Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

[Girls with Guns]

Hanasakeru Seishonen - 9.5/10

So I just finished watching Hanasakeru Seishonen with my mother tonight, we only had the last four episodes 36-39 to finish up after marathoning 8 episodes last night. Wow, what a ride!

I had never even heard of this 2009 anime until after Discotek released it on Blu-ray 3 months ago, and I happened to stumble across it on Crunchyroll while searching on Shoujo anime - I actually like a lot of Shoujo and reverse harem anime, as those types of anime are usually much more serious and maturely written as compared to regular harem anime, which usually panders to adolescent boys with a lot of comedy and fanservice.

Looking at the key art for this series, with all the bishounen guys dominating the cover of the Blu-ray, surrounding the main female character, you certainly get a first impression that this is going to be a typical Shoujo reverse harem - but boy, is that ever misleading! Sure, it is a shoujo reverse harem; the story even starts out with the head of a large American oil comglomerate challenging his daughter to a matchmaking game with suiters he has secretly selected. But it is also so much more than that - the harem stuff is actually a somewhat minor part of the show screen-time-wise, but at the same time is extremely important for character development of everyone involved. But the vast majority of this anime and where it really shines is all the political intrigue between international corporations, powerful family organizations, and a small country with complex Royal leadership, all clashing and scheming for power and control. There is a lot of tense and suspenseful moments that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seats. Everything plays out quite intricately with plenty of time to develop over the span of 39 episodes, with a few surprising twists and some predictable outcomes as well.

My original Top 10 anime were all mainly Girls with Guns series, with Noir and Phantom, Requiem for the Phantom as my #1 and #2 series of all time. Then 2018 happened and I ended up putting two new anime at my top two spots, Violet Evergarden and Ancient Magus' Bride. I never thought I would say this before watching this series, but after finishing up Hanasakeru Seishonen tonight, I am placing it firmly between Violet Evergarden and Ancient Magus's Bride as my new #2 favorite anime. I absolutely loved it that much.

 

[WMD]

So did I the year before, having previously seen it at the cinema. I can promise you this: it's terrible.

Heh good thing then that my expectations are far lower than the piqued interest.

For what it's worth I was a big fan of Empire of Corpses. It's a bonkers premise and a bonkers story and the ending is nuts and it's so unique that I just enjoyed it.

Of the 3 I was expecting Harmony to be my favourite but in the end I thought the other 2 better. The best by far though is Genocidal Organ. That film is a legitimate masterpiece.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

For what it's worth I was a big fan of Empire of Corpses. It's a bonkers premise and a bonkers story and the ending is nuts and it's so unique that I just enjoyed it.

Of the 3 I was expecting Harmony to be my favourite but in the end I thought the other 2 better. The best by far though is Genocidal Organ. That film is a legitimate masterpiece.

Heh I'll keep an open mind watching empire of corpses; missed getting harmony but I saw the reviews weren't good for that for what it's worth, still would like to watch it at some point; genocidal organ definitely the one I most want to watch, and the more I hear the more it seems to be the one to watch of the the, it will just be about how/where I can watch it heh.

 

[WMD]

Heh I'll keep an open mind watching empire of corpses; missed getting harmony but I saw the reviews weren't good for that for what it's worth, still would like to watch it at some point; genocidal organ definitely the one I most want to watch, and the more I hear the more it seems to be the one to watch of the the, it will just be about how/where I can watch it heh.

Harmony has amazing animation, it looks great so i would say do watch it but the story couldve been better.

An open mind is a good way to watch Empire.

Yeah I have a region free blu ray player so got the US release of Genocidal. I couldn't recommend it more. I saw it in the cinema when it looked like we would still get a release but when that never happened I got the US version as soon as I could play it.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Harmony has amazing animation, it looks great so i would say do watch it but the story couldve been better.

An open mind is a good way to watch Empire.

Yeah I have a region free blu ray player so got the US release of Genocidal. I couldn't recommend it more. I saw it in the cinema when it looked like we would still get a release but when that never happened I got the US version as soon as I could play it.

Good to know, thanks for the info. I guess I'll try sourcing harmony from CEX seeing as it seems to no longer be on AL, damn, should've gotten it during the sales...

From your wording I'm assuming that genocidal organ will not be released in the UK; guess I'll have to get the US version as well heh.

 

[WMD]

From your wording I'm assuming that genocidal organ will not be released in the UK; guess I'll have to get the US version as well heh.

I guess now that Funimation own Manga it is possible but personally I think it's unlikely at this point

Edit: incidentally I just checked and it says region A/B on the box for Genocidal Organ

 

[Neil.T]

For what it's worth I was a big fan of Empire of Corpses. It's a bonkers premise and a bonkers story

That guy with the eyebrows, though...

Of the 3 I was expecting Harmony to be my favourite but in the end I thought the other 2 better.

missed getting harmony but I saw the reviews weren't good for that for what it's worth

I'd say I prefer Harmony to Empire, but that's not really saying much, I'm afraid.

But...

The best by far though is Genocidal Organ. That film is a legitimate masterpiece.

Why didn't my local indie cinema show it when AL gave it a small theatrical run? They usually show whatever AL have on offer.
That would've been a prime chance to see it!

Wait... Is the US BD definitely Region B compatible?

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Why didn't my local indie cinema show it when AL gave it a small theatrical run? They usually show whatever AL have on offer.

That is so annoying!

Wait... Is the US BD definitely Region B compatible?

Edit: incidentally I just checked and it says region A/B on the box for Genocidal Organ

That is really good to know, will be ordering that when I can soon-ish heh.

 

[WMD]

Wait... Is the US BD definitely Region B compatible?

It plays on my ps4 fine and the box and discs are labelled A/B so I guess it is

Why didn't my local indie cinema show it when AL gave it a small theatrical run? They usually show whatever AL have on offer.
That would've been a prime chance to see it!

That's so annoying!

 

[Neil.T]

It plays on my ps4 fine and the box and discs are labelled A/B so I guess it is

Wow, thanks for the pack shot, man.

That's food for thought. It's a bit on the pricey side at the moment, but I'll have to seriously keep that option in mind. That's really helpful.

 

[RadFemHedonist]

Hanasakeru Seishonen - 9.5/10

So I just finished watching Hanasakeru Seishonen with my mother tonight, we only had the last four episodes 36-39 to finish up after marathoning 8 episodes last night. Wow, what a ride!

I had never even heard of this 2009 anime until after Discotek released it on Blu-ray 3 months ago, and I happened to stumble across it on Crunchyroll while searching on Shoujo anime - I actually like a lot of Shoujo and reverse harem anime, as those types of anime are usually much more serious and maturely written as compared to regular harem anime, which usually panders to adolescent boys with a lot of comedy and fanservice.

Looking at the key art for this series, with all the bishounen guys dominating the cover of the Blu-ray, surrounding the main female character, you certainly get a first impression that this is going to be a typical Shoujo reverse harem - but boy, is that ever misleading! Sure, it is a shoujo reverse harem; the story even starts out with the head of a large American oil comglomerate challenging his daughter to a matchmaking game with suiters he has secretly selected. But it is also so much more than that - the harem stuff is actually a somewhat minor part of the show screen-time-wise, but at the same time is extremely important for character development of everyone involved. But the vast majority of this anime and where it really shines is all the political intrigue between international corporations, powerful family organizations, and a small country with complex Royal leadership, all clashing and scheming for power and control. There is a lot of tense and suspenseful moments that will definitely keep you on the edge of your seats. Everything plays out quite intricately with plenty of time to develop over the span of 39 episodes, with a few surprising twists and some predictable outcomes as well.

My original Top 10 anime were all mainly Girls with Guns series, with Noir and Phantom, Requiem for the Phantom as my #1 and #2 series of all time. Then 2018 happened and I ended up putting two new anime at my top two spots, Violet Evergarden and Ancient Magus' Bride. I never thought I would say this before watching this series, but after finishing up Hanasakeru Seishonen tonight, I am placing it firmly between Violet Evergarden and Ancient Magus's Bride as my new #2 favorite anime. I absolutely loved it that much.

This is def. on my list of things to watch, it already sounded really interesting to me before reading your write up and I'm even keener to see it now!

 

[Girls with Guns]

This is def. on my list of things to watch, it already sounded really interesting to me before reading your write up and I'm even keener to see it now!

I really would like someone else that has seen it to give their impressions, I just know that both my mother and I were completely into it, lol. Kajika, the female lead, would be one heck of an ideal waifu - it's just unfortunate that like Violet Evergarden, she's only 14 years old, and I think 16 by the end of the series.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

I really would like someone else that has seen it to give their impressions, I just know that both my mother and I were completely into it, lol. Kajika, the female lead, would be one heck of an ideal waifu - it's just unfortunate that like Violet Evergarden, she's only 14 years old, and I think 16 by the end of the series.

I can't wait to watch it when I eventually get it after all your praise for the series. Like you however I add more to my watchlist than I can actually watch! One day in the near future hopefully heh.

 

[Dan]

Bubblegum Crisis - 7/10

Glad I decided to give this a shot… eventually. I had looked at it a long time ago and just decided it wasn’t for me but I found I enjoyed it. I do think the series had some weak episodes 2 & 8 in particular and I thought 1 was a bit slow paced. The middle eps however were really enjoyable and the standout eps for me were ep4 - Revenge Road (that car was awesome and very well animated), Ep5 - Moonlight Rambler & Ep 6 - Red Eyes (my fave of the lot) I'm sure the animation consistency improved aswell as the series went on. Although anything mechanical was superbly animated I felt in the early episodes there were drops in the quality at times but later I’m sure it was consistently good throughout the episodes. Could be my brain playing tricks on me though

One other thing, the music was excellent in this, especially the opening to the first episode… caught me by surprise tbh. I love that they dubbed the songs too, that was a surprise. I’ll admit that they lacked the punch of the original Japanese but it was nice to understand it all and they were still good.

Overall an enjoyable show. I do think if I rewatched it though I’d pick out the middle episodes to re-watch.

 

[Dai]

Ideon: A Contact
The first time I watched Ideon, I approached it in the way that is generally recommended, namely by watching all of the TV series except the final episode, and then Be Invoked. I was curious about A Contact though, since I wondered how you summarise 38 TV episodes in a 90-minute compilation movie. The answer is that you do so with great difficulty.

The Ideon TV series goes through three basic phases. The first several episodes do a good job of setting up the premise and establishing the conflicts. Most of the subsequent episodes up through the teens are repetitive filler. Then, after a recap episode around episode 22, it really starts to feel like a show by the guy who brought us Gundam, and that's where it gets good. Unfortunately, A Contact focuses almost entirely on the first half of the series, with its climax being somewhere around episode 25, I think.

To say that the editing in A Contact is choppy would be an understatement. The opening section doesn't make it clear who people are or where the Ideon came from. Events or characters get mentioned once, but never seen. Continuity is thrown to the wolves. On the plus side, it does carve out a fairly comprehensible story arc overall by focusing on Karala, sprinkles in action at the right places, axes all of the repetition from the first half of the series, and actually does a better job than the TV series when it comes to clearly explaining the true nature of the Ideon's power. It's just a shame that the film omits the most memorable occasions of the Ideon unleashing that power. The clearer explanation also worked against the atmosphere a bit, since there were some eerie unknowns about the Ideon.

Considering the way A Contact is structured, I wouldn't be at all surprised if there were originally plans to release two compilation movies before getting to Be Invoked. There are just enough threads put in places to connect A Contact to the finale, but this compilation is definitely not how I'd recommend experiencing Space Runaway Ideon.

5/10

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

There are just enough threads put in places to connect A Contact to the finale, but this compilation is definitely not how I'd recommend experiencing Space Runaway Ideon.

I've been wanting to watch the Ideon series, which as a whole I'm guessing you would recommend? Is it available or streaming in UK?

 

[Dai]

I've been wanting to watch the Ideon series, which as a whole I'm guessing you would recommend? Is it available or streaming in UK?

It's only available on US blu-ray from Maiden Japan. It's geolocked, so it will play on a UK PlayStation.

The Ideon TV series is definitely worth watching. Even the filler episodes have a pleasantly old-school SF vibe to them, and it's interesting to see Tomino working around the template of a kids' super robot show to tell one of his darkest and most ruthless stories about the self-defeating futility of war. As for Be Invoked, it's something that every anime fan should experience at least once.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

It's only available on US blu-ray from Maiden Japan. It's geolocked, so it will play on a UK PlayStation.

The Ideon TV series is definitely worth watching. Even the filler episodes have a pleasantly old-school SF vibe to them, and it's interesting to see Tomino working around the template of a kids' super robot show to tell one of his darkest and most ruthless stories about the self-defeating futility of war. As for Be Invoked, it's something that every anime fan should experience at least once.

I'm definitely sold!!! So much anime, etc. so little time...

 

[Vashdaman]

Demon Hunter series 1
7/10

I found this show very enjoyable, and I can kind of see why it became such a big thing in Japan, although I'm still a little baffled at the extent of its popularity too as it's no more than a 7/10 for me personally. It's definitely a quality production there's no doubt about that, lovely animation, no filler, and every episode kept me pretty gripped. And it's a fun story full of demons and samurai-esque slayers and all that. The characters are alright too, although I tended to find the humorous routines of Zenitsu and Inosuke a little grating if I'm honest. Tanjiro is nice enough, I like his compassion towards the demons, although he's really just your regular degular squeaky clean good big brother shonen kid hero. I imagine that family aspect in particular is probably something that has resonated with Japanese audiences, and the theme of family is something that repeatedly comes up in the show and feels very central to it, and I suppose that reflects the centrality, of the idea at least, of family in Japan.

 

[Girls with Guns]

Demon Hunter series 1
7/10

The characters are alright too, although I tended to find the humorous routines of Zenitsu and Inosuke a little grating if I'm honest.

yeah, I found that so-called humor WAY too grating for me, and I dropped the series specifically because of this. I just could not tolerate 3 episodes in a row of Inosuke and his screaming back and forth endlessly with Tanjiro, so at that point I was done and gone. I was enjoying the series up to that point.