Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

Whereas I love stuff that has a consistent vision, an "auteuristic" driving force behind it. Yes, you can add a little bit of light relief into your otherwise super serious detective drama, or a romantic sub-plot into your aliens-are-invading-the-Earth sci-fi (this happens all the time, btw, and is probably the most obvious example I can think of in terms of multi-genre anime), but if the show doesn't know what it wants to be (very much with the case with BL season 1), and isn't instilled with the confidence of people who know what they want to make, the quality can waver alongside the tone.
 
I think there's a fair few good points made above, especially in your post, Ilmaestro.

This thread has made me think again about why it is that I've always loved anime. I think, if I had to put my finger on any one thing, it'd be the way so many of the better shows manage to take in so much variety of content.

The last show to impress me that way was Darker Than Black. I didn't think it was as astonishingly aces as some folks had led me to believe it would be, but the genre mangling really worked to create a show that felt fresh and interesting, even if the subject matter wasn't really up my street.

I think the really good showsare the ones that tend to hit a nice balance of action, humour and plot development. When everything is pulling in one direction all the time - and I have seen shows like that - it tends to get a bit heavy for me.
 
I'll be reviewing the complete first series soon.

In the meantime, all I'll say is that the show is worth it for Mao alone. :wink:
 
ilmaestro said:
I have DtB sitting on my "to watch" pile, I'm now intrigued to see how I'll take to it. :)
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It's my favourite show, after all. I doubt you'll like it. :lol:
It's a well balanced show after all, so it's pretty good and capable of reaching a mainstream audience. Just not enough exposition...
 
I think Darker Than Black is one example of where some levity--in this case the dopey detective and his otaku assistant--actually works in its favour. The series until that point was perhaps in danger of taking itself a little too seriously. Like ilmaestro I prefer a consistent tone and vision, which is why I find that a lot of action-comedy stuff falls flat, but in moderation a change of pace/tone can enhance my enjoyment.

See also: the second Death Note opening.
 
Just watched The Slayers Next, 6 out of 10. Just as weird and funny as the previous series, and those random episodes in the middle were really funny, and what a nice happy and then forgotten ending.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
I think Darker Than Black is one example of where some levity--in this case the dopey detective and his otaku assistant--actually works in its favour. The series until that point was perhaps in danger of taking itself a little too seriously.
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I'm inclined to agree - although I will say that when Guy Kurosawa first appeared in that, I found the shift in tone pretty jarring.

I think it says something, though, that by the time I got to the bonus OVA episode, where the comedy elements were front and centre, I was laughing my socks off!
 
Ponyo
While interesting especially after seeing the Miasaki exhibit when I was in Japan (lots of drawings of his idea homes and villages which seem to have been the back drop for the moive) ,but not up to Ghibli's usual expected standard, plot wasn't all that much either.
6/10
 
Been watching my way through Eureka 7 Again today, first time in ages. Got up to volume 7. As before, a reasonable series with a clever subtext not entirely developed, with several extremely good episodes here and there. all in all, not bad. (7/10)

But it is still a million times better than the pile of junk Evangelion :evil:
 
Nice to see people revisiting modern classics and still enjoying them. A lot of stuff from 10-15 years ago has arguably aged a lot worse than stuff from 20-30 years ago, but Cowboy Bebop definitely stands up, imo.
 
Stuart, that first line of your post is pure gold. Pure gold. Did you watch the "Remixed" version?

I finished Arakawa Under the Bridge yesterday after way too long. I found the last three/two episodes particularly strong. This is a wacky zany lol comedy through and through, but with such a charm to it, it works. I probably wouldn't put it over the first the season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but a close second. The characters (all of them) are so understood by whoever wrote and directed it that even though it couldn't be more far-fetched, its heart is more real than I've come to expect. Animation and sound? It's freaking SHAFT. You know what to expect; visually vibrant and crisp with good audio to match. Saying that, the middle chunk of the show was a bit tiresome, so I'm giving it a 7/10. Which according to MAL is "Good".

I did also finally finish DRRR!! last week, and I've heard several complaints about the ending but I loved it. As a whole, my experience was that it started off shaky, but once it understood what it was trying to do, it never let down. I did find the first arc more intriguing, but the second arc settled down with the main trio and provided a lot of drama and resolution. 10/10.
 
Baccano - 10/10

I don't know where to begin in describing Baccano. To say it's part gangster tale and part heist movie only tells half the story; it's something you have to experience for yourself. I'm glad I went along for the ride, even if it took me a while to get around to it.

While the first few episodes are a little confusing because of the non-linear narrative structure, watching this show's interweaving stories gradually come together is a hugely rewarding experience. But it's the effortless panache with which it's all pulled off that really makes the show what it is.

Though it's nothing like Cowboy Bebop in terms of story content, it has a lot of the same qualities: a strong cast of characters, excellent animation and direction, dark humour, a similar sense of style, and sophisticated writing. Like Bebop it feels like a proper adult show even though there's plenty of (hilarious) goofing around that somehow doesn't feel out of place alongside the frequent bursts of bloody violence.

If there's a more entertaining way to spend six hours, I haven't found it yet. The OVAs will do for now.
 
Devil May Cry the series
2/10
WOW. This was bad! and i mean BAAAAAD!
There was no story up until the last 3 episodes so the first 9 episodes were just stand alone episodes and they were dull as hell. The series is nothing like the games! In the games Dante fights Hordes of enemies but in the series you have nothing like that at all, Instead we have episodes like some guy stalking Dante and him gambling which are tedious as all hell. The action scenes are almost non existent because he kills any demon instantly!!!

Overall: Its crap! One of the worst anime i have ever seen!
 
Mobile Suit Gundam - 9/10

Well what is there to say about it?

Only 9/10 because they reuse some scenes, though not NEARLY as much as Fist of the North Star.
 
Gantz 4/10

I started off being really intrigued but it just took AGES to go anywhere after the first three episodes and the writing was dire with everyone constantly shouting the obvious. I haven't seen second stage so maybe that's better but frankly I'm not gonna stick out an anime I don't like filled with characters I loathe.
 
That's exactly why I couldn't deal with the anime. The pacing is atrocious, with characters standing around yapping while others are in mortal danger. There's more chatter in Gantz than your average shounen action show.

It works much better in the manga, where you can blow through a volume in 20 minutes.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
The pacing is atrocious, with characters standing around yapping while others are in mortal danger.
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I'm glad I'm not the only person who thought this about Gantz - that aspect of it drove me to distraction. It's an incredibly frustrating anime to watch as it has some decent aspects but also has some huge flaws. Don't get me started on the ending.

Sparrowsabre, you probably made the right decision on not continuing with it: from memory I don't think the characters get any more likeable. If anything it gets even more nihilistic in its approach as well.
 
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