Rate the Last Anime You Watched Out of 10

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 1

I don't mind a decent shonen from time to time, Dr. Stone may not have worked for me, but JJK definitely does things much better.

The story is nothing we haven't seen before in other shonens of this type, but MAPPA do a great job on the animation work which makes up for it. Feels a bit like Demon Slayer, run of the mill story made better by having quality animation work.

With a fairly varied cast of characters,I liked some more than others inevitably, but none of them grated on me, and some were really good. The little bits of comedy inserted especially when Gojou-sensei was present were genuinely funny.

I would watch more if a season 2 makes an appearance.

7/10
 
GATE

This anime asks and attempts to answer several questions that we didn't know we had.

For example:
  • What if Japan could have another chance at the age of discovery and imperialism, but this time without those pesky rival nations?
  • How can the JSDF technically fight without actually leaving Japan?
  • How can we make the JSDF look as awesome as possible?
  • How can we justify absolutely pulverising the natives with overwhelming military might?
  • Why not add a harem into it?
I quite liked the artwork but I felt this anime was majorly propogandist, and basically wound up being a story of how a nation with an insane tech and manpower advantage can go through a gate and interfere with politics, annex some land, kill some natives, make one-sided trade deals, and have some fun doing it.

They tried to justify all of this as self defence, as the deluded native imperials thought they had any chance at all at taking an advantage in the conflict, despite being shown time and time again that their situation was hopeless.

I didn't absolutely hate it, but neither did I really enjoy it, I'd not recommend it personally. I feel like a lot of the problems with this anime could have been solved had the gate closed leaving them trapped in the new world with limited personnel and supplies, instead they could just use it as an extension of Japan and at that point any semblance of an even fight was just lost.

5/10
 
Samurai 7

About half way through episode 1 I could tell this was a mid noughties anime (its 2004 btw). Shows like GitS:SAC, Noein, Death Note, Claymore, Ergo Proxy, Darker Than Black, Texhnolyze and Elfen Lied (all from 02-07) are what got me into anime. And although these shows can be wildly different they are still unmistakably from the same era. Even though I was watching this for the first time it still gave me a slightly nostalgic feeling and I loved it.

I was expecting it to be a pure period piece given the title so when it opened with a massive CGI flying mech war I was somewhat taken aback. But the decision to blend a Sengoku era aesthetic with sci fi dystopia and steam punk elements was a brilliant one. And the CGI mechs in a hand drawn world really worked for this show. Also seeing the samurai take down giant mechs with only a sword was immensely satisfying.

I believe the story is based on the old Seven Samurai film (though I haven't seen it) and the 26 episode series splits into 3 main arcs with gives the whole story a nice flow and gives time to get to know its large cast which is varied and interesting. The art and designs are great. The dub was great. The series told a full story with a satisfying ending.

Theres something about the way noughties animes are told that has always resonated with me and kept me fully engaged. Also a lot of my favourite looking animes come from this era. And Samurai 7 is another one. 7/7



Just to say in response to @Lordhippos review of Gate that I really enjoyed it. This mostly stemmed from the fact it would be obvious to have the fantasy magic army decimate the modern one and I enjoyed the reversal of that idea.
 
WMD said:
Samurai 7

About half way through episode 1 I could tell this was a mid noughties anime (its 2004 btw). Shows like GitS:SAC, Noein, Death Note, Claymore, Ergo Proxy, Darker Than Black, Texhnolyze and Elfen Lied (all from 02-07) are what got me into anime. And although these shows can be wildly different they are still unmistakably from the same era. Even though I was watching this for the first time it still gave me a slightly nostalgic feeling and I loved it.

I was expecting it to be a pure period piece given the title so when it opened with a massive CGI flying mech war I was somewhat taken aback. But the decision to blend a Sengoku era aesthetic with sci fi dystopia and steam punk elements was a brilliant one. And the CGI mechs in a hand drawn world really worked for this show. Also seeing the samurai take down giant mechs with only a sword was immensely satisfying.

I believe the story is based on the old Seven Samurai film (though I haven't seen it) and the 26 episode series splits into 3 main arcs with gives the whole story a nice flow and gives time to get to know its large cast which is varied and interesting. The art and designs are great. The dub was great. The series told a full story with a satisfying ending.

Theres something about the way noughties animes are told that has always resonated with me and kept me fully engaged. Also a lot of my favourite looking animes come from this era. And Samurai 7 is another one. 7/7



Just to say in response to @Lordhippos review of Gate that I really enjoyed it. This mostly stemmed from the fact it would be obvious to have the fantasy magic army decimate the modern one and I enjoyed the reversal of that idea.
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I am in the same mindset as you WMD, almost all of my top favorite anime are from the 2000's decade - or at least expanded a little to 1995-2012, so I can include the original Ghost in the Shell movies and Space Battleship Yamato 2199, lol. I do have Samurai 7 on Blu-ray, but I've only seen about the first 6-8 episodes, so I need to pick it back up again soon to complete it.

And I am a big Gate fan as well, even with all those cutesy-girl characters. I showed Gate to the next-door neighbor couple last summer, and they loved it, too.
 
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Hyouka

I love a bit of a mystery, and these small every day mysteries that they solve were fun to go along with. This is definitely my type of thing from time to time. KyoAni knocking it out of the park with their animation quality as usual helps, they really know their stuff.

Studios like MAPPA, KyoAni, Ufotable almost always do good work! :)

This is one I am glad to own the CE for as well, the boxes and the art are really nice.

8/10

Regarding GATE I didn't hate it, but the problems I saw with it spoilt the enjoyment factors it might have otherwise had. I think everyone has their personal views on these things though, one persons 10/10 is another's 1/10, I generally try and go by how much I was engaged in the story, how much I liked the characters, how good the art was, how much I enjoyed it overall etc.

I think I have to reflect and give my honest X/10 score at the end of these things. Saying that I enjoy seeing people who have differing opinions to me, and why they enjoyed a show I didn't necessarily like, or vice versa.
 
Lordhippos said:
Studios like MAPPA, KyoAni, Ufotable almost always do good work! :)
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Sad to say MAPPA couldn't be more different from ufotable and KyoAni if they tried. While ufotable and KyoAni are great studios that push for great working conditions and schedules, MAPPA is the perfect example of everything wrong with the industry at the moment. While the end result can still look great for the consumer, they're definitely not the same studio they were five years ago. This is a pretty informative video on their history.
 
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ActionFaust said:
Sad to say MAPPA couldn't be more different from ufotable and KyoAni if they tried. While ufotable and KyoAni are great studios that push for great working conditions and schedules, MAPPA is the perfect example of everything wrong with the industry at the moment. While the end result can still look great for the consumer, they're definitely not the same studio they were five years ago. This is a pretty informative video on their history.
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Yeah I meant in regards to the end result at least, I agree they probably take on too much at once and that can lead to bad conditions and extra stress. I've seen quite a few posts about poor salaries for animators in Japan and it kind of makes me sad, especially when they have a global market of people willing to pay for good anime to be made.

I hope things do change going forwards, because being a good animator/artist is a real talent, and a lot people couldn't do it, it should be a well paid job really!
 
Lordhippos said:
Yeah I meant in regards to the end result at least, I agree they probably take on too much at once and that can lead to bad conditions and extra stress. I've seen quite a few posts about poor salaries for animators in Japan and it kind of makes me sad, especially when they have a global market of people willing to pay for good anime to be made.

I hope things do change going forwards, because being a good animator/artist is a real talent, and a lot people couldn't do it, it should be a well paid job really!
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Yeah at the current rate the industry is going I'm expecting the bubble to burst at some point. The amount of anime being produced is far more than the amount of animators in Japan can handle. It's gotten to the point where the industry would collapse without Twitter as last minute animators and people with good connections are commonly contacted through the site. The industry makes more money than ever with about 50% of it coming from the US and China and yet animators pay hasn't changed one bit.

I just want people to make their funny cartoons in peace.
 
ActionFaust said:
Yeah at the current rate the industry is going I'm expecting the bubble to burst at some point. The amount of anime being produced is far more than the amount of animators in Japan can handle. It's gotten to the point where the industry would collapse without Twitter as last minute animators and people with good connections are commonly contacted through the site. The industry makes more money than ever with about 50% of it coming from the US and China and yet animators pay hasn't changed one bit.

I just want people to make their funny cartoons in peace.
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If this is true, it is a very sad state of affairs. So executives are making more money from anime and the industry is expanding, but conditions are only getting worse for animators? That sounds very depressing. Why don't these companies wake up and start treating their employees properly.

Has there been any attempt by animators at unionising?
 
Vashdaman said:
Has there been any attempt by animators at unionising?
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It's Japan it's the "done thing" to do overtime and not take holidays, so being militant about this stuff is probably a bit of a no-no as well. It's not just the anime industry where stuff like this happens. It tells you something that there's actually a word for dying of over working:
en.wikipedia.org

Karoshi - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

Found this whilst searching. Seems the Government has put in legislation about the overwork thing:
www.bbc.com

How the Japanese are putting an end to extreme work weeks

Employees in the country whose brutal office culture has led to several deaths are beginning to rethink the tradition.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

In terms of fair pay, etc. It's something that will probably change very slowly. Some studios have fairer ways of working, so it's started.
 
RadFemHedonist said:
On top of the blatant injustice who even would want a gilded toilet I mean it's just gonna get poop on it anyway 🤔
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Heh the irony of the priveleged. Such has always been the case with humanity I guess, just that with modern tech and rights nowadays us plebs can publicly rant about it without being locked up (in some countries anyway, though you always the risk of getting novichoked...)
 
Neil.T said:
it punches well above its weight with its clever stupidity and great tongue-in-cheek send-up of classic RPG games.
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Quite late reply :p but it really sounds like it’s time you watched Slayers, Neil.

I did half-remember your post (mainly the chortling over “Dick Saucer”) but it’s definitely been on my radar since the review by @Demelza as I do enjoy a bit of comic fantasy fun.
 
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Neil.T said:
Fantastic. My hope for that post was that it might encourage even one extra person to watch Dragon Half, so objective achieved! 😀

I promise you there's lots more for you to enjoy besides what's described above. Would love to hear your thoughts on it at some future point, dude. 👍
I like how this thread allows room for a bit of extra depth and detail in discussion like that.
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Wow, all this effusive praise for Dragon Half has just prompted my to order it on CEX. Price has gone up by a shocking £1! I'm blaming your review @Neil.T...

@WMD mentioned Negima before, but that seems harder to source in UK and I need to order Sakamote at some point (hoping to in a sale if possible).
 
Geriatric hedgehog said:
@WMD mentioned Negima before, but that seems harder to source in UK and I need to order Sakamote at some point (hoping to in a sale if possible).
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Just in case theres 2 different series. One is Negima! and the other is Negima!? They both start at the same point but tell different stories. The one with the ? Is the great one.

I'm pretty sure both only ever had dvd releases here and that was a while ago. I think the only way to get it new atm is the USA blu ray versions.
 
WMD said:
Just in case theres 2 different series. One is Negima! and the other is Negima!? They both start at the same point but tell different stories. The one with the ? Is the great one.

I'm pretty sure both only ever had dvd releases here and that was a while ago. I think the only way to get it new atm is the USA blu ray versions.
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Ah good to know, thank you. So that seems to be season 2 then if I'm not mistaken?
ayase said:
Quite late reply :p but it really sounds like it’s time you watched Slayers, Neil.
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Where to even start with slayers?!

Been looking at CEX for both of these series.
 
The first Negima! was made by Xebec, and released in the UK by Revelation Films for Funimation on six single volumes. It sucks most of the story out to leave a pervy harem comedy. Think Love Hina but not as good.

Negima!? was made by Shaft and is an early Akiyuki Simbo joint, and it too jettisons the story to go for a freaky animation style and plenty of visual gags. EDIT: released here by Manga Entertainment. Remember them?

Personally I prefer the pervy harem comedy, but I'm probably the exception to the rule.
 
Just Passing Through said:
The first Negima! was made by Xebec, and released in the UK by Revelation Films for Funimation on six single volumes. It sucks most of the story out to leave a pervy harem comedy. Think Love Hina but not as good.

Negima!? was made by Shaft and is an early Akiyuki Simbo joint, and it too jettisons the story to go for a freaky animation style and plenty of visual gags.

Personally I prefer the pervy harem comedy, but I'm probably the exception to the rule.
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Ah right, I didn't realise they were completely different productions, thanks for the info.
 
Geriatric hedgehog said:
Ah good to know, thank you. So that seems to be season 2 then if I'm not mistaken?
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It's more of a reboot than a season 2. Theres no need to watch the first one to enjoy it. And for me Negima!? is vastly superior. Like I've seen the first one once and have no inclination to watch it again whereas I've watched Negima!? multiple times over the years.
 
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