trainwreck.

Well, the way I remember Black Rock Shooter TV was that it was at its strongest when it was playing the pure character melodrama for all it was worth (wildly over the top, but that was clearly intentional and frankly quite mesmerising to watch). It only really fell apart when it tried to tie the "real world" and the "other world" together in some kind of bizarre convoluted mess of characters shifting back and forth and becoming each other which never made an awful lot of sense and made for an unsatisfying ending.

Anaru and Tsuruko's relationship does not make any sense beyond its face value and is there as a poor explanation for Tsuruko's resentment to Anaru.

I'd argue this point, but it's been a while and frankly my memories of AnoHana are a little too hazy for me to recall much about the specifics of Anaru and Tsuruko's relationship.

honestly, from what I remember of Fractale (I only watched a few episodes) the sf concept was the best part of it, and it was in the tone and character development that the show completely fell apart, which really contradicts your premise.

From what I recall of Fractale (which is far more hazy than AnoHana because the show was such a mess none of it really stuck with me), there was barely any room for any actual character development. The show just kept leaping between awkward worldbuilding and revelations and conspiracies and struggles between different factions until it somehow arrived at some kind of odd unsatisfying ending that didn't seem to actually resolve the issues that the series had brought up.

It's true that the concept at the beginning seemed like the most promising part of the show, but Okada, or Yamakan, or whoever was responsible for where the narrative ultimately went, clearly didn't have a good idea of what to do with that concept, and that was the show's issue. It didn't play to Okada's strengths at all.