Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

[WMD]

In fact, when even the (initially) bored and indifferent Kei Tsukishima becomes a character who earns your support as a viewer, well... that's just quality writing, isn't it?

Thinking about it most of my strongest reactions in season 3 surrounded Tsukishima. The show's a full on character drama disguising itself as a comedy and the way the show uses volleyball and the matches maintains a near constant level of tension and excitement throughout the show.

The use of people in the crowd talking about what's happening provides a very natural way to provide commentary without it being forced.

 

[Neil.T]

His story arc is so well done. The way hes introduced almost as a villain and rival to the main two and slowly becomes integrated is so well done. And his background, when we learn it, adds so much to him.

That's exactly it. That's the kind of writing I love.

Thinking about it most of my strongest reactions in season 3 surrounded Tsukishima.

the matches maintains a near constant level of tension and excitement throughout the show

The use of people in the crowd talking about what's happening provides a very natural way to provide commentary without it being forced.

↑All of this as well.

Let me second all of that.

. . . it's really nice to have an anime with so many male characters . . .

In this age of CGDCT anime (and no offence to K-On, because I like K-On as well!), it's nice to have something you can get your teeth into a bit more. I think agenda plays a big part for me, too; like, after finishing season 3 on Crunchyroll, the site tried to sell me Harukana Receive, but I really couldn't see myself watching that, because it strikes me as having a fanservice agenda. Perhaps I'm being unfair there because, now I think about it, I don't think I've even seen a trailer for that series. Certainly based on the key art, though, it gives me that impression.

(On a related note, I did see a trailer some weeks ago for a sports anime of sorts called Kandagawa Jet Girls. That looks legitimately like an absolute horror to me; I was practically biting my knuckles in embarrassment and discomfort just watching the promo for it. )

 

[WMD]

That's exactly it. That's the kind of writing I love.




↑All of this as well.

Let me second all of that.


In this age of CGDCT anime (and no offence to K-On, because I like K-On as well!), it's nice to have something you can get your teeth into a bit more. I think agenda plays a big part for me, too; like, after finishing season 3 on Crunchyroll, the site tried to sell me Harukana Receive, but I really couldn't see myself watching that, because it strikes me as having a fanservice agenda. Perhaps I'm being unfair there because, now I think about it, I don't think I've even seen a trailer for that series. Certainly based on the key art, though, it gives me that impression.

(On a related note, I did see a trailer some weeks ago for a sports anime of sorts called Kandagawa Jet Girls. That looks legitimately like an absolute horror to me; I was practically biting my knuckles in embarrassment and discomfort just watching the promo for it. )

I had to up what CGDCT meant. Lol. I get what you mean but one of the things I liked about K-on and Girls Und Panzer was that the girls still had problems they were trying to overcome and they mostly stuck away from fan service. (Dont get me wrong I have watched and enjoyed many fan service style shows aswell)

Haikyu does take it to another level though. The amount of characterisation so many get is pretty insane including the players on opponents team. The show uses internal monologues to great dramatic effect here. That element is quite reminiscent of Death Note actually.

 

[D1tchd1gger]

Harukana Receive, but I really couldn't see myself watching that, because it strikes me as having a fanservice agenda.

It was wrongly labelled as ecchi on MAL at first and had a low score when it didn't go there. It's a proper sports anime with all the usual making a club, finding the right number, rookie learning the sport, tournaments, etc. but I really liked it. The animation and music is great and cute girls in bikinis is just the cherry on top!
My fav of that season IIRC.

 

[thedoctor2016]

People still label Free! as fan service and its the same club dynamic as K-ON etc. Oh well

 

[WMD]

People still label Free! as fan service and its the same club dynamic as K-ON etc. Oh well

Free is in a bit of a bind there as by nature it cant get away from the fan service side of things. When I finally got round to watch the random season the AL released it was another I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. One day I intend to go back and watch it properly from the start.

Free doesnt help itself however with the associated artwork for the show. There were images in the art book that made it seem fan service and BL were going to be the main ingredients of the show and that couldn't be further from the truth.

As an aside I thought the English dub for Free was very good as well.

 

[Luna]

Thank god the major is dead as he isn't in the books

Technically that's not necessarily the case for the anime (yet) though?

Spoiler

As Hodgins is saying that Violet hasn't really lost anything at all. Which kind of implied a lot to me somehow.]

Haven't gotten to that part of the books yet though, am at the first half of book one. The changes they did while adapting the books are quite interesting to read. Especially, the most interesting parts of the books aren't really present in the show, but then the most beautiful moments of the show definitely loose towards their original versions.
(Still would have loves to see Violet jumpt the lake in the original dress, at least the CM gives a glimpse of it.)

People still label Free! as fan service and its the same club dynamic as K-ON etc. Oh well

Free doesnt help itself however with the associated artwork for the show. There were images in the art book that made it seem fan service and BL were going to be the main ingredients of the show and that couldn't be further from the truth.

I daresay it's not just the artwork. It does have a whole load of fanservy BL-baiting + Bishonen flauting in S1 one itself as well. And some parts are downright ridiculous. It took me until S2 to get used to it. Also helped it had more down to earth elements mixed into the pot. (The Tooru Nagashi was about the turning point for me.)
And then Starting Days comes around and suddenly removes just about all of the baiting elements. (Or Utsumi's stylistic elements.) I didn't like them back in S1, but it made me realized how much I had associated it with the franchise already to the point I found Starting Days surprisingly dragged and boring... almost fake. (Even though it was from Takemoto.)
While I dumped the German Starting Days BD out, I did get the Funi box afterwards, so will find out, if that was just another case of expectations going haywire. (But this soft reboots stuff feels weird if you don't know about it before I guess.)
(It's a pity they didn't use the bird-sea illustation for a cover, on of the not-fanservice flauting images out there, even if not really surprising, for having the boxed stay consistent. Peppermint Germany used it as a cover, but of cours had to stain it with all their logos and ads... The Essentials release have nice, more representative covers, but then they have that stupid essentials bar on the covers. Hmmmpf.)[/Spoiler]

 

[thedoctor2016]

.

Spoiler: VE Spoilers

The Major in the books reappears in episode 13 when Violet sees his brother in the house with Gilberts mother in the books its Gilbert so they have adapted that bit

High Speed is an adaption of the second book as Free is Utsumi spirit of the books ageing them etc. The Recap films show me the new director captures Utsumis vision very well and DTTF isnt as good as S2 but its more "Free" than High Speed. As admittedly yes High Speed is the best product because Takemoto does his standard fare that most people love but it is jarring to go from the OVA of S2 to that like I did last year it was a tonal shift. DTTF also adds High Speed elements through flashbacks but that is more because of like the Friendship angle that was basically S1 and most of 2.

 

[Luna]

Hmmm. They could still have shuffled that bit for later, perhaps. (They also cut out everything about Future-Violet, which the first half book already makes ample references to.)
But then, it will be a while until that happens I guess. Would make for a perfect teary franchise finale and since it's their own IP can't think of that happening anytime soon.

Have to watch the recap movies yet... (Still conflicted of whether doing that or to just rewatch S1-2.) But I guess I'll wait for S3 to be out, before tackling this.
I have had some years of a gap between S2 and that movie (I can't even remember what was the OVA again anymore spontaneously), but the things that left the most impressions were still all that baiting and flaunting which some genuinely great moments sprinkled inbetween them to ground them to planet Earth again.
Starting Days is still pretty puzzling to me. I should be loving it, it being from Takemoto and being that Hyouka Fan that I am, but that just didn't happen. The only thing that left any impression from going out of that movie was the letter scene at the end, nothing else stuck at all somehow.

 

[Bannion]

Redline 9.5 / 10

I popped in the Blu ray I bought a couple of days ago and it is simply a wounderful and spectacular ride. The soundtrack is top notch and the imagination for all the different characters still baffles me to this day. When you think about it that it took 7 years for Madhouse studio to produce this movie, I am still in awe concerning the outcome. I think this is also one of those animes that can convince non-anime watching people to at least have a look at the genre.

I also believe that it is special when a movie manages to make you want to watch it all over again - right away.

 

[WMD]

Mobile Suit Gundam (ep1-42 complete)

Going into this I knew very little about the Gundam franchise. I've seen Origin 1-4 but that's it. And for this fairly old show I was expecting, tbh, for it to be a cartoon power rangers. No real stakes and a big fight every week, more concerned with selling toys than anything.

Oh boy was I wrong. Quite frankly this show is amazing. Dont get me wrong it's not perfect and the animation certainly shows its age (lots of recycled shots and its not always fluid) but what it does exceptionally well is character driven story.

It never holds back from showing the effects war can have on a person. Be they a soldier, a civilian, a scientist, or a poor soul caught up I something greater than they are. We see characters succumb to PTSD type symptoms, families torn apart and people pushed beyond their moral limits.

Yes it's set in a sci fi future but the human stories are very relatable and generally pretty tragic. What's more, although theres a good side and a bad side theres still characters you like on both sides.

I knows theres the edited movies as well but my initial reaction is that I wouldn't really want to cut anything out. The was a part in the middle when Char was absent that I was impatient for his return but in the end I also really liked that arc.

9/10

 

[awadama]

I finished off The Asterisk War.

Visually, it's really nice. The characters are pretty standard (there's a tsundere, one girl is really strong but shy, the main male may as well be a grapefruit). The fanservice isn't overwhelming. The music overall is great.

It's just...OK. Everything is functional. There's nothing offensive about it. None of the characters are annoying. It's not gross to look it.

I'll probably watch the second series at some point, but it's not a priority.

If it was a meal, it would be a supermarket ham sandwich on white bread and a bottle of water. Acceptable, but not worth getting excited about - 6/10

 

[WMD]

Sagrada Reset

Really interesting little show this. A little town where people manifest special abilities (superpowers) but to leave the town means to forget you ever had one. I like this set up and how its played out in the series. A persons power may not seem all that on their own but when used in conjunction with others great things can be achieved. The problem solving element is great and gives the characters a case to solve in each arc. The way the separate cases come together as the main arc takes over is immensely satisfying.

Theres also an interesting tone within the show where although the characters are always striving for happiness a melancholy is always present from the colour tones, to the voice acting, to the music to the fact that not every outcome is the desired one which keeps us as viewers on our toes.

Theres an element or two of Clannad S1 or Little Busters here with a boy and girl striving to help others in a slightly supernatural setting. Not sure I liked it as much as either of those but I would say this has a much more satisfying and 'real' conclusion than either of those shows. 8/10

 

[Law]

Space Dandy Season 1, I loved it, 10/10, Could it be better? I think it's already better than the promise of what the show is. Watched a little of it on Netflix years ago, just got the collectors editions a couple weeks ago.

EDIT: Instead of posting again I'll just say I finished season 2 and loved it just as much, except some of the episodes seemed kind of similar...

 

[Neil.T]

Dragon Half

I picked up this early-'90s two-episide OVA in CEX a while back for the princely sum of £1.50. Released in the UK by ADV Films, it punches well above its weight with its clever stupidity and great tongue-in-cheek send-up of classic RPG games. Case in point in the picture below.

In the lead up to that bit of winning dialogue from the second episode, our heroine, Mink, who is half-human half-dragon, has entered a battle tournament to win money to buy a plane ticket in order to travel to see her favourite pop singer in concert. The singer in question is the handsome megastar Dick Saucer. I am not making this up.

In time-honoured fashion, our heroine has a rival, this being the haughty daughter of the villain of the piece. This lady, Vena, believes that a lowly half-dragon like Mink is not worthy of the attention of such a heartthrob as the dishy Dick Saucer and intends to thwart her chances in the battle tournament.

But wait! Did I mention that Vena has a shameful secret? Yes, it's true: Vena is in fact herself a half-slime! And I am still not making this up.

The tournament proceeds nicely, with Mink and Vena dispatching their opponents round by round, with the former accidentally removing Saucer from the running after offering him a "stamina potion" that was intended for her; it turned out to be laxative.

But then!!! SPOILER ALERT: Vena is defeated, leaving some random side character to face off against Mink in the following round! This diminutive devil fellow has some serious beef with Mink after she apparently vowed to slay his tribe. Mink, however, has no recollection of ever saying this. In a fantastic moment of fourth-wall breaking, her opponent immediately produces a VHS copy of episode one, and we cut to a shot of him kneeling in front of a small TV set with VCR, watching it to verify her claim! "They cut all my scenes!" he exclaims in horror, leaving Mink to point out that her adversary now has no reason to fight her. His retort is sheer brilliance and is best shown in this screenshot:

Spoiler

I won't reveal how the story ends, but lastly I want to point out that this short OVA was good enough for veteran VA Okio Ootsuka (Batou in Ghost in the Shell) to make an appearance. There's a wonderfully ridiculous scene where he pulls a sword out of the gem that's set into the front of his headgear — while still wearing it. I think I've probably said enough now.

I apparently gave this 8 out of 10 on MAL, and now I'm really not sure why I didn't give it 9. I might have to fix that. And rewatch it.


TLDR: watch Dragon Half!

Spoiler: front cover

Spoiler: back cover

 

[João Gomes]

Thanks Neil, I was actually gonna post this on the journal thread, but I suppose this is more appropriate (not sure I understand the benefit of just posting what you're watching with basically no commentary, and since that thread is more active, I may just continue posting there each time I finish a series, I suppose).

Absurd comedy is totally my thing, so I'll be giving Dragon Half a try eventually!

As for me, I've just finished Megalo Box.

I love sports anime for two simple reasons: pure hype and lack of malice.

I love that there are no real villains, just people like the protagonist, only with different circumstances, but with the same will to be the best.

First of all, the show looks great, even if the animation is never mindblowing throughout, it's solid all the way. To that, add beautiful backgrounds, great use of color and terrific character designs, which comunicate the kind of character you're looking at (TMS seems excellent in both regards) . I never skipped the OP because it rules and basically tells you what the anime is all about. The ED too, is extremely fitting and a bit melancholic

The premise is classic and leaves no real room for complications or twists, and that's OK. Ping Pong is top 10 material for me and its story is nothing special. But its characters are. Here, too, you get to know about the characters that face Joe, that help him out along the way and their relationships. It can make for some touching moments and it's refreshing that there are no annoying or hateful ones at all.

The series moves along at a great pace and it's the perfect length.

Easy 8 for me. The reason I don't give it a 9 is because it plays it completely straight and I would've liked to see something more daring as far as the animation and the style are concerned. I would've loved a bit more background on Joe, even if that's probably the point, considering he's a "stray dog". He reminds me a lot of Spike.

Yesterday, during my daily trip to MAL to discover who the hell's doing the final season of Attack on Titan, I read that this is getting a second season, set 7 years after the original.

I'm all in on that.

 

[Neil.T]

Absurd comedy is totally my thing, so I'll be giving Dragon Half a try eventually!

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.

 

[ActionFaust]

Yesterday, during my daily trip to MAL to discover who the hell's doing the final season of Attack on Titan,

Best way to keep up to date is by following @AIR_News01 on Twitter. They post regular updates on new series and announcements.

 

[João Gomes]

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.

Will do! Yeah, now that you mention, this thread is more pleasant in that we can discuss a bit, even more appropriate for me since I don't do weekly anime, usually.

Best way to keep up to date is by following @AIR_News01 on Twitter. They post regular updates on new series and announcements.

You're beautiful and amazing, thanks to you I just watched a new commercial for my most anticipated anime thing, Spring Song! Following that account, many thanks!

 

[WMD]

@Neil.T and @João Gomes

Found Dragon Half online. OMG it was so good! It's a perfectly done absurd comedy (something anime can do brilliantly: FMP Fumoffu, Havent you heard I'm Sakamoto, Negima?!)

The comedy was quick and fast flowing. The story was joyously nonsense. Comedies like this work precisely because the hero doesnt know everyone is coming after them. Everyone was instantly recognisable and memorable. Quite a feat for only 2 episodes.

I've noticed the manga can be bought in 3 omnibus editions so think I'll be getting those. These OVAs were made before the manga had finished so hopefully lots more jokes and silliness to enjoy.