Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

Patlabor 2 (being the second Movie, though apparently it comes after WXIII in the in-universe timeline).

Again, I'd say my concerns were unjustified. I think it's a good thing that I watched Ghost in the Shell before this because if I'd watched them the other way around I'd have had higher expectations for Ghost in the Shell and it would have seemed weaker if compared to Patlabor 2. I suppose that's a roundabout way of saying that I enjoyed Patlabor 2 a lot.

While it does have philosophical tendencies, the ideas seem quite well formed and well presented. I never really felt like it was rambling or going far off-topic, even during the couple of longer speeches. Another point that seemed interesting is the way that a lot of the things people say tend to emphasise the negative side of the issues while the actual actions people take tended to give a more balanced view. I'd say that the movie does a pretty good job of both showing and telling. I did also feel that it left enough up to the viewer to decide, though perhaps it did show a bit of bias at times.

The story/philosophy aspects also seem to benefit from being fairly timeless. The ideas could be relevant to almost any time in human history and will probably be relevant for a long time to come (though it might be nice if we could say it wasn't relevant anymore some day).

It was interesting to see a potential future for the characters of Patlabor. In some ways, I did feel that they could perhaps be a little too different in the sense that it felt like I'd missed some important events and development. I suppose the issue was less that it didn't feel like Patlabor and more that I'd be interested to have seen the process that brought them where they ended up. The limited time also meant that most of the characters only get minor appearances, though I'd say they were all used quite well.

I now understand what people were saying about the difference between Patlabor and Patlabor 2. It's interesting that the art of Patlabor 2 is mostly quite dull in colour and the general atmosphere tends to be more grim too. Even so, it still manages to feel like Patlabor and I was particularly impressed that they managed to work a few brighter moments in when things seemed dark without undermining the show. I'm not sure if that says more about the strength of Patlabor in general, it really can do anything.

It tough to say if I preferred the first movie or the second one. They're really very different experiences but they're both so strong at what they do that it's difficult to say one is better than the other. I'd probably find it easier to re-watch the first one more often but I could see myself thinking about the second for longer after watching it. It's good to see all the different parts of Patlabor, I'm constantly impressed that it can manage to do so many different things and cover different tones without losing it's identity.

I still have Patlabor WXIII to watch, though I hear it's kind of a side story that isn't directly related to much else in Patlabor. It's kind of a shame that I've almost run out of Patlabor but I'm glad to have watched it and I'd say it has become one of my favourite series.
 
Princess Arete

I really enjoyed this, it wasn't quite what I was expecting but perhaps it was better for that.

It starts off looking like it'll be an adventure with a Princess that's trapped by her position trying to escape to make her own life. It is kind of about that but I don't think "adventure" is quite the right term. I'd say it almost ends up as more of a slice of life story, it tends to take it's time and spend it examining it's characters rather than on big adventures. There's still a bit of magic and adventure, although when examined the magic is more like technology and some of the adventures aren't quite what they seemed either.

The story mostly looks at what a person can do with their life. It takes a fairly balanced approach, pointing out the way that we sometimes exaggerate our achievements but also noting that some of the things we tend to think of as mundane are kind of amazing. It also comments on the idea of knowing your limits (and being honest about them) but with a view to finding alternative ways to overcome them. It feels quite honest but with a positive message that doesn't seem untrue or forced. There's no guarantee that things will go your way but that doesn't automatically mean they won't either.

It also spends at least as much time on people other than Arete as it does on her. Arete herself mentions that "everyone is the hero in their own story" and, in a sense, she isn't. This seems deliberate though, the main point Arete is trying to make is that everyone should have a chance to be their own person and that no one is really more or less important than anyone else. I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed when the story made it clear that it wasn't going to be about Arete being brilliantly heroic but when I realised what it was actually doing I was even more impressed. As it happens, Arete does end up being a great character and it feels that it's more because she just happens to be that than because the story said it should be that way.

I'd recommend this one to anyone that like stories that examine the characters. It's also quite an interestingly different spin on standard fantasy adventures and a surprisingly down to earth story despite involving Magic, Princesses and Wizards. I'd be tempted to recommend it to almost anyone in general (it's probably worth a try, at least) though it's worth noting that it's not the fastest paced and there aren't a lot of exciting adventure moments (though there are a few).

Overall, it was a very pleasant surprise and if Anime Limited or someone released it over here then I'd definitely need to pick up a copy.
 
Madoka magica rebellion

Words can't describe how awesome this is... If I saw it on bluray it would be amazing... but that ending tho.....please tell me they are continuing the story

9.5/10

It fell short because of the ending
 
Revolutionary girl Utena. 8/10
I don't even know where to start with this one. Pretty awesome show, mainly 8/10 for the 2nd arc and Jury's final episode. Part of me feels it didn't need 39 full episodes as there was a lot of wasted time but the first 12 episodes where required for character building I guess to make the amazing character drama in the later episodes have the same impact. I didn't like that fact that the arena was a projection because I doesn't really explain how the characters where affected by the physical actions within that world.. Definitely going to look into some analysis for this one to get different view points.
 
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Patlabor WXIII

Kind of sad that this is the last Patlabor, especially since it's more of a barely related side story rather than really feeling like a part of Patlabor. That said, it's still a decent movie but not really up to the standards of the other two Patlabor movies.

There's not a lot of philosophy here, it's more of a detective story with two new characters trying to find the answers behind some grisly and possibly Labor related deaths. The main things that tie into the Patlabor universe are the possible Labor connection and a few appearances from the Special Vehicles unit (I'd say Goto gets the biggest part, though that may be arguable). It could have been an examination of what things are like for people outside of the SV2 but you could probably remove all of the elements of Patlabor from the film and still tell much the same story. It still manages to touch on aspects of that idea but perhaps not enough to justify the Patlabor name.

The characters are somewhat interesting, although it feels like they're somewhat let down by the story as things progress. There are certain developments that feel like they happened for story purposes rather than being developed naturally from the interactions of the characters. It wouldn't be quite so bad if the story happened over a long period and implied things had been happening that we didn't see but it doesn't feel like there was time to be more than what we are shown. This isn't a major problem for most of the story but I did feel that it somewhat undermines the emotion that events late in the film seem to be aiming for.

The story itself has some potential but felt a bit uneven, as though it was trying to do several things at once but not really being able to do any of them quite well enough. I liked the interactions between the two detectives but as more aspects of the story are uncovered the best parts seem to get lost in the mix.

I may be making it sound worse than it is, I wonder if it would have been better off not being tied to Patlabor. On the other hand, I expect less people might have watched it in the first place. It does have some positives, the visuals and action scenes are fairly good (it does only have a couple of action scenes, being mostly slower paced). The appearances of the Patlabor crew are quite enjoyable, though perhaps that just helps to highlight that everything else isn't quite as good.

It was still reasonably enjoyable, though I wouldn't necessarily rush to re-watch it even if I'm re-watching all the other Patlabor stuff.

The release I got (the Maiden Japan one) also comes with the "MiniPato" shorts. They're kind of odd and mostly explain a few things about the universe in a comical way. I did quite like Goto's explanation of the technically correct way of describing the guns and ammo from the show and Shige's look at making realistic Giant Robots (as well as a look at why Giant Robot shows might have been made) was also quite fun (though perhaps less educational). The other short felt like a combination of a few stories that I'm fairly sure happened in the TV series, which was quite funny but doesn't really give you any insight into anything. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't a short at least for Noa and that most of the other main characters don't really appear much. Still, I suppose they're a nice bonus for fans of the show and I'd imagine most people watching the film would be.
 
In case you are wondering, WXIII is based off of an arc in the Patlabor manga, The Griffin arc and takes place as a sub story called 'Waste Product 13' however in the manga this story focused on SV 2, Schaft and the Griffin Labor. The manga doesn't feature the detectives at all and the ending is vastly different. I enjoyed your write ups of the films and I might comment on them more at a later time when my head is more clear but I'm glad that you enjoyed them as far as to actually appreciate WXIII too. I take it that you watched the TV timeline too? Because if so, you just witnessed the greatest anime series of all time. Time to retire. :p
 
Tokyo Ghoul

A solid show with a good cast of characters, an interesting premise and one I cannot wait to see continued, even though I've heard some bad things about season 2....slick animation and good music throughout. Final episode was all sorts of amazing.

8/10
 
qaiz said:
In case you are wondering, WXIII is based off of an arc in the Patlabor manga, The Griffin arc and takes place as a sub story called 'Waste Product 13' however in the manga this story focused on SV 2, Schaft and the Griffin Labor. The manga doesn't feature the detectives at all and the ending is vastly different. I enjoyed your write ups of the films and I might comment on them more at a later time when my head is more clear but I'm glad that you enjoyed them as far as to actually appreciate WXIII too. I take it that you watched the TV timeline too? Because if so, you just witnessed the greatest anime series of all time. Time to retire. :p
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That's interesting, I did notice that the movie mentioned being based on an existing story so I wondered why it seemed a bit different to the usual. I did kind of like the moments when they tied the story of the detectives into what the SV2 were up to and it was nice to get that different perspective but it was really only a minor part of the film. It did feel like they had a few too many ideas and weren't really willing to fully commit to one, which made for a lesser film in the end.

I have watched the TV timeline as well and enjoyed it as much as the movies (or perhaps more, though it's tough to compare a TV series with a movie). I certainly think that Patlabor is a great example of a show that can do all sorts of different things and yet still feel consistent and coherent. I suppose I'd have a hard time arguing about it being the "greatest anime series of all time", though there are other shows that could compete for my personal favourite at least. If I actually kept a list of favourites (I'm not good at ranking/grading things) then I suspect Patlabor would be high up there and has the potential to be for a long time.
 
Lupin the 3rd dead or alive

With a title like that you would of thought everyone would be after lupin for cash but sadly it's another lupin episode but a good one.

It felt serious and looked serious but still had its goofiness.

8/10

Detatoko princess

Old anime

6/10

Virgin fleet

Old anime

6/10

Elf princess range

Old anime

6/10
 
Mind Game

I think this film would rank pretty high on the list of things likely to make you ask "what did I just watch?". It's a very strange film, starting with some semblance of a grip on reality and then eventually deciding to just let go. I wasn't particularly keen on the art style it starts with and I thought the story might start to lose my interest as well but once it drops any pretence of reality it does get a lot more fun (and even more so once the characters move away from the world they're used to).

The movie ends up being an interesting mixture of somewhat experimental visuals and some genuinely interesting character examination.

I'm not sure I ever really liked the basic art style but I at least got used to it and there's a bit more variation as the film goes along, which often works quite well. To be fair, I'm not sure that the film would work quite as well with a different art style and it's quite possible that my reactions to certain parts were entirely deliberate. The art does go a bit crazy at times (maybe most of the time) but there still often seemed to be something worthwhile hidden amongst the madness.

I particularly liked the way the characters are explored and developed. With their old lives behind them and newfound freedom it gives a good opportunity to look at who they were before and who they really are/want to be. There are a lot of montages showing all sorts of different things, some of which may be fantasy and some could have been history. It doesn't seem to matter too much what the "truth" is, the main points seem to be more about what the characters think and feel and what they learn.

There are a few sections that seem based on the idea that certain parts of the human body are inherently funny. I don't usually like that type of humour but I found that it sometimes worked here, usually because there was something more being said even when it seemed like random silliness at first.

It's the kind of film that you very much have to pay attention to and I think your enjoyment will depend heavily on how you interpret things. Where I saw interesting character examinations, other people could easily see absolute nonsense. I suspect some people might watch it more for the art or maybe just to laugh at most of it so at least there are a few ways to enjoy it.

Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit and more than I expected to. It's a very odd film but I never felt it went too far into silliness for silliness' sake. If you like eccentric films and don't worry too much about story then it's probably worth giving it a go.
 
Death Parade

Having become a bit stuck with this one around the half-way mark while it was airing, I'm glad I got the chance to go back and finish it. Discussions at the time were dominated by how the judgment system worked and what happened to the deceased after their games, but I don't feel it's a spoiler to say that, in the end, the mechanics were largely irrelevant. For the most part, it was very restrained and contemplative, and I think the show is far better for having concentrated on our brief glimpse into the lives of the deceased, gently prodding the viewer towards making the most of their time.

Ultimately, I liked it enough to want to own it, and, as a paid up member of the 'if it's not streaming, I don't want to know' society, it's not often I find myself saying that. Now if only someone would be good enough to release it ("Hey Andrew...").
 
Attack on Titan - 8/10

So my summer break from anime is over and I wanted to start with something I really wanted to watch, so I picked this out. It was pretty good but I can't help feeling a little underwhelmed. It basically felt like a half a season. The unanswered questions are numerous and it just kinda left me feeling a bit flat at the end. That being said I did really enjoy it, it had some very good characters and I do like my action and gore. So it ticked those boxes but my god it needs a season 2 badly.
 
animefreak17 said:
From what I heard yes... that's why I'm waiting for season 2 to come out
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I don't think there are that many unanswered questions. I think the biggest problems are the beginning of the show's annoying habit of fixing plot holes one or two episodes after they occur, and the pacing of the second half. They spend far too much time in the forest and not enough time in 'the final battle'.

I mean, there is an entire episode ("Bite") of nothing, nothing happens in the episode, there's no character development, no tension, no information, no dialogue of import, it's just a series of flashbacks that hold no relevance except for one line at the end that could have quite feasibly been explained in either of the preceding or succeeding episodes.

Also, having heard the way the manga answers one of the biggest questions of the series, I think we're better off without answers...
 
animefreak17 said:
I haven't seen the series but let's hope it gives us a good ending that fills the gaps
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There aren't really any plot holes* or questions. In fact if we never got an answer to some of the questions, I doubt it would be a major issue. It's just stuff like "what's in the basement?" and "how'd they build the wall?". (I know the manga has answered the later question, but that answer is pure BS and makes no sense.)

*Aside from the whole "how'd they build the wall" thing...
 
Giovanni's Island

I wasn't sure if this would be a happy story about kids getting on with things after a war or if it'd be a sad tale of the effect that a war can have on children even after it has ended. It's kind of both.

I think it's interesting the way that the whole thing is very much told from a child's point of view, we see a lot of things happening but we don't get any more explanation than what the children see. We could probably read more into quite a lot of the events but the film does a good job of showing only the child's viewpoint in a way that feels quite natural and still manages to deliver the important information. On the downside, it does mean that we miss out on some potential story avenues regarding what the adults do when the children aren't around but there's quite a bit in the film already so I'm not sure it would have worked better if they had done things differently.

It's kind of a standard story in some ways, things tend to go the way you might expect and there are a few cliché moments snuck in as well. I wouldn't say it's in a bad way, the story is quite well executed, but it perhaps keeps the film from being exceptional.

There are quite a few times where we get to see the children's fantasy of imagining the Galactic Railroad, it makes for some nice animation and a few story moments are perhaps enhanced by it. I do think it may have been a little overdone though, there are certainly times where it felt a little unnecessary. I don't really have any experience of Night on the Galactic Railroad (which is often referred to) and, while I didn't feel lost with the references since they're mostly explained and quite straightforward, I wonder if someone more familiar with the story would get more out of it. One of the interesting parts of the film is that it can manage to squeeze a lot of magic and wonder out of the events that happen in the "real world" so I wonder if that makes the fantasies sometimes feel a little unnecessary. One of my favourite scenes involved the children playing with an electric trainset, it manages to both be a meaningful scene and have some great visuals without relying on being imagined.

Overall, I did enjoy the film quite a bit. It lacks that element that would make it a favourite for me but it's a very solid film with some great visuals and a well told (if, perhaps, familiar) story. I do think it's worth watching and I suspect some people might get a lot more out of it than I did.
 
The Sky Crawlers

I have to admit, I did enjoy this quite a lot. I guess I expected to like it but I'd say it exceeded my expectations.

The film is quite deliberately paced, it spends quite a bit of time showing nice views or events that may seem kind of irrelevant to any sort of bigger story. Even so, there always seemed to be some detail or character insight that kept my attention and I never really felt that it was too slow or not going anywhere, though I could imagine that some people might struggle with it. One of the biggest moments in the film basically involves a guy sitting and folding a newspaper, describing it like that significantly undermines the meaning of the scene but it's interesting to note just how much of the film could seem "mundane" if you don't look beyond the surface.

There seemed to be at least two main story threads running through the film, with one focussing on the war and the reasons for it while the other was more about the routines that the characters seem to have fallen into. The world building is mostly handled quite naturally with people generally just getting on with things and a lot of the little details being snuck into scenes without being pointed out. It's possible that it can be a bit too subtle at times, the film doesn't seem too interested in being explicit about what the war is about so if you're not paying attention then you could miss out (though the characters do talk about it briefly). I kind of feel that is maybe deliberate though, since the war story doesn't actually seem to be quite as important as the story of the characters.

I think your enjoyment of the film could heavily depend on how interested in the characters you are (especially the two main characters). I'm not sure they'd be instantly likeable by many people's standards but they do have potentially interesting stories and I liked the way that they had different ways of looking at things, especially based on their experiences. I think the character development was generally handled very well, although it's another area where it can be subtle and could easily seem like there hasn't been much happening at all.

It certainly seems like a film that's very open to interpretation. I'm not really sure that what I got out of it was what was intended but that just means that there's more potential to share views on it and see the ways that other people have interpreted things. It's difficult to talk about the story without spoilers or making it sound boring but I think there's actually quite a lot to get out of the film and I could imagine it standing up well to being re-watched (maybe even from a different perspective).

I think even the ending is somewhat open to interpretation, there are a few details that some people might find significant and make it seem more of a happy/sad/bittersweet ending to them while others could see things quite differently. Despite that, I do think the ending is quite well handled and satisfying, it's not so much that it isn't a clear ending as that it's the kind of ending that can be looked at differently depending on your perspective. It's worth noting that to get the full effect you really need to stay through the credits because there's a scene after the credits that could be quite important and has a few interesting details, though I suspect some people may find it unnecessary if they've already made up their mind in a certain way.

Just by coincidence, I've ended up watching quite a few things by the same director recently and it's been interesting to see the differences in how they're handled. Some of the films tend to have a fondness for philosophical rambling that can undermine what they may be trying to say, I think the best ones tend to have more of a balance and tend to show what they have to say rather than feel compelled to come up with clever quotes and the like. I'd say Sky Crawlers falls more into the better category by keeping the rambling to a minimum and integrating it's different elements well, it's more Patlabor 2 than GITS 2: Innocence.

Apparently the film is based on a novel, I would be interested to know how true to the novel the film is. It kind of feels like one of the story threads is the one from the novel while the other may be more of an invention of the director, using the ideas in the novel as a basis to tell a different story. I could be wrong about that though, the two do seem to work together fairly well so if it is an alternative adaptation I'd say it's quite well handled too.

Anyway, overall I did really enjoy the film and I would recommend it. It is somewhat philosophical and not very fast paced but as long as you go in with that understanding then I think there's a lot of potential to enjoy it. If you've seen other films by the same director I'd say this is one of the better ones. I'm not sure it'd qualify as a drastically different experience to any of the other films but if you already like some then this one is worth giving a try and if you didn't like the others then maybe you just haven't watched the right one yet (though maybe that's less likely).
 
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