Anime of the 112th United States Congress [Winter 2011]

[Yamamaya]

So I watched Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka.

I find its brand of insanity entertaining at least. Only in anime could a male be both a [SPOILER] zombie and a magical girl[/SPOILER]

[MightiMidget]

Gosick I was half-paying attention to, and not entirely sure what I think of it as an overall opinion. But I like Victorique and Kujo, I like the scenery, and am expecting it to get better.

Watch the second episodes of Yumekui Merry, Madoka and Infinite Stratos. So far, Merry is my favorite of this season for character. Madoka I am lovin' if only solely for the creativity, and Infinite Stratos...rofl. It's just plain silly, yet fun and cool. The second episode also didn't have any fanservice that I noticed, which makes this a potential candidate for the "just, plain wacky and fun!" show of the season--despite a lack of originality. (And yes, that battle scene was most excellent. B) )

[Falx]

Well that shower had "censor steam" so I'm thinking the DVD's will be a different beast altogether, unfortunately.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Gosick...hmmm. I was kinda let down by this one. It did not feel nearly as polished as Bones' stuff usually does. The episodes felt fairly slapped together. Also, the setting feels like tacked-on doujin fodder. I hope it becomes more than an excuse to dress the characters a certain way. Very rough start for me, but I'm sticking with it for a bit.

Cardfight Vanguard was exactly what you'd expect and, if you dig that sort of thing, is entertaining enough. I enjoyed it more than the first ep of Gosick, so I'm in for now.

Looking forward to Beelzebub later today.

[blkmage]

Remember that huge picture of random Madoka stuff on it that had was begging to be overanalysed? Well, /a/ has worked long and hard and has produced translations for a lot of the random writing that shows up in what is now termed Madoka Runes.

This seems to be Madoka Rune translation central.

The runes that randomly appears in the Magic World have nearly been solved. This page is meant to show the current works and discoveries in the domain, as well as the latest discussions and hypothesis.

This is why I love the internet.

EDIT: You know what, who'd be interested in talking about Madoka in its own thread? If there's enough people up for it, I'll get one started.

[MightiMidget]

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka could have been so, so, so funny. But the being disturbed by the fanservice almost outweighed the enjoyment...not sure if I'll stick with it. Guess it will depend if the level goes down or not, but I kind of doubt it will.

Well that shower had "censor steam" so I'm thinking the DVD's will be a different beast altogether, unfortunately.

Laaaaame. I was wondering about that...oh well. Sigh. Don't think I'd want to get it anyway, but still. Sadness.

EDIT again. Heh. Level E was really fun and refreshing. Something I was not expecting. Definitely a keeper unless it manages to kill itself after such a great first episode.

[LadyRushia]

Zombie:
"Hey, I'm not dead because I'm a zombie!"
"Oh, well, I'd still be dead if it wasn't for you, and if I were dead, I wouldn't be a zombie!"
"Actually, I'm a zombie!"
"I don't die because I'm a zombie!"
I HEARD YOU THE FIRST SIX TIMES YOU SAID WERE A ZOMBIE.

Yeah, I wasn't impressed for many reasons other than the fanservice.

Dragon Crisis:
I'm calling this Toradora the A.U. Fanfic, but besides the humor I find in that I actually like it. "Lost Precious" reminds me of Golem, but that's okay. It seems to be a mash-up of every fantasy anime convention ever, but I have a feeling it'll still be interesting somehow.

Also, I'd be in on the Madoka thread. So far, it's my favorite show this season.

[mechana2015]

K, I've seen most of the new stuff now, so a quick rundown:
Gosick - waiting to see how episode two goes, currently more interesting than...
Fractale - which is showing promise but was fairly slow in the first episode, as opposed to...
Level E - Which was outright great. Funny and well paced with a great first episode ending (something that it shared with Fractale.) It has a great odd couple dynamic, as opposed to ...
Beelzebub- Nothing worked in this. It was confusing, trite and nonsensical all at once. I didn't enjoy it, and didn't find it funny or entertaining, just like...
Card Battle! Vanguard - Terrible. The first episode is a 20 minute tutorial on how to play the card game it's selling, with 4 minutes of plot to put the charachters at the game board. It was boring, which makes it worse than...
Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka - Which I would have found funny except for the overloaded underage fanservice and the way it treats its audience like an idiot, which, surprisingly...
Dragon Crisis- DIDN'T. The status of the character is better established without ramming it up your nose, but I'll have to see if I can put up with the Cousin in this one, or the other girl, presuming she learns how to talk pretty quick.

Anything not mentioned I haven't seen yet, or I'm holding off on until the podcast.

[MightiMidget]

I'm starting to think I should try the first episode of Dragon Crisis....will do that tomorrow.

[LadyRushia]

Level E is pretty decent. It interested me a bit more than Fractale, but not as much as a couple other series. That's not to say I didn't like it because I did. It's a solid first episode and I plan on keeping up with it for now.

[TWWK]

I watched Wandering Son the other day...very intriguing, beautiful animation, and a large cast of realistic (well, maybe not for middle school...) characters. I'll be watching this, Infinite Stratos, and possibly Fractale this season.

[ChristianKitsune]

Watched Beelzebub and Dragon Crisis last night. Was more interested in Dragon Crisis' storyline, and the baby in the Beelsebub freaked me out a little. XD Although it was very light and silly. I did fall asleep during this episode, however.
I'll probably give DC another shot Despite the annoying fanservice.

I'm really wanting to check out wandering son.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? ain't for me.

Beelzebub...was a strange one. I really didn't enjoy most of the first episode all that much, but about 2/3 of the way through, I mysteriously began to like it(?). So, I will persevere a bit longer.

I liked Level E a lot, but not quite as much as Fractale. Still, it looks very promising, and I tend to dig Togashi's stories one way or another.

[blkmage]

I've brought out the chopping block and dropped Infinite Stratos and Dragon Crisis. Infinite Stratos is fairly mediocre and is essentially generic anime. It's just so bland and doesn't really have any promise that fancy mech battles can't save it. Dragon Crisis was uninteresting for the same reasons that I couldn't get through more than two episodes of Pandora Hearts or Asura Cryin'. Also, I said that I'd keep watching Dragon Crisis if dragon girl picked up URUSAI, but alas, she did not.

Fractale was slow, but I think the difference between it and Infinite Stratos is that Fractale has the promise of something more interesting. I'm keeping KoreZom because it is actually kind of entertaining. I'll probably be dropping Yumekui Merry if nothing happens in the next episode again. I didn't really like the main character in Level E or the Prince, but the second episode had other, more interesting characters that sold me on it.

I also caught up with the Hourou Musuko manga and I think that it should be one of the more interesting shows this season. I can talk about it with more certainty now that I've got a refresher in it. It's definitely not melodramatic at all. In fact, I'd say that it's pretty subdued as far as anime drama goes.

[blkmage]

Simulcasts of Fractale are being stopped until Funimation solves piracy.

No, really, that is actually the production committee's condition.

trollface.jpg

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Simulcasts of Fractale are being stopped until Funimation solves piracy.

piracy

[MasterDias]

From ANN:

According to Funimation representatives, the committee requested that Funimation eliminates unauthorized videos of the anime on the Internet — including streaming sites, file-sharing networks, and file servers — before its simulcast will be allowed to continue.

Oh, Japan...
Well, I guess I'll wish Funimation luck. They're certainly going to need it, for something that is impossible.
This is pretty bizarre though. Mass availability is certainly nothing new.

[blkmage]

Yeah, notice that they didn't ask Funimation to stop illegal rips of their streams. They're asking Funimation to solve something that is actually completely out of their control. You know, including TV raws and all.

Which is completely baffling unless there's some crazy ulterior motive.

It's like if EMI refused to put any music on the iTunes store until Apple stopped all music piracy.

EDIT: oh yeah, I think it's also worth putting into perspective just how many people this affects and actually care:

[Atria35]

All I can say is- good luck with that.

[ChristianKitsune]

O_o are you freaking kidding me? That's really stupid, how can Funimation, a dubbing and distributing company control fansubbers and their ilk? It's like...trying to stop rain from falling by putting up umbrellas. :/ It's kind of futile.

[LadyRushia]

Well, I guess no one's watching Fractale this season.

EDIT: The first episode of Wandering Son was good. It feels like a manga in motion. My psych major roommate is even more interested to see whether or not it'll progress past gender expression.

I'm going to watch Rio purely for the lulz now. We'll see what happens.

[Atria35]

Well, I guess no one's watching Fractale this season.

I will be. Of course, since they have stopped the legal streaming, guess where I'll be watching? Seriously, I'd have gladly watched on Funi's site.

Thanks for punishing me for wanting to view it legally, Japan!

[MightiMidget]

I will be. Of course, since they have stopped the legal streaming, guess where I'll be watching? Seriously, I'd have gladly watched on Funi's site.

Thanks for punishing me for wanting to view it legally, Japan!

No kidding. I was wondering why it wasn't in my queue, guess this solves that...good grief. Time to go find it on one of those evil sites.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

They're asking Funimation to solve something that is actually completely out of their control. You know, including TV raws and all.

Thanks for punishing me for wanting to view it legally, Japan!

[LadyRushia]

Then I guess I'll get all irregal to keep up with it.

Also, Rio was terrible.

[TWWK]

The whole Funimation thing makes me wonder what the contracts and meetings are like between the American distribution companies and the Japanese studios. Like...how the heck could the Japanese company pull their product like that, so suddenly? It seems like they have the ability to do so for any reason.

It seems like the Japanese studios are very skiddish, possibly because of a mixture of piracy, the problem with ANN and OreImo last season, and the One Piece issue a year or two ago.

The dynamics are just very different from what one would expect between two American companies.

[MasterDias]

Yeah, but even Toei didn't have this kind of extreme reaction over the One Piece leak, and that was a much bigger deal.

This makes me suspect that there is something else going on behind the scenes. I have trouble imagining the Fractale Production Committee is dumb enough to actually think Funimation really has that kind of power and authority.

[ChristianKitsune]

Didn't you guys realize? Funimation must be what runs the American Government!

But yah, I wondered how they could negate that contract so easily as well...

Different topic, I really am intrigued by Wandering Son. It looks like this will be the anime I sick with the most this season. (If it can't be fractale.)

[blkmage]

Yeah, but even Toei didn't have this kind of extreme reaction over the One Piece leak, and that was a much bigger deal.

This makes me suspect that there is something else going on behind the scenes. I have trouble imagining the Fractale Production Committee is dumb enough to actually think Funimation really has that kind of power and authority.

I've heard rumblings that it's a deliberate setup to attempt to kill off simulcasts. It's a bit conspiratorial, but there aren't very many rational explanations.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I've heard rumblings that it's a deliberate setup to attempt to kill off simulcasts. It's a bit conspiratorial, but there aren't very many rational explanations.

As weird as it sounds, I couldn't help but think the same thing, that maybe certain Japanese companies either don't like simulcasting or don't see the benefit of it or both.

But, as you say magey, it seems far-fetched to suggest that the Fractale folks went through all the hassle of setting up an agreement and getting the first episode simulcast just to hurt simulcasting. Surely they'd know that their own credibility would be undermined for yanking the show for such a dumb reason?