Rate (Out of 10) and/or Review the Last Anime You Watched~

Bartender: Glass of God
When a manga receives multiple adaptations, there's always the fear that they will retread the same ground in a redundant way. Thankfully that's not the case here. The 2006 Bartender anime was made partway through the manga's run, but the manga was long finished by the time Glass of God went into production. This is evident in the different approaches the two adaptations take to the source material, both equally valid and interesting.

Bartender 2006 was very episodic. Each episode focused on the life of one customer, what brought them to encounter bartender Ryu's bar, the history of the drinks Ryu serves the customer, and how those specific drinks relate to (and sometimes solve) problems in the customer's life. The titular glass of god refers to Ryu's ability to understand his customers and select exactly the right drink for them at that moment. In the 2006 version, Ryu was a near infallible, Holmes-esque character who could pick up on the subtlest clues about a customer to figure out what troubled them.

Bartender: Glass of God offers a different perspective. It takes us behind the counter to focus on the bartenders themselves, their different approaches to their work, and what compels them to do the job. It follows a series-long story about a hotel owner's attempts to convince Ryu to work at his bar. Ryu, despite his reputation, comes across as less experienced than in the 2006 show. He makes mistakes at times and is haunted by mistakes he made in the past. It all builds into a story arc that fully resolves within this single cour. This pacing generally works, though Ryu's encounter with a particular customer in the final episode (the final boss, essentially) feels rushed and lacking in the tension it needed.

Aside from that, it's a solid show. Where some remakes try to one-up their predecessor, Glass of God seems to frame itself as a companion piece. The few story moments that overlap between them are handled quite differently, and on the whole the shows offer two distinct flavours that complement each other.

7/10
 
Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
Yikes, this sure was a fighting game anime from the 90s, and all that that implies. I struggle to think of a single element of this TV special that I wouldn't describe as inept. The opening scenes were especially nonsensical, as we see the Bogard boys (with Terry wearing a kid-sized version of the same outfit he wears for the rest of his life) witness their martial artist father's inability to fight off oncoming assassins due to a dozen scared kids suddenly mobbing him for a hug. Another martial arts mentor then tells the Bogard boys to sod off and train by themselves somewhere for ten years, then to come back so he can teach one move to one of them. One move. To one of them. Laziest master ever.

Cut to ten years later, the villain's hosting a fighting tournament because that's what fighting game villains do. Cue the Bogards having underwhelming fights against various other Fatal Fury characters, some of whom are only around long enough for one move. Meanwhile, Terry has some awkward encounters with a sad-eyed bird-in-a-gilded-cage sort of girl who drops death flags everywhere and I'm sure will be fine.

It all leads to a short, underwhelming fight against Geese (the villain, not the migratory bird, unfortunately, since that would have been more entertaining) that doesn't even last long enough for Terry to say, "Hello. My name is Terry Bogard. You killed my father. Prepare to die get punted into a fish pond."

3/10
 
Dai said:
Fatal Fury: Legend of the Hungry Wolf
Yikes, this sure was a fighting game anime from the 90s, and all that that implies. I struggle to think of a single element of this TV special that I wouldn't describe as inept. The opening scenes were especially nonsensical, as we see the Bogard boys (with Terry wearing a kid-sized version of the same outfit he wears for the rest of his life) witness their martial artist father's inability to fight off oncoming assassins due to a dozen scared kids suddenly mobbing him for a hug. Another martial arts mentor then tells the Bogard boys to sod off and train by themselves somewhere for ten years, then to come back so he can teach one move to one of them. One move. To one of them. Laziest master ever.

Cut to ten years later, the villain's hosting a fighting tournament because that's what fighting game villains do. Cue the Bogards having underwhelming fights against various other Fatal Fury characters, some of whom are only around long enough for one move. Meanwhile, Terry has some awkward encounters with a sad-eyed bird-in-a-gilded-cage sort of girl who drops death flags everywhere and I'm sure will be fine.

It all leads to a short, underwhelming fight against Geese (the villain, not the migratory bird, unfortunately, since that would have been more entertaining) that doesn't even last long enough for Terry to say, "Hello. My name is Terry Bogard. You killed my father. Prepare to die get punted into a fish pond."

3/10
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🤣🤣🤣 I at least hope that it was short and not a long slog!
 
Last night, finished watching Management Of A Novice Alchemist and I have to give it a 9. There were some episodes where Lorea just seemed to be sidelined and where a possible relationship could've happened but never did.
 
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out
What you get out of this movie will depend on what you liked about previous Rascal stories. If you're just in it for the supernatural mystery aspect, this one has very little of that. The supernatural elements defined the nature of the conflict that needed to be overcome in previous arcs. In this one, it acts more as a visual metaphor to accentuate the existing conflicts. You could take the supernatural aspect out and this story wouldn't change.

Sister Venturing Out is about Kaede's attempts to get into high school while struggling with the aftermath of events from her previous arc. If you've seen the TV series then you know that's not as simple as it sounds. Though based on a light novel released in 2018, this movie may benefit from coming out post-pandemic, when the idea of what constitutes a normal school life has been turned on its head. The characters are as endearing as ever, so if they are a large part of what you like about the series, there's plenty to enjoy here.

If Sister Venturing Out had a more conventional price tag, it would be an easy recommendation for anyone who likes the series. Unfortunately it comes with a hefty Aniplex tax. The previous arc, Dreaming Girl, is an outstanding 10/10 movie that's worth paying any price to see. That one is the culmination of everything that had been built up during the TV series and is essential viewing. As for Sister Venturing Out, it's more of an extended epilogue to Kaede's arc, and probably won't factor into future arcs that much. Considering that, it's more one for dedicated Rascal fans or people who can stomach paying $50+ for a 70-minute movie without blinking.

8/10
 
Dai said:
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out
What you get out of this movie will depend on what you liked about previous Rascal stories. If you're just in it for the supernatural mystery aspect, this one has very little of that. The supernatural elements defined the nature of the conflict that needed to be overcome in previous arcs. In this one, it acts more as a visual metaphor to accentuate the existing conflicts. You could take the supernatural aspect out and this story wouldn't change.

Sister Venturing Out is about Kaede's attempts to get into high school while struggling with the aftermath of events from her previous arc. If you've seen the TV series then you know that's not as simple as it sounds. Though based on a light novel released in 2018, this movie may benefit from coming out post-pandemic, when the idea of what constitutes a normal school life has been turned on its head. The characters are as endearing as ever, so if they are a large part of what you like about the series, there's plenty to enjoy here.

If Sister Venturing Out had a more conventional price tag, it would be an easy recommendation for anyone who likes the series. Unfortunately it comes with a hefty Aniplex tax. The previous arc, Dreaming Girl, is an outstanding 10/10 movie that's worth paying any price to see. That one is the culmination of everything that had been built up during the TV series and is essential viewing. As for Sister Venturing Out, it's more of an extended epilogue to Kaede's arc, and probably won't factor into future arcs that much. Considering that, it's more one for dedicated Rascal fans or people who can stomach paying $50+ for a 70-minute movie without blinking.

8/10
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I need to rewatch all of Rascal and the first movie (which I agree, is indispensable to fans of the TV series) as a refresher before this new movie. I wasn't sure if it was a second season but yeah as a movie the aniplex prices are a pain to get over.

I presume neither of the movies are easily available at reasonable prices but where would you recommend importing these from for English subs: JP, AU or US? First movie is probably OOP thanks to my holding off for a good price 🤦‍♂️ and not being on the ball...
 
Geriatric hedgehog said:
I presume neither of the movies are easily available at reasonable prices but where would you recommend importing these from for English subs: JP, AU or US? First movie is probably OOP thanks to my holding off for a good price 🤦‍♂️ and not being on the ball...
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AFAIK only the US release of the movies has English subs; I don't think there's been an Australian release, and the JP release is unsubbed. The only places I know of that sell US Aniplex titles are the Crunchyroll store and Robert's Anime Corner Store. I used the latter, since it didn't require a forwarding company, whereas Crunchyroll does. It does mean ordering directly from their janky-looking website though.
 
Dai said:
AFAIK only the US release of the movies has English subs; I don't think there's been an Australian release, and the JP release is unsubbed. The only places I know of that sell US Aniplex titles are the Crunchyroll store and Robert's Anime Corner Store. I used the latter, since it didn't require a forwarding company, whereas Crunchyroll does. It does mean ordering directly from their janky-looking website though.
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Thanks for the info! Heh, yeah I've seen Robert's anime store before and kind of wanted to order from them just for the 80s devil-may-care aesthetic (evokes point&click monkey island 2 nostalgia ☺️). Now may be my chance then.
 
Lol, the RAC website is almost as janky as my freytheater.com website, which I still use an ancient copy of Front Page 2000 to edit it if I ever bother anymore. I haven't even updated it since 2018; I see the monthly movie showing was for the second half of the Violet Evergarden series. I basically only use the site now to host all my Purple Pile Pics™ for the anime forums.
 
Lunar Legend Tsukihime

I can't say I really liked or disliked this show, I found it just ok. I liked the pacing of the first episodes and most of the dialogues by Arcueid. In the last episodes the pace changed quite dramatically, something like the writers went "OMG we are near the end, now we must find someway to end all this". I would prefer a more cohesive storytelling.
 
wreyfuyr said:
Lunar Legend Tsukihime

I can't say I really liked or disliked this show, I found it just ok. I liked the pacing of the first episodes and most of the dialogues by Arcueid. In the last episodes the pace changed quite dramatically, something like the writers went "OMG we are near the end, now we must find someway to end all this". I would prefer a more cohesive storytelling.
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I've heard that it deviates from the visual novel a lot. The VN is finally available officially in English, BTW.
 
Terminator Zero
The tricky thing about developing new entries in the Terminator franchise is that they have to contain some pretty specific plot and character elements in order to be recognisable as Terminator stories. Omit the titular robot assassins or drastically alter their purpose and it wouldn't be a Terminator story. But equally, stick too closely to the established elements and you end up with something that feels derivative and pointless. It's a fine line to ride, and Terminator Zero attempts it with varying levels of success.

Your cyborg assassin for the evening is an off-the-peg T800, the premium vanilla of murderbots. The story doesn't attempt any new gimmicks with the terminator itself, but it gives a solid showing for the old classic. Meanwhile, a grizzled future soldier is sent back in time to stop it. So far, so "I <3 1984." Fortunately they're not attempting to kill/save a future military leader, so it diverges from formula there, if only a little. The thing that turns Malcolm into an assassination target isn't entirely untrodden ground for the franchise, but at least isn't something that has been done to death in the movies, so it feels relatively fresh.

Coming from Production IG, it's a lavish-looking show with lots of intense and well-animated action. The nature of the action scenes often isn't particularly imaginative though, in one instance being an almost verbatim rehash of a scene from the original movie. On the other hand, I have no complaints about the eerily understated music, which adds a lot to the tension and atmosphere.

On most fronts, Terminator Zero varies from competent to solid. The main place where it falls short is the characters. They're a generally unlikeable bunch, especially early on, which makes it difficult to care about their fate in the first half of the show. Some of them undergo some oddly abrupt personality shifts too. Malcolm's youngest child suddenly changes from selfish, naive brat to mature and contemplative after her first encounter with the terminator. Meanwhile, future soldier Eiko goes from driven to wishy-washy around the same time, and winds up getting so sidetracked that she almost falls out of the story until the climax.

The other thing playing against the characters is the dubtitles, which have the most overt case of fifteening I've seen since Manga Video's 90s heyday. It flat-out changes the personality of some characters, especially Misaki who sounds polite and demure in the Japanese dialogue, but drops F-bombs in the subtitles.

Complaints aside, the show does get stronger and more distinctive as it goes along. Some of the twists are predictable, but they do serve to make the story more interesting. Overall I'd rank it somewhere in the middle of the franchise: above the messy T3 and the derivative Dark Fate, but significantly below the first two movies and The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

7/10
 
Macross Frontier
A Macross story usually needs to juggle a few different plot elements: space opera war story, pop idol drama, and love triangles. Frontier mostly does a solid job at all three and throws in some conspiracy mystery for good measure.

As a war story, it benefits from high stakes, a dangerous new enemy, and lots of dynamic, well-directed action scenes. Considering it's from 2008, the CG for the ships, valkyrie fighters and aliens has aged well, which is more than can be said for a lot of anime CG from the 00s.

As a pop idol drama, it pits eager newbie Ranka against established star Sheryl to great effect. The dynamics of their rivalry evolves well over the course of the series, aided by both having skeletons in their closets.

As a romance, it does a good job of keeping you guessing how events will pan out, though it is here where the the show's main problem becomes apparent: the writers aren't really sure how to develop male protagonist Alto's story arc. That's most evident in a series-long subplot about his history as an actor and resulting conflict with his father, which keeps seeming like it will become pivotal, but is never really resolved in a satisfying way. Likewise, viewers may be unsatisfied with how the romance angle plays out at the end, though this felt more like a conscious story choice and does work with the overall tone of the ending.

With the exception of some rather blunt exposition in places, any issues I might have with the story are only things that come to mind in retrospect. While watching the show, the over-the-top intensity of the final episodes does a good job of painting over the cracks. Based on the sheer enjoyment of that first viewing, I was tempted to give Frontier a 9, but thinking back on it I suspect some of that was coloured by this being the first new Macross show I've seen since the 90s. It's a great series on most fronts though, so it's easily a solid 8/10.

Minor points:
While the early episodes open with a brief account of events from earlier in the Macross timeline, it does assume some familiarity with the franchise. The only things I've seen are Do You Remember Love, Plus, and Macross II and I found Frontier easy to follow, with only occasional minor references flying past me.

I loved the scenes in the shopping mall designed for both humans and the giant Zentradi. The ways the fleet's infrastructure has adapted to allow Zentradi to live at either their original size or shrunk down to human scale was a nice touch.

As of writing, the only legal way to watch this show in English is on Disney+, which unfortunately falls victim to their habit of using descriptive SDH subtitles. They're not the most distracting I've ever seen, but it takes a while to get used to them.

Klan's full-size Zentradi form has awakened a weird thirst in me that would be a field day for Freud.

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Macross Frontier: Movie II - The Wings of Farewell
When I finished watching the Macross Frontier TV series, I felt it succeeded at most of the things it tried to achieve, but could have benefited from giving a couple of them more attention during the climax. I came to this movie expecting it to be mostly reused animation from the last several TV episodes with some new scenes that would enhance certain parts of the story. That's not what this is.

Wings of Farewell not only has all-new animation, it's a significant reworking of the events of the series. I don't think it's even a case where you could watch the series up to a certain point and then decide to cap things off with either the TV or movie ending, since some earlier events from the TV series have already been retconned by the time this second movie starts.

The good news is that it improves the weak areas of the TV series, making Alto a more proactive and capable protagonist and giving a more satisfying arc to his story. It pays off the romance arc in a more definitive way. It also adds some memorable new action and performance scenes that all have excellent animation.

The bad news is that this comes at the expense of the things the TV series did well. The war and conspiracy story arcs aren't handled nearly as well in this movie. Upcoming developments are telegraphed and too much is bluntly stated in expository dialogue, robbing it of the tension and build-up that were strengths of the TV version. Also the most memorable scenes from the TV climax are missing entirely, since events are playing out differently by that point.

Wings of Farewell is another great ending to Frontier, but just like the TV version it feels like neither is the definitive ending. So much is changed that I doubt it would be possible to splice together a fan edit of all the best parts from the TV and movies versions to reach something that pays off every story arc in the way it deserves. So I'm left feeling that the only way to have the ultimate Macross Frontier experience is to watch both versions and then blend them together inside you head.

8/10

Macross Frontier: Labyrinth of Time
This short OAV acts as an epilogue to the movie continuity. It won't make sense if you have only watched the TV series. Primarily an extended musical number, it sets the expectation that it will tie up the one loose thread left at the end of Wings of Farewell, but it ends on a frustratingly inconclusive note. While it does enough to hint how things will play out, that was probably cold comfort for viewers who had a ten-year wait between the movie and this OAV. It ends up being a flashy piece of eye candy with one last reminder about the importance of cultivating healthy gut bacteria.

6/10
 
Senpai is an Otokonoko
In a season filled with romance anime, this was easily the best. In lesser hands, Makoto's titular cross-dressing could have been treated as a cheap gimmick, but fortunately this gentle romantic drama respects its characters and has a strong story to tell. Makoto dresses as a girl at school, but hides it from his mother, fearing how she will react. He hasn't reconciled how he perceives himself or how he wants to live his life, and this causes tension with those around him. Saki develops an obsessive crush on Makoto, which brings her into conflict with his fiercely protective best friend Ryuiji. The early setup is something that could have been spun out for surface-level romcom antics ad infinitum, but instead serves as a diving board for a deeper exploration of these three characters, their individual struggles to understand and accept themselves, the lengths they go to in attempts to avoid hurting each other, and the pressures they face from their families and friends.

With the exception of one late standalone episode that throws in another character, the show avoids the frequent single-cour anime pitfall of going off on tangents, instead remaining focused on its central trio. It covers a surprising amount of ground in developing these characters. While it doesn't resolve every plot thread in its 12 episodes, it picks its battles and has a mostly satisfying, self-contained arc. Fortunately a sequel movie has already been announced, which will presumably tie up the remaining elements that the TV series leaves hanging.

8/10
 
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