Girls with Guns
Time-Traveller
Don't forget to watch Blood C: The Last Dark to totally round out your series experience, it wraps things up quite nicely, lol... 
Rate the last anime you watched out of 10
- Thread starter Aion
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I don't think I was as sold on the monster designs. I only liked two of them: the first one (the statue type) and the shadow creature.
I found the true form of Saya's "father" kind of naff, with that common transforming problem that feels to me like it usually turns up in kids' cartoons: namely that when he transformed, his robes transformed with him. And back again, if memory serves.
That last episode's terrible, isn't it? The town suddenly goes from being eerily empty to very populous as drama demands, and don't even get me started on those laughable monster designs. Marauding rabbits? Dear god.
But the biggest problem I had with the series was the big twist where it turned out that Saya's friends hadn't died at all. So... who the hell had? And when were the switches supposed to have taken place, and how? Were the monsters fed corpses? Or live victims? (Sharing their counterparts' clothing and physique, no less.) The rooftop scene was the most ridiculous in that regard: mean girl Yūka was visible to us only a moment before somehow someone else presumably got shoved out onto set (by who??) to take the monster's blow in her stead. Riiight...
As @Girls wIth Guns says, though, the story concludes with the film The Last Dark which, while still flawed, is much better than the series, for my money.
Luna
Death Scythe
I can't really deny anything about that, but
On the movie, I'd say it's worth for the 7 minutes. What you get there is a teaser of how a more modern looking X/1999 landscape could have looked, while also otherwise being a pretty good appetizer of how a more original-like Blood could have looked.
after that it goes downhill, but if you are liking xxxholic, and are also annoyed by how it ends, you will be in for a little treat, as Blood C is later down the timeline than xxxholic, so you get some little sequel snippets thrown to you. ... Along with a mean teaser of how xxxholic's anime could have looked with better production values and less crazy anatomics. (To think both are from the same Studio, too...)
(Also: The Dog.)
Card Captor Sakura Clear Card is good though! (Up to v7 at least, haven't watched the anime of it as of yet)
On the movie, I'd say it's worth for the 7 minutes. What you get there is a teaser of how a more modern looking X/1999 landscape could have looked, while also otherwise being a pretty good appetizer of how a more original-like Blood could have looked.
after that it goes downhill, but if you are liking xxxholic, and are also annoyed by how it ends, you will be in for a little treat, as Blood C is later down the timeline than xxxholic, so you get some little sequel snippets thrown to you. ... Along with a mean teaser of how xxxholic's anime could have looked with better production values and less crazy anatomics. (To think both are from the same Studio, too...)
(Also: The Dog.)
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Blood-C: Heheh....heh.... he..h..
Literally just finished watching this but I have to say I didn't mind it as much for a few reasons:
Everything else I completely agree with everyone on.
All in all I was expecting worse honestly, so not too bad as it did tick the gorefest box for me in between the comedy (I must be sick in the head...). Right, back to the far more interesting Utena, which I'm determined to finish before the Amazon purge!
Edit: forgot this was the thread to rate out of 10 so will add my rating now as more generous 7/10 as I did generally enjoy the action, gore, music and atmosphere & liked the protagonist.
Literally just finished watching this but I have to say I didn't mind it as much for a few reasons:
- very, very low expectations having read some reviews but still intrigued enough to want to watch and short enough to binge, so went in not expecting anything logical or cerebral
- Saya is a badass (but only after the mandatory incompetence as nicely outlined by Dai)
- I generally like series that start all slice of life and end up in bloodbaths, however comical
- the knowledge that there is a movie to tie up the story
- the soundtrack/score which I found was genuinely good
Everything else I completely agree with everyone on.
My first experience with CLAMP I believe but I think having spent about 15 to 25% of my time watching this show actually in the land of nod helped get over this issue heh.
On average I would also agree as I went in expecting standard vampire type monsters but they were varied and overall interesting with notable exceptions:
Exactly that
Hey, hey they were just very lovable forms of the mass produced Evas (and let's not forget Venus fly trap mass produced Eva!) demonstrating culinary skills like how to make smoothies and the best way to eat hula hoops
I can have a good laugh at this show regarding most things and it's complete lack of logic but even I have to draw the line at that bloody dog....
All in all I was expecting worse honestly, so not too bad as it did tick the gorefest box for me in between the comedy (I must be sick in the head...). Right, back to the far more interesting Utena, which I'm determined to finish before the Amazon purge!
Edit: forgot this was the thread to rate out of 10 so will add my rating now as more generous 7/10 as I did generally enjoy the action, gore, music and atmosphere & liked the protagonist.
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WMD
Guild Member
For what's it's worth I enjoyed Blood-C. I'm a huge fan of Blood+ and had high expectations. At first they were not met and the basic, monster of the week felt like such a departure from what Blood was about for me. Then the gore came and the show was completely different. The first time it happened I was in shock and I was hooked all the way through.
I might have to give it a rewatch as I dont remember the ending that you all hate.
I might have to give it a rewatch as I dont remember the ending that you all hate.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Ah yes Blood+, one I need to watch but I don't think it's easily available in UK, if at all? Though I should probably start with the original movie that I never actually got around to watching, despite wanting to, when it was first released...
I didn't mind the ending myself, apart from the comical monster designs (which I genuinely think is the creators having a laugh at us), but it's probably a case of waiting to watch the movie (that I've now ordered) and a bit like how it is easier to appreciate the finale of the Evangelion TV series in the knowledge there is the End of Evangelion there to watch after.
WMD
Guild Member
It was never released here. Sony acquired the license and then sat on it ever since with no inclination to do anything with it.
Yep, I think that any time a distributor comes knocking at Sony's door to ask how much Blood+ would cost to licence, their answer is always something along the lines of "$17,000,000", or something to that effect.
I may have exaggerated the figure for effect. (Or maybe not. Who knows.)
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I've not posted in here before, but I usually watch a few things at once, and not sure I can be bothered with a MAL account right now.
I will only ever post with generic thoughts and no spoilers.
Just finished the Land of the Lustrous simulwatch and I give it a solid 8/10. If you were on the fence about it, then I'd say get off the fence and give it a watch.
I have also finished A Place Further than the Universe. This was a bit slow for me but was pretty good on the whole, so I give it a 7/10. The art is pretty good in it, I recommend if you enjoy adventure/slice of life.
I will only ever post with generic thoughts and no spoilers.
Just finished the Land of the Lustrous simulwatch and I give it a solid 8/10. If you were on the fence about it, then I'd say get off the fence and give it a watch.
I have also finished A Place Further than the Universe. This was a bit slow for me but was pretty good on the whole, so I give it a 7/10. The art is pretty good in it, I recommend if you enjoy adventure/slice of life.
Dai
Pokémon Master
Blood: The Last Vampire
Another one I haven't watched in many years, but I was curious to revisit it after seeing Blood-C. Back in 2001, Manga Entertainment were hyping this up as their next big movie. It's certainly big in terms of production values. But a movie? It stretches that definition to the limit by being just over the 40 minute mark when the credits roll. It's quite cheeky that Manga don't state the runtime on the DVD case.
OAVs of that length are nothing unusual, but this one noticeably strains at the seams of its runtime. Frankly, it's like walking in halfway through an 80s Hollywood B-movie. The dialogue in the opening scene feels like gibberish that's never explained, and there's a general lack of context throughout. Plot is minimal, and characterisation is non-existent.
It also suffers from being a bilingual production. The American characters have that awkward patter to their voices that suggests Production IG just grabbed some random gaijin off the street and shoved them in the recording booth, as is often the case for live-action Japanese movies. Saya and the school nurse (the fact she's never named, despite being the de facto main character, tells you how little they cared about the characters) are clearly Japanese VAs speaking English at times, and while their pronunciation is fine, they just can't act in English.
So what works? Well damn, this thing still looks good. As a tech demo and artistic showcase for Production IG's skills, it's first rate. The art, animation, and lighting are all astounding, and especially impressive when you consider what most digital anime looked like circa 2000. The music is atmospheric too. And...that's about it. The action scenes are well directed, but you may be disappointed at how grounded they are. Again, this feels like something that could have been shot as an 80s Hollywood B-movie. It aims for realistic weight rather than anything flashy, and is perhaps too reserved as a result. The 'fight' against the final monster is especially underwhelming in that regard. Lastly, this was an early DVD release from Manga, and it hasn't aged well. It has that aliased 360i look of an early Youtube video.
If the visuals were as mediocre as the rest of it, I'd give this a 5, but they are still truly spectacular, so that drags it up to:
6/10
Another one I haven't watched in many years, but I was curious to revisit it after seeing Blood-C. Back in 2001, Manga Entertainment were hyping this up as their next big movie. It's certainly big in terms of production values. But a movie? It stretches that definition to the limit by being just over the 40 minute mark when the credits roll. It's quite cheeky that Manga don't state the runtime on the DVD case.
OAVs of that length are nothing unusual, but this one noticeably strains at the seams of its runtime. Frankly, it's like walking in halfway through an 80s Hollywood B-movie. The dialogue in the opening scene feels like gibberish that's never explained, and there's a general lack of context throughout. Plot is minimal, and characterisation is non-existent.
It also suffers from being a bilingual production. The American characters have that awkward patter to their voices that suggests Production IG just grabbed some random gaijin off the street and shoved them in the recording booth, as is often the case for live-action Japanese movies. Saya and the school nurse (the fact she's never named, despite being the de facto main character, tells you how little they cared about the characters) are clearly Japanese VAs speaking English at times, and while their pronunciation is fine, they just can't act in English.
So what works? Well damn, this thing still looks good. As a tech demo and artistic showcase for Production IG's skills, it's first rate. The art, animation, and lighting are all astounding, and especially impressive when you consider what most digital anime looked like circa 2000. The music is atmospheric too. And...that's about it. The action scenes are well directed, but you may be disappointed at how grounded they are. Again, this feels like something that could have been shot as an 80s Hollywood B-movie. It aims for realistic weight rather than anything flashy, and is perhaps too reserved as a result. The 'fight' against the final monster is especially underwhelming in that regard. Lastly, this was an early DVD release from Manga, and it hasn't aged well. It has that aliased 360i look of an early Youtube video.
If the visuals were as mediocre as the rest of it, I'd give this a 5, but they are still truly spectacular, so that drags it up to:
6/10
Dan
Stand User
Was always a big fan of this so be interesting to see what I think when I get to rewatch it. I’ll be watching the English dub though so wont have the same issues u mention in regards to the Japanese dub. I do sometimes prefer something short as it’s not a big effort for me to watch it like a series... might see if I can get sometime this weekend as I’m intrigued now.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
I loved A Place Further, another one I'd give 9/10 and unsurprisingly one of my favourites. Hoping it gets a UK release at some point.
RebelNotorious
Student Council President
I hope it gets any English language release at some point. I’m genuinely surprised Sentai hasn’t picked it up yet.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I can absolutely see why it would be a 9 for people, it was really well made, just for me I guess pure slice of life and/or comedy alone isn't my jam.
Land of the Lustrous had a good balance, so I don't mind a bit of slice of life/kawaii in my anime, but I like the serious % to be higher than about 60% I think.
Same reason I didn't get on that well with K-ON I think, and also why I dropped Nichijou early on. For less serious shows I really liked Miss Kobayashi and Hinamatsuri, though the comedy in those didn't feel quite as forced to me.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
I see what you mean and totally understand if one doesn't like slice of life or comedy, exactly like those Kyoani examples. However, I thought that A Place Further was more drama and character development, for at least two (if you're generous then all four) of the protagonists, with the SoL/comedy elements on the side. Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly or took something else away from the show...
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I think it was just the pacing for me, took a while to spin up, and then a while to get where they were going. I did like it, but I also feel like the whole thing would have gone off just the same without the main characters in it!
I guess I like to feel like the protagonists have some kind of impact to events, in Universe it was more like they were along for the ride rather than instrumental to the ride. I think I'd have preferred it if we were following the older group who were organising it and making it happen, with the protagonists being side characters instead.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Heheh I'm getting the feeling that you just didn't like the main characters as much dude. More so if you're preferred focus is the trip, for which yes, those characters definitely were exactly as you say, inconsequential (I do agree that the older group and their story was also quite interesting - maybe a potential prequel?).I think it was just the pacing for me, took a while to spin up, and then a while to get where they were going. I did like it, but I also feel like the whole thing would have gone off just the same without the main characters in it!
I guess I like to feel like the protagonists have some kind of impact to events, in Universe it was more like they were along for the ride rather than instrumental to the ride. I think I'd have preferred it if we were following the older group who were organising it and making it happen, with the protagonists being side characters instead.
Interestingly for me it would be the exact opposite, in that even though the trip was a quirky and innovative touch (nothing laid back about those camps!), I could easily have the trip replaced with any other scenario/plot device for the characters to interact and grow in. Also on the pacing, I can see why it would therefore feel more slice of life.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Possibly so, I did enjoy seeing the eventual location and some of the quite detailed attention they paid to realism. Always a fan of realism being paid some heed!