Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

[WMD]

Rumbling Hearts rewatch

After the thread reminiscing about shows we watched a decade ago I really wanted to go back to this. This and She the Ultimate Weapon were the first 2 animes I saw that were emotionally painful and they've stuck with me ever since even though I havent seen either in an incredibly long time. They were the shows that got me to let the tears flow when watching something sad and it doesnt get much sadder than this show.

It's an incredible piece of tragic storytelling. It's also oddly refreshing to watch a slice of life show that's a drama (theres a bit of comic relief but its needed otherwise it would be way too intense) so many are comedies first these days. The thing that really gets me is how mundane and real the initial tragedy is and then seeing how everyone unravels because of it, it really feels like this story could happen to anyone. Another big plus is that you just dont know what the next twist and turn of the story will be and its one of the only romance type shows where I had no idea how it was going to end.

The dub is great too. The main cast give very naturalistic performances which is kinda odd for an anime (some if the side characters are bit more anime in that's sense) but it really helps sell the emotional heart of the story.

It may not be perfect but it's very close 9/10

 

[RadFemHedonist]

@WMD I've not seen Rumbling Hearts yet but I did get a lot out of She: The Ultimate Weapon, I found that profoundly moving (though I don't know if I could ever bring myself to watch it again). I love the Kyoani/Key trilogy of Air, Kanon and Clannad so Rumbling Hearts probably is my sort of thing and I'll make an effort to seek it out based on your recommendation and other good things I have heard about it

 

[WMD]

@WMD I've not seen Rumbling Hearts yet but I did get a lot out of She: The Ultimate Weapon, I found that profoundly moving (though I don't know if I could ever bring myself to watch it again). I love the Kyoani/Key trilogy of Air, Kanon and Clannad so Rumbling Hearts probably is my sort of thing and I'll make an effort to seek it out based on your recommendation and other good things I have heard about it

The first time I watched She The Ultimate Weapon I was dumbfounded. Back then I would watch anime on my laptop and I remember just sitting in stunned silence, staring at the black screen for like 15mins after it finished, not able to process what had just happened. It's another of those shows that's not perfect but it leaves a lasting impression.

There is region 1 dvd release for Rumbling Hearts (that's the one I have) dont know how easy it is to get hold of but Up1 do have it listed. No idea if its online anywhere but Funimation did the dub so is presumably on their service in some capacity.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

Back then I would watch anime on my laptop and I remember just sitting in stunned silence, staring at the black screen for like 15mins after it finished, not able to process what had just happened.

Heh yeah that reminds me of how I watched Eva. Also a time when laptops had this innovative built in feature called dvd drives! Aaah good times...

Does your region 1 version of rumbling hearts work on a PS4 here by the way?

 

[Neil.T]

Rumbling Hearts probably is my sort of thing and I'll make an effort to seek it out based on your recommendation and other good things I have heard about it

No idea if its online anywhere but Funimation did the dub so is presumably on their service in some capacity.

Would the US version of rumbling hearts work on a PS4 here by the way?

I just had a look on the Legal Streaming thread, and Rumbling Hearts is available to stream on Funimation, subbed or dubbed.

 

[WMD]

Also a time when laptops had this innovative built in feature called dvd drives! Aaah good times...

It's so annoying they're not standard anymore!

Does your region 1 version of rumbling hearts work on a PS4 here by the way?

Just tried it and it didnt work I'm afraid. Said Cannot play due to region restrictions. (I have a seperate region free blu ray player for my US stuff.)

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

It's so annoying they're not standard anymore!

I fully agree! Half my issue these days is not having access to the TV until late hours when this old man promptly dozes off having to try multiple times to actually watch anything. If only they could have special iPads with dvd drives. Or maybe I'll just dig out my 1999/07 laptops from storage...

Just tried it and it didnt work I'm afraid. Said Cannot play due to region restrictions.

Thank you so much for checking, I know to try and source a UK release. I see some on CEX I'll get instead.

Rumbling Hearts is available to stream on Funimation

Alas I am yet to convince myself to sign up to yet another streaming site and subscribe to funimation, though it's becoming harder and harder to resist given my expanding list for anime on their service (secretly hoping it all comes under the crunchyroll subscription soon heh).

 

[Neil.T]

Alas I am yet to convince myself to sign up to yet another streaming site and subscribe to funimation

I've been watching Back Arrow on Funimation lately without a subscription. I've not been finding the ads too annoying so far either.

 

[Geriatric hedgehog]

I've not been finding the ads too annoying so far either.

Huh what now?? You can watch funimation for free with ads?!! * Slaps forehead *

Ahhh, it seems that I may be able to start denting my funimation watchlist now.

 

[Girls with Guns]

I have an ad blocker installed in my browser on all my home computers, so even the free Funimation streams have no ad breaks in them, they are successfully blocked so non-existant - At least for me on the US Funimation site.

 

[Dai]

The first time I watched She The Ultimate Weapon I was dumbfounded. Back then I would watch anime on my laptop and I remember just sitting in stunned silence, staring at the black screen for like 15mins after it finished, not able to process what had just happened. It's another of those shows that's not perfect but it leaves a lasting impression.

The mark of whether a science fiction story has a solid dramatic core is if it would still be compelling if you took the SF elements out. For She, that would mean a story about a soldier who comes home from the war with PTSD, unable to stop her combat reflexes from kicking in when she perceives a real or imagined threat, and it puts her loved ones in danger. To me, that's the core of what makes it such a memorable drama, that some soldiers aren't able to come home from war even if they survive it. The show just turns this into a visual allegory by having her body manifest literal weapons.

 

[Dan]

I've been watching Back Arrow on Funimation lately without a subscription. I've not been finding the ads too annoying so far either.

I ended up watching a lot of My Hero Academia for free and I think the app was broken at the time so we got no ads and I got to watch eps that should have been behind the paywall

 

[Girls with Guns]

The first time I watched She The Ultimate Weapon I was dumbfounded. Back then I would watch anime on my laptop and I remember just sitting in stunned silence, staring at the black screen for like 15mins after it finished, not able to process what had just happened. It's another of those shows that's not perfect but it leaves a lasting impression.

There is region 1 dvd release for Rumbling Hearts (that's the one I have) dont know how easy it is to get hold of but Up1 do have it listed. No idea if its online anywhere but Funimation did the dub so is presumably on their service in some capacity.

I have the DVD for She The Ultimate Weapon, but of course I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. Sounds like it would be something I would like, and perhaps the neighbor couple may even relate to it, since they are both military. I will need to pull it off the shelf for us to watch sometime soon. So much anime, so little time!

Rumbling hearts is really good, but yes, so tragic. I've got the 3 Disc Funimation box set for that one; it does have a pretty art box.

 

[WMD]

perhaps the neighbor couple may even relate to it, since they are both military.

I'd be intrigued to see what military people make of it. On a surface level shes kind of like a tragic spiderman. Shes a military weapon but wants to live a normal highschool life and those 2 worlds simply dont mesh, at least not in a healthy way.

So much anime, so little time!

That's always the case! It's hard enough staying on top if it here in the UK and we get a fraction of the US releases!

I've got the 3 Disc Funimation box set for that one; it does have a pretty art box.

That is a really nice release! Mine is the thin pak one which isn't as nice but at least I still get to own it!

 

[Dai]

Turn A Gundam
In look, tone, and setting it's a radical departure from Tomino's earlier entries in the franchise, and yet it feels authentically Gundam. There's a sense of endless imagination to it. In many Gundam series, most aspects of the setting are established early and can wear thin by the end of 50 episodes, but Turn A is always throwing something new and interesting at the viewer, whether that be an unusual culture, surprising everyday uses for giant robots, ever-shifting allegiances, new locations, or striking new mecha and costume designs.

All of this takes place in a show that feels like Tomino was more comfortable in his own skin than with his earlier works. While tragedy can still strike, there's less of the casual brutality, and a greater sense of hope and humanity. It's packed with interesting characters faced with varied challenges, and while most of them don't really change over the course of the show, they're always engaging to watch. The only real flaw in Turn A is the group of villains who show up in the final dozen episodes, since they're more cartoony than the other, more convincing characters, and never become compelling enemies.

Overall, I'd place this alongside Zeta as one of Tomino's best shows, and one of the best in the Gundam franchise.

8/10

 

[Vashdaman]

Chunibyo, Love and Other Delusions series 10/10

I enjoyed this quite a lot, it's funny, sweet and has heart. What I'm particularly pleased with is that it didn't simply end with a

Spoiler

and she accepted reality and became a happy, healthy normal member of society thanks to our hero showing her the way

which I was worried might have been one route it could have gone down. Rather the show says "hey we're all of us actually Chunibyo in our own way, even those of us who believe we're normal", and it's more about the power love has within it to accept another rather than simply change them. And the power imagination has to sustain us.

 

[WMD]

Chunibyo, Love and Other Delusions series 10/10

I enjoyed this quite a lot, it's funny, sweet and has heart. What I'm particularly pleased with is that it didn't simply end with a

Spoiler

and she accepted reality and became a happy, healthy normal member of society thanks to our hero showing her the way

which I was worried might have been one route it could have gone down. Rather the show says "hey we're all of us actually Chunibyo in our own way, even those of us who believe we're normal", and it's more about the power love has within it to accept another rather than simply change them. And the power imagination has to sustain us.

Yeah it's a good message. I saw a similar comment in a video about Spider Man Far From Home where they mentioned that Peter likes MJ. Not in spite of her weirder traits but he just likes all of her and it makes their relationship so much more endearing and likeable. Theres nothing to fix or even accept, he just likes her the way she is.

 

[Dan]

Berserk (2017) 3/10

I feel like I’ve got Guts rage writing this, so here goes (apologies for the length).

WTF did I just watch, it’s turned into some generic anime show and certainly not a good one. I actually feel angry about it. This is not Berserk. Was the director sulking because 2016 was getting panned as they made this, it’s like he gave up. At least I got some enjoyment out of 2016. Despite it not been great I felt like I got more Berserk at least. Also on the Director, why does he sometimes get so close to the action, it kills the scene, was it a money thing or is he just lacking in that area. He actually did it in the bar scene in 2016 ep1. Tbh it’s not the only thing he’s bad at, some of these overly elaborate shots just have me scratching my head (an example would be ashot at the witches house where the camera spins round the back of Guts neck to show the witch sat in front of him… why?). Sure there’s plenty more that other people can point out that he didn’t do very well on top of that.

Let’s just just talk a little bit about the animation as I’ve mentioned most of what I wanted to say on my 2016 views. The opening shot of ep1 was well done and was actually in 2D (surprise surprise a nice shot in 2D), then back to the garbage 3D we go. The thing that really got my back up was I thought the whole point of it being in 3D was to be able to do battle scenes more effectively like in the movie. Yet we get one battle scene (3rd episode I think) and there are people stood around doing absolutely nothing (basically still images) whilst 2 characters fight in the middle of the screen So what’s all this it has to be done in 3D about (think it’s more to do elaborate shots as mentioned above), There is no reason this couldn’t be animated in 2D. Not having that nonsense again. Reduce the quality of the detail in the Manga like the 97 series and do it in 2D. <takes a deep breath>

I thought the voice acting (English Dub) in 2016 was decent to good but there was some really bad ones here. Not sure who the character was but he was the king/leader of the kingdom Griffith first attacks, he was dreadfully dubbed, not effort whatsoever and I really didn’t like Griffiths dub actor either, just didn’t sound right to me.

On the music I thought it got a bit better in 2016 after the 1st episode, I now agree with @Geriatric hedgehog. It seriously went down Hill, the music sounded like a generic fantasy show, this is Berserk god damn it do better.

Overall I thought this was dreadful. How can u make the return of Griffith and make it so flat and dull… Truly dreadful. I really don’t want anymore of this. Either start again or just leave it. I'm so glad I’ve finally picked up the Manga.

Apologies if I sound angry… it’s just I really am

I actually wrote the above after 5 eps (originally rating it a 1/10) and whilst I wouldn’t recommended anyone putting up with the mediocrity of eps 1-6, at least eps 8-11 were at least decent/good (7 was ok). I started to notice a lot more 2d animation aswell which I thought was interesting and was just left wondering why they didn’t use this style in the first place. It looked so much better. I've actually just seen a trailer for Kingdom Season 3 (It wasn't a long trailer but I just thought, how can they do that in 2D with 3D battle scenes and someone thought nah, we'll do Berserk in 3D only (I know its newer of course but man its frustrating)

On Episode 12, what was the point in that episode. Felt like a waste of time. Ended on a whimper and just left me feeling like well if that’s how u wanna go out well u don’t deserve to make anymore. You’ve basically given me 4 decent/good eps out of 12

 

[Vashdaman]

Yeah it's a good message. I saw a similar comment in a video about Spider Man Far From Home where they mentioned that Peter likes MJ. Not in spite of her weirder traits but he just likes all of her and it makes their relationship so much more endearing and likeable. Theres nothing to fix or even accept, he just likes her the way she is.

This is beautiful, thanks.

 

[Dai]

Yukikaze
It's been years since I last watched this, but it still holds up. Mankind wages a seemingly unwinnable war against an unknowable enemy that is alien in both form and intent. With no alternative, they must rely on conventional weapons and tactics, but will that be enough? With outstanding direction and some of the best air combat scenes ever animated, it's enthralling throughout. Don't go into it expecting Top Gun though. Even in the midst of a dogfight, the series maintains a curiously languid and detached pace, perhaps reflecting that these battles ultimately won't decide the outcome of the war, since mankind has fundamentally misunderstood what its enemy is. This is a slow, atmospheric, and contemplative piece that asks if we can ever truly understand the Other, whether that be other species, intelligent machines, or simply the person standing next to us.

If it has one flaw, this novel adaptation seems a poor fit for episodic story-telling. I haven't read the novel, so I don't know if anything was left out, but the overall stucture of the series feels like we're getting extracts from the middle, and then it rushes to its climax in the final episode. It's possible that this is just a consequence of each episode shaping its content to feel like a somewhat self-contained chapter. This is ultimately no reason not to recommend what is one of the most remarkable SF works out there.

9/10

The US DVDs are long out of print, so if you want Yukikaze new your only option is the JP blu-ray, which is apparently region-free and includes English subtitles, but carries the kind of heftly price tag you'd expect for a Japanese OAV series. Since it's just a 1080i upscale and the DVDs look good, I'm sticking with those for now. Relevant to my recent discussion about old DVDs dying is that Bandai's US release included two copies of each volume; one with Dolby audio the other with DTS, a handy bonus caused by the limited storage space on DVDs. Volume 1 also included this nice stitched patch, which I'd forgotten about. I'm tempted to stitch it onto something now.