Rewrite of the [Spring 2013] anime

[GeneD]

Lol Valvrave. If this doesn't go all Lord of the Flies now I will be very sad.

[spark300c]

ep 5 Karneval, it was epic. it turning out to be better than I expected.

[MangaRocks!]

In case anyone was wondering what those fictitious languages in Maou-Sama! and Gargantia actually are...

[GeneD]

^^^ That's cool. The foreign/fictitious language is one of the things I really like about those shows.

RDG 8: Red Data Girl what are you doing? SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And suddenly Masumi was a dragon-snake. Or he was the dragon-snake all along and Masumi is just a construct of the creature idk. Deus ex mother at least gave us some info on why she's not around and but not what was up with them trying to find her that one time. And then an out of the blue exposition epilogue about Wamiya being Miyuki's wings and what type of guy Suzuhara likes. Am I the only one who's really confused at this point? I am renaming this Red Data Plot.

[MangaRocks!]

^^^ That's cool. The foreign/fictitious language is one of the things I really like about those shows.

Me, too!


Karneval episode 5:

*Sigh*-- you know, I really want to like this adaptation. I really do. And, as I've been continuously saying after every episode, they're actually doing rather well with parts of it (namely the plot, although that's a bit rushed as well; but hey, at least it's pretty accurate ). It's just... the characters. Because of the way they're speeding through it, a whole lot of little insightful, endearing, and character-building moments have been lost onscreen (and the ones that have been included were done so quickly that there's not a lot of time to dwell on them), which makes connecting with/caring about/just generally being interested in the characters a lot more difficult, IMO. I mean, in my case, I already loved the manga (as well as its characters) before I started watching this, but I'm not connecting with the characters in the anime anywhere near as much (like this most recent story arc-- when I was reading it in the manga, it felt pretty bad {in terms of what the characters were going through}; but when I was watching it in the anime, aside from the action scenes, it just felt kinda... meh -- and not just because I already knew what was going to happen, either), so I can only imagine how someone who *hasn't* read the manga yet is (or is not ) connecting with them. It's like, the one thing that bad adaptations usually get wrong (IMO)-- messing with the story-- is (thankfully) pretty much not an issue here, yet instead the characters are unfortunately a whole lot more... flat(?)/distant(?)/something like that(?) than they are in the source. I just don't know how I should feel about this adaptation anymore...


RDG episode 8:

Speaking of adaptations... Granted, there's been very little explanation throughout this; but, to be honest, I thought that most of this particular episode was actually rather clear. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: For one thing, Manatsu's apparent death wish from the previous episode now makes a little more sense, since it was revealed that he's actually in danger of dying at any time anyway (and he was manipulated a bit by the snake-/dragon-/whatever-god, besides). As for the revelation about said snake-/dragon-/whatever-god, it also seemed pretty clear that it had just been using an 'image' of Masumi (or something more like a piece of his actual spirit/memories/etc.) all along to try to get what it wanted. I do have to admit, however, that Miyuki's supposedly-imaginary wings were a pretty big "what the heck?" moment, and that kinda weird 'explanation' about them after the credits really wasn't all that much of one, LOL. It *was* nice to finally see Izumiko's mom at the end, though, and it makes sense that the goddess is still mostly within her (though not for much longer). All that said, I think it's pretty safe to say that the original novels probably did quite a bit better in regards to explanation-- and you know an adaptation is kind-of a fail when you can tell that without even having read the source material yet, LOL -- so I'll definitely be giving them a read at some point.

[KazeShiki]

I realized Valvrave is actually just an ingenious parody. My goodness this is comedy gold. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Saki confirmed for next vampire as she pulls the "Let's be monsters together" card. Oh also the Preserved Roses (Valvrave Opening) PV short is out if anyone is interested.

[MangaRocks!]

Maou-sama! episode 6:
LOL!! I love this show so much.

[GeneD]

Maou-sama! 6: Oh my goodness I laughed. A lot and loudly. Although some parts were extra creepy if you know what Weeping Angels are. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: I love how the whole thing was just a wild goose chase and basically nothing came of it.

@MangaRocks! I think you have some good points about why Karneval is pretty flat. I really wanted it to be better than what it is.

[spark300c]

For me I am connecting with the characters in Karneva but I have not read the manga. It all new to me.

[MangaRocks!]

For me I am connecting with the characters in Karneva but I have not read the manga. It all new to me.

^ Ah. It's good to have some feedback from those who've just seen the anime first, as well. I'm glad you are connecting with the characters , and I highly recommend the manga to you, also-- because if you already like them now, you're going to love them in the source!


And, speaking of, Karneval episode 6:

To my surprise, this episode actually raised my opinion of the anime's adaptation quite a bit. They didn't rush this ep. at all (!), it was finally just about as emotional as I remembered it, and I thought it was quite good indeed!


Also, RDG episode 9:

First, on a completely irrelevant note, I have to say that when SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Yukimasa said "Don't worry, I have a nursing license," I LOL'd. I mean, I'm sure that wasn't meant to be funny, but I couldn't help it-- he's such a creep (probably unintentionally, but still)...

Anyway, I appreciated the fact that there was (finally!) some explanation about the goddess in this ep.-- but whoa, I was not expecting what was revealed. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: So she's actually a descendant of Izumiko, and destroyed the whole of mankind in the future , but regretted it later; and then found that once she was out of her body she could time-travel to previous ancestors' bodies, so she ended up deciding to change history so her future self wouldn't kill everyone. But she failed twice (her second failure leading to a pretty gruesome end for her, too ), and this is her last try...

[GeneD]

Valvrave 6: That is the ugliest mech I have ever seen. I haven't seen a particularly huge amounts of mechs though. For a second there I though she was going to break out a can-can.

[MangaRocks!]

...Maou-sama! episode 7:

LOL!! Loved the SPOILER: Highlight text to read: videogame-like power-replenishing drinks. Also, that must've been one heck of a package of noodles. And oh my gosh, that lunchbox...!

This show is so good.

[KazeShiki]

Okay, so I originally started watching Oregairu solely for Hayamin but this has actually turned out a lot better than I expected. Nothing great but it's been one of the more entertaining watches between Yukino's sharp tongue and Hachiman's depressive view on the world. I would've liked them to not skip so much with the Yui arc since I went and listened to the drama CD for that and it had some good stuff but I suppose between wanting to get through vol6 in 1 cour and not wanting to repeat old material, it's understandable.

Meanwhile, Railgun S makes me wonder if they're actually going to stretch Sisters arc for the entire season. So much filler but I just want terrorist Misaka.

[LastLfan]

I didt think i would able to watch new shows like this, then i discovered crunchy roll

[MangaRocks!]

...Maou-sama! episode 8:

LOL, oh man-- the facial expressions and reactions in this series are gold.

As for the story: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: It was pretty funny that even Lucifer knew what was really going on there with Chiho. (And speaking of Lucifer, I loved the box , and then him pestering them all throughout the meal, too. ) And it was nice that Chiho finally spelled out her feelings to Maou in words (which was actually quite a surprisingly sweet scene, BTW ). I'd really like to root for her-- and, to be honest, I actually kinda have been all along, even though I know the almost-certain outcome -- but unfortunately I'm well aware that when there's both a tsundere and non-(or less-)tsundere love interest (where the lead is male; and, in a female lead's case, emo and non-/less-emo love interests), the lead will almost certainly go for the more tsun (or emo) of the two (...with some notable exceptions, of course; however, I've found that to be a pretty firm rule nowadays). And I'm normally fine with that, actually, as long as the romance and character interactions are done well. However, in this case, while the character interactions and such are fine, I'm just not really rooting for Emi out of those two (...yet, anyway). In fact, this is actually the very first time that I've ever shipped (what I'm going to assume is) a non-canon pair (yep-- somehow, I've always managed to automatically ship the canon pairs no matter what... until now). Oh well.

On an amusing note again, though, LOL at Suzuno's interactions with technology, and that hilariously weird/creepy (and hilariously short-James-of-Team-Rocket-lookalike) little manager of SFC... and poor Ashiya! Also, that final couple of seconds with Maou and Chiho's synchronized and rapidly rising frustration was the perfect ending to the ep.

Seriously cannot wait for next week!

[GeneD]

Karneval 8: Most interesting thing to happen so far in this show. Also this is a few episodes late but SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that man's hat is made from ladies what.

[GeneD]

Red Data Girl 10: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Miyuki says something about the goddess and Izumiko being the same person and I think that's a very valid theory. It would explain why this is the last time she can return to the past or whatever it was. I'm not sure how this show is going to wrap up everything in two episodes.

[MangaRocks!]

Red Data Girl 10: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: Miyuki says something about the goddess and Izumiko being the same person and I think that's a very valid theory. It would explain why this is the last time she can return to the past or whatever it was. I'm not sure how this show is going to wrap up everything in two episodes.

Yeah, I thought that was a pretty good theory, as well. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And that conversation with Masumi was rather interesting, too. But I'm also wondering how they're going to finish all this up in that amount of time...



Also, Karneval episode 8:

Ah yes, the part where we finally see Yogi's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: very powerful (and very ruthless) other side. Nice cliffhanger by putting the switch at the end of the ep., too.

And as for the following:

...this is a few episodes late but SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that man's hat is made from ladies what.

^ Well, this hasn't been explained at all yet in the anime-- and, at the moment, I don't recall *exactly* where it was explained in the manga, though I think it's later on (?) -- but, if you're curious, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: they're not actually real girls or anything, LOL , they're just manifestations of the 'power' that the Circus members use (as are all of the other weapons that they 'materialize'). As for what that 'power' itself actually is, IIRC there's both a biological as well as technological component, but the manga explains it much better than I can (as the anime hopefully will at some point, as well).

[GeneD]

Also, Karneval episode 8:

Ah yes, the part where we finally see Yogi's SPOILER: Highlight text to read: very powerful (and very ruthless) other side. Nice cliffhanger by putting the switch at the end of the ep., too.

^ Well, this hasn't been explained at all yet in the anime-- and, at the moment, I don't recall *exactly* where it was explained in the manga, though I think it's later on (?) -- but, if you're curious, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: they're not actually real girls or anything, LOL , they're just manifestations of the 'power' that the Circus members use (as are all of the other weapons that they 'materialize'). As for what that 'power' itself actually is, IIRC there's both a biological as well as technological component, but the manga explains it much better than I can (as the anime hopefully will at some point, as well).

Yeah I figured it's just some manifestation thing but it's kinda a funny, only-in-anime moment. Also Yogi is now my favourite character so that cliffhanger better have a satisfying resolution. If there were any hints/foreshadowing to what happened, I totally missed it, so that came out of nowhere for me.

[Vii]

Really-Belated Mid-season Rankings:

1. Attack on Titan: All teh action, drama, and 3D maneuver gear.
2a. Suisei no Gargantia: Dunno how all the seriousness will play out.
2b. Chihayafuru 2: My feels. And how are they gonna find a good stopping point for the finale?
3. Hataraku Maou-sama: Reaction shots are lol. And a lot of it is lol. lol.
4a. RDG: Partially understand the plot. How they're gonna wrap this up in two episodes idk.
4b: OreGairu: Intriguing commentary on loners and friendship and stuff.
5: Aku no Hana: Behind on this a number of episodes. On the verge of dropping it.

Dropped:
- Crime Edge: Too fetishy.
- Devil Survivor 2: Uninteresting.
- Majestic Prince: Meh.
- Valvrave: I WANT to keep watching it for teh lulz, but I find myself bored every time.
- Karneval: Can't bring myself to care for it much.
- Arata Kangatari: Meh.

[MangaRocks!]

Maou-sama! episode 9:

Okay, I know almost everything I keep saying about this show basically just boils down to "LOL!", but seriously... LOL!!! The expressions are priceless, the reactions are priceless, Ashiya is priceless, everything is priceless ... it's just so good!

SPOILER: Highlight text to read: That hug (and Lucifer's reaction to it)... and the explanation that Ashiya gave about their past ... and "Naturally pestilent ogres" oh my gosh -- I literally had to pause the video for a moment at that point because I was laughing so hard! And the end was sweet, too.

Bring on next week!

[KazeShiki]

Garden of Words was full of rain. Beautiful rain. Could've been better but it was definitely better than Shinkai's last work. Can't tell if SPOILER: Highlight text to read: a lit teacher with no sense of taste is supposed to be Senpai reference or just coincidence. They already used the same seiyuu duo so hmm.

[GeneD]

My rankings:
1. Attack on Titan
2. Gargantia
3. Maou-sama: Has been pretty consistently funny and moving at a decent pace.
4. RDG: Red Data Girl: Would have been much better with a tighter plot but at least it's really pretty to look at.
5. Karneval: Just got interesting, but I fear it's too little too late.
6. Arata: The most interesting aspect gets the least screen time.
7. Devil Survivor 2: Well it's kinda pretty...
8. Valvrave: Mech designs makes me want to cry.

Dropped
Crime Edge: What Vii said.
Aku no Hana: I think the atmosphere is done very well but I just don't care about the characters and sometimes I struggle to take it seriously.

Fav OP: Muromi-san: I need to watch more than half the first episode.
Runner up: Attack on Titan

Fav ED: Attack on Titan
Runner up: Devil Survivor 2

Least fav OP: Aku no Hana
Least fav ED: Gargantia
Maou-sama loses points for having placeholder OP+ED for a good number of episodes.

[MangaRocks!]

RDG episode 11:

Well, thankfully, this episode was a lot more interesting and tense again. SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And holy crap-- was I understanding that correctly that Mayura was saying that she literally loved Manatsu, like, romantically? Not that I actually have a problem with that in fiction-- at all, really-- but I just wasn't expecting it in this particular story, so that was kind-of a surprise there.

And the end of the episode actually gave me goosebumps, SPOILER: Highlight text to read: when Izumiko finally broke out of (that serious creep ) Takayanagi's spell and totally pwned him and his followers and everything that he'd set up.

Also, from what I've been reading in comments about this series, there's still a whole entire book's worth of stuff left after this part (which likely won't get animated ), and the characterization and explanations are supposedly far better in the novels, too (as you'd expect). In other words, this anime is apparently a pretty bad adaptation. It *has* definitely gotten me quite interested in reading the novels, though, so I hope someone translates them.

[blkmage]

RDG definitely feels like a show that would have benefitted a lot from taking things slower and going through the details more carefully.

[GeneD]

RDG episode 11: SPOILER: Highlight text to read: And holy crap-- was I understanding that correctly that Mayura was saying that she literally loved Manatsu, like, romantically? Not that I actually have a problem with that in fiction-- at all, really-- but I just wasn't expecting it in this particular story, so that was kind-of a surprise there.

I thought it was just because SPOILER: Highlight text to read: they would lose Masumi and because they're close as brother and sister, but I don't know, it's not really clear so your interpretation could be correct too. Also yeah, Takayanagi is a creep but SPOILER: Highlight text to read: breaks his own spell, well done there guy. And it's a good thing Izumiko didn't learn anything more powerful than a simple protection spell.

[MangaRocks!]

Dropped:
- Karneval: Can't bring myself to care for it much.

Karneval: Just got interesting, but I fear it's too little too late.

^ And this perfectly illustrates this adaptation's main problem, which I mentioned a few weeks ago. (I do hope you guys will at least consider checking out the manga if you haven't already read it, though. Trust me, it's a lot better, especially when it comes to caring about both the plot *and* the characters. )


That said, Karneval episode 9:

This was probably one of the better episodes, because it's hard to mess up the intrigue in this section of the story. Although, it probably would have been a better cliffhanger if the episode had ended either a few moments sooner or a few moments later, but whatever. I'm really only watching this just to finish it at this point, anyway, because overall I'm quite 'meh' on how they're adapting it, and I would really much rather just go re-read the manga...

[Vii]

^ I was definitely planning on checking out the manga based on your post. It still doesn't look like exactly my kind of thing, but if it's better than the anime, I may enjoy it.

[MangaRocks!]

^ Ah, good. Hope you enjoy it (...well, more, at least )!


Maou-sama! episode 10:

.........

Yeah, okay, this was more a fanservice episode than anything, and the humor here was almost entirely the facepalm-worthy kind rather than the series' usual ROTFL-worthy kind , but it was still somewhat amusing. Though, I *did* actually laugh at all the stuff with (poor ) Ashiya and Lucifer , and also SPOILER: Highlight text to read: when the girls were teasing Maou with the "Sadao" name. And the last few minutes were pretty cool SPOILER: Highlight text to read: (with Maou being quite awesome, and Sentucky-Team-Rocket-san showing his white wings to Suzuno {so I guess he's an Angel, then?}).

Next-ep. preview looked quite interesting-- I'm looking forward to it!

[GeneD]

Arata Kangatari ep. 8: Well it was obvious that what happened with angry running rival dude was coming, but it's still disappointing since that part of the show in the "real world" was the most interesting part.

Devil Survivor 2 The Animation ep. 9: Until now I've been so distracted by Alcor's eyelashes that I never notices how fluffy his hair is.

Kakumeiki Valvrave ep. 9: "Ten if you count the original two!" Hooray the Dorssian military can count. And just in case you thought the Valvraves couldn't get any uglier...

Hataraku Maou-sama! ep. 10: "Eat your noodles and be happy!" And lol @MangaRocks! he totally looks like Team Rocket guy!

Karneval ep. 10: I felt more amiable towards this episode even though SPOILER: Highlight text to read: that bit with the horse-dragon was pretty random. I'm glad for the reminder why Circus keeps Nai and Gareki around because I literally found myself wandering that again at the start of the ep, which is a pretty terrible thing for the main characters of a show. I kinda wanted Tsukumo to stay dead so there could be a little drama and the explanation of Circus' power makes the "allergy" explanation of Yogi's spaz out last week make a bit more sense. Kiichi should be killed off and I think Akari's my favourite character. Also, more hat ladies yes.I'll consider reading the manga but I might just try reading Pandora Hearts again since the aesthetic is similar to me.