What anime are you watching?

[SincerelyAnomymous]

I started watching Your Lies in April. Currently on episode 3 and I think it's very sweet, simple and cute. Yet deep down, I'm hoping it gets more tear-jerky sometime later in the series. I suspect at least one character on my mind is going to die. I think this would help make the anime feel more real and add some fresh depth to it. Either way, I'm enjoying it and can't wait to finish it =)

[LecktheTech]

Yet deep down, I'm hoping it gets more tear-jerky sometime later in the series. I suspect at least one character on my mind is going to die. I think this would help make the anime feel more real and add some fresh depth to it.

Be careful what you wish for...Muahahahahahaa!!
Also, I though the title was Your Lie In April, but not sure about that...

Been watching RWBY, which isn't an anime, but has some stylistic similarities to anime in general. I've been enjoying it so far, the 3d animation is far from turning me off from it. I'll admit that there are a few parts that the animation style + 3d = slightly discordant, but for the most part, it's pretty to look at.
Also, it has better lessons on teamwork/getting along than many anime I've watched. Also seems to discuss racisism(ish). Also, very clean. Little swearing, etc...
To top it all off, has a good opening for the first season. The second season's opening isn't as good, but is still quite far from bad.
The only real issue most people have with it is that for the first season, the "episodes" can be as short as 5min. The second season is longer, and the animation is slightly better, not that the first season is bad, just slightly not as good. That be said, watch the trailers. If you don't like the animation in the trailers, you will not like RWBY. If you love it, you'll like it.

[MangaRocks!]

...New year, new (to me ) anime!




Shelter short/music video:

This was surprisingly touching for a mere 6 minutes' worth of story, and the music was great, too, so it was well worth the watch.




Star Driver ep.'s 1-25 (complete, sub) + Star Driver The Movie (sub):

So, I knew going into this that it was supposed to be kind-of a send-up/deconstruction of the tropes in mecha shows; however, the funny thing is that I actually enjoyed this more than most of the 'proper' mecha I've seen up to now, LOL! The visuals are gorgeous (particularly during the fight scenes ); the music is great (in fact, I'm humming the first shrine maiden's song as I type this! ); the MC's Cybody has the most genuinely sexy robot design I've ever seen ; while completely OP (on purpose, of course ), Takuto is one of the more decent and positive (in a realistic way) protags I've seen in a while; the main trio of characters is just precious <3 ; and everything that really *needs* to have an explanation has one-- from SPOILER: Highlight text to read: big things like the gist of the backstory of the aliens + the Cybodies themselves to even little things like Sugata being able to wake up after using his particular Cybody's First Phase power (...Hint: The *first* explanation that is theorized about that is not necessarily the full story... )-- if you connect the dots. (Plus, I also just love the fact that I can now utter the phrase "Galactic Pretty Boy" in a sentence with 100% seriousness. ) As far as content goes, there's quite an amount of fanservicey outfits and barbie-doll nudity (of both genders, though skewed a lot more towards the girls' side), as well as a few mild sexual references + blatant metaphors (...and even outright stating that 'libido' is what gives 'life' to the the mechs {which just made me laugh, honestly }). But since the show is apparently kind-of a send-up in the first place, it's not like that was unexpected, LOL. Oh, and since we all know endings are very important... The show's finale was both suspensefully epic and beautifully heartwarming, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: even despite a decision not having been definitively spelled out on who Wako finally chose... that said, though, if anyone else is like me and loathes unresolved/open endings when it comes to romance, read the next paragraph and don't worry~!

As for the movie: While I do have to note that it's almost entirely useless edited recap , it actually *is* worth watching *just* the first 5 minutes of it (for the visually gorgeous fight) *and* the credits (which cap things off nicely with the implication that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Wako ends up with Takuto and Sugata ends up with Kate , which is exactly where it had seemed to be going by the end of the series {and, more importantly, exactly what I'd hoped <3 }). So, yeah, definitely watch just those bits after the TV series for a little bit more closure.

TL;DR: I enjoyed the heck out of this, so as long as you're fine with the bit of content I recommend it heartily.




And Toradora! episodes 1-25 (complete):

...Yes, I know, this is one of the classic romcoms in anime, and yes, I only just got around to it now, LOL. (Better late than never, though, right? ) The way the main characters' relationship is built is actually pretty great-- it's plain to see that the pair's original 'love interests' were only crushes, and that even early on Taiga starts getting possessive and jealous and Ryuuji starts to think only of her before everything else <3 ... it just takes the two of them a long time to realize it themselves (which makes sense, really). In fact, by the time the series is nearing its end, it's clearly shown that they're eventually trying to keep up the matchmaking for each other only because they believe that's what the other wants-- and even SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Minorin gets roped into this, since both she and Taiga keep trying to sacrifice their own feelings for Ryuuji for what they believe to be the happiness of each other, although of course that couldn't actually make either of them happy, the realization of which finally leads up to one of the most satisfying and healthy confrontations I've seen in a while. (Oh, and be sure to watch through the credits of the finale! ) So, yeah, this was a great series.

[the_wolfs_howl]

The Snow Queen episodes 17-18

You know, Gerda's adventures are surprisingly dark for what seems on the surface a light-hearted children's fairy tale. Even if the people involved are usually just misguided rather than actually evil, once they get all the information. I thought the twist of episode 18 was going to be that Captain Rubin was Ragi's long-lost twin brother or something, though XD

[MangaRocks!]

More new-to-me anime!




Concrete Revolutio: Superhuman Phantasmagoria ep.'s 1-24 (sometimes listed as two 'seasons'-- even though it was planned all as one-- since it had a split-cour airing, with the second cour having the subtitle 'The Last Song') (sub, complete):

This is one of those shows that fits into a very specific niche, and because of that it sadly seems to be either not that well-known or severely underrated. It's an original anime (not an adaptation nor a spinoff of any already-established property, which already makes it less-known) that mashes up pretty much every kind of superhuman/super power, sci-fi concept (from aliens to time-travel and everything in between), and Japanese monster/supernatural-fantasy-creature imaginable + cutting historical, political, social, and moral commentary + a brazenly nonlinear story structure. In short, you pretty much have to love all of those things plus be observant of detail and also willing and eager to actively engage your mind with what you're watching to really get this (no less actually enjoy it, LOL!). However, if-- like myself and at least one other person on CAA that I'm aware of so far -- you *do* happen to meet all that criteria (...in my case, not only did I grow up reading and watching sci-fi as well as fantasy of both the western and eastern varieties {and still adore all those genres to this very day}, and as for superheroes am a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe fan {among other things}, I also *LOVE* shows that make you have to think while you're watching them, if they're done right! <3 ), this show is basically perfection (...in case you couldn't tell, man oh man did I love this! <3 <3 ). Explaining more than that would be spoilery, and anyone who would be interested in it probably is already just from the description; so, on another note, as for the all-important finale , I have to say that: #1, the final reveal about SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Jiro in the penultimate ep. (about not only his own personal origin but also possibly the entire world's {as in, a true alternate universe theory!}-- making the show's title even more apt) was actually quite ingenious; and, #2, the finale itself was a (pleasantly!) surprisingly positive one, all things considered. Indeed, I thought it was very fitting SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (foiled romance notwithstanding -- and since by now you are all well aware that one of my pet peeves is unresolved romance, this really *had* to be done very well for me not to mind! ). Oh, and the part-cute/part-jazzy/part-downright-rockin' soundtrack (which is on iTunes, BTW! ) didn't hurt, either -- in fact, the first cour's extremely catchy instrumental rock ED is one of my most favorite ED's from the past few years!

...Now, all that said, there are a couple of unfortunate content notes that must be mentioned: One is the doll-down-the-cleavage thing (and the associated camera angle), which is admittedly a bit annoying , but luckily it only happens like 3 or so times; however, then there's the kinda big issue, which is that in episode 17 (a.k.a. 'The Last Song'-cour episode 4), a female being is shown nude (and not in the barbie-doll way, either; though, her bottom half is basically like a mermaid's, so it's just her nipples that are detailed. Still, said nipples are blatantly onscreen for not only a couple of shots earlier on in the ep. but also for several solid minutes at the end of the ep. as well... ), plus there's no real use skipping that ep. (which I wouldn't recommend anyway, given the nature of this show's storytelling, among other things) because another several seconds of the same also occurs again in the finale of the series regardless.

...Simply put, if it weren't for that unfortunate bit of surprise nudity in ep.'s 17 & 24, this would be a blanket recommendation to anyone who happens to like superheroes + sci-fi + fantasy + social commentary + nonlinear storytelling + watching something that makes them think ; as it is, though, you'll have to like all that plus be okay with the aforementioned content before I could recommend it. (I personally loved it to bits, though.)





Mob Psycho 100 ep.'s 1-12 (sub, complete):

Holy crap, this is awesome!! The art style (and how it changes for emphasis) is amusingly ~unique~ , the art and animation becomes wonderfully, *mesmerizingly* dynamic in its own very-stylized way whenever psychic powers are used , it's hilarious (for the first half or so, at any rate) , gets (mostly ) really serious afterwards (which works surprisingly well, actually), and it's even rather touching. <3 (Plus there's some fantastic deconstruction and subversion of expectations in its characters, message, and plot; and there's even a great soundtrack, too!) In fact, I actually enjoyed even just the very first episode of this (no less the rest of it!!) *WAY* more than the few chapters I've read so far of the original creator's other famous work, One Punch Man, which-- despite the vast difference in art style (hyper-detailed in OPM to the point of outright insanity vs. MP100's purposeful 'ugliness' {although I actually find that rather charming in a way, LOL})-- wasn't anywhere *near* as amusing, endearing, or captivating to me as MP100.

As for the characters: The titular Mob is a wonderfully decent kid (with some definite credit for that going to his mentor, Reigen, who-- surprisingly enough-- has a genuinely great influence on him as a person <3 ). And speaking of which, I love the fact that while Reigen basically is a (partial) con man in business (to be fair, though, he actually *does* help his clients in the end, even if it's kinda under false pretenses {and often with Mob's aid besides}, LOL ), he actually gives some shockingly good life advice. <3 And Mob's brother Ritsu is a great and interesting character, too-- I very much liked the different and conflicting layers he eventually revealed, since that really fleshed him out (and in a pretty realistic way, psychologically). And ohhh my goodness, the final confrontation of the show was incredibly awesome-- not only because of the impressive visuals, but also just because of Reigen himself. Literal essays have been written on how great the characters and message of the show are (WARNING: SPOILERS IN LINK), so I'll leave my own discussion at that; just suffice it to say that I enjoyed the living heck out of this (and now want to rewatch it all over again!).

(...Also: I started reading the manga as well, and as an even better bonus, for up to what it covered this was a *fantastic* adaptation-- indeed, not only did the anime adapt everything {minus a couple of omake} up to its chosen stopping point {pretty much right down to the very panel, in fact!}, IMO the anime was even *better* than the manga chapters it covered {particularly during those amazing psychic sequences, for the obvious reason; but also just even in general} {...and you know that's really saying something because it's coming from Ms. Adaptation Stickler here, LOL! }. Of course, the story in the manga goes well beyond the point at which the anime purposefully paused, and thus there is a lot of equally-great stuff that continues afterwards there; but, for me, the anime being such an awesome adaptation of what it covered was just the icing of perfection on top of the already-amazing cake. )

TL;DR: Basically, IMO this is one of those shows that is just classic 'anime'-- you won't see anything like this anywhere else-- and is a must-see.





And the Princess Mononoke movie (dub):

Yep, this is the one Ghibli movie that isn't family-friendly in terms of the visuals (and occasionally the language, too, LOL, but whatever ). I mean, its level of violence is nowhere even close to, say, Baccano! or anything like that; however, if you're used to the tone of the studio's typical fare, Princess Mononoke is so violent that it's almost hilarious. That aside, it is (mostly ) quite beautiful to look at, the music is as great as always, and the story is certainly gripping. In fact, the only thing that kept me from giving it a rating of 10 was that whole "So, yeah, I was told in the clearest possible terms that you want to share your life with me, and I care for you very dearly in return; yet despite that *PLUS* you proving ad infinitum that you're a wonderful person, that there *are* decent humans, you having shown unconditional love (when the cursed arm isn't getting the better of you, and even then you restrain it as much as is feasible), you being living, breathing proof that a bridge can be built and that there can be mutual respect and peace between both sides, AND-- most importantly-- *that hatred is never the answer,* I'm still just gonna keep on hating humans anyway, so kthxbye~! ☆ " bit at the end. ...Like, seriously, what the genuine heck?? Not only does the romantic in me loathe that for the reason that is obvious , but for real, doesn't that also pretty much go against the entire message of the film in the first place? ...So, uh, yeah. Unfortunately inexplicable ending there aside , it was great otherwise (I just wish the end would've actually been consistent with the message of the rest of it)...

[EventualDay]

Haven't checked this site for a little bit since I ended up not picking up any anime for the current season. However, I did just finish Kill la Kill about a week ago or so.

For being a totally original show, I thought it was really well done. Everything was cohesive/coherent, the plot twists felt appropriate and well-placed, and in keeping with classic Trigger style (and Gainax too, really) the show fluctuated wildly between over-the-top action, randomness, and some sort of structured plot. Overall I'm glad I saw it. Oh and also, Mako is best character. :3

Other than the awful/ridiculous stripper costumes they fought in, one thing I just didn't like at all was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Senketsu's death. It felt so... cheap. There was almost no lead-up to it, and honestly the only thing it made me think was SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "huh... so they're trying to pull a Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and just throw in some tragedy at the end." Except, at least in TTGL, Nia and Kamina died for a reason... Senketsu literally was like, "Oh, too much power, 'kay bye."

In general though it was a fun show. I can understand why it's so popular with the mainstream anime community... especially with those costumes.

[MangaRocks!]

Went on a little movie spree~




The Digimon Adventure tri. 4: Soushitsu ("Loss") movie, a.k.a. episodes 14-17 on Crunchy (sub):

...Welp, considering that the previous movie (...#3: Kokuhaku {"Confession"}) was easily the best installment in the entire Digimon franchise (well, at least that I've personally seen so far, that is )-- which is quite a tough act to follow, as one might imagine-- I knew that I had to temper my expectations accordingly before watching this next one... and it's a good thing I did, because even taking the awesomeness of its predecessor completely out of the equation, this particular installment was... not great. At all. (Which is a real bummer, considering how mostly-consistently good this movie series had been until now.) Now, to be fair, it wasn't *all* bad-- the opening sequence in particular, which was done in a faux-silent-movie fashion (though actually with occasional dialogue {hence the 'faux' }), was great because it was not only intriguing but it also wound together many little plot and character threads (including an apparent connection with the Dark Masters back when they were around); the little bit of Himekawa x Nishijima in flashback was pretty adorable; the couple of scenes with Izzy x Mimi and Sora/Yamato/Taichi were very cute; and Joe was low-key awesome at a couple of points (as usual ). However, other than that, this movie was unfortunately an utter (and rather bizarre) mess. The directing/editing was quite bad (for example, I could have sworn they cut out a large chunk of a scene at one point, the 'transition' was so inexplicable , etc.); Himekawa goes (literally) insane over something she should have already known well in advance; the entire forced 'drama' with Biyomon was completely OOC and made no sense; Gennai is not only young now but also evil for some reason I guess, and shown to be so in the most aggravatingly cliché way possible (because nothing proves you're a villain quicker than assaulting girls, right? ); the Dark Masters are apparently now complete lackeys ; somehow Rookies with no memories of previous fighting experience can now make *Megas* (and a couple of the strongest ones, no less!) flinch (??!!! ); and, sure, to the Digimon they've literally only just met their human partners *today,* and they couldn't even evolve when it was literally a life-or-death situation, yet within a few short hours they can suddenly evolve straight to Mega anyway, and with very little provocation in comparison to what it normally takes, besides; and oh yeah, of course there was again absolutely zero acknowledgement that the 02 kids and their Digimon even exist and would also be deeply affected by the reboot and/or whatever happened to them in movie 1 (aside from Gennai's oddly-rapidly-discarded disguise). Plus filler! ...So, uh, yeah. Really not sure what happened here. Hopefully the last two movies get back on track...




The Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu-hen movie (sub):

...And here I thought the *first* Kizu... movie was (almost entirely) amazingly done... but this, *this* was perfection-- grippingly animated + scored + directed, surprisingly emotional, occasionally hilarious, slightly fanservicey (of both genders this time, though, and actually somewhat humorous for once ), and sparsely gory perfection. They also continued with the first movie's 'show, don't tell' approach here-- which of course means that all internal monologues were omitted, as well as some more explanation on the various vampiric powers and such, so due to that there was definitely a lot of detail that wasn't included-- however, while I imagine some of that would certainly have been helpful for those watching this without any knowledge of the Kizu... novel, I thought that enough of it was essentially conveyed by the context and excellent directing (and IMO that approach actually worked even better in Part 2 here than it did in Part 1!). And I didn't even mind the artistic license of things like SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Araragi's arms not regenerating instantly in the first fight, etc.-- it was just that well-done. Great installment in the Monogatari franchise.




The Metropolis (2001) movie (which is apparently based partly on an Osamu Tezuka manga and partly on that famous silent film of the same name) (sub):

This was excellent! I mean, yeah, okay, sure, the story was pretty thin (just the bare minimum plot necessary to even have a story, really), and it's not like the characters were really fleshed out any more than minimally necessary, either; plus the pacing is pretty loose. But, seriously, when you've got a sci-fi film noir (already my cup of tea right there!) with cinematography as inarguably superb as this (plus beautifully fluid character animation and a perfect OST), IMO that's plenty good enough. Do note that the character designs are (as aforementioned) Tezuka-inspired, so they're basically old-school-Disney-esque (chunky and round), but those designs only added to the charm for me. Definitely recommended.




The Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind movie (sub):

This was an... interesting experience. I mean, as a movie it's great-- the art is beautiful (as you'd expect from a Ghibli production, though technically I guess this was made before Ghibli was officially a studio, but you know what I mean ); the (post-apocalyptic) world is interesting; the MC is a strong, capable, skilled, and smart female lead; etc. etc. etc. It's just... well, the outright stupidity of pretty much anyone *other* than the MC (I mean, there are certainly exceptions, but not very many) can get more than a little frustrating at times (......uh, yeah, sure, resurrecting a giant weapon of mass destruction that helped bring on the apocalypse sounds like a *dandy* idea; and attempting to destroy the very mechanism that's actually cleansing the world of all the {human-caused in the first place!} toxicity {especially when the creatures that protect said mechanism will go on an unstoppable murderous rampage of also-apocalyptic proportions if it's tried} sounds like an even *better* idea...! Plus, killing is of course the answer to all your problems {especially if you can torture animals to goad *them* into doing it for you}! ...Seriously, I got frustrated even just *typing* all that, it's so spectacularly stupid. And I literally shouted "AAARGH, just *LISTEN* to Nausicaä, you IDIOTS!!" {...or variations thereof } at the screen more than once ). So, yeah, it certainly made the point that all that stuff is incredibly dumb. That kinda hampered my enjoyment of it a bit though. That said, it was certainly worth watching (for multiple reasons, including that great art and the character of Nausicaä herself, among other things), and it has a good ending, too, so I'm still glad I did. (Just be prepared to be extremely frustrated at the stupidity of humanity in general at points when you watch it, LOL. )




The Paprika movie (sub):

Ohhhhh my goodness, this was quite a trip. And I *loved* it. The entire premise of being able to dive into (and record) the subconscious (and even the conscious) mind for psychological-therapy purposes (on the researchers' part, that is; obviously for evil purposes instead on the part of the baddie ); the dream sequences themselves with their aptly crazy yet also still whimsical and fun logic; mesmerizing visuals (indeed, the art and animation in the entire movie is *very* impressive, even now, 10 years later! ); the fantastic directing, especially as real life begins to blend with the 'dreams' due to the dream device's psychological and physical (brainwave) effects (plus the multiple personalities going on with one character); the excellent thriller aspect (with the evil hijacker destroying minds and thus even bodies with the stolen tech); even the very surprising SPOILER: Highlight text to read: pairing for the MC (simply due to how unusual and against-cliché it was, and yet still hinted at earlier on). ...Now, all that said, there is a little content that does unfortunately make me hesitate to give out a blanket recommendation for this: Namely, that there are two scenes of detailed (upper female) nudity (and some brief accompanying barbie-doll shots from the rear as well)-- though, granted, the first of these is not fanservicey at all; in fact, it's more to intensify the horror of the sequence it's in, if anything, as the character in question's dream-body is literally invaded by another character and then split like a shell to reveal the real (nude) soul 'inside' it. The second of the two shots is more questionable in terms of it being for fanservice; however, the character's soul is once again (presumably) 'bared' during that sequence (though under completely different circumstances), so I guess YMMV. Oh, and one other thing I should probably note is that it's basically stated that one male character slept with another male character in exchange for an item that he wanted, but he pretty clearly didn't enjoy doing so , and anyway it's only mentioned once via dialogue, not shown (thankfully). ...So, yeah, if it weren't for the little bits of nudity, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone looking for an excellent and surprisingly fun thriller; as it is, please be aware of the content before diving in.




And the When Marnie Was There movie (sub):
This was lovely. (Granted, at first you might be kinda thinking "What? Is this yuri or something? ", LOL, but luckily the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: twist {which is great on several levels-- more on that in a minute} proves that the love they're talking about is something else entirely, so no worries. ) Anyway, this is about a very-artistically-talented but rather troubled girl (both physically and emotionally-- she has asthma as well as mood and expression issues, etc.) who is sent to (sort-of-)relatives in the countryside to try to get a bit better, and the mysterious foreign girl that she seems to encounter only via SPOILER: Highlight text to read: visions and/or when the tide comes in... Obviously, it's clear early on that something supernatural, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: timey-wimey, or both is occurring, but it takes until the end of the movie until you know for sure not only that but also *who* Marnie really is... and man oh man does that pack a punch. The bond the two girls form and the experiences they share not only change both for the better, but they also take on a whole new meaning when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that twist and the backstory around it are revealed. And it even provides closure on three different levels-- the past, the present, *and* the future in advance!-- when Anna forgives Marnie (because it happens *before* the twist!). Not gonna lie, this made me tear up (in a good way).

[the_wolfs_howl]

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit episode 15

Yay! Plot actually going somewhere! XD

[Mouse2010]

Haven't posted here in a while, but we're currently rewatching the first season of Attack on Titan. And I have to say that what surprises me is that even though I've seen before, I STILL find it gripping. It's the kind of show that makes me wish I could just watch for hours each night. (But I can't.)

There are several animes that I've rewatched and loved the second time through, but I don't think I can remember any that were still THIS gripping the second time around. It's pretty impressive. I don't know if Season 2 is going to be able to match this, but I sure hope it does!

[SierraLea]

I can't help it. I just keep going back to No. 6. Such a good story, two amazing characters. I can't help it.

[the_wolfs_howl]

^ Awesome anime (though certainly not for everyone). Love it to pieces <3


Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit episode 16

So...this episode made me realize there basically aren't any villains in this show. The only reason there's any conflict at all is people being stupid and refusing to communicate intelligently. We are not amused


The Snow Queen episode 19

OH DEAR PLEASE NO THEY DID THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL ;A; I should have seen this coming, since Hans Christian Andersen wrote both this story and The Snow Queen itself. It was every bit as devastatingly tragic as one would expect it to be - probably the most downer ending to any episode yet.

[SierraLea]

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit episode 16

So...this episode made me realize there basically aren't any villains in this show. The only reason there's any conflict at all is people being stupid and refusing to communicate intelligently. We are not amused

Honestly, I almost found that refreshing. Once people found out they all wanted the same thing they started to work together! Though the ending episode seriously tugged on my heartstrings. That was one of the first series my husband and I watched together while we were dating.

As for me, I went back and hunted down my favorite Bleach episodes again. The Ichigo vs. Aizen conflict is just so brilliant!

[the_wolfs_howl]

Honestly, I almost found that refreshing. Once people found out they all wanted the same thing they started to work together!

The lack of villains is less bothersome to me than how unbelievably stupid the characters were at the beginning. Like, if they'd just bothered to translate the old records first before jumping to conclusions and trying to kill Chagum, they would have realized they didn't need to kill Chagum and therefore there would be no conflict. It bothers me that the only reason there's a story at all is that people who really should have known better jumped to conclusions and acted without making sure of the basis for their decisions first.

I am a very disgruntled Ravenclaw now

[MangaRocks!]

The lack of villains is less bothersome to me than how unbelievably stupid the characters were at the beginning. Like, if they'd just bothered to translate the old records first before jumping to conclusions and trying to kill Chagum, they would have realized they didn't need to kill Chagum and therefore there would be no conflict. It bothers me that the only reason there's a story at all is that people who really should have known better jumped to conclusions and acted without making sure of the basis for their decisions first.

I am a very disgruntled Ravenclaw now

^ Funny thing is that, personally, I didn't mind that hardly at all in Moribito (actually didn't really register it, even; I guess I must've just figured it was a cultural thing there or something? ), but was aggravated almost to the point of not being able to stand it in Nausicaä, LOL...

[ClaecElric4God]

Blast of Tempest. It's the first time I've watched anime at all in a really long time. So far so good, though I'm not getting drawn into the story as quickly as reviews I've heard of it would lead me to expect. But I am patient when it comes to anime, so we'll see what happens.

[MangaRocks!]

Watched a few more new-to-me series over the course of these past few months~




Kaiba ep.'s 1-12 (sub, complete):

...Well, this is certainly on the, er, weirder side of the scale overall, but at its heart it's pure dystopian sci-fi (with some romance thrown in for good measure ), so of course I quite enjoyed it. The first episode begins in medias res as the MC opens his eyes with no memories (so you experience everything just as he does, with little to no explanation until quite a bit later on), and since the entire show deals with the ramifications of having one's memories (or, rather, one's whole *self*) in a state that can easily be manipulated (among other things), the amnesia is actually handled superbly well throughout. That said, on a content note, the second episode wastes no time in letting you know that this ain't a family show , between the pervy security guard (though, granted, he does become a *little* bit more sympathetic later on in the series {only a little, but still}), the ridiculously promiscuous SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (though very short-lived ) "Butter," and the rather lengthy 'love' scene that's cut to several times during the ep. (although you actually only barely see it {it's mostly just... er... audio and the accompanying subtitles + sort-of-silhouettes}, and it's really more bizarre than anything-- indeed, it's actually pretty much the most bizarre 'love' scene I can recall ever seeing, between the incongruous art style and the context of what's really going on {the character in question is *literally* sleeping with herself by placing a complete copy of herself into an empty *male* body at the same time {without said body's owner's consent; he was temporarily inside a different body at the time}... and then apparently SPOILER: Highlight text to read: screws herself so hard that she explodes. ...Uh, yeah-- I did say that it was bizarre... }) If you can get past that second episode, however , the rest of the series is great, with only minimal concerning content *(see below)-- the little vignettes as the MC travels from planet to planet, the underlying sadness and even outright horror that the ability to easily discard/switch bodies and alter memories can bring, the suspense as the plot kicks into high gear... and the directing is awesome. *Oh, one more content note: Other than ep. 2 and the occasional perviness of the guard, the only other thing to really be aware of beforehand is that several characters’ feelings get a bit confused at one point because they’re temporarily stuck in bodies of the opposite gender (not by choice), and the (male) MC gets kissed by a guy while in a female body (though he didn’t want it, and clearly the other guy had no idea about the MC's real gender, LOL). So, yeah, this is... different, but (aside from some of that content ) it was a good watch for sci-fi lovers (though I unfortunately can't recommend it to everyone, obviously ).




Kanon (2006) ep.'s 1-24 (sub, complete):

Watched this because I'd heard that its adaptation is actually good (or at least as far as it can be when it comes to VN adaptations), and I believed it (...well, once I got past the art style. I mean, LOLWUT was with the girls' faces? Their eyes were *terrifyingly* huge {and it was even weirder because the guys' eyes were perfectly normal, LOL...} ). Anyway, while the MC is *very* kind at heart, he also has a delightful streak of troll in him, which is pretty refreshing (and made me laugh unexpectedly hard at some points). Holy crap, though-- I mean, this is an adaptation of a Key VN, so I was obviously expecting it to be quite a feels train; but I was not at all expecting it to hit so hard so early. I was already crying by episode 7 and the tears didn't even stop through the next three episodes afterward (though I cried again at the end of all the other routes + the finale, too, of course, but SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the ending was a beautiful one, so don't worry ). Though I haven't played the VN myself yet, I thought they did a very good job of integrating all the routes + the apparent True Ending together, though I do think the explanation of the final SPOILER: Highlight text to read: 'miracle' could've been a little tighter (since if one *wasn't* marathoning this it might be easy to forget the one time earlier on that it was mentioned that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: if the supernatural-foxes all worked together they could create a true miracle and then connect that up with SPOILER: Highlight text to read: them doing so to help grant Ayu's last wish, etc.). Overall, IMO, this was *very* good indeed, and definitely recommendable.




And Ristorante Paradiso ep.’s 1-11 (sub, complete):

Well, this was something, LOL. ...In all seriousness, I already knew both the premise and the whole thing with the mother before I went into it, so that helped with the suspension of disbelief a little. And while the main romance is quite speedy in the beginning (even more so in contrast to the low-key pace of the rest of the show), and there’s not a lot for it to be based on (at least at first) , it’s rather sweet all the same (...y'know, despite her thinking he was still married and all beforehand , and then coming on to him like crazy the instant she discovered he actually wasn’t, poor guy {though she did apologize and calm down afterwards, and thus it mellowed out considerably and became much more understated, which works a lot better with the tone of the show overall}). And after the first three episodes, the backstories of the rest of the cast are mostly fleshed out, too, as is how the restaurant was put together (which was at first melancholically sweet and then really amusing )-- though some of that is actually surprisingly messed-up, considering the generally mellow tone of the series overall (see the owner + Gigi’s combined backstory and Claudio’s past trauma... ). Grumpy grandpa Luciano’s reactions are gold, though (I laughed at them more than anything else)-- he's so crusty but he takes care of everyone. <3 (And the birthday party episode was freaking adorable. <3 ) Oh, and the ending resolves both the stuff with the mother and the stuff with Claudio very well. ...That said, after reading the manga (Ristorante Paradiso's 1 volume + Gente's 3 volumes), I can say that while the anime actually improved upon most (though not all) of the source material that it covered (to my great surprise), there is still a lot that it either skimmed through or even skipped entirely (such as all the development for Vito and his wife, Teo and Vanna, Marzio, and Gigi), so I guess the anime and manga should be watched and read in tandem if you decide to try it. In all, I wouldn't say it's a great series, but it was a decent one, so I didn't mind the watch/read.

[SincerelyAnomymous]

I recently started Boku no Hero Academia (Episodes 1-7)! Midoriya is looking up to be a great character and his relationship with All Might is quite interesting. I'm hoping he can master his quirk by the end of this season, so he can use it more efficiently without getting burnt out.

[SierraLea]

Has anyone ever discovered that series on Youtube called WatchMojo? I'm addicted to their top 10 lists, and the other day I found one with the top 10 anime princes. I knew a lot of them, like Lelouch and Ling, but another that sparked my interest, I'd never heard of before called Arslan.

Thus, I'm now watching The Heroic Legend of Arslan for the first time, and I have to say the suspense and plot are both really good, though the female characters leave something to be desired in the modesty department. The main character is just the sweetest!

[spark300c]

I am almost done with Kuromukruo. It good mecha anime very little fanserive.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Silver Spoon season 2 episode 4

Minamikujo was absolutely perfect I forgot how much I love her....

[MangaRocks!]

Watched the "Welcome To The Madness" Yuri!!! On ICE 3-minute special + read the one-shot manga that came with it:

For those unaware, "Welcome To The Madness" is Yurio's exhibition/gala skate, which (along with all the context surrounding it) was sadly previously cut from the Yuri On Ice TV series for time. The anime special (which consists of just that one program, hence it being only about 3 minutes long) is beautifully animated (and the manga-- which was directly made by one of the 2 creators of the TV series, BTW-- is just as beautifully drawn), and it finally lets Yurio be seen as he wants to be seen-- with a program he made up for himself (over the course of one night, no less!). The explanation of why he did this is portrayed far better in the manga one-shot than I could ever summarize it here, but the best part is that this last-minute program change was supposed to be a big surprise... except Yuuri and Victor of course had that surprise of their own planned for Yuuri's exhibition skate, which (due to the skating order of galas-- the gold medalist goes last) occurs right before Yurio's, and he reacts exactly as you'd expect. (Meaning, not to be outdone by Yuuri and Victor's own little exhibition-skate surprise , Yurio has to get Otabek involved. Without previously planning to. Which means that, amazingly, the few little bits with Otabek were literally improvised on the spot between them -- which says quite a lot, really... ) The manga also features Otabek moonlighting as a DJ in his downtime, which is pretty much the best thing ever. Seriously, though, the best thing about the manga is how much context, background, and character development it adds in just its mere 23 pages-- so much so that it's pretty much essential to read and watch both together (and, obviously, if you've already seen the YOI TV series, I heartily recommend doing so ).

[SierraLea]

Am now neck deep in Magi. Some of the characters just make me roll my eyes, but I am curious to see how they grow. I could do without the major perving.

[SincerelyAnomymous]

Just finished episode 24 of My Hero Academia! The animation was fluid and the action was great, plus we finally got to see Todoroki's backstory. Midoriya once again proves to be a amazing character just by how encouraging he can be to others. I love how that this show has consequences, mainly by the fact SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Midoriya sacrificed, though unintentionally, his chance at winning the Sports Festival Arc just to get Todoroki to use his full power. I'm curious how his quest is gonna be from now on. I'm tired of waiting for anime episodes and I think I'm just gonna read the manga! :0

[SierraLea]

Ha! My last post was about how I didn't like all the perving in Magi and then I went and watched Kill La Kill. Seriously, the amount of nudity in that show, among other things, is ridiculous!
Gotta say, though, it reminds me a lot of Host Club, with a main character who doesn't get as sucked into all the madness and everyone else in the cast. The main character was my favorite part, in case you didn't notice.

[SierraLea]

Since I last posted here, I watched Kuromakuro, which I wasn't very impressed with, and Yuri!! on Ice.
I am a huge sucker for figure skating. It was the one sport I would have gone into as a kid if it hadn't been quite so expensive, and if there'd been a rink near me. So this series, short and sweet but full of beautiful routines, was absolutely gorgeous for me. Still, I didn't like many of the characters.

[SierraLea]

Okay, this is my third post in a row. Someone else needs to share here, I'm dying!
Anyways, I dived into Free! after finishing Yuri!! on Ice. It's not as much fun, being more like the typical sports anime, but I loved Makoto and Nagisa. The gimmick of girly names was kinda funny, and I loved some of the moments during the series where they come together as a team, but I could have done without all the times the characters tied themselves into emotional knots. Seriously, it's a SPORT. Why do people need to get so angst-ridden about it?

[Kaori]

I don't watch a whole lot of anime anymore, but actually I did watch some recently ("recently"=gradually over the past several months).

Re-watched Martian Successor Nadesico (TV series) and the movie Nadesico: Prince of Darkness. (Still have not watched the Gekigangar episodes which came with the boxed set as extras.)

In some ways, I didn't enjoy re-watching the series as much as I thought I would (the overblown emotion, tropes like every female character being obsessed with the male lead despite his having no particularly good qualities), but on the other hand, it is really remarkable for the meta-aspects (the anime within an anime, etc.) and the way that those are used to make some much larger comments on things as the characters struggle with thoughts like whether or not they are fighting for a just cause, etc. It really does turn a lot of things on their heads (for example, the character who wants to go down in a blaze of glory in battle is SPOILER: Highlight text to read: shot in the back and dies ignominiously), and characters have to deal with things like the pain of loss in realistic ways. Also SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the suicide of the admiral who shot Gai was every bit as powerful as I remembered it being when I watched this series as a teenager. So although on the surface it is a comedic space opera, I would say it is worth watching for the meta aspects and those deeper issues which are raised.

The movie had superior animation compared to the TV but a fairly incoherent plot. Apparently part of the reason for this is that there was a Japan-only game that explained the events that happened in between the end of the TV series and the movie, and also there was supposed to be another movie or something after the Prince of Darkness movie but that never materialized. Nevertheless, the move is just not terribly good.

One tangential comment is that I was able to catch, this time around, something that is really clever about the title of the anime. In Japanese, the title of the anime is

機動戦艦ナデシコ (Kidou Senkan Nadeshiko = Mobile Battleship Nadeshiko)

Which is an obvious tribute to its famous space opera predecessor

宇宙戦艦ヤマト (Uchuu Senkan Yamato = Space Battleship Yamato)

Also, "Yamato" is a synonym for "Japan" and has some associations with the Japanese spirit and way of thinking, and "Nadeshiko" is the name for a certain kind of delicate, pink flower that grows in Japan, so when you put those two words together, "Yamato Nadeshiko" is a phrase that refers to the quintessential gentle, graceful Japanese beauty (woman).

Yamato nadeshiko (やまとなでしこ or 大和撫子) is a Japanese term meaning the "personification of an idealized Japanese woman", or "the epitome of pure, feminine beauty". It is a floral metaphor, combining the words Yamato, an ancient name for Japan, and nadeshiko, a delicate frilled pink carnation called Dianthus superbus, whose kanji translate into English as "caressable child" (or "wide-eyed barley").

The term "Yamato nadeshiko" is often used referring to a girl or shy young woman and, in a contemporary context, nostalgically of women with good traits which are perceived as being increasingly rare.
(Wikipedia)

The fact that Nadeshiko is a kind of Japanese flower is the reason why a bunch of other things in the series, like "Chulip" (this is just the Japanese pronunciation of Tulip) and all of the other spaceships, are also all named after flowers, but besides that it is also very clever as a combined reference to Space Battleship Yamato (formerly localized in the US as Star Blazers) and pun.

[/Kaori's Japanese culture corner]

[SierraLea]

I've added Gurren Laggan to the list of Anime I've seen, and I have to say I was furious at them for what happened to Kamina. He was almost a typical macho over the top character until you saw all the layers in him. I really loved seeing Simon grow, and how the two mantras of the series are how fighting spirit (aka never giving up) and love are the forces that change the world. Didn't expect a mecha series to have meaningful stuff, but it did. I didn't like any of the female characters, though.

[MangaRocks!]

Rage Of Bahamut: Virgin Soul ep.'s 14-17:

LOL, so that hairball thing is actually real??? And ah, so that's where SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Lucifer has been... And yikes-- while SPOILER: Highlight text to read: El indeed doesn't trust SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Gabriel one bit, it looks like he just went off the deep end in a whole other direction... (Though not in too bad of a way, so long as he listens to those around him...) LOL though, that was waaaaay too easy for SPOILER: Highlight text to read: El to get out. ...And then, of course, there's the elephant in the room: Uggghhhhh, so they actually *are* going down the route I'd really hoped they wouldn't -- that is, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Nina x Charioce. I mean, for one thing, the 'relationship' is exceedingly unhealthy (not necessarily in terms of how he treats her {well, as "Chris," anyway-- that is, if he really isn't lying or planning to use her in the end, which still remains to be seen}, but in his personality/'convictions'/etc. and how he treats literally everyone else). And for another, I absolutely cannot understand Charioce's characterization at all-- there's seriously *no* way to reconcile SPOILER: Highlight text to read: the crap he does as "king" with his "Chris" persona now that it's basically been confirmed that it's *not* a split personality (...and I am *NOT* buying that 'explanation' of his-- I cannot imagine *any* scenario {not even an apocalyptic one!} where anything he's done as "king" could ever be sufficiently excusable, no less the super-confusingly schizo way he's going about it. There's just no possible way that a person without a split personality can do the horrific things that he's done to countless living beings and then act like he did in this episode unless he's a complete psychopath... and, y'know, that's pretty clearly not a good choice in romance, despite what the show seems to be trying to push {unless the other person in the relationship is psycho as well, of course , but Nina isn't}... so if he ends up being written that way, then the writing will have failed on multiple levels ). Plus, the whole SPOILER: Highlight text to read: "Whoa, I can suddenly and inexplicably control my dragon powers now, must've been because we kissed?" bit wasn't good writing, either. (Also, if the show doesn't address the fact that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Favaro was supposed to be following Nina in the next ep., all I can do is just LOL and then facepalm. )

TL;DR: Having absolutely loved S1 and the two connecting OVA's, and with this season having an even higher budget than S1 as well as a nice, breathable two-cour runtime, I'd had high hopes for this, and had indeed been pretty much loving it until now; however, it seems that the writing is now faltering in the latter of its two cours, which makes me sad. I still don't have it in me to dislike this season, but I really hope it gets back on track...

[MangaRocks!]

Rage Of Bahamut: Virgin Soul ep.'s 18-20:

Ep. 18: Okay, so they did finally get back around to Favaro keeping an eye on Nina. (Oh man, though... he really did SPOILER: Highlight text to read: love Amira-- he's still thinking about her, even 10 years later. <3 </3 <3 And the little talk Favaro had with Nina was great. Hopefully she'll think over what he said. (EDIT after watching the next ep.: ...And nope, all that wisdom of Favaro's was very unfortunately wasted, because she clearly didn't think about it at all. ) And Azazel's emotions-- and the scene between him and Mugaro... so sweet. <3 Ep. 19 was really annoying again though, with the seen-coming-from-about-100-miles-away 'dumping' + Nina protecting Charioce even still (seriously, girl? The dude has committed *ACTUAL ATROCITIES,* and he sure isn't going to stop now. Couldn't she have just settled for Favaro taking Charioce's arm off? Or even taking it herself if she was that worried? Really not that hard of a decision, TBH... )-- but at least Favaro knew what was most likely coming there, which (combined with that SPOILER: Highlight text to read: punch ) kept it from being *completely* intolerable, LOL (...well, that and the fact that apparently even the nobles hate Charioce because they all just stood around and watched with metaphorical popcorn in hand as he was almost killed, LOL ). ...In all seriousness, I wouldn't have a problem with how this whole plotline is going down if there was actually some consistency in Charioce's characterization-- in other words, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: if he really did do all that on purpose just to use her, or if he's a true psychopath. Unfortunately, however, that's not what the writers seem to be implying-- instead, it seems like they're *attempting* to somehow play all this off as him just being an antihero or whatever (for a supposed reason/cause that *still* hasn't been explained; but TBH I don't even really expect one at this point, no less for it to be anywhere near a logical and sufficient reason when they finally do 'reveal' it, if ever ), complete with the obvious 'push the other character away by hurting them even though you don't actually mean it' cliché (which doesn't even make any sense here). There's just no possible way I'm gonna buy any 'redemption' of his character at this point, no matter how hard they try to sell it; so when it's obvious that's what they're trying to do, it gets real irritating real fast. And as for ep. 20: Welp, that was actually a really good fight, if short (I especially liked the teamwork between Favaro + Kaisar and Azazel + Sofiel {though unwillingly done by those latter two, despite being a surprisingly good match-up }), but most of the rest felt a bit like filler except for some of the stuff with Mugaro (that line of Bacchus' about Mugaro being a gift rather than a pawn in a plan was beautiful <3 , more sweetness with him and Azazel, and even showing that some of Nina's cheerfulness might have always been a façade {though that's a bit too little too late, there}). That said, the after-credits scene was... well, in a way it was predictable, yet... something about the culmination of that whole thread felt off. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I mean, yeah, Alessand has pretty much always been annoying , and the whole betrayal thing was already set up with him trying to join the Onyx guys before; but IDK, it just felt like there wasn't enough real buildup to it or something. It's hard to describe. (Also, if any of the characters {other than perhaps Sofiel, I suppose} blames Azazel in any way for that incident, I will rant even harder about inconsistent characterization, because SPOILER: Highlight text to read: even Jeanne apparently understands how much Azazel and Mugaro care about each other. )

...Ah well, at least all the snarky reviews and comments that the show's unfortunate, slow derailment has spawned have been amusing...?