Girls with Guns
Chuunibyou
Yes, Gosick is awesome, once it gets serious. Second half is amazing.! I could do without the cutesy stuff in the beginning, though.
Rate the last anime you watched out of 10
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Dai
Death Scythe
Kakushigoto
This might be the best execution I've seen of the format that I often refer to as the One-Cour Comedy Curse. Poor implementations of the format see 11 episodes of comedy capped off by an abrupt (and often poorly done) tonal shift to drama at the end, in an attempt to create a fake sense of closure for a partial adaptation of a much longer source work. Kakushigoto works around this by having its eventual shift to drama foreshadowed from the beginning, layered into the overall tone of the show, and executed in a way that expertly plays off the themes that were established in the comedy portion of the story. It probably also helps that the manga ended around the time the anime aired, so this was potentially the intended ending of the original too (I haven't read it, so I don't know for sure). What we end up with is a show that succeeds at being both funny and moving, and has a satisfying ending.
8/10
This might be the best execution I've seen of the format that I often refer to as the One-Cour Comedy Curse. Poor implementations of the format see 11 episodes of comedy capped off by an abrupt (and often poorly done) tonal shift to drama at the end, in an attempt to create a fake sense of closure for a partial adaptation of a much longer source work. Kakushigoto works around this by having its eventual shift to drama foreshadowed from the beginning, layered into the overall tone of the show, and executed in a way that expertly plays off the themes that were established in the comedy portion of the story. It probably also helps that the manga ended around the time the anime aired, so this was potentially the intended ending of the original too (I haven't read it, so I don't know for sure). What we end up with is a show that succeeds at being both funny and moving, and has a satisfying ending.
8/10
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Yup just reminded that I have got Ghost Hunt too after your previous recommendations (I think I was saving to watch seeing Halloween heh). Didn't know about VME, will add to my list.... As well as those others suggested here heh. This is not helping my OCD completionist woes regarding my bloated to-do lists!
Girls with Guns
Chuunibyou
I'll help stop you from feeling so inadequate on your completionist woes, hedgy - I have 5 shelf units full of anime, and I would guess about 40% of my collection I have never viewed once. 
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Your Lie in April
This is a battle shonen with pianos and violins instead of regular fights.
High quality production, I love classical music so I really enjoyed the performances. Even though I knew it had a sad ending, I didn't have any specific spoilers, and to be honest I guessed where it was going pretty quickly anyway based on what the anime showed.
In terms of sad anime I don't think this quite lives up to Clannad or Violet Evergarden but it hit me pretty hard all the same. I both love and hate anime like this. I can never watch this type of thing more than once but I feel like it's an experience I need to have.
8/10
This is a battle shonen with pianos and violins instead of regular fights.
High quality production, I love classical music so I really enjoyed the performances. Even though I knew it had a sad ending, I didn't have any specific spoilers, and to be honest I guessed where it was going pretty quickly anyway based on what the anime showed.
In terms of sad anime I don't think this quite lives up to Clannad or Violet Evergarden but it hit me pretty hard all the same. I both love and hate anime like this. I can never watch this type of thing more than once but I feel like it's an experience I need to have.
8/10
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
That would drive me insane!! But given that amount you've done well to get through 60% heh.I'll help stop you from feeling so inadequate on your completionist woes, hedgy - I have 5 shelf units full of anime, and I would guess about 40% of my collection I have never viewed once.
Dai
Death Scythe
Aura: Koga Maryuin's Last War
I knew going into this that the movie was primarily about bullying, but it ended up being even more depressing than I expected. A Silent Voice did a great job of building that theme into a rich and well-developed story. Aura, unfortunately, just spends most of its short run-time beating us over the head with one miserable act of bullying after another. Every time I thought the story had hit its low point and was about to move forward, it just kept coming in with one low blow after another. When it did eventually move on to the climax, the resolution wasn't as cathartic as it could have been, and left some conflicts unresolved by the time the credits rolled. This was amended somewhat by mid-credits and post-credits epilogue scenes, but these flip-flop the ending back and forth to the point where it gets its messages muddled. It almost feels like it gave us the endings from two or three conflicting routes of a game, and consequently I have no idea what point it was actually trying to make.
6/10
I knew going into this that the movie was primarily about bullying, but it ended up being even more depressing than I expected. A Silent Voice did a great job of building that theme into a rich and well-developed story. Aura, unfortunately, just spends most of its short run-time beating us over the head with one miserable act of bullying after another. Every time I thought the story had hit its low point and was about to move forward, it just kept coming in with one low blow after another. When it did eventually move on to the climax, the resolution wasn't as cathartic as it could have been, and left some conflicts unresolved by the time the credits rolled. This was amended somewhat by mid-credits and post-credits epilogue scenes, but these flip-flop the ending back and forth to the point where it gets its messages muddled. It almost feels like it gave us the endings from two or three conflicting routes of a game, and consequently I have no idea what point it was actually trying to make.
6/10
Dai
Death Scythe
Princess Principal
This tale of steampunk loli spies was more brutal than I expected. I thought it would primarily be an action show, and while there is a lot of that, the main focus is on spycraft. That's definitely to its benefit. This isn't all the bombastic James Bond style of spy story either; it reminded me more of the tense, grounded ruthlessness of Spooks. What we end up with is a tonal mix that can feel somewhat jarring in places, consisting of 60% Spooks spycraft, 30% Lupin III action, and 10% K-On tea parties. The girls aren't brain-washed zombies like Gunslinger Girl, so it takes a while to get used to them being all genteel and giggly one minute, then mercilessly executing unarmed civilians the next. It works though, through a combination of interesting individual episodes, engaging characters, and the over-arching story of double-crosses and conspiracies.
Its one weakness is that it all feels a bit rushed. Despite being 12 episodes, they give the episodes case file numbers going up to 24, which seems to be the production team saying that they planned this as a two-cour show, had to cut it down to one, and this was the best they could do. This means we end up with some episodes in the middle that feel like filler for a longer series, and then it rushes its climax a bit in the final two. That ends up being a relatively minor flaw though, due to the show's other strengths.
8/10
This tale of steampunk loli spies was more brutal than I expected. I thought it would primarily be an action show, and while there is a lot of that, the main focus is on spycraft. That's definitely to its benefit. This isn't all the bombastic James Bond style of spy story either; it reminded me more of the tense, grounded ruthlessness of Spooks. What we end up with is a tonal mix that can feel somewhat jarring in places, consisting of 60% Spooks spycraft, 30% Lupin III action, and 10% K-On tea parties. The girls aren't brain-washed zombies like Gunslinger Girl, so it takes a while to get used to them being all genteel and giggly one minute, then mercilessly executing unarmed civilians the next. It works though, through a combination of interesting individual episodes, engaging characters, and the over-arching story of double-crosses and conspiracies.
Its one weakness is that it all feels a bit rushed. Despite being 12 episodes, they give the episodes case file numbers going up to 24, which seems to be the production team saying that they planned this as a two-cour show, had to cut it down to one, and this was the best they could do. This means we end up with some episodes in the middle that feel like filler for a longer series, and then it rushes its climax a bit in the final two. That ends up being a relatively minor flaw though, due to the show's other strengths.
8/10
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I quite enjoyed Princess Principal, the settings and world building were top-tier.
All female main cast is fine but I think the crew could have used a male presence myself mixed in.
I thought it ended kind of abruptly though, but I guess more is coming, I saw a hint of a movie but not looked into it further yet.
All female main cast is fine but I think the crew could have used a male presence myself mixed in.
I thought it ended kind of abruptly though, but I guess more is coming, I saw a hint of a movie but not looked into it further yet.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
According to MAL there's another follow up film, but seems there's no other details than it exists.
ActionFaust
Cardcaptor
I don't recall there being any issues with episodes being cut down. Much like the decision to have the episodes in non-chronological order I think this was just a creative decision possibly to imply more unseen adventures.
Stars Align would be a much better case of a show being cut down as director Kazuki Akane confirmed that it was originally a two cour show. By the time the show was cut down the production was already so far ahead there was no room to change the series to fit the one cour restriction and thus the series was left at a cliffhanger with no sequel in sight. Had this happened with Princess Principal we likely wouldn't have had an ending to the series.
Princess Principal: Crown Handler is the first of six films much like Bandai's other series, Girls und Panzer das Finale.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Aldnoah Zero
This show had a few issues in general, I mainly wanted to watch it because it had a really good soundtrack. I stick by this assessment, the OST is fantastic, but a little overused at times during the actual show.
My fav song:
Art, on the whole was very good.
Ignoring random scientific things like people born on mars could not likely actually survive on earth, the show did have some potential that I think it failed to really capitalise on.
The CGI was a little egregious. I get not wanting to hand animate complicated mechs, but they managed to make them look out of place rather than blending in. Still I must say the CGI wasn't actually terrible, and it wasn't really the worst thing about the show.
The worst thing about the show was Slaine. Flip-flopping allegiances, doing the exact opposite of what he should be doing. One minute fighting to win, the next quitting. I feel like he was just written to troll viewers.
The show kind of went down-hill at the end of the first cour, we had a mexican shoot-out where no one actually died somehow, then the real villain Saazbaum kind of gets killed off far too early, and now Slaine has to take the spot of the main villain. The writing/logic in this show was just a little off.
I actually would have preferred Slaine to become the villain but actually mean it, it never really felt like he meant it. I completely agree with something Neil said in the Planetes rewatch thread, I don't have to agree with what someone does or says, I just have to believe they would do it based on their character/persona.
A generous score thanks to the banging OST and the fairly decent art overall, otherwise I'd be rating 5 or 5.5/10 probably because the show did go down hill. Code Geass had a bit of a ropey season 2 but pulled it all together somehow for the finale, this was kind of the opposite.
6/10
This show had a few issues in general, I mainly wanted to watch it because it had a really good soundtrack. I stick by this assessment, the OST is fantastic, but a little overused at times during the actual show.
My fav song:
Art, on the whole was very good.
Ignoring random scientific things like people born on mars could not likely actually survive on earth, the show did have some potential that I think it failed to really capitalise on.
The CGI was a little egregious. I get not wanting to hand animate complicated mechs, but they managed to make them look out of place rather than blending in. Still I must say the CGI wasn't actually terrible, and it wasn't really the worst thing about the show.
The worst thing about the show was Slaine. Flip-flopping allegiances, doing the exact opposite of what he should be doing. One minute fighting to win, the next quitting. I feel like he was just written to troll viewers.
The show kind of went down-hill at the end of the first cour, we had a mexican shoot-out where no one actually died somehow, then the real villain Saazbaum kind of gets killed off far too early, and now Slaine has to take the spot of the main villain. The writing/logic in this show was just a little off.
I actually would have preferred Slaine to become the villain but actually mean it, it never really felt like he meant it. I completely agree with something Neil said in the Planetes rewatch thread, I don't have to agree with what someone does or says, I just have to believe they would do it based on their character/persona.
A generous score thanks to the banging OST and the fairly decent art overall, otherwise I'd be rating 5 or 5.5/10 probably because the show did go down hill. Code Geass had a bit of a ropey season 2 but pulled it all together somehow for the finale, this was kind of the opposite.
6/10
awadama
Mad Scientist
Pui Pui Molcar
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE JOY.
PPM is a stop-motion animation about guinea pig cars. Yeah - they're fluffy little guinea pigs, but they have wheels.
It's hard to really explain what a wonderful series this is. The animation looks absolutely incredible. None of the characters speak (just various squeaks), but all the little guys show so much character.
Each episode is about 2-3 minutes long and there are 12 episodes altogether (combined into four instalments on Netflix). The stories are varied - there's a spy/action story, one about zombies, an Indiana Jones-type tale, a traffic jam episode and a load more.
It's just a genuinely lovely and funny show - 10/10
THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE JOY.
PPM is a stop-motion animation about guinea pig cars. Yeah - they're fluffy little guinea pigs, but they have wheels.
It's hard to really explain what a wonderful series this is. The animation looks absolutely incredible. None of the characters speak (just various squeaks), but all the little guys show so much character.
Each episode is about 2-3 minutes long and there are 12 episodes altogether (combined into four instalments on Netflix). The stories are varied - there's a spy/action story, one about zombies, an Indiana Jones-type tale, a traffic jam episode and a load more.
It's just a genuinely lovely and funny show - 10/10
I'd love to be able to take the credit for that
, but that sentiment was actually ayase's:
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Ah I didn't read the planetes thread too closely in case I ever decided to go back and try it again some day.
It's a sentiment I can get behind though for sure!
It's a sentiment I can get behind though for sure!
Dai
Death Scythe
What anime am I describing?
At a secret lab, psychopathic scientists are performing sadistic experiments on teenage girls to harness their supernatural powers. One of the girls, who can crush things with telekenesis, escapes and encounters a boy whom she met once before in childhood (and they were involved in a traumatic incident together), but this isn't immediately clear because one of them has amnesia. They begin cohabiting, and soon the boy gathers a harem of other escaped girls with superpowers. Together they struggle to survive against the lab's attempts to recapture or kill them.
If you said Elfen Lied, you wouldn't be wrong, but I'm describing Brynhildr in the Darkness, which has exactly the same plot, and it turns out is by the same author. It's such a direct copy-paste that I was more surprised to find that it was the same person, since it seems such a redundant thing to do. That repetition wasn't why I dropped Brynhildr after four episodes though.
The term misogyny gets overused as a synonym for sexism, but the words have different implications. Misogyny isn't just discrimination against women, it's a violent hatred of them, and that's the only way I can describe that author's works. Both Elfen Lied and Brynhildr start with a potentially interesting premise and mystery. Both are then continuously overshadowed by the author taking every possible opportunity to make young women suffer and die in horrible ways. Usually this is while they scream for mercy from their male tormentors, or while being brutally attacked by other girls enslaved by said male tormentors under pain of death.
Both shows also awkwardly intermingle the horror with fan service and misjudged attempts at comic relief. It's quite clear that the team adapting the source manga had no clue how to reconcile these competing elements, and who can blame them when you have a show where 'jokey' scenes (like the zinger about the paralysed girl who thought she was about to be raped...) are pressed up against scenes of girls screaming as they're melted to death for being 'failures'? At first I thought the director had no sense of comic timing, but it's clear that the problems come from the source manga. The series director tries to play the whole thing as a straight grimdark drama, but the dialogue keeps undercutting that too. It just doesn't work.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing with both shows is that they're just about interesting enough to keep me watching, but I remember how hollow and angry I felt by the end of Elfen Lied, so I decided to drop this one early when it started making me angry too. Whatever merits it may or may not have going for it, Brynhildr is thematically despicable.
/10
At a secret lab, psychopathic scientists are performing sadistic experiments on teenage girls to harness their supernatural powers. One of the girls, who can crush things with telekenesis, escapes and encounters a boy whom she met once before in childhood (and they were involved in a traumatic incident together), but this isn't immediately clear because one of them has amnesia. They begin cohabiting, and soon the boy gathers a harem of other escaped girls with superpowers. Together they struggle to survive against the lab's attempts to recapture or kill them.
If you said Elfen Lied, you wouldn't be wrong, but I'm describing Brynhildr in the Darkness, which has exactly the same plot, and it turns out is by the same author. It's such a direct copy-paste that I was more surprised to find that it was the same person, since it seems such a redundant thing to do. That repetition wasn't why I dropped Brynhildr after four episodes though.
The term misogyny gets overused as a synonym for sexism, but the words have different implications. Misogyny isn't just discrimination against women, it's a violent hatred of them, and that's the only way I can describe that author's works. Both Elfen Lied and Brynhildr start with a potentially interesting premise and mystery. Both are then continuously overshadowed by the author taking every possible opportunity to make young women suffer and die in horrible ways. Usually this is while they scream for mercy from their male tormentors, or while being brutally attacked by other girls enslaved by said male tormentors under pain of death.
Both shows also awkwardly intermingle the horror with fan service and misjudged attempts at comic relief. It's quite clear that the team adapting the source manga had no clue how to reconcile these competing elements, and who can blame them when you have a show where 'jokey' scenes (like the zinger about the paralysed girl who thought she was about to be raped...) are pressed up against scenes of girls screaming as they're melted to death for being 'failures'? At first I thought the director had no sense of comic timing, but it's clear that the problems come from the source manga. The series director tries to play the whole thing as a straight grimdark drama, but the dialogue keeps undercutting that too. It just doesn't work.
Perhaps the most frustrating thing with both shows is that they're just about interesting enough to keep me watching, but I remember how hollow and angry I felt by the end of Elfen Lied, so I decided to drop this one early when it started making me angry too. Whatever merits it may or may not have going for it, Brynhildr is thematically despicable.
/10
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
I have a bit of a soft spot for Elfen Lied considering it was one of the first anime I saw after getting back into anime from a decade long hiatus. On reflection there are probably better things to watch but perhaps I would call Elfen Lied a bit of a classic of it's era.
However you are right, Brynhildr is more of the same basically, but in my opinion, not as good. The fanservice in Brynhildr in particular just seemed misplaced and didn't add anything.
However you are right, Brynhildr is more of the same basically, but in my opinion, not as good. The fanservice in Brynhildr in particular just seemed misplaced and didn't add anything.
Dai
Death Scythe
Elfen Lied feels like a very meta title to me these days. It's a siren song that lures you in with that beautiful opening, the gorgeous artwork, and the non-stop oppai, and only then starts to beat you over the head with all the scenes of women being abused and sliced to pieces. It's one of only two anime I've seen that thought we needed to be shown a child's intestines (the other being Genocyber). The writers of both need to sit the corner and reassess their lives.
Lordhippos
Pokémon Master
Haha, it's a bit ridiculous I do agree, even attempting to answer the question of can one live with no arms or legs? I suspect most of us have seen it here, I think Brynhildr is far less popular/watched even considering it's newer.
