Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

Being afraid of something and finding it tedious are different. Being jumped on was demonstrated here where someone's opinion was attacked with no justification (since cleared up) just to make a spectacle. If someone wants to simply disagree with reasons, that's fine - I have nothing against Aion and I having completely opposite opinions on anything relating to Code Geass R2.

The problem with numerical ratings is that some people treat them as serious business and can't understand why someone who really loves Gundam (for example) might rate a Gundam show very highly, whereas someone who finds the talking heads and idealism of the series corny might shudder.

R
 
Why are you complaining as if this is something new? Just learn to deal with it instead of moaning about how you don't understand why people do things differently, Princess.
 
ilmaestro said:
How much more pleasant this page of this thread (I'm blithely assuming that everyone's forum settings mean that this exchange covers no more than a page) would have been if you had replied like that in the first place, or just said nothing at all.

To be honest, I didn't find this discussion particularly unpleasant. And neither sarcasm nor 300 word responses are uncharacteristic of anime discussion threads (come on, why pick on such petty aspects when there are juicy assertions of mine to pick apart?) and thus shouldn't have taken anything away from the debate. But oh well.


Stuart-says-yes:
Hmmm, I disagree that that's ingenious. Yes, it's an interesting altruistic way to go about resolving conflict, but I saw that coming a mile off. And the sentiment soon gets burried under a free-for-all feast of action and lots and lots (and lots) of superfluous characters running around headless. Moreover, it's interesting that you mention Geass since it uses the exact same gimmick, executed clumsier and with far more contrivance but certainly to greater emotional effect and significance. I will agree with anyone who says Gundam 00 is slick and pretty, though.

Again, my problem is not when people say 'Oh, it's a good ol' rollicking piece of fun and I enjoyed it' but when they assert it's one of the best anime. Oh, I know it looks deep - after all it's got its sombre pseudo-philosophical, faux-politics face on - but that doesn't mean it has any grasp of the concepts its toying with. It's the Arnold-Schwarzenegger-as-Governor-of-California of the anime world. Code Geass would be Sarah Palin. LOTGH is Robert McNamara crossed with Churchill and Alexander the Great. Planetes is Woodrow Wilson.

*wonders how far she could take this metaphor*
 
Professor Irony said:
AironicallyHuman said:
City Hunter is the greatest anime ever created.

This. It is effectively the anime equivalent of the A-Team.

Never watched A-Team. I have however watched Rocky 3 and know that the ULTIMATE trash-talking black guy villain is in both it and A-Team. Only a _____ could possibly dislike Rocky 1-3 and/or City Hunter... or a woman. One of the two. REAL men appreciate such manliness, without fail.

I'm ashamed of myself for not having watched City Hunter sooner; me being a huge GTO fanboy and all. Onizuka and Ryo are practically clones of each other--both managing to seduce countless ladies with their manliness, scaring away an equal amount with their perverted silliness, resisting the temptations of school girls, and always having a piercing stare/manly speech at the ready when the impossible needs doing in order to save the day.

CH's ONLY flaw, thus far, is how poorly the death of Ryo's partner was handled at the start; it being resolved - typically - in a single episode and never getting mentioned again--Ryo now getting the ecchi mallet/hammer treatment given to Akito from Sana in Kodocha by his otherwise worthless new lady partner.

Even at this early stage, I know I'm going to watch every CH offering and even start its spin-off, Angel Heart, afterward. It's THAT good. 26 episodic episodes in, and I'm still yet to be bored. I could sit and watch it for hours.

fabricatedlunatic said:
It never ceases to amaze me how anime fans manage to find gay/lesbian subtext in even the most innocent of relationships. Anyway, seeing as Christmas is supposed to be 12 or something, I'd say it's a good thing. But then I don't have Sana on my favourite character list...

It's a good show. I'm surprised I was the first to write a Kurau/Witchblade recommendation on MAL, so similar are the themes shared by the two. With you liking Witchblade, I'm not surprised that Kurau is also up your street.

I got the distinct impression Christmas was made so young in order to avoid people thinking the series promotes lesbianism. If they had been the same age, a closer than close relationship between a short-haired, useless in the kitchen tomboy and long-haired, feminine, domesticated lady would have automatically got the dirty thoughts flowing. But with them sharing a protective older sister/naive younger sister relationship, their love comes across far more purely, and there's been NOTHING whatsoever suggesting that cucumbers will be used, at a later date.

My mind is, and has been in the gutter for the longest time, yet not once have I thought, "Wow, I'm going to be able to go on e-hentai and masturbate over an older womanxinexperienced, younger girl doujin!11!" It isn't that kind of relationship. At all. I actually respect Bones' writers for not pandering to the 30-something perverts out there.

About Witchblade: when I glanced over the top two reviews on MAL, I instantly thought of it. Just like Witchblade, people go into it expecting mindless action with lots of sci-fi thrown in but, instead, get a story of love and family. In the case of Witchblade it was about the bond shared between mother and daughter, and in the case of Kurau it's the bond shared between sisters.

...in short, I agree with you comparing the two.

Rui said:
This is why these rating threads always bother me, and why I can't get along with something like MAL. Liking anime is a very personal thing, but as soon as someone seriously rates something popularly regarded as "uncool" high, or heaven forbid, does the opposite, they're jumped on. Maybe it's enjoyable to bicker about arbitrary numbers but I don't see the appeal.

I never "jumped" on Maes. If I did, I would've been far more aggressive, swore at him like a child in order to get a reaction, and not made it semi-clear I was too lazy for a discussion. I'd intended to reply to a post of his about Louise previously, neglected to do so, and thought I'd type a little when I updated my ratings.

And its popularity has nothing to do with my post. I'm kinda-sorta watching it at the mo. Maes made a lengthy review, which I skimmed through. Is that too difficult to understand?

You're being rather childish and annoying, lately. And I'm not typing that as playfully as I do when I try to annoy you by entering into message exchanges.

I understand what you're saying, and agree to a certain extent with your point, but your stance is - for want of a better word - cowardly. You can't defend your views, so rather than trying to argue, you opt to highlight the foolishness of arguing over opinion on the internet when everyone is different.

It's true, to a point, that taste makes it impossible for there to be clear 'winner' in internet arguments, and people will naturally sway towards the side their tastes are most similar to. However, when it's possible to be objective and rip a story to shreds like I could/did with Code Geass R2, then there's no denying it: it's poorly-written rubbish appreciated by the easily pleased, or those more fond of fan service and robots than anything below the surface. You can be offended by that if you wish but that's the truth. And my distaste for humanity only increases when I see plonkers 10/10ing it; ignoring ALL of its flaws.

The difference between you, me, Vivian and even Maes is the difference between this video reviewer and the average 10/10er: http://www.redlettermedia.com/

Where as you, Roy, can no doubt sit through R2, TTGL, Gundam 00, or whatever and enjoy the spectacle, I - and, going on what I've read, Vivian - can't help but rip into titles that are generic, shallow, or just plain terribly written.

When I was watching episode 8 or whatever of Gundam 00, and the ever lifeless Setsuna JUST SO HAPPENED to bump into Marina in SCOTLAND after she saw his face going in a car in the opposite direction, had her driver turn her car around with no reason, saved him without knowing his identity, and then got told the top secret identity of Mr. Setsuna, like it was nothing, I couldn't help but think how absurdly forced it was. Maes, on the other-hand, referred to it as a series highlight, if I recall.

Does that make me a better person? Probably not when most others would see me as annoyingly picky to attack something, rather than enjoy it. Even I think that I'd have more fun if my brain could just... switch off. But God didn't make me that way and there's nothing I can do about that.

My biggest problem with 00, I'd say, is the lack of anything resembling decent characterization. I don't care about a story, no matter how interesting it is, unless the characters make me care about their struggles. Code Geass, which I clearly like comparing against 00, did this from the very beginning by explaining why Lelouch hates his father so much, how much he loves his disabled little sister, etc etc. But, in 13 episodes, all I know about Setsuna is that he was a child soldier and is stoic. This may all change later on, but the damage has been done: too much of the series has gone by, and too many characters have been introduced, for it to matter if, towards the end, I start feeling SOMETHING for the cast.

I mean, just look at the purple-haired ladyboy with glasses: he acts like a **** throughout, and the reason for his selfish ****ism probably won't be explained until S2. And by then, why should I give a damn? It'd be too little, too late.

PS: Why have I now got some Scottish fella attempting to copy me? Have I finally become an internet idol?...
 
Two corrections to the above post.

1) I'm not appreciating how you lumped TTGL (transcendental fun on a stick) in with Gundam 00 (paint by numbers) and R2 ('I **** all over my discerning fans').

2) I have 'ripped into' shows maybe a handful of times e.g. Ninja Resurrection, Gigantic Formula...er... Most of the time, I make reasoned and I believe well-justified arguments. That's my job as a reviewer.

On a side note, for your own health, please give up any fantasies of 00 S2 magically improving everything. The story veers off course, purple haired wanker remains just that, they toss in a scene to emotionally manipulate everyone into caring, and there is a glut of stunning action. I suppose the one positive development is Setsuna's characterisation. I ended up liking him. Switch off your brain now to avoid damaging it and maximise enjoyment.
 
AironicallyHuman said:
I'm ashamed of myself for not having watched City Hunter sooner; me being a huge GTO fanboy and all.

I'm just amazed somebody else has actually watched it at all. In all the years since I first saw it, this is honestly the first time I've ever heard anyone mention City Hunter (other than the AWO lot).

As far as I remember, the death of Ryo's partner is slightly better dealt with in the manga. The anime is generally a little lighter in tone and blanked out any references to the criminal gang's use of PCP, which ruined a lot of the motivation in that episode.

I did see a little bit of the Angel Heart anime some ways back as well. It seemed okay, but the central idea behind it (Poss Ep1 spoiler:"I am now a better person because your dead girlfriend is my heart donor!") was kinda ridiculous and I think the show would have been better off without it. That said, if you felt Kaori was a bit useless, the assassin girl who replaces her is certainly a lot handier in a gunfight.
 
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just finished watching Desert Punk. hahahahahahahahahahaha. I'm sensing a theme with stuff by Gonzo. heehee. 8 out of 10. :)
 
I didn't mind THAT much how little attention Ryo's partner's passing got, just like the lack of back-story hasn't irritated me. I don't know about the manga but, while it's a shame if manga content was cut, the mood of CH is more lighthearted than GTO--meaning gradual character development and full-on drama would appear out of place. It's as good as an episodic series could ever hope to be, and I'm fine if it remains that way.

Sadly, Angel Heart's spoiler was given away by MAL's description. But, as you guessed, I didn't care very much because A) Kaori has no worth, B) she has short-hair, C) she lacks femininity, and D) females with short-hair and no femininity should all go die.

I can't see a spin-off measuring up to the sauce but more Ryo can't be a bad thing, and my interest in agent Angel Heart has increased after episode 26 of CH S1.

$27 on two mint CH sets = best money spent ever.

VivisQueen said:
*adds 'City Hunter' to her wtw list*

At 51 eps, I might reserve it for the summer or something.

Why, when you rated GTO 6/10, if memory serves? As poor of an adaptation as SP's anime is, as well as it being toned down, most ignorant of the manga's greatness 10/10 it.

You won't like City Hunter if you disliked GTO. The leads are way too similar; similar to the point of me now thinking Fujisawa was inspired by City Hunter to create GTO.

What you REALLY ought to be watching is Ashita no Joe. But, as per usual, you're too dumb to take my recommendations seriously; in spite of being but a learner, compared to myself. As much as I enjoyed Hajime Ippo, it's let down by sticking like glue to the overused shounen formula of a dumb, straightforward guy, lacking a personality working towards defeating his naturally skilled rival. There's even a useless, pretty much pointless girlfriend character who remains on the sidelines; never quite entering into a relationship because it adds more tension if they aren't an item.

Joe's characterization is astounding. When viewing older works, which had all their good ideas stolen from them, I don't expect characters so deeply wounded psychologically, with so much presence to exist. He values his life so little he'd take on knife-wielding Yakuza with a smile, and he's cynical and mistrustful of others to the point he steals from and insults his future love interest by suggesting her giving to the poor is no more than an act. So screwed up is he that he needs the person who cares about him the most to beat him up, in order to stop his self-destruction.

Only does it become a boxing anime AFTER his character is set in stone and made into an all-time great. And that makes the far more generic Hajime Ippo inferior.

...Oh, and you really are dumb: I was praising you for noting flaws, going on what little I've read; not being easily pleased. I wasn't saying you rant.

Btw, to be a good writer, you need to entertain. The most entertaining views are those fueled by passion, and passion is best expressed through text on a screen through anger/hatred, mixed with wit. Just sayin'...
 
I didn't dislike GTO. One of the first shows I watched (when I still gaped at cartoons depicting lechers, swearing, deviancy, and panties) and I enjoyed it greatly at the time. I barely remember much of it now except I think it ended weaker than it started. My list says 3.5/5, which translates to 7-7.5/10.

If City Hunter is just more of that, then I suppose I can forgo it for now. I am on a quest for drama, romance, action, sci-fi/fantasy of old. You know, the stuff that used to make me care.
 
VivisQueen said:
ilmaestro said:
How much more pleasant this page of this thread (I'm blithely assuming that everyone's forum settings mean that this exchange covers no more than a page) would have been if you had replied like that in the first place, or just said nothing at all.

To be honest, I didn't find this discussion particularly unpleasant. And neither sarcasm nor 300 word responses are uncharacteristic of anime discussion threads (come on, why pick on such petty aspects when there are juicy assertions of mine to pick apart?) and thus shouldn't have taken anything away from the debate. But oh well.
And being honest on my part, I was talking largely from my point of view, as I didn't think I'd been unpleasant at all, but perhaps I had also just read your initial posts the wrong way and you weren't trying to be unpleasant either. The point about the length of your post was more observational than opinionated - it was to illustate that I wasn't sure why you made such a blustery "can't be bothered to spend the energy" statement to begin with. I definitely wasn't saying it should have been a longer post, apologies if that was the impression given.

The only thing that took away from the discussion was that you made it seem like you weren't actually interested in having one. As for the assertions that you eventually made, I don't really disagree strongly enough to expand on my initial post (for example, you're weren't massively impressed by the direction in 00 - I already cited some of the scenes I think were handled a lot better than I expected, so I'd just be repeating myself. As far as Gurren Lagann is concerned, "of course" it's a 10/10 show). Let's go back to the controversial subject of "the score" in an attempt to explain - you would give the series 7.5/10 (I could be slightly wrong there)? Right, well I don't give "half point" scores when I do bother with a rating out of 10, because that's turned it into a rating out of 19, and you're moving into increasingly murky waters. So let's assume I round half marks "up" in general. 9/10 for this series could be effectively 8.5/10, and then we're arguing about a series that we have a one "point" difference on (although, as mentioned before, I think our scales are probably pretty different, so whether it's really a smaller or larger difference is unclear).

If you would really like something to disagree on and to feel intellectually insulted about, I could review K-ON!. :)
 
Professor Irony said:
ilmaestro said:
You mean the only way to improve it is to get Jackie Chan to star in it?

/may not have that quite right

Y'know, I actually thought the Jackie Chan version was okay. It doesn't bear much resemblance to the series it's supposedly an adaptation of (they even gave Kaori long hair for feck's sake), but it's still quite an entertaining little film in its own right.
I actually did quite enjoy it too, haha. Just couldn't resist the comment. ^^;

Maxon said:
Why are you complaining as if this is something new? Just learn to deal with it instead of moaning about how you don't understand why people do things differently, Princess.
Ghandi didn't earn the right to star in an eponymous movie by just "learning to deal with things". :-/
 
ilmaestro said:
...The point about the length of your post was more observational than opinionated - it was to illustate that I wasn't sure why you made such a blustery "can't be bothered to spend the energy" statement to begin with...

...Let's go back to the controversial subject of "the score" in an attempt to explain - you would give the series 7.5/10 (I could be slightly wrong there)? Right, well I don't give "half point" scores when I do bother with a rating out of 10, because that's turned it into a rating out of 19, and you're moving into increasingly murky waters. So let's assume I round half marks "up" in general. 9/10 for this series could be effectively 8.5/10, and then we're arguing about a series that we have a one "point" difference on (although, as mentioned before, I think our scales are probably pretty different, so whether it's really a smaller or larger difference is unclear)

1) In my first post, I genuinely couldn't be bothered except to express my disagreement with such an exceptional rating. Then Rui's post evoked a gut response, which gave me all the energy I needed to write subsequent multi-paragraph replies. In short, I merely changed my mind on a whim.

2) Your ratings argument is pretty shaky. You never mentioned anything about rounding up or down, you just said straight out 9/10. And why are we 'assuming' you're rounding up and not down (making it 'effectively' 9.5)? Now, my review rating for the first season is 7.5, for the second season 7. Overall, the series would get a 7 from me, which is comfortably above average but clearly indicates that it's far from the absolute greatest shows like 9/10 or even 8.5/10 do.

But yeah, I think at this point our discussion's collapsing into pure number crunching. Let's stop before we hurt our valuable AUKN reputations.

3) Wait, what?? Dude, TTGL is so NOT a 10/10 show! What the hell?
 
VivisQueen said:
But yeah, I think at this point our discussion's collapsing into pure number crunching.
Exactly. Although I would say we've actually managed to avoid that, and it was only the meta-discussion that reached that stage.
 
I don't want to get Roy's pant(ie?)s in a twist once more, but does no-one else see the foolishness in arguing with a guy whose favourite anime is DBZ and favourite manga is DB? Taste and objectivity discussions never end well with such people.

When a person glances at my favourites, they can't help but realize how my rating system is both fair and flawless. But not everyone can be like me.

TTGL's fanatical lovefest is beyond my comprehension. It's supposed to be some kind of homage to ancient robot shows children adore, or something, but it has ONE character of worth; a character who dies after eight episodes. After that, the flame is briefly kept burning by an emo... and then everything goes to **** shortly after the halfway stage. Characters get killed off all at once in a God awful attempt at making people care (...which worked, 'cause people are ******* dumbfucks), planets get thrown around like American footballs, and then it ends.

The show might as well have ended once manly-man died, 'cause an emo has no chance of replacing such a character. The same is true of Rainbow; the 1950's, robo-less version of TTGL.
 
Ushio & Tora - 6/10

Whenever I revisit a show I loved in my younger days, there's always a chance that I'll realize it wasn't as good as I remembered. Ushio & Tora is one of those shows.

Not that it's bad--far from it--but this 10-episode adaptation of a loooong running manga never has the chance to really get going. Part buddy show and part supernatural action show, the straightforward stories carry heavy-handed messages about justice, friendship, and environmentalism, mostly through the idealistic Ushio--and while it seems sincere enough, it's all a bit cheesy for my liking.

On the plus side, the interplay between short tempered shrine kid Ushio and short tempered tiger-esque monster Tora (get it?!?!!1 lololol) never fails to entertain, both vowing to kill one another when the time is right but never missing the opportunity to bail the other out of any trouble they happen to be in. The few side characters are well developed enough, and the occasionally shocking violence gives it an edge.
 
Well, as I got the last Season 1 DVD for Christmas, and I've planned to watch each disc a day, I'll review Gundam 00 - 1 disc at a time. I've already seen both seasons (just need to see the movie), but let's take another look.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 - Episodes 1-5:
As much as I love the show, I will say this - The first five episodes are nowhere as awesome as the latter half of the season, or the entirety of Second Season. One thing that instantly hits me as a problem is the large cast of characters, and how all of them have to be introduced - some of them not even playing a significant role until season 2.

First thing I have to get off my chest is: I don't like Setsuna. I never have. Tieria, in these first episodes, comes off as a know-it-all brat; the only Gundam meisters that I can really grow attached to at this point are Lockon Stratos and Allelujah Haptism. I've always felt an affinity for Lockon; possibly because in FPS games I'm always a Sniper, and he comes across as the more "mature" of the Gundam meisters. Sumeragi shows both her intelligence and human side in these few episodes, which is great, and for some reason, I really like the way her hair is drawn. Shame that in these first five episodes, the only non-Gundam Meister member of Celestial Being were get more than a couple of lines from is Sumeragi.

I can definitely feel the post 9/11 attitude that the writers were going for, but I feel that somethings were a bit force fed to make Celestial Being seem super-special-awesome so early on, like the Real IRA ceasing activities. Obviously, we'd all like to see that happen, but I doubt it would due to some interventions in a completely different part of the world.

I can still never really get why Saji Crossroad and Louise Halevy were in the story at all. Even in season 2, I don't remember them really being that useful. Saji is the Hanataro of Gundam 00.

The start of Season 1 is definitely one that you should marathon; because at this point, it's hard to keep your attention.

So far, I'd have to give these episodes a 7/10. Not that it's bad (The series is one of my favourites), but the later episodes are much better.

Well, my episodes 6-9 DVD is waiting for me to press my play button, so I'll come back with my opinions on them =3
 
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