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Winter Anime 2016 |OT| Celebrating the New Year and PSO2's release in the west!

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Russ T

Banned
Is it really when over 60% of the show is just Itami playing around with his harem? For all the horror and tragedy the show tells us is happening in its world, we don't really see that for the most part. Princess Pina is obviously able to enjoy running around another world looking at Yaoi without being too concerned about her citizens, Itami keeps on smiling, and blue-haired girl keeps on being best girl.

The only recurring character who is really affected by anything is Tuka and she's.. not really all that damaged for having her whole world burnt.

It's not that all that stuff isn't there, but it's the difference between telling someone, "Hey, look, the world is rough" and showing them that. The show has yet to really show us that in a meaningful way, so we can hardly be blamed for not reading between the lines and building emotional connections on our own.

oh thank god i was starting to think i was crazy and alone in this

D:
 
Is it really when over 60% of the show is just Itami playing around with his harem? For all the horror and tragedy the show tells us is happening in its world, we don't really see that for the most part. Princess Pina is obviously able to enjoy running around another world looking at Yaoi without being too concerned about her citizens, Itami keeps on smiling, and blue-haired girl keeps on being best girl.

The only recurring character who is really affected by anything is Tuka and she's.. not really all that damaged for having her whole world burnt.

It's not that all that stuff isn't there, but it's the difference between telling someone, "Hey, look, the world is rough" and showing them that. The show has yet to really show us that in a meaningful way, so we can hardly be blamed for not reading between the lines and building emotional connections on our own.

Prepare to take that statement back. What you will see will actually amaze you and make you realise why this is not an harem.
 
Prepare to take that statement back. What you will see will actually amaze you and make you realise why this is not an harem.

I hope so. The manga felt a lot more impactful by this point as the show has really pushed the consequences of each of the battles so far to the sideline or just barely mentioned them.

Also... Koukaku no Pandora Ep.1

This girl just fisted the other one to download information. Huh.
 
DEATH™;191672390 said:
Question about Dagashi Kashi...

Is Saya a childhood friend?
Is she gonna lose like the others?

Yes, she is. To the second question, I have no clue. There honestly isn't much romantic progression in the manga of any sort as of now. :l
 

striferser

Huge Nickleback Fan
DEATH™;191672390 said:
Question about Dagashi Kashi...

Is Saya a childhood friend?
Is she gonna lose like the others?

Yes she is Coconuts childhood friend.
No idea, manga haven't venture into that territory yet. It is a gag manga after all
 
PSO2 1
Qvtn3rZ.jpg
1xfBGXR.jpg
When they say that anime adaptations are advertisements it usually isn't meant to be quite this literal. I expected this was going to be an in universe story, not an infomercial about students playing the MMO.


DEATH™;191672390 said:
Question about Dagashi Kashi...

Is Saya a childhood friend?
Is she gonna lose like the others?
This is a purely comedic story, don't worry about thing like romantic progression.
 

Shouta

Member
Well, I suppose maybe my expectation blinded me to the truth? I dunno...

Itami's a fuckin' goofball and it definitely gives off vibes of a harem anime with how all these girls want to be around him (for whatever reason), albeit never going so far as to commit. Rory's definitely a cartoon character at this point in the story, the other girls have their semi-regular moments of Being Cute (even seductive dark elf lady fell into some handy tropes once she was introduced!), there's a huge emphasis on diplomacy and trade and stuff.

I feel like that's the stuff the show focused on. That's why I feel like it didn't sell it well to me. "It" being what the show's actually about. All that bad stuff was happening, of course, and I knew it was happening, but it was mostly peripheral to the interactions of the main cast, if that makes sense.

Anyway, no, don't spoil it for me. I just wanted to be sure it'd be addressed this season, and not just hanging in the air until a potential third season. I sure hope it's not just rape as a plot device.

I guess I'll keep watching after all. Maybe now that I know what the show is, seeing it in a different light will change how I feel about it retroactively. I dunno.

I DUNNO!



Yo if that's all you got from what I'm saying then I guess I didn't communicate well, because I would never say "teh". Even sarcastically. How dare you!

I feel like I did explain my position pretty solidly, though. Here's the one-sentence summary: "The show sucked at selling itself as what it actually wants to be." There you go.

I'll definitely agree that it's a series that does a lot of things all at once. That can make it harder to sift through the show unless you're really soaking in everything that's going on. Itami and his merry band going on their hijinx is super charismatic so it's not hard to understand how someone can end up really enjoying that and focusing on it, lol. Like you said, it has economic and diplomatic stuff too so it's not just whacky adventures.

I hope so. The manga felt a lot more impactful by this point as the show has really pushed the consequences of each of the battles so far to the sideline or just barely mentioned them.

That's because, as I mentioned above, they toned down the violence in the material for S1. They kept the core elements dark elements there but reduced the gore. That's definitely reduced the impact and made Itami and the gang come to the forefront more so.

A lot of the setup and consequences of S1 come into play for S2 though, in a big way. The manga is no different on that front.
 

duckroll

Member
I am too, I thought he was one of the nimbus clouds for a while.

The two mostly seem to be on the same page though with him tagging along.

I think she's a huge opportunist who sees this job as a way for her to get a leg up in connections and power. It's going to be interesting to see how all this plays out in the next season because Jiro is going to be fighting everyone on all fronts, and it's clear that all the other sides aren't really on the same side either. Aikawa really likes chaos for the sake of chaos. Lol.
 

Line_HTX

Member
I think she's a huge opportunist who sees this job as a way for her to get a leg up in connections and power. It's going to be interesting to see how all this plays out in the next season because Jiro is going to be fighting everyone on all fronts, and it's clear that all the other sides aren't really on the same side either. Aikawa really likes chaos for the sake of chaos. Lol.

Oh, there's chaos alright. Aside from the various time skips and going back in time, there's no shortage of different people doing stuff.

I have to wonder though if she is going to do any more than just show up at opportune places just to spread her word about the superhumans. I feel like there's a bigger part at hand than what was shown so far.
 
PSO2 1
When they say that anime adaptations are advertisements it usually isn't meant to be quite this literal. I expected this was going to be an in universe story, not an infomercial about students playing the MMO.



This is a purely comedic story, don't worry about thing like romantic progression.

About PSO2, i just saw someone said this in 4chan.
Anonymous 01/09/16(Sat)15:55:21 No.135875292 ▶>>135875341 >>135875366 >>135875456 >>135875469
>>135874987
>PSO2 anime is a tie in with the game's next major episode.

And the major episode(EP4) will happen in...earth, update start at January 28, which will be same day as anime episode 4 on air.

So actually, the anime story maybe not just "bunch of students playing PSO2", there is chance a plot twist happen in episode 3 or 4.
If it ends up true, then lol.
 

Line_HTX

Member
That tie-in timing sounds like the Marvel movies releasing at the right episode of Agents of Shield.

If that is confirmed, then PSO2 might be worth watching more than just a separate plot.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
PSO2 1
When they say that anime adaptations are advertisements it usually isn't meant to be quite this literal. I expected this was going to be an in universe story, not an infomercial about students playing the MMO.

Why yes, let me just go and download Phantasy Star Online 2 right now.
 

phaze

Member
Damekko Doubutsu 7

Pretty much me when I finish an ep of something then remember I should be finishing Shigurui

.

Dagashi Kashi 01
I'd agree that this is uplifted somewhat by the transition to animation and va work but nothing here leads me to believe it will be enough to make something worthwhile out of exceedingly mediocre material. Will check out a few more to see if I like more the parts that I haven't read yet.
 
This is the thread where we discuss all the hot new Frenchimé, correct?

(The unfortunately named) Lolirock 01-02
I was expecting something much more Jem, but in the two episodes I watched, the whole being in a band aspect didn't have much impact on the plot, it was mostly relegated to the last few moments of the episodes as a lead in to a Precure-esque dancing ED.

The actual show is bog standard magical girl fare. The designs are nice, and the English cast is filled with Friendship is Magic cast members, so that's a plus.

Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir 01
I kind of miss the anime version Toei was going to do, but this one is a very good looking show in its own right. Colorful, expressive, good image quality and as far as motion goes, very fluid, Makes you wonder what it would look like if this western CG expertise/budget got put towards cel shading, compared to the usual Cg style we see or the Japanese CG efforts that people don't take kindly to most times.

Although there is a transformation sequence, the series takes after US comic superheroes more than magical girls, with the spandex (latex?) costume and domino masks.

Apparently the English airing order is different form the original, so I wonder if the original production first episode does a better job of setting up things rather than feeling like jumping in in the middle. What I want to know is why these two heroes who work together quite well on good terms with each other don't tell each other who they are, besides to facilitate the romance plot as something that drives or ties into the stories.


I searched GAF for these titles and found very little for discussion. Unless I've missed it completely the lack of a general non-JP animation thread for everything without an OT hurts being able to talk about smaller shows like these.



What's that you say? Oh, anime. Right, I watched some of those too.

Yuki Yuna is a Hero 01
A group of girls full of optimism and desire to do the right thing and help people get the chance to do so as magical girls, saving the whole world as the heroes they always wanted to be. I'm sure this series will play the premise out completely straight, and there will be no despair at all.


Glitter Force: Origins Futari wa Pretty Cure 01
The actual inspiration for the theme connecting the shows I chose to watch today, as I wait for Glitter Force season 2.

The foundations of the elements of the later series are laid down, and I have less complaints about the "bog standard" nature here, as there is some seniority. The unique element of Precure, the hand to hand combat element, is present in this first episode, although the choreography seems kind of slow, but that could just be conveying that the girls aren't used to it yet. Also, why do they turn into Dural from Virtua Fighter while they transform?

Translation wise, the good folks at Ocean and YTV did a great job at actually releasing it unlike US liscensor 4kids who never did anything after buying the rights, leaving the franchise in a limbo in the US for 10 years until Glitter Force.

Unlike Glitter Force, Pretty Cure as it was shortened to is less heavy handed on the localization, retaining the original soundtrack and being a more direct translation. Of course, I can only assume from all these English names that Natalie and Hannah must be from Canada. Strange how the dog was allowed to have a Japanese name. The voice acting is early 2000s tier from actors with few other credits to their names, so GF beats it in that regard, but there is still a charm to the cheese factor and an odd nostalgia to the retro feel (YMMV on this one).
 
One Piece Film: Z

So I finally got around to watching Z. I owned for some time, but I ended up putting it off.

And it's pretty good. I liked it. It's not amazing, because I think it follows some some standard shonen movie tropes a bit much. And some of the fanservice is both boring and too much for One Piece.

(Though it is in some regards equal opportunity fanservice, so that's nice.) Also, why is Franky pushed out of the movie for such a length of time? That's not right.

That said, Zephyr was a compelling villain that actually fleshed out the marines a bit more than it did the pirates. Who would think Doberman of all people would get defined a bit more?

Also I thought that Chimney was the ugliest child in the One Piece universe.

But well...


...Oh...
 
Code:
Rakudai  [B]2,756[/B]
Asterisk    [B]1,706[/B]
Seraph S2  [B]1543[/B]
Hackadoll [B]1,155[/B]
Hidan no AriaAA   [B]1,142[/B]
Dance with Devils [B]1,220+937[/B]
Heavy Object [B]966[/B]

Everything bombed badly.

Also nothing this season performs very well on Stalker. Anime is dying.
 
Yeah those sales are bad, but I'm pretty certain all those shows were made to sell the original source material (or the app in the case of Hackadoll.) and other merch.

And Seraph selling poorly isn't too much of a surprise. The first season only sold "okay" because of event tickets.
 

L.O.R.D

Member
Fairy Tail Zero 1

well , it's good start
that guild deserve what happened to her , but why all people killed ?
aslo , why the fuck is the school is very a way from the village ? they are in the same island

I don't know how I feel about Fairy Tail Zero's opening.

I like it, but I don't know if it fits the arc well...

yah , this opining is too weird
doesn't even fits to fairy tail at all.


edit: just realized something
this is the first fairy tail opining that doesn't contain spoilers in it , oh i got it
this is really not fairy tail at all.
 
PSO2 01

There was weeping and gnashing of teeth by the gamer inside me as I watched this show. I WANT TO PLAY THIS NOT WATCH IT!

It also hurts because it is so bad. I can already see they're making him out to be THE "GOSH THAT LEVEL 1 PLAYER IS BETTER THAN AND CAN BEAT PEOPLE AND MONSTERS 50 LEVELS ABOVE HIM BECAUSE HE IS SO SPECIAL EVEN THOUGH THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE IN A MMO!"

FUCK YOU SEGA
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
This is the thread where we discuss all the hot new Frenchimé, correct?
nsje0sMl.png

IiNItS0l.png
I wonder if someone had done one those collages of all the magical girl post-transformation poses and whether or not they all look the same. Sort of like how every anime has the same "sword" pose.
 
I've made it no secret that I'm not feeling this season. None of the shows so far have had any cool explosions, or fights on top a train.
(Though that second thing is always lacking in anime. I feel like I could forgive a lot of bad shows if they had fights on top of a train. ) So how am I supposed to feel anything?

But maybe Luck and Logic anime will grab me in an passionate embrace, and never let me go. I mean, it's based on a card game, and it has character designs like this...
trance03.png.jpg
trance05.png.jpg


...but who knows?
 

Just T

Member
Haruchika 1

That was decent, horrible CG in the beginning though lol. Chika has an amusing personality, pretty energetic. Haruta wasn’t bad either, I like their interactions. Not much to say about the other band members yet. Right now I wonder how complex the mysteries will get and how much the rival in love aspect will be focused on because I’m not interested in student-teacher romance even though it’ll probably just be from their angle, can still do without it.
 

Ascheroth

Member
I've made it no secret that I'm not feeling this season. None of the shows so far have had any cool explosions, or fights on top a train.
(Though that second thing is always lacking in anime. I feel like I could forgive a lot of bad shows if they had fights on top of a train. ) So how am I supposed to feel anything?

But maybe Luck and Logic anime will grab me in an passionate embrace, and never let me go. I mean, it's based on a card game, and it has character designs like this...
trance03.png.jpg
trance05.png.jpg


...but who knows?

I thought it was something entirely anime original and was mildy interested, but a quick googling tells me you're right. And suddenly my interest is plummeting ... On the other hand Bahamut was pretty good, so who knows.

Show Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu - 01

That was a really strong first opening episode, I liked it a lot. Can't believe that there was an actual 10 minute long Rakugo scene in there and I found it incredibly interesting. The characters, voice acting, mannerism and character animation and sound design are really stong.
Something that I found also really neat was that little 'stop motion' part to the rhythm of the soundtrack.

This and Erased definitely had the best opening episodes out of the ones I watched.
 

blurr

Member
Boku dake ga inai machi 01

that was interesting, just started watching without reading anything.

(I want to see more Airi!)
 

tuffy

Member
I haven't seen any of the series after Aria the Animation, which has no coherent plot progression. If Origination has a progression, than it isn't Slice of Life - regardless of its roots. On that note, concluding a show with an event so that fans feel like it ended doesn't instantly give the rest of the show a conflict to resolve. Not that Origination does that, but a lot of other shows that start off as slice of life have a token ending to give it a sense of conclusion.
That's certainly a unique take on what a slice-of-life type show is.

The overall plot is about the three main characters learning how to do their jobs. And by the end of the final series, we find that their daily life experiences were an important part of that training. Even Akari's decision to let Ai into the gondola at the starts of the animated series pays off down the line. So I don't think having character growth and a plot that goes somewhere disqualifies it from the genre.
 

Szadek

Member
Phantasy Star Online 2.
What the fuck is this anime?Why is this about people playing the game instead of the events in the game?
Why is there a huge sonic logo?
That random guy becomes part of student council, because he is ok at school?
Why must the student council play this shity mmorpg?
Is this a world were Sega rules most of japan or something?

I might watch a few more episodes out of morbid curiosity, but that's about it.
 

dan2026

Member
Watched a few things...

GATE - 13

Uh, well, I'm not happy about that scene. It's possible it might be justified further down the line, but I really sincerely doubt it with every fiber of my being. I'm really annoyed that they took this otherwise light-hearted, silly show and threw that shit in there. It's unnecessary, and really just doesn't fit the tone of the rest of the show. Sure there's death and violence out the wazoo, but it's never the focus like that was. It's your typical treatment of mass-death in a non-serious show. But rape? Gross. Fuck you.

I finished the episode, anyway, and everything after that scene was what I wanted from more GATE. Ugh, I'm so disappointed. I might just drop it. I can get my stupid fun anime fix elsewhere, and I've got plenty of backlog stuff. Ugh. I'm pretty sure I'm going to drop it.
This doesn't make any sense to me. Wanton murder and butchery is fine. But rape...now you have gone too far!?

This implies rape is somehow worse than murder.
 

grimmiq

Member
The Gate anime had a lighter tone than the manga so was wondering how they'd handle the rape situations in this season. I think there'd be a lot more complaints if it was depicted in the same way (
Instead of slapping/whipping her he was strangling her with both hands
).

What should happen in the next episode will probably seem a little weird to me with the size difference between the manga and anime versions of Kuribayashi, greatly prefer the manga version, can't see her anime version being as menacing.
 

duckroll

Member
This implies rape is somehow worse than murder.

There's no implication. Rape is worse than murder if we're talking about the context of cruelty and human rights. Just like how torture and human experimentation is considered huge taboos, even in war, where people are being killed everyday. But honestly, even saying something like that suggests missing the point of why people are more outraged about certain things. Acts of cruelty don't need to be ranked or compared. It's not a competition, and if it is, then it shows something is very wrong with the context.

Even murder itself is not all equal. Depicting a child being killed in a grotesque way is going to have a different impact from depicting a soldier being shot. Showing a family huddling together before being bombed to death by an airstrike is going to be more offputting than a person being stabbed to death. Are any of these acts objectively better or worse? Who cares. People have natural reactions to seeing bad things, and there's always a concern with entertainment that certain subjects are not going to be handled with care instead of just being played up as a plot point to get reactions from the audience.
 

Baalzebup

Member
What should happen in the next episode will probably seem a little weird to me with the size difference between the manga and anime versions of Kuribayashi, greatly prefer the manga version, can't see her anime version being as menacing.

Yeah, her build in the anime doesn't really support her role in the series.

Is it really when over 60% of the show is just Itami playing around with his harem? For all the horror and tragedy the show tells us is happening in its world, we don't really see that for the most part. Princess Pina is obviously able to enjoy running around another world looking at Yaoi without being too concerned about her citizens, Itami keeps on smiling, and blue-haired girl keeps on being best girl.

The only recurring character who is really affected by anything is Tuka and she's.. not really all that damaged for having her whole world burnt.

It's not that all that stuff isn't there, but it's the difference between telling someone, "Hey, look, the world is rough" and showing them that. The show has yet to really show us that in a meaningful way, so we can hardly be blamed for not reading between the lines and building emotional connections on our own.

Uh, yes? It is exactly that, a failure to read between the lines, to notice the shit that isn't smashed right there on the screen in all its gory details. Though really, Rory just jumps in and butchers the various countries special forces at the inn-grounds, laughing like a psycho. You'll note that she didn't bother to identify them or anything, just jumps in a tense situation and starts giving everyone the axe. Isn't that showing the world is rough? Was an onscreen depiction of rape really *that* off from the events so far? Even after, say, Yao's elders giving her orders to whore her way to getting help if other means failed?

Even Itami himself is much more capable than his usual goofing off would suggest, but this should have been clear when the Japanese Intelligence officer told the gang about him not only being a Ranger, but also Special Forces. You'll note that he didn't mention him failing either of those, even if him being a lazy bum did exasperate his superiors.

The manga is actually even more varied in the tone, as Turin Turambar mentioned above, because it has all the goofy and lighthearted stuff you've seen and then might just jump to a scene where cruelties are inflicted en-masse and includes politics, economics and whatnot in the mix as well.

The series covers various events with different tones, no matter the medium. I guess it can be easy to just overlook the more gnarly implications from the series before such an explicit scene, but that stuff didn't just suddenly get included in the narrative. It was there all along.
 
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