774 replies to this topic

[Fabbrizio]

So of the Winter 2014 anime season, I think Hamatora is by far my favorite. It has a clean flow, sharp wit and high production value. Noragami comes in second - it has interesting characters, an interesting world, and overall good design. Third would be Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, which is very well produced but a tad slow for my tastes. 

 

Space Dandy is alright, but I was expecting better from Shinichiro Watanabe. The series isn't really anything spectacular, despite his track record (you remember Cowboy Bebop? you bet your sweet ass you do)

 

Nobunagun is also fun, but it's a weak series - you can tell right off that it's a B-anime. Nonetheless, I hope the premise continues to be intriguing. The protagonist is already a lot of fun just in how much of a lunatic she is.

 

I still have yet to watch the first episodes of Onee-chan ga Kita, Engaged to the Unidentified, and Mahou Sensou. The last few days have been crazy.

[Dawnlight]

Having seen the movie, I don't really think explaining why you don't think it should be PG would be against the rules. Though I don't think there's anything particularly objectionable about it (except the fanfictiony beginning), nobody really bats an eye about that stuff in Japan or so I keep being told.

 

Well the reasons why I think this movie should have been PG-13 was because of the minor sexual content, scenes where they show the characters actually throwing up and not to mention...

Spoiler

The scene where they show Hana breastfeeding exposing her breast briefly.

 

At least this movie has no fanservice whatsoever.

[Dawnlight]

I got the Summer Wars BD-DVD Combo Pack for only $10. What can you tell me about this movie without spoiling it?

[Mero]

It kicks ass!

[Ventus]

Did watch Arashi No Yoru Ni (The Movie) And the only thing I can say is that it was a beautiful movie I've seen in awhile,first time in a long a movie made me cry. And not many things can do that to me except Mother 3... But that's for another thread. I think I will re-watch it for sure in the future as I did enjoy it.

Edited by Benji, 17 January 2014 - 11:11 AM.

[Dawnlight]

Finished watching Summer Wars. What more can I say other than that movie just kicks ass and takes names! That was definitely worth the $10 for sure. It's like Digimon The Movie done the right way.

[KingPridenia]

Was watching Dragon Warrior: Legend of the Hero Abel (ドラゴンクエスト - 勇者アベル伝説 Doragon Kuesuto - Yūsha Aberu Densetsu)

 

For those that don't know about it, the anime is loosely based on Dragon Warrior/Quest 3 on the NES. Each episode is called a "level". Pretty much, the story is a girl named Tiala (Tiara in the JPN version) was given a red pendant for her birthday and she gets abducted by Baramos. Her childhood friend Abel is kind of a Goku look-alike and he holds the blue pendant. Basically, the series focuses around Abel's quest to save Tiala/Tiara and to ensure Baramos doesn't destroy the world. Throughout the anime are tracks from Dragon Quests 1-4, one of the most common being the Dragon Quest 3 battle theme.

 

I really wish the guy had more episodes dubbed on YouTube. Only the first 13 levels/episodes came out in the US before it was cancelled having too much inappropriate content such as sexual scenes, gambling and blood in the battles. On YouTube, I just recently watched 13-16 with English subtitles. I kind of like the Japanese version better because at the end of each "level", they show a stat screen of one of the characters for laughs and play the level up fanfare. All I have to say though is that everyone's stats are incredibly lower than their level would suggest. Anyway, the anime has a total of 43 "levels" or episodes.

 

Notable Characters:

• Abel, the hero of the story trying to save his childhood friend
• Daisy, a warrior woman that comes off as a jerk of a heart of gold
• Moco, a fat guy that's always hungry and sucks at battle
• Yanack, a wizard that's pretty much a clone of Master Roshi personality wise

I should go back to watching Kirby Right Back at Ya / Hoshi no Kabi.

[Mero]

Finished watching Summer Wars. What more can I say other than that movie just kicks ass and takes names! That was definitely worth the $10 for sure. It's like Digimon The Movie done the right way.

 

I second that! Glad you enjoyed it.

[Russ]

So as I'm sure you all know by now, I hate subs. I hate having to keep my eyes on the bottom of the screen while everything's happening and having to hear conversations I can't understand. But, I while playing the Attack on Titan fangame the other day, I decided I can't wait until December for a dub and I hate waiting more than I hate subs.

 

So here we are less than 48 hours later and I watched the whole damn thing. Congrats to Attack on Titan for being the third anime in history to keep my attention all the way to the end. And now I'll patiently sit back and wait for season 2 so I can figure out what the hell just happened.

[The Satellite]

I too finally got to watching Attack on Titan. While it has good writing, interesting characters, and beautiful animation, it also has pacing issues and way way way too much recap, as well as reliance on flashbacks. It's like they really don't want you to forget anything that happened in this show... and that's just annoying. To cap it all off, despite all this recap, they think a full recap episode was necessary. Note for anyone who hasn't seen the show yet: Just skip the recap episode, while some shows have little extra tidbits in their recaps, this one has absolutely none and is just full of stuff you wouldn't have forgotten because the show won't let you forget. I mean yes, it's good to remember what happened but constantly having it shoved down my throat is no good. And earlier on, it fell victim to the issue of taking too long for anyone to actually do anything interesting. Yes, there was good character development, but I need more than just that in a show. Also, I'd assume they'd make a second season of the show due to its popularity, but if they don't, there are far too many unanswered questions and the lack of explanation would just make this one of the most disappointing anime series ever (yes I know there's manga but I said anime, also not that big into manga). It's really hard to judge the story overall as is without closure to some things. So yeah, good show, needs work, needs answers.

 

Meanwhile, the best possible plot twist I could have hoped for just happened in Kill la Kill, so there's that.

[Fabbrizio]

I too finally got to watching Attack on Titan. While it has good writing, interesting characters, and beautiful animation, it also has pacing issues and way way way too much recap, as well as reliance on flashbacks. It's like they really don't want you to forget anything that happened in this show... and that's just annoying. To cap it all off, despite all this recap, they think a full recap episode was necessary. Note for anyone who hasn't seen the show yet: Just skip the recap episode, while some shows have little extra tidbits in their recaps, this one has absolutely none and is just full of stuff you wouldn't have forgotten because the show won't let you forget. I mean yes, it's good to remember what happened but constantly having it shoved down my throat is no good. And earlier on, it fell victim to the issue of taking too long for anyone to actually do anything interesting. Yes, there was good character development, but I need more than just that in a show. Also, I'd assume they'd make a second season of the show due to its popularity, but if they don't, there are far too many unanswered questions and the lack of explanation would just make this one of the most disappointing anime series ever (yes I know there's manga but I said anime, also not that big into manga). It's really hard to judge the story overall as is without closure to some things. So yeah, good show, needs work, needs answers.

 
Well, you seem really insistent upon not reading the manga, but I may as well tell you that the anime is about twice as satisfying if you're current on the manga and already know what's going to happen, because then you can just sit back and watch the fantastic animation.
 

Meanwhile, the best possible plot twist I could have hoped for just happened in Kill la Kill, so there's that.

 

I would have to agree on that one. Holy crap. I started out not thinking much of the series, and now it's actually starting to have solid meaning.

[SpacemanDan]

Caught up on Kill La Kill. Holy shit, that was exactly what I was hoping for for quite awhile now, but didn't actually think would happen.

[Fabbrizio]

Okay, I'm almost done getting current on all my anime. The run-down is pretty heavy.

 

1. Keroro Gunsou (Sgt. Frog in the US) is getting a reboot next season, so I'm going to do the insane and try to get current on the original Keroro series (300-odd episodes). Wish me luck.
2. On a slightly more practical note, Mushishi gets a second run next season after a seven year break. So I'm going back and finishing the first Mushishi series, as well as the OVA they just put out. It's insanely good stuff. 
3. Back to being impractical, Sailor Moon gets a reboot in the season after next, so I'm working my way through the 200 episodes and three movies of the original series, while reading the manga simultaneously. It's a lot more interesting and emotionally savvy than people give it credit for. That said, it probably got its bad reputation from the dub (I know you hear me complain about dubs, but let me say, Sailor Moon is the very reason I so loathe dubs. They cut a large number of important episodes from the series, and changed a lot of noteworthy details, such as Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, who were a lesbian couple, but were re-written in the dub to be cousins).
4. When I'm not venting about the dub of Sailor Moon, I'm getting caught up on Pokemon XY (which is pretty a'ight so far - just as cheesy and awesome as I remember), and Strike the Blood (which is not bad but also not terribly good).
5. Okay. This is the one I had the most trouble coping with. [deep breath] Apparently I adore Naruto. I hate that I'm enjoying it because I really don't want to like it. I've spent my entire life complaining about its very existence, as well as the people who watch it (talk about fandoms with terrible reputations), so to sit down and do the mature thing (give it a chance) and discover I actually can't stop watching it is pretty distressing. 

And there it is.

Edited by Fabbrizio, 11 February 2014 - 09:19 AM.

[Jubbz]

Alright, Watching a buncha Winter season shows and whatnot and some Fall shows that carried over.

 

Definitely enjoying Silver Spoon and Golden Time from last season, and I'm really digging Witch Craft Works.

 

I've yet to get around to blagging about it either, because Vidcons.

[Fabbrizio]

Alright, Watching a buncha Winter season shows and whatnot and some Fall shows that carried over.

 

Definitely enjoying Silver Spoon and Golden Time from last season, and I'm really digging Witch Craft Works.

 

I've yet to get around to blagging about it either, because Vidcons.

 

If I finish getting caught up on all my stuff, Witch Craft Works will definitely be the first one I pick up.