774 replies to this topic

[Dawnlight]

I started watching Pokemon Origins on Hulu Plus. Boy was I disappointed with how overly rushed this series is. 

[thepsynergist]

Finished the first season of No Game No Life, and I greatly recommend it.  I love the jabs they made at Ace Attorney and other game references.  I'm eagerly awaiting a second season.

[LinktheMaster]

So, I've watched a few things over the last few weeks... as well as finished some stuff from this season.

 

The first is Selector Infected WIXOSS, or Madoka with cards. Well, sorta.  It definitely starts out feeling like Madoka, and it's definitely a darker series that feels inspired by Madoka.  The good thing was that it manages to do a few things that really help differentiate it from Madoka.  It has some really good reveals, and the ending of the season was pretty good.  If you liked Madoka, I'd recommend this series.  It's not done quite as well as Madoka, but it was definitely a solid series in my eyes.

 

The next was the movie Wolf Children, which is basically about a mother raising two kids who happen to be half wolf and half human.  The story was done pretty well in that the way things end definitely change from what you expect in the beginning.  Plus, you really start to feel attached to the children as they age and mature, and the movie definitely knows how to pull at your heart strings. In the end, it's definitely a Miyazaki-esque movie, so if you're a fan of his movies, you'd probably enjoy this one.

 

Another series that ended this season was Mekakucity Actors, which was... okay.  Kagerou Days started out as a series of music videos... then was converted into a manga... which was converted into this anime, Mekakucity Actors.  The problem is, apparently a lot of things were lost in translation.  There were lots of pacing issues, questionable decisions, and stumbles along the way.  I hadn't watched the music videos or read the manga before watching it, but my roommate had and she said they skipped a bunch of stuff.  It's a bit sad as the base plot was actually pretty interesting.  I can see why this was so hyped because the premise behind everything is really neat and well done.  It's just a shame it wasn't executed well, which is a bit surprising with SHAFT being the company behind it.

 

Finally, my roommate recently started up Hamatora, which is kind of like anime X-Men or Heroes.  Basically, it's a group of people who have super powers who solve mysteries about other people with super powers.  It started off kinda episodic, but it's starting to turn into a more serious running plot.  I haven't watched enough to have a real verdict on it, but it seems promising enough.

[The Satellite]

I started watching Pokemon Origins on Hulu Plus. Boy was I disappointed with how overly rushed this series is.

Rushed in what sense? It was only four episodes, so it kind of had to condense story points, if that's what you mean. I thought it was well-done for what it was, but if you're saying it should've been a fuller show, like a full season, then I agree. I loved the way it incorporated references to the game into the show while telling the story in its own way. This is a Pokemon anime I would enjoy, unlike... that other show!

Anyway, just finished two shows. I decided to give No Game No Life a shot, and hey, despite the fanservice, it was actually pretty solid. The plot and world were interesting, the games were pretty awesome, and overall it was a ton of fun. Other than the fanservice—TV Tropes claims the fanservice in this show was played for humor only, which I call bullshit on—the only real problem I had was how the main characters treated Stephanie, it just seemed pretty uncalled for and honestly if people disliked this show with this as one of their reasons, I cannot blame them at all. But I definitely had a lot of fun with it and hope we'll see more of this in anime form, if not, well I'll just have to follow the light novel I suppose.

 

The other was Black Bullet, as I'd mentioned before that I wanted to look into it, and I wasn't disappointed. Hell of a good series, though it leaves a few unanswered questions, which I'm assuming we'll hopefully get another season for more, or once again I guess it's to the light novel. This one I had fewer problems with, like for one how several people had a tendency to treat the main character like a pervert even though he's the last thing from one, unless there's some unexplained material. The other is kind of minor but it really bugs me, and that's the show's extremely poor justification to have a stereotypical catgirl in it. I didn't hate the character, but this is an instance of obvious pandering. I mean I guess some bits of the show are pandering already but this was just crossing the line, I felt. But it's not enough to drag down the overall entertainment, as I had a great time with the show and hope there's more in the future.

 

MEANWHILE STILL ONLY SITTING ON TEN EPISODES OF SAMURAI CHAMPLOO. Which is weird cuz I enjoy the individual episodes, but I guess the plot disconnect just invites a slower, more casual pace or something, I dunno. It's a good show but I never can seem to just press on through it. Also I dunno if I gave an update before but I think I'm just giving up on Mushi-Shi. I can't make it through twenty-six episodes of a plotless show and endure a second season to boot, so I'm done. It had some interesting stories and nice art, but the lack of a central plot just kind of killed it a mere five or six episodes in, I haven't touched it in weeks, so sayonara to that one, I suppose.

[Dawnlight]

Rushed in what sense? It was only four episodes, so it kind of had to condense story points, if that's what you mean. I thought it was well-done for what it was, but if you're saying it should've been a fuller show, like a full season, then I agree. I loved the way it incorporated references to the game into the show while telling the story in its own way. This is a Pokemon anime I would enjoy, unlike... that other show!

I would rather have the mainstream Pokemon anime be like this instead of having that other series with Ash Ketchem who has been 10 years old since 1998.

[The Satellite]

So I watched SAO II's opening episode, and like... I dunno. It wasn't particularly bad and the main characters actually seemed a little more human, but it was just kind of bland when it was just talking. It has a decent setup, though I don't know why they're asking Mr. Wish Fulfillment to investigate what's going on in the game instead of actual authorities or the game's designers or someone who actually knows how to track things in coding. Bah. Well I'll just post this quote here because it's relevant:

 

[2:09:34 PM] Moosh: TS help, the end credits are giving me more hope for SAO II than the entire first episode

 

Technically the opening credits but I agree. The promise of Star Wars fights in this anime is appealing to the nerd in me. Though Kirito as a girl is going to be very weird, not that weirdness is anything new to this series and arguably might be the least-weirdest thing to happen.

[anikom15]

Kidou Senshi Gundamu
The original.
The best.

[thepsynergist]

I don't know why they're asking Mr. Wish Fulfillment to investigate what's going on in the game instead of actual authorities or the [i]game's designers[i] or someone who actually knows how to track things in coding.

They, sort of, covered that in the convo at the cafe, where the guy (forgot his name) told Kirito that they had no means of contacting the company, and they only knew the location of the servers.  A lame precedence to be sure, but they attempted to cover that point (albeit poorly).  I'm giving this a chance though.  I was always more interested in the Gun Gale arc anyway.

Edited by thepsynergist, 06 July 2014 - 05:33 PM.

[LinktheMaster]

So I watched SAO II's opening episode, and like... I dunno. It wasn't particularly bad and the main characters actually seemed a little more human, but it was just kind of bland when it was just talking. It has a decent setup, though I don't know why they're asking Mr. Wish Fulfillment to investigate what's going on in the game instead of actual authorities or the game's designers or someone who actually knows how to track things in coding. Bah. Well I'll just post this quote here because it's relevant:

 

[2:09:34 PM] Moosh: TS help, the end credits are giving me more hope for SAO II than the entire first episode

 

Technically the opening credits but I agree. The promise of Star Wars fights in this anime is appealing to the nerd in me. Though Kirito as a girl is going to be very weird, not that weirdness is anything new to this series and arguably might be the least-weirdest thing to happen.

Those opening credits were pretty good, so I'll admit it sort of got me a bit hyped up.

 

So, yeah.  I too regretfully stepped into SAO II. I only did so because everyone who has read the light novels admitted that the Elfheim Online arc was the worst one in the light novels and that it steps it up a lot in the GGO arc.  So, here's hoping that actually continues with the anime.  In regards to the anime... I honestly can't say anything one way or another.  It was an info dump talking episode.  The villain seems like he might be interesting in the fact that he seems like he'll actually have a presence in the series.  Granted, he doesn't have much to compete against.

 

All I can say is that it has potential.  Potential to be good... but also potential to be crappy.  I do have some concerns as it seems like most of the old cast are going to be thrown off to the side in this series based off of the opening, but we'll see.

 

I've watched some other series openers for this season, so I guess I'll give my first impressions.

 

Aldnoah.Zero - For those who didn't know, this is written by Gen Urobuchi (Madoka, Fate/Zero, and Psycho Pass's writers).  Problem was... that was a bit misleading.  Apparently he's only writing the first three episodes.  The first episode though... was pretty dang good, I'll give it that.  I really enjoyed it, and it has a ton of potential.  This was a surprise seeing as it's a mech series... but there haven't been mechs yet.  Definitely watching this unless something big happens.

 

Shirogane no Ishi: Argevollen: This is another mech anime that I gave a shot just because it was done partially by some of the same creators of Selector Infected Wixoss.  And, it was okay, but some of its good points are being squandered.  It started out with more realistic mechs that couldn't move around well.  So, that was a plus.  Also, the people in it aren't young teenagers, so that's a plus.  But, then in the last 5 minutes they sorta started falling into trope after trope.  Might give this the 3 episode test if I can make it through episode 2.

 

Tokyo Ghoul - This is definitely dark and grim... and it definitely had a pretty strong start.  While some parts of the episode were a bit slow and boring, it had a good start and end which really makes you wonder what's going to happen.  Definitely doesn't seem like it'll be for the faint of heart, though.  I just don't know what direction this is going to go, so I'll have to wait and see on that.  I'll be keeping up with this.

 

There's a few other series I'll be watching as they come out and I get time.  I'll post my opinions here when I get the chance.

[Haylee]

I would rather have the mainstream Pokemon anime be like this instead of having that other series with Ash Ketchem who has been 10 years old since 1998.

Almost everyone would.

 

This just in, I watched the Danganronpa anime, and loved the crap out of it.

Edited by Nexas, 06 July 2014 - 11:48 PM.

[Dawnlight]

Almost everyone would.

 

This just in, I watched the Danganronpa anime, and loved the crap out of it.

If you had the chance to play the game, you would have such an awesome experience. Best blind purchase ever!

[The Satellite]

Those opening credits were pretty good, so I'll admit it sort of got me a bit hyped up.

Looking back, the two opening sequences of the first season were actually rather dull, and only had good music to accompany them. But this opening was indeed pretty solid, one of the better ones I've seen in a while. I don't remember the music, I never do after only hearing a song once, but I remember it being fine and it's also Eir Aoi, it's guaranteed to be good.
 

I do have some concerns as it seems like most of the old cast are going to be thrown off to the side in this series based off of the opening, but we'll see.

Considering Klein was the only one who had any sort of potential as a character, this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Not that I have much faith we'll get better replacements.

Meanwhile, me and my susceptibility to cuteness has found a new anime thanks to KnowYourMeme's anime gallery, a little something called Barakamon, a currently-airing anime where a calligrapher is told his work is too "conformist" and in his rage he punches the judge, then gets sent to an island to cool his head, where he lives among a pretty decent community and gains himself a quirky and highly adorable little girl sidekick. I already contracted type-two diabetes from one episode, thanks Barakamon.

 

Curiously it's by the same studio as Black Bullet, this studio has a thing for kid sidekicks, don't they? :tard:

[Dawnlight]

I started Attack on Titan on Blu-ray. I watched the first two episodes and all I can say is...OMG I wanna watch more. The first episode had one of the most heartbroken moments I have ever seen in an anime. It was so hard to watch. I think I sheded a few tears after seeing that. And that was from Episode 1. This is gonna be one hell of an anime from where its going.

On the side note, I'm glad to hear Bryce Papenbrook voicing the main character Eren.

Edited by Dawnlight, 07 July 2014 - 10:59 PM.

[The Satellite]

I really can't stand Papenbrook in any role ever. Have an accurate approximation of his work:

 

[Russ]

I started Attack on Titan on Blu-ray. I watched the first two episodes and all I can say is...OMG I wanna watch more. The first episode had one of the most heartbroken moments I have ever seen in an anime. It was so hard to watch. I think I sheded a few tears after seeing that. And that was from Episode 1. This is gonna be one hell of an anime from where its going.

On the side note, I'm glad to hear Bryce Papenbrook voicing the main character Eren.

Kinda funny. I love the cast of the English dub, and I'd say a lot of them are even better than their Japanese counterparts. But Eren... Eren's basically the one voice I'm really not that big on in the dub. I mean, Papenbrook nails the screaming Eren does, but his normal voice just leaves a bit to be desired.

All that said, you're in for one heck of a ride Tri. Just a heads up though, the dub only covers episodes 1-13 right now; the dubs for 14-25 don't come out til September. So if you wanna finish without waiting, you'll have to switch to subs. And then if you wanna actually get caught up in the story, you'll have to read the manga since the anime only goes to about half way through what the manga has so far.