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[cajunator]

So I finally started this show after much excitement and anticipation and I’m really glad that I did. The show thus far has been a joy to watch and has left me wanting more. Seeing as I’m at the halfway point I thought that I’d wrap up for today and write up a bit in regards to my feelings on the show so far (which are super positive if you couldn’t tell!). I’m not sure if the show is popular or well known around here, so I’d be happy if I get some other people to check this out by the time I’m done with it.

The show itself is a mystery drama or sorts with heavy use of both horror and supernatural elements that accumulates into something truly psychological.

The show in general…
Okay as always I tend to split up my feelings on each element of the show so I’ll be starting with the general gist of the show. The best way to describe the show would be…that it feels like a grown up, anime take on the Goosebumps type of formula. Each episode has its own little story to tell but everything intertwines by the end of each episode as everything falls into place. Make no mistake; everything is a part of a much grander arc here. The premises are super, creepy (legitimately so) and some parts downright chilling in imagery. But no matter how creepy each episode is, you end up with this huge grin on your face as everything falls into place by the end of each episode and the credits roll by (with that super catchy ending theme!). The show is really cool like that.

The show is varied however, as it works hard to keep its audience engaged. Episode 6 for example was creepy, but left me with some tears in my eyes by the end. The show can be pretty real at times and its pacing can be masterful. The show deals with all sorts of proposition and plays with all sorts of ideas. Deranged stalkers, serial killers and other crazy people lurk in this story. Overall I’m really enjoying the story and the way in which it’s told. This is no one trick pony.

Music
The music in this show is fan-fucking-tastic. Really, the creators of the show did a terrific job of manipulating sound in order to construct this eerie atmosphere that keeps you engaged. It’s super effective and makes for a unique and intimate experience. Silent moments are followed by ambient sounds and heavy breathing and such sounds all accumulating into something unnatural and truly riveting. The intro music is 10/10 amazing, and the end of each episode is met by the ending theme which leaves a massive smile on my face as the credits scroll by. These will be on my music player for a long time, as will the whole soundtrack.

Overall, the audio is utilized to a degree that enhances the show and each episode and is something I truly admire. Think Lain, and think Texhnolyze when trying to visualize the soundtrack for this show. With the sound director being Mr.Tsuruoka, it’s no surprise really. Incredible job all round on the audio.

Carrying on with the theme of audio and sound, I thought that I’d take some time to praise the voice acting. The voices are super compelling and the actors really sell what they are saying. The voices don’t sound too typical and the cast is diverse.

Visuals
The visuals encompass the designs, cinematography and such. Overall so far I love what I’m seeing. The show has the grainy look throughout which makes for a look that can only be described as a washed out VHS. This mixed with the use of muted, dull colours makes for an image that looks funnily enough fresh and something that pops off the screen. It really sells the tone of the show and adds to the atmosphere. For a show that is muted in looks, it so happens that the show is also very stylish and cool in its appearance.

The character design is a big positive for me. Everyone looks simple and realistic enough whilst still managing to stand out and just looking super appealing. That’s pretty hard to achieve in my opinion so the character designers should be commended as such. No crazy colours and such in their hair, everyone is pretty much wearing the same school uniforms and yet they all look distinct. Huge plus for me. It really works to create this cohesive, believable world.

Overall
I’m really enjoying this show a lot. Kind of sad I’m already half way through it, but I look forward to seeing how it ends. The show is creepy, and interesting. The music is done really well, as is the voice acting and the visuals are a delight. Everything works together to create this cohesive vision that the director should be proud of. Thoughts on episode 7 to 12 (end) tomorrow.

As a side note, first of all if anyone likes my thoughts on the shows that I watch I’m super grateful but I’d also like feedback if people don’t like the format. As I try to avoid episode specifies and spoilers they might all sound a bit the same. If people prefer episode specifics or each episode being discussed separately, let me know.

Boogiepop phantom, is excellent but creepy as hell. I watched it in anime club a long time ago.
Its pretty much what psych horror fans are looking for though.

http://a.pomf.se/uljymh.webm

This show is a treasure.

I do like how the (current) top ten is a fairly even licensing split though: Funimation coming up big with the runaway top two plus one more, then Sentai and Aniplex with two each (though Mushishi has no home release confirmed yet), and three others that remain unlicensed.

Yeah but pricing wise, Aniplex will still make out like bandits!

It occurs to me that nobody has voted for Sailor Moon Crystal yet.

It really isnt very good. Even by lax standards.

Fan of Big Hero 6 then?

Fan of GOGO!

The most disappointing thing might be how poorly Mushishi has performed.

That was completely expected though unless someone is naive.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Ah gotcha. Is it like kinda explicit? I mean hes 13 and hes seen his fair share of anime fan service but I dont really want to watch people banging next to him haha. Its weird.

Just bare breasts, and one scene when they interview two of the racers and they are wearing nothing but fur coats and underwear.
I might be forgetting something but I've watched the movie four times so I doubt it

 

[Save 'N Quit]

My weekly dose of cute and suffering has been quenched.

Along with my old love of hearing Nobuyuki voicing an entertaining baddie.

 

[victreeb3l]

Just bare breasts, and one scene when they interview two of the racers and they are wearing nothing but fur coats and underwear.
I might be forgetting something but I've watched the movie four times so I doubt it

Ah ok thats not so bad.

We just watched Akira last night and watched Kaori get punched in the face after getting her shirt ripped off. He was just like "whoa haha wuuuuuuutttt"

 

[JCG]

Junketsu no Maria Episode 4:

Didn't think it was possible but this series has become more obsessed with losing virginity then a 1980s American sex comedy.

With the big difference that most American sex comedies don't really have another half that includes more interesting material to go along with it. At least not that I can recall.

I've long since accepted that virginity will be a running joke, even if it's also symbolic of the innocence/naive nature of the character, which ties into the other themes of the story.

 

[Jarmel]

I expect nobody to be able to identify the song in this Eureka Seven MAD but might as well ask:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr4oGD5e1WQ

 

[Puruzi]

wrong thread lmao

 

[firehawk12]

Hipster streak nothing. Even if Ping Pong wins look at the rest of the titles.

If someone wanted to make some D'ARTE statement about anime they failed if you look at the rest of the list.

2014 was such a weak year anyway, that I'm just glad if the best anime of the year actually wins the poll. lol

Hahaha, the

Spoiler

death flags

confused me in this episode too, though in retrospect, it should have been pretty obvious as to what was going on - the sortie in this episode was based around the Japanese assault on Wake Island at the beginning of WW2, which is where

Spoiler

the real-life Kisaragi sank, the first Japanese ship to go down during the war.

It's one of those things which paints the show in a pretty weird light - whilst the show, in it's opening monologue, proclaims the characters as not being the actual war ships but "girls who inherent the souls of warships of years past", there's also a weird hodge-podge of details that both pin it as set in WW2 (like the way that horizontal text is typically written right-to-left[*] rather than left-to-right as it is these days) and things that'd be clearly anachronistic for the era. I'd have to imagine it's all a case of "having their cake and eating it", or at least them attempting not to appear quite as grossly ultra-nationalistic as they've often accused of being, but it does rather (presumably) accidentally suggest that this is one of those shows where warriors of the present day are forced to struggle to not relive the follies of the past. Is every girl going to face potentially sharing the fate of their namesake?

[*] This is where the whole

Spoiler

Zekamashi

joke from episode 4 comes from -

Spoiler

Shimakaze's name in Hiragana, written across Rensouhou's floatation ring, was pretty much the first place that text like this was exposed in the game, leading parts of the fanbase to call her Zekamashi either accidentally, or as a gag. In Kongou's case, though, she's from England, so she probably doesn't know any better than to read left-to-right.

If they're recreating WW2 battles, wouldn't all the girls die anyway?

Its basically what you ask for, the roleplaying theme that just device to the other junk..

The melodrama was too much for even duckroll, so I never even bothered.

One thing seakano does well , is that it's self aware... it's a good thing because it matches with the context .. it's not the first to talk about otaku culture, or mock it.. and it certainly won't be the last... there is no problem about talking creative processes and the problem that goes with it , if the main point or the plot device of your anime is the creative process itself. Many anime used it ( hayate no gotoku for exemple and that is an old exemple ) but saekano is really less about the content but more about the journey.

Narag keeps trolling me with Ready Player One quotes as a form of bullying, and all the Saekano metatextuality feels as torturous as reading about how the main character thinks he is Matthew Broderick from Wargames. It's asking you to identify with being a part of a culture, and imagine if this was anything else? Like instead of nerd references, it's like a series of race references instead, and it becomes easy to realize how cheap it can be.

It can be done well, typically if used in conjunction with something else. Nozaki-kun, as banal as it is, doesn't lean too hard on it despite the fact that it's all about making shoujo references.

Correct. The TV ending is Shinji's internal perspective. End of Evangelion is the external blockbuster movie perspective. Rebuild of Evangelion is the next cycle in the endless loop.

/me runs

Spoiler

You know I'm right!

So Evangelion is now endless eight?

Just finished watching Knights of Sidonia, and damn. Such a breath of fresh air in sci-fi anime (and better) compared to what we have currently that is Aldnoah.Zero. Wish I can change my ranking in the AotY thread, oh well.

Sidonia becomes good by virtue of nothing else being in the competition. Yet, even if you excuse the CG animation, it is essentially just another shounen harem show with space planes. lol

 

[PK Gaming]

Gourmet Girl Graffiti 4

Less fun time with friends, and more focus on the main character. The change in style was neat, but it made me realize something; the grass is greener on the other side. Or how about, you never know what you have until it's gone? Kirin (and to a lesser extent Shiina) being gone was definitely felt in this episode. Like, it's kind of incredible how I actually found myself enjoying the food porn sequences less without the others around. Overall, the extra development for Ryo was nice (those grandma flashbacks were pretty touching), and I loved how she got worked up over her "darling" Kirin.

 

[KharmaPolice]

I expect nobody to be able to identify the song in this Eureka Seven MAD but might as well ask:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr4oGD5e1WQ

Well, Shazam says it is Agape - メロキュア (or Agape - merocure) but I can't find a good version on youtube.

 

[Jarmel]

Well, Shazam says it is Agape - メロキュア (or Agape - merocure) but I can't find a good version on youtube.

Found it, thanks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8KNiC7Ke6Q

The merocure part was the part I needed. I didn't bother trying Shazam as I imagined the hitrate for foreign songs to be insanely low.

 

[AnathemicOne]

Sidonia becomes good by virtue of nothing else being in the competition. Yet, even if you excuse the CG animation, it is essentially just another shounen harem show with space planes. lol

I don't like Sidonia for the characters ('cause let's be honest, they were weak), instead I liked it for the world-building and atmosphere. As for the CG animation, took me a few episodes in to adjust (was eerily reminded of Cartoon Network's run of the Ironman TV show which was also done in CG).

It has harem-y elements but they were very light. Hell, I would say it would be the lightest compared to everything in 2014 we got (see Aldnoah.Zero, Mahouka, Black Bullet, etc.). Also by the same comparison, it would be the lightest of shows being shounen-y.

 

[Jarmel]

It has harem-y elements but they were very light. Hell, I would say it would be the lightest compared to everything in 2014 we got (see Aldnoah.Zero, Mahouka, Black Bullet, etc.). Also by the same comparison, it would be the lightest of shows being shounen-y.

Come on now.

 

[Sölf]

Ping Pong 11
I have no words. These last 3 episodes completely blew my mind. I am now pretty sad that I didn't put it in my Anime of the Year list. While it may not have been my number 1, it would have definitly ranked in my top 5.

 

[AnathemicOne]

Come on now.

What? The main character had 2-3 girls on his dick and

Spoiler

one got killed off

. Compared to other shows like Aldnoah.Zero with godInaho and Slaine, and Black Bullet were every lolicon was on the MC's dick, this is hardly offensive.

 

[R_thanatos]

Narag keeps trolling me with Ready Player One quotes as a form of bullying, and all the Saekano metatextuality feels as torturous as reading about how the main character thinks he is Matthew Broderick from Wargames. It's asking you to identify with being a part of a culture, and imagine if this was anything else? Like instead of nerd references, it's like a series of race references instead, and it becomes easy to realize how cheap it can be.

It can be done well, typically if used in conjunction with something else. Nozaki-kun, as banal as it is, doesn't lean too hard on it despite the fact that it's all about making shoujo references.

And the MC is brought down / back to reality everytime he goes too far .. You don't need to identify yourself to a main character to enjoy an anime where he is in.( even if it helps ) .. Saekano does nothing that hasn't been done before , and so far it's not even attempting to go beyond what has been done... It's not even a jest of references , aside from background product placement , the show is pretty light on that aspect.

Heck even if i need to identify myself to a certain group in order to enjoy the material , Where is the problem when the target is the common generic otaku mixed with generic harem mold #1246843135 ? At least it's not trying to disguise itself or fool anyone.. We have generic twintail tsundere, generic otaku , generic cool beauty, generic honnest to a fault quiet girl and then later the generic genki girl will come in and so on....

It's too late to cry when this has been abused by everyone since years., if one has reached saturation , it's time to stop watching a generic harem anime if you don't want generic harem stuff.

 

[astrogamer]

Yatterman Night 4
Liking the increase in physical humor while still sustaining the tragedy. The general character was fairly cool as well

 

[Jarmel]

What? The main character had 2-3 girls on his dick and

Spoiler

one got killed off

. Compared to other shows like Aldnoah.Zero with godInaho and Slaine, and Black Bullet were every lolicon was on the MC's dick, this is hardly offensive.

It's not just about the numbers but also time spent on antics. The harem component was definitely a notable part of the show.

 

[EzekelRAGE]

Just watched season 1 and 4 episodes of root A of Tokyo Ghoul and love it. Can anyone recommend me some more animes that are like that (dark/horror)? I read in the TG OT about Parasyte and Rage of Bahamut possibly. I watched Berserk, Yu Yu Hakusho, Monster, all of which I think is the same genre.

 

[Taruranto]

I hope Valvrave wins this year GAF AOTY.

 

[Kansoku]

So I finished a bunch of animes recently and want to give some short shoutouts to them.

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru was pretty damn good. The characters were all really good and the hole thing was pretty funny. OP and ED are amazing. And I recently learned that it was made by SHAFT and damn, they're really becoming my favorite studio. That ending tho...

D-Frag was also pretty good. Pretty funny and good characters. The setting was interesting as well, but I felt it was a little too much. I can't really put my finger on it, but something don't quite make it as funny as I thought it would be.

Mononoke. Oh shit that was AMAZING. It felt like I was watching Oshino Meme's ancestor dealing with [strikeout]apparitions[/strikeout] mononoke in style. The symbolism and abstraction here is great, and all the stories were really interesting, especially the incense one.

Yuyushiki I didn't like as much. I like random comedies, but here it wasn't really that well done IMO. Instead of something like the principal fighting a deer on school grounds, it's just 2 girls saying random stuff on the fly. It wasn't really funny. The best parts IMO were some of the club scenes, and when the other group (Ai IIRC and her friends) was involved.

Kill me Baby, I didn't like this much as well. It was certainly better than Yuyushiki, tho. I honestly got tired of the schtick quickly. IIRC it was an adaptation of a 4-koma, and I don't think it was that good of an adaptation if it that is the case. Everything that happened was supper disconnected. I feel it would benefit from having stuff, original additions, to connect what was happening. Every skit was almost the same. Time card (あさ…), Yasuna did something stupid, trying to pick on Sonya, something happened (an accident or Yasuna says something) and Sonya attacks her. Rinse and repeat. Sometimes the ninja girl appeared. And while some of them were funny, they never stayed with me long.

Haibane Renmei was surprisingly good. The story was beautiful, the characters were all interesting, and, while there was some melodrama in the middle, the execution of everything was superb.

Binbougami Ga! was funny. I didn't like Sakura, the priest and Inugami, but the rest of the characters were really good. I loved the antics of Momiji. The little drama at the end was surprising, and well done imo.

Tasogare Otome X Amnesia is kinda of a mess. I did not expect a mix of comedy, romance, mystery, drama, horror and a little bit of ecchi (they really focus on Yuuko's breast). Mixing that much can be dangerous, and here I think it was good enough for the mix. Some parts could be dropped, but overall I thought it had a nice balance. At least I was entertained.

Love Lab is amazing why didn't I watch this before. Eno is the cutest thing ever. <3

Serial Experiments Lain is 2deep4me. I got the general plot, but there were a lot of details that flew right over my head (for example, what Chika had to do with anything). I appreciate the abstraction though. It's definitively something I'll go back to, and I hope I understand more when I do.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Just watched season 1 and 4 episodes of root A of Tokyo Ghoul and love it. Can anyone recommend me some more animes that are like that (dark/horror)? I read in the TG OT about Parasyte and Rage of Bahamut possibly. I watched Berserk, Yu Yu Hakusho, Monster, all of which I think is the same genre.

Parasyte you will like if you enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul. Similar kind of thing with monsters that look like humans and an MC that's halfway between monster and human.
Rage of Bahamut isn't really dark fantasy, but it's a kind of fantasy you don't really see to much anymore that's just in a pure fantastical world with no High School or modern world connections.

 

[Dennis]

Question:

How is it that Season 2 of Tokyo Ghoul can come out so fast after Season 1 but we have to wait forever for the next season of Attack on Titan?

I am not happy.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Question:

How is it that Season 2 of Tokyo Ghoul can come out so fast after Season 1 but we have to wait forever for the next season of Attack on Titan?

I am not happy.

Because they had enough material to make it immediately. By the time Tokyo Ghoul S1 came out the first manga series was pretty much complete. By the time S2 came out, the sequel series ;Re had already begun.
With Attack on Titan they did not. Also, Tokyo Ghoul is weekly while AoT is monthly.
They did announce (although everyone knew it would happen) an AoT S2, I think it's due 2016.

 

[Dennis]

Because they had enough material to make it immediately.
With Attack on Titan they did not. Also, Tokyo Ghoul is weekly while AoT is monthly.
They did announce (although everyone knew it would happen) an AoT S2, I think it's due 2016.

See that is whats killing me.

2016

noooooooooooo

 

[Thoraxes]

Hahaha, the

Spoiler

death flags

confused me in this episode too, though in retrospect, it should have been pretty obvious as to what was going on - the sortie in this episode was based around the Japanese assault on Wake Island at the beginning of WW2, which is where

Spoiler

the real-life Kisaragi sank, the first Japanese ship to go down during the war.

It's one of those things which paints the show in a pretty weird light - whilst the show, in it's opening monologue, proclaims the characters as not being the actual war ships but "girls who inherent the souls of warships of years past", there's also a weird hodge-podge of details that both pin it as set in WW2 (like the way that horizontal text is typically written right-to-left[*] rather than left-to-right as it is these days) and things that'd be clearly anachronistic for the era. I'd have to imagine it's all a case of "having their cake and eating it", or at least them attempting not to appear quite as grossly ultra-nationalistic as they've often accused of being, but it does rather (presumably) accidentally suggest that this is one of those shows where warriors of the present day are forced to struggle to not relive the follies of the past. Is every girl going to face potentially sharing the fate of their namesake?


[*] This is where the whole

Spoiler

Zekamashi

joke from episode 4 comes from -

Spoiler

Shimakaze's name in Hiragana, written across Rensouhou's floatation ring, was pretty much the first place that text like this was exposed in the game, leading parts of the fanbase to call her Zekamashi either accidentally, or as a gag. In Kongou's case, though, she's from England, so she probably doesn't know any better than to read left-to-right.

Oh wow, I didn't know any of that either. It all makes perfect sense. And with Kongou I was trying to figure how she got Zekamashi and that too makes perfect sense. I had no idea.

 

[Narag]

Narag keeps trolling me with Ready Player One quotes as a form of bullying, and all the Saekano metatextuality feels as torturous as reading about how the main character thinks he is Matthew Broderick from Wargames.

Sharing, not bullying, ~chu.

 

[gashikunFLCL]

[Go! Princess Precure] - 01

I was not planing to watch this after the end of HapCha, but after I tried the first episode...I really liked the artstyle, both character art and background art are lovely, and that sakuga! WOW!

I'm in for the ride.

 

[Puruzi]

[Go! Princess Precure] - 01

I was not planing to watch this after the end of HapCha, but after I tried the first episode...I really liked the artstyle, both character art and background art are lovely, and that sakuga! WOW!

I'm in for the ride.

I really hope that the animation won't go to complete shit later.

Spoiler

It will.

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

Sket Dance 1-25

With out Gintama-lite, I felt like watching this because I really needed a change of pace from what I was watching before hand.

I guess, I feel as if Switch really does feel like a very quirky Shinpachi... in fact, I wouldn't really call him a Shinpachi really. He's strangely creepy, no thanks to his computers and stuff. And Bossun only stands out in certain moments as well.

Granted, about halfway through ep 24 (well more like 3/4ths), I was reminded that even Gintama had some serious arcs... the first half of 24 in particular set the general theme up for 24 and 25, but it was comedy related and wasn't that connected in terms of who the focal characters are.

Spoiler

In fact, these two episodes actually establish why Switch is the way he is. Besides the anime bit. Tragic Paaaast.

Needless to say, there's also a wealth of side characters that get used quite a bit, so they're not throwaway. Although I think the general cast is... smaller overall. Not that it's a bad thing.

 

[gashikunFLCL]

I really hope that the animation won't go to complete shit later.

Spoiler

It will.

The artstyle is enough too me, I hope it keeps the animation consistency though.

 

[Narag]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00SWDZWJQ/

~chu

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Gintama 18

Probably the first episode I really enjoyed. I wonder what that says about me.

Also I must say the episode titles in this show are great.

 

[Midonin]

Code-E 01-03

From the mind of Ichiro Sakaki (Outbreak Company, Chaika) comes what I can best describe as the sci-fi Kotoura-san. Shows with instrumental openings are weird to me. I know they're extremely common overseas, but I'm used to - and prefer - anime with vocal openings that an instrumental one, while it can be equally expressive of the series - doesn't quite get to me the same. ED's cute.

As is Chinami. Her power isn't being treated like a superpower

Spoiler

(yet)

, just more of a strange social phenomenon. The show's already called out the love triangle, but a love triangle doesn't have to be an inherently bad thing. It all depends on how long it plays out and such.

Chinami's cute, and I'm liking Momoi as her best friend. I'd love to see if Chinami can get interested in science over the course of the series so she can take control of her own abilities, but it's very understandable why she hasn't. When any outburst of intense emotion causes everything even remotely electronic to freak out, that's going to have a bad effect on your upbringing - again, as she said herself.

It looks like episode 4 is going to take things in a broader direction, but so far? It's cute and each episode transitions into the next pretty smoothly. I've enjoyed Sakaki's work in the past, and I think I will here, too.

 

[Sölf]

Gintama 18





Probably the first episode I really enjoyed. I wonder what that says about me.

Also I must say the episode titles in this show are great.

Nothing, that's pretty normal. Gintama starts out really slow because it has to introduce all of the characters and there are no serious arcs in the beginning. It didn't really click for me until episode ~20 (Hot Pot Episode). But once I was there, the show just got better and better. And once the first serious arcs start (around EP 40 or 50 I think was the first) Gintama shows what it is really capable off.

 

[TUSR]

http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00SWDZWJQ/

~chu

cheaper than i expected

 

[KharmaPolice]

Just watched season 1 and 4 episodes of root A of Tokyo Ghoul and love it. Can anyone recommend me some more animes that are like that (dark/horror)? I read in the TG OT about Parasyte and Rage of Bahamut possibly. I watched Berserk, Yu Yu Hakusho, Monster, all of which I think is the same genre.

You'd probably like Attack on Titan. It has a medieval setting with humanity fighting a losing battle. Gets pretty dark.

I would also recommend Fate/Zero. Urban Fantasy setting with a magic battle royal and ancient heroes. Has a mostly adult cast and gets very dark at times. Has great production values and is very well written overall (only the first episode is kind of divise).

 

[firehawk12]

I don't like Sidonia for the characters ('cause let's be honest, they were weak), instead I liked it for the world-building and atmosphere. As for the CG animation, took me a few episodes in to adjust (was eerily reminded of Cartoon Network's run of the Ironman TV show which was also done in CG).

It has harem-y elements but they were very light. Hell, I would say it would be the lightest compared to everything in 2014 we got (see Aldnoah.Zero, Mahouka, Black Bullet, etc.). Also by the same comparison, it would be the lightest of shows being shounen-y.

Perhaps because I've read ahead in the manga, but I will just say that it falls into its expected roles as a series starring a blank protagonist who is the best pilot in the universe and also surrounded by a diverse cast of female characters.

I mean, I guess when the bar is set by Yamato 2199, nothing will even come close at this point. But I find that it falls back into its shouneney origins pretty quickly.

Come to think of it, I think it was dresden who said that the mangaka's daughter asked him why he was ripping off Attack on Titan. lol

And the MC is brought down / back to reality everytime he goes too far .. You don't need to identify yourself to a main character to enjoy an anime where he is in.( even if it helps ) .. Saekano does nothing that hasn't been done before , and so far it's not even attempting to go beyond what has been done... It's not even a jest of references , aside from background product placement , the show is pretty light on that aspect.

Heck even if i need to identify myself to a certain group in order to enjoy the material , Where is the problem when the target is the common generic otaku mixed with generic harem mold #1246843135 ? At least it's not trying to disguise itself or fool anyone.. We have generic twintail tsundere, generic otaku , generic cool beauty, generic honnest to a fault quiet girl and then later the generic genki girl will come in and so on....

It's too late to cry when this has been abused by everyone since years., if one has reached saturation , it's time to stop watching a generic harem anime if you don't want generic harem stuff.

I guess my problem with it being "honest" is that all it is now is a series of nerd references and trying to appeal to the nerds watching the show through their ability to identify with those references.

I fear for our society because at some point, the idea of comedy and art in our culture will be a person on youtube randomly shouting 4chan and Reddit memes. That seems to be the end game for all of this stuff.

So I finished a bunch of animes recently and want to give some short shoutouts to them.

Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru was pretty damn good. The characters were all really good and the hole thing was pretty funny. OP and ED are amazing. And I recently learned that it was made by SHAFT and damn, they're really becoming my favorite studio. That ending tho...

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

Sharing, not bullying, ~chu.

Go deflate some balls.

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

Gintama 18





Probably the first episode I really enjoyed. I wonder what that says about me.

Also I must say the episode titles in this show are great.

It was the same in my case actually

 

[Kansoku]

I was re-watching to openings for Katekyo Hitman Reborn, and man, it give me chills. The memories all coming back... :3 Such an under appreciated anime

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

Definitively.

 

[faridmon]

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

I agree.

Hope this Shaft-shaming ends soon.

 

[Basileus777]

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

Because of a show from 2010? The one that happens to be the best thing they've ever made?

 

[firehawk12]

^
Speaking of Shaft, although I'm a bit ambivalent toward Koufuku Graffiti, people have to admit that they are just smart about shot choices:

Yeah, it's a static dolly shot, but it says so much about the scene that even without the subtitle, you would understand exactly what is happening in the scene and what the character is thinking. I think stuff like that gets lost in the sea of abstract backgrounds and neck-breaking head tilts.

Because of a show from 2010? The one that happens to be the best thing they've ever made?

Well, the best thing they've made is Natsu no Arashi, but even then, I would argue HidaSketch and definitely the last two Monogatari arcs are them at the top of their form.

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

If they only made Hidamari Sketch this would still be true.

 

[EzekelRAGE]

Parasyte you will like if you enjoyed Tokyo Ghoul. Similar kind of thing with monsters that look like humans and an MC that's halfway between monster and human.
Rage of Bahamut isn't really dark fantasy, but it's a kind of fantasy you don't really see to much anymore that's just in a pure fantastical world with no High School or modern world connections.

Alright looks like Parasyte is next up then.

You'd probably like Attack on Titan. It has a medieval setting with humanity fighting a losing battle. Gets pretty dark.

I would also recommend Fate/Zero. Urban Fantasy setting with a magic battle royal and ancient heroes. Has a mostly adult cast and gets very dark at times. Has great production values and is very well written overall (only the first episode is kind of divise).

Both of these are on neftlix, so I'll add them to my que. Do you know if the netflix versions are edited or not?

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[firehawk12]

If they only made Hidamari Sketch this would still be true.

There's one more season to milk out of the show, I presume. lol

 

[ZachDeKoromaru]

There's one more season to milk out of the show, I presume. lol

There are some un-animated chapters across the series that could be used for Specials, otherwise it'll have to wait a few years for Ume-sensei to really progress the story after Sae and Hiro's graduation.

 

[hosannainexcelsis]

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

Shaft has pretty much been in the doldrums since 2011. There's a big quality gap between Hidamari Sketch/Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei/Bakemonogatari/Soredemo and Denpa Onna/Sasami-san/-Monogatari post Bake/Nisekoi/Mekaku City Actors.

 

[Thoraxes]

Everyone is afraid to admit it, but Shaft is pretty much the best studio now.

There's a reason I always include SHAFTGODS in my posts. They're definitely one of my favorites.

Shaft has pretty much been in the doldrums since 2011. There's a big quality gap between Hidamari Sketch/Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei/Bakemonogatari/Soredemo and Denpa Onna/Sasami-san/-Monogatari post Bake/Nisekoi/Mekaku City Actors.

I would argue that Monogatari S2, Neko Black, Tsuki, and Hana were all very well done though. Even Nisekoi did a fantastic job at elevating the original material with really good pacing and comedic timing (which, coupled with SHAFT's cut styles brought really nice pacing to the timing of delivery and comedic effects). If anything, Nisemonogatari is more the quality outlier in the Monogatari series, but even the more lukewarm reception to that generally has to do with its placement in the novel series.

Both seasons of Arakawa were also very good.

Sasami and Denpa Onna were two outliers for sure, but they weren't terrible. Definitely more middle of the road.

Mekaku however was really bad, even by their standards IMO.

And don't you go forgetting the vampire show...

To me it sounds like you have more issues with the source materials of the things they're adapting.

 

[R_thanatos]

I guess my problem with it being "honest" is that all it is now is a series of nerd references and trying to appeal to the nerds watching the show through their ability to identify with those references.

I fear for our society because at some point, the idea of comedy and art in our culture will be a person on youtube randomly shouting 4chan and Reddit memes. That seems to be the end game for all of this stuff.

Honnestly i don't think there are that much nerd references in it. I don't think saekano is even worth it , if you watch it expecting a comedy . I don't remember laughing or smiling in the 4 eps i saw .. but i can say i enjoyed it despite that.

Earlier you used nozaki-kun as an exemple. ..nozaki-kun used clear anime/manga tropes and remixed it for comedic effects ..i mean it starts on a generic confession failure. The rest of the show is either good remixes in context or out of context or maybe the show putting itself in clear opposition in order to enhance the misunderstanding or the comic aspect.

Saekano does nothing of the sort... It doesn't even try to put his own spin on the generic anime tropes it uses.. i feel that it's not the point .All saekano has for itself , is blanter talk , talkbacks and the fact that they acknowledge out loud that they are doing nothing special.

Now having and visual novels references when the plot require the creation of a VN is kinda a given , the show uses it because at this point it's expected.
But at this point , given the medium , those light references are coming at full force on various anime, from steins gate to no game no life., d-frag , hayate no gotoku , nozaki-kun and the list goes on( basicly every anime featuring characters from our reality ).

You can fear this change , but as it stands , saekano is not going to set the world on fire , so i doubt it would have that much impact on the future , it's more like saekano is the result of the changes that happenned many years ago already