Rate the Last Anime You Watched Out of 10
- Thread starter Aion
- Start date
fabricatedlunatic said:
Do they make much of an effort to recreate the era it's set in? From the screencaps I saw when it came out, my impression was that, despite being set in '86, it didn't look much different from a series set in the present day.
Reevothemusefan
Vampire Ninja
Professor Irony said:
Thats true and your pretty right to say that, I think the only 80's things I remember seeing were cassette players and tapes. So there isn't really much in the anime to set it apart from the present. I haven't watch it for a while so correct me if i'm wrong.
rory_okane
Completely Average High School Student
Here's the thing - I've only ever watched one anime that I didn't enjoy, and that was Oh! My Godess! The rest I've loved, so my reviews tend to be a bit same-ish.
So, as the last one I watched was Lucky Star (subbed), I'll go with that.
I'm giving it an 8 out of 10, as the artwork is good, the characters are cute and their personalities well thought out (if perhaps a little uni-dimensional), the music, whilst not stunning, works well with the scenes, especially when Kana-chan breaks the mood of a given scene, and the music goes flat or stops abruptly. It's generally cleverly used - like the fanfare that plays when Konata goes off on a rant about Komiket or her MMO, or the "aieea, aieea" which pretty much becomes the leitmotif for otaku moments.
It's also very funny (Konata singing the DBZ theme "Cha la, Head Cha la" in the ending credits, anyone?), and the number of references to other anime is enough to make any anime fan smirk with guilty otaku pleasure.
The only downside is a lack of an overarching story line - I think it'd have made sense (given that by the end of the series the girls are in their last year of high school) to have the series end when the girls actually finish school, rather than leaving the ending at some indeterminate date in term-time. A second series would be great.
Right, there it is. Rated and justified. No flames plz.
So, as the last one I watched was Lucky Star (subbed), I'll go with that.
I'm giving it an 8 out of 10, as the artwork is good, the characters are cute and their personalities well thought out (if perhaps a little uni-dimensional), the music, whilst not stunning, works well with the scenes, especially when Kana-chan breaks the mood of a given scene, and the music goes flat or stops abruptly. It's generally cleverly used - like the fanfare that plays when Konata goes off on a rant about Komiket or her MMO, or the "aieea, aieea" which pretty much becomes the leitmotif for otaku moments.
It's also very funny (Konata singing the DBZ theme "Cha la, Head Cha la" in the ending credits, anyone?), and the number of references to other anime is enough to make any anime fan smirk with guilty otaku pleasure.
The only downside is a lack of an overarching story line - I think it'd have made sense (given that by the end of the series the girls are in their last year of high school) to have the series end when the girls actually finish school, rather than leaving the ending at some indeterminate date in term-time. A second series would be great.
Right, there it is. Rated and justified. No flames plz.
Your conection is so slow you can't stream in 360p?Sparrowsabre7 said:
CRs normally better than youtube for this. You are starting your youtube vids straight away with no buffer, correct. CRs player will not let you buffer very much, it makes videos easier to rip.
It does just sound like your internet is far to slow to stream video, unless that was on an older version of their player.
fabio de lunatico
The Wildcard
Yeah. You can tell it's the 80s more by the things that don't exist (or were uncommon), such as computers and mobile phones, than anything that does. The characters all have perfectly straight, normal hair (no backcombing or crazy 'dos) and reasonable dress sense.Reevothemusefan said:
Blast it, the '80s looked like this:
and I will set the boomers on anyone who suggests otherwise.
Seriously though, I'm not suggesting it all has to be legwarmers and massive hair, but I do appreciate a bit of period detail in these things.
and I will set the boomers on anyone who suggests otherwise.
Seriously though, I'm not suggesting it all has to be legwarmers and massive hair, but I do appreciate a bit of period detail in these things.
Sparrowsabre7
Za Warudo
Reaper gI said:
*shrug* Maybe my net was just a bad connection that day (week). I haven't tried it again so it could be fine now.
rory_okane said:It's also very funny (Konata singing the DBZ theme "Cha la, Head Cha la" in the ending credits, anyone?), and the number of references to other anime is enough to make any anime fan smirk with guilty otaku pleasure.
The only downside is a lack of an overarching story line - I think it'd have made sense (given that by the end of the series the girls are in their last year of high school) to have the series end when the girls actually finish school, rather than leaving the ending at some indeterminate date in term-time. A second series would be great.
Right, there it is. Rated and justified. No flames plz.
It's ongoing they have graduated highschool and it still hasn't ended yet. The anime doesn't get that far through the manga it's the first 2-3 volumes, if that.
Most LS references are to games not anime (there's Gundam, Marimite, Haruhi, and FMP (and the EDs)). Konata is a, mostly, game otaku. It's from the games mag Comptiq, also has chapters in Comp Ace(also games), Gundam Ace (self explantory), Kadokawa's catalouge to book buyers (not public, they put the chapters in volume 5), and the catalogue for Gamers.
It's great as a self parody; giving Tsukasa ToHeart cosplay, Kagami's name also being readable as Kyou were awsome. Tsukasa is a clone of Kamigishi Akari (probaly the most copied character after Ayanami Rei), Kagami is NOT (lol) a clone a Fujibayashi Kyou (she first apears almost exactly when CLANNAD was released).
Yosuga no Sora (dropped after first EP) 0/10
Plot: kill it with fire!
Characters: kill them with fire!
Music: kill it with fire!
Animation: not bad par se, but I dislike 6/10, oh wait I forgot the ED: Kill it with fire!
Kill it with fire, seriouly burn all the production art for the show, don't even air episode 2 and pretend it never happened.
I hate this more than Chu Bra (which I dropped after 5 minutes), and even the English dub of G Gundam (where I had to be restrained from head-wall, and cursed the creators with a long long list of possibly incurable life thereatening diseases).
I like moe shows, I accept this as being unbearable moe cancer and hope I never hear of it again.
Plot: kill it with fire!
Characters: kill them with fire!
Music: kill it with fire!
Animation: not bad par se, but I dislike 6/10, oh wait I forgot the ED: Kill it with fire!
Kill it with fire, seriouly burn all the production art for the show, don't even air episode 2 and pretend it never happened.
I hate this more than Chu Bra (which I dropped after 5 minutes), and even the English dub of G Gundam (where I had to be restrained from head-wall, and cursed the creators with a long long list of possibly incurable life thereatening diseases).
I like moe shows, I accept this as being unbearable moe cancer and hope I never hear of it again.
fabio de lunatico
The Wildcard
If you like drama of the car crash/train wreck variety, you'll almost certainly like White Album. Also required is a certain tolerance for characters who do stupid things; as a self-sabotaging emotional wreck I find I'm able to empathize more easily than some, but your mileage may vary =Pilmaestro said:
Occult Academy
There’s plenty to like about this show: the characters and their designs are immensely appealing, while the animation often displays impressive production values for a TV series and neat little touches on occasion (Maya’s warped facial expressions of rage being a particular highlight).
At the same time though the execution of the story and general direction felt sloppy and at times plain silly. It’s a show about magic for certain, but shoving the occult, pseudo sci-fi, aliens and time travel into the space of 12 episodes stretches plausibility perhaps a little too far in this case. The series is definitely at its best when it’s not taking its self seriously, the moments of OTT humour largely being what kept me watching. When it’s aiming for laughs it usual succeeds.
Sadly the same can’t be said of the more serious or emotional parts, which - with a few exceptions such as Fumiaki’s repressed childhood and some standout moments with Maya – feel forced and overly sentimental. Most of the ending was a letdown too, unleashing a slew of predictable twists in the last few episodes. There was a final turn in the story that proved quite interesting, but as with much of the show it’s never explored properly and feels like wasted potential.
In summary, it’s an enjoyable mess. Frequently entertaining and funny, but rarely anything more.
6/10
Highschool of the Dead
I kept feeling this anime had a split personality disorder. On the one hand it presents thrilling drama and action in a zombie apocalypse scenario, on the other it assaults your senses with a barrage of panties and sleeze. Perhaps I'm simply becoming more jaded towards the ero aspects of anime, but I couldn't shake the feeling it detracted from the atmosphere and tension at almost every turn.
Aside from this there's a surprising amount to praise: slick well directed animation, effective use of sound and music along with some brutal moments of human cruelty and greed which typically inhabit the zombie genre. It's the tense life and death moments that really make the show and there was at least one genuinely chilling moment towards the end (a nuclear strike is a terrifying prospect, zombies or not).
The ending is blatantly left open for a second season, but taken as a halfway point this isn't so bad. It entertained me just as much as it frustrated, and I'd definitely like to see more.
7/10
There’s plenty to like about this show: the characters and their designs are immensely appealing, while the animation often displays impressive production values for a TV series and neat little touches on occasion (Maya’s warped facial expressions of rage being a particular highlight).
At the same time though the execution of the story and general direction felt sloppy and at times plain silly. It’s a show about magic for certain, but shoving the occult, pseudo sci-fi, aliens and time travel into the space of 12 episodes stretches plausibility perhaps a little too far in this case. The series is definitely at its best when it’s not taking its self seriously, the moments of OTT humour largely being what kept me watching. When it’s aiming for laughs it usual succeeds.
Sadly the same can’t be said of the more serious or emotional parts, which - with a few exceptions such as Fumiaki’s repressed childhood and some standout moments with Maya – feel forced and overly sentimental. Most of the ending was a letdown too, unleashing a slew of predictable twists in the last few episodes. There was a final turn in the story that proved quite interesting, but as with much of the show it’s never explored properly and feels like wasted potential.
In summary, it’s an enjoyable mess. Frequently entertaining and funny, but rarely anything more.
6/10
Highschool of the Dead
I kept feeling this anime had a split personality disorder. On the one hand it presents thrilling drama and action in a zombie apocalypse scenario, on the other it assaults your senses with a barrage of panties and sleeze. Perhaps I'm simply becoming more jaded towards the ero aspects of anime, but I couldn't shake the feeling it detracted from the atmosphere and tension at almost every turn.
Aside from this there's a surprising amount to praise: slick well directed animation, effective use of sound and music along with some brutal moments of human cruelty and greed which typically inhabit the zombie genre. It's the tense life and death moments that really make the show and there was at least one genuinely chilling moment towards the end (a nuclear strike is a terrifying prospect, zombies or not).
The ending is blatantly left open for a second season, but taken as a halfway point this isn't so bad. It entertained me just as much as it frustrated, and I'd definitely like to see more.
7/10
Last edited by a moderator:
ilmaestro
State Alchemist
I think you missed the entire narrative buildup of the show. It was set up so that you could, if you thought about it, work out what was going on.Wildcard said:
Unless you mean the sudden genre change, which if you saw that coming I would also like to ask for this week's lotto numbers. ^^;
ilmaestro said:
True, but there's a fine line between dropping clues and making it obvious. I didn't miss the narrative momentum and there's nothing wrong with foreshadowing in a story, however things like the strong emphasis placed on Mikaze and her relationship to Fumiaki or Chihiro's suspicious behaviour struck me as being a little too heavy handed, while the payoff just didn't seem worthwhile. I can't say I saw the genre change coming, but it was frankly the biggest problem with show. It tried to follow an occult horror plotline, while also dabbling in sci-fi aspects it failed to implement with any real conviction.
The final episode did almost deliver though as Fumiaki's backstory and childhood were probably the most interesting part of the show, the rest just fell flat for me I'm afraid.
Giant Killing 8.5/10
I personally don't like football normally, if at all. I may watch the national team from time to time, but that's it. It comes across as generally boring and...just meh. So i kinda went into this feeling i'd feel the same, i actually ended up enjoying it a lot.
Characters where pretty colourful, and for a full football team, reporters, coach and so on, i think that's quite an achievement. Comparing it to some other series with fairly sizeable casts, it's done a much better job in fleshing each one out, not too much, but just enough. Of course, the series itself only covers a small bit of the manga(i think), so there is a lot that will still be covered, but for this, it was just right. Tatsumi just hits me as some form of genius, and never actually shows off about it. He always seems like an air-head or too care-free, but somehow ends up knowing what, when, how and why something happens.
The main bit of course, the matches. These where brilliantly laid out, though my only problem i had was that perhaps the Osaka match was a little too long. I dunno if Giant Killing was always set out as 26 eps, but it felt like it could have been slightly shorter if the series was set to continue past it. Saying that, the match itself was a rollercoster of a ride, and kept bringing me back into watch it. It was that "what exactly will happen next" kind of thing, where you really didn't know how it'd play out, or in some bits, you knew, but not exactly when and in what way. This was no doubt thanks to how it covered the player mentality, something you don't see in a regular match on TV. Delving into the players thoughts as the match goes on, to me, just added to it.
As for the minor things, the music did work well, opening and such had that football feel to it, and the animation was nice, though i guess i wasn't too sure about the CG bits in the matches, but there we go. Would this make me watch more football? no. Would this make me watch another season of Giant Killing and maybe look into more Sports based anime/manga? yes. If others can give a more in depth look to a series, either shounen-like, slice-of-life style or otherwise, i'd be more inclined to try it now.
I personally don't like football normally, if at all. I may watch the national team from time to time, but that's it. It comes across as generally boring and...just meh. So i kinda went into this feeling i'd feel the same, i actually ended up enjoying it a lot.
Characters where pretty colourful, and for a full football team, reporters, coach and so on, i think that's quite an achievement. Comparing it to some other series with fairly sizeable casts, it's done a much better job in fleshing each one out, not too much, but just enough. Of course, the series itself only covers a small bit of the manga(i think), so there is a lot that will still be covered, but for this, it was just right. Tatsumi just hits me as some form of genius, and never actually shows off about it. He always seems like an air-head or too care-free, but somehow ends up knowing what, when, how and why something happens.
The main bit of course, the matches. These where brilliantly laid out, though my only problem i had was that perhaps the Osaka match was a little too long. I dunno if Giant Killing was always set out as 26 eps, but it felt like it could have been slightly shorter if the series was set to continue past it. Saying that, the match itself was a rollercoster of a ride, and kept bringing me back into watch it. It was that "what exactly will happen next" kind of thing, where you really didn't know how it'd play out, or in some bits, you knew, but not exactly when and in what way. This was no doubt thanks to how it covered the player mentality, something you don't see in a regular match on TV. Delving into the players thoughts as the match goes on, to me, just added to it.
As for the minor things, the music did work well, opening and such had that football feel to it, and the animation was nice, though i guess i wasn't too sure about the CG bits in the matches, but there we go. Would this make me watch more football? no. Would this make me watch another season of Giant Killing and maybe look into more Sports based anime/manga? yes. If others can give a more in depth look to a series, either shounen-like, slice-of-life style or otherwise, i'd be more inclined to try it now.
Aion
Chuunibyou
Giant Killing struck me as boring, and somewhat odd. I just couldn't get into a Japanese take on English football. Without psychological duels like in One Outs, it seemed too... bland and straightforward to stick with, so I didn't.
/helpful comment end
Due to being inactive, I haven't posted in this thread in, like, forever. I have, however, finished a lot of anime; rating, tag-reviewing and making the odd forum post on MAL. I'm too lazy to C&P and/or type at length, but here are SOME of the titles:
Touch: 7.5/10
Close to 10/10 throughout the opening 1-27 section. The childhood love triangle allowed for most romance cliches to be avoided, and Adachi's a MASTER at creating lovable but believable 2D ladies. But, after the early tragedy, the main relationship didn't progress AT ALL throughout the remainder of the series, and there wasn't even a conclusion. I stuck with it because the start had made me LOVE Minami, and the baseball was fairly intense, but it became something of a chore, eventually... and Tatsuya made me want to punch him the longer the series went on. Seriously: what sort of teenage guy places a plot-device in a room he shares with the girl he loves to avoid sex? I'm unsure if to classify him as moronic or slightly gay; much like anal-master Fabio.
Cross Game: 7-7.5/10
Not the perfected version of Touch I had envisioned. Unlike Touch, there was no build-up to the tragedy that shaped the rest of the story, and that left it seeming like a far more empty version of Touch. And the 'romance' was executed so badly that I'm not even sure if romance should be one of CG's genre. The baseball was generally better than Touch's, the supporting characters were likable, and it looked nice... but it became just as fillerized as Touch once a clone of the deceased JUST HAPPENED to move in next door to the lead, and it even lacked a conclusion - just like ALL of Adachi's work. Only close to Touch's rating because it lasted half as long.
Kimagure Orange Road: 7.7.5/10
For a 50ish episode series, the fact that the important bits only got covered in the two movie-sequels says a lot bad about what is, ultimately, a silly romantic comedy. The love triangle was ruined by one-third being an annoying plot device from hell, too. But there was something insanely attractive about the heroine, Madoka; her truly having the "adult allure" mentioned by the spineless lead, Kyousuke, and that kept me coming back for more episodic silliness, until the end. The episodes dedicated to Kyousuke going into a trance/trying to have his way with Madoka were great - them highlighting how soon the story could have ended, had Kyousuke not been a spineless idiot, as well as making Madoka cute.
Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning - 9-9.5/10
I expected another 'Miss Lonely Yesterday' of Touch infamy. I got my all-time favourite anime movie.
Summer's Beginning differed from what came before in the sense it gave me exactly what I wanted and didn't include what irked me previously. It left me completely satisfied. No never-ending stream of rom-com silliness; no stalking plot device to stop the lovin'; no old school clumps of hair. The film was based on a light novel written by someone with actual writing talent... unlike KOR proper, and the difference between the tone of this and the older KOR entries was light and day. Sex became a casual thing and even Hikaru's character got rewritten to the point where she had believability AND likability. Even the sci-fi aspect got used to great effect, allowing Kyousuke to jump to the future and interact with an older version of himself; receiving 'virginity losing' support from his experienced self, and teased by an even more womanly Madoka. The love hotel bit at the end made me end what had been a great experience on a very happy note.
Maison Ikkoku: 8-8.5/10
Maison Ikkoku is, arguably, the best romance story in existence. I knew this already, based on my faded manga memories from yesteryear. But if I ever doubted my hazy memories then watching the anime reaffirmed my love. Somehow - and I honestly have no idea HOW I managed it - I went on TWO 30 episode marathons; even though I knew the story already. That says it all, really. I was very impressed with Kyoko's voice acting (the "I... HATE YOU!" scene was PERFECT!) and the extra emotion inserted into the drama by the emotional, shimmery eyes - episode 60 managing to actually draw a tear or two out of me. What spoiled my fun was how Kyoko lead-on Mitaka, even though she never loved him/her double standards and the anime cutting out one of the best scenes in the manga (the love hotel/erection struggle bit), as well as numerous lines of Kyoko after that that highlighted how deep her affections for Godai were. In the end, I felt forced to go lower than my manga 9/10 score, after re-reading the final three volumes of the manga after finishing.
One Outs: 8-8.5/10
Touch/Cross Game/H2/Adachi had already helped me get into animated baseball. And, after going through those titles, the prospect of baseball mixed with Death Note was too hard to resist.
From start to finish, the intensity level NEVER lowered. Whether Toua was introducing himself by out-witting characters who would later become his team-mates or managing to win against the fastest base runner in the world (lol @ the American 'Oh, ****!' guy) with average-speed fastballs, it was totally gripping. Information about Toua's character/characterization wasn't even needed - as long as the reader/viewer knew he was a genius who'd win against anyone by using his brain, nothing else was needed. Even when playing the role of player-manager for his team, as well as taking on both the opposing team AND his team's owner, no-one could stop him - a pitcher with only fastballs - because of how easily he could read and disturb the minds of others. The only reason it isn't a 9/10 is because the full, 20 volume story wasn't animated - leaving it incomplete.
Kaiji: 8.5-9/10
Another psychological thriller and another example of Madhouse's excellence. My new #9 anime.
Kaiji differs from its psychological thriller brethren for one very simple, easy to understand reason: its titular lead isn't a perfect genius. In fact, he's a good-for-nothing bum who slashes wheels in his spare time. But all that changes when he gets tricked into going on what he thinks is a 'ship of hope' for those in debt. In reality, it's a ship for the scum of society to gamble against each other; the losers getting sold into slavery and losing it all. From this point onwards, Kaiji has to evolve as a person or die as he quickly learns about the true nature of friendship through betrayal after betrayal. The three games - two of which being no more than simple card games - provided thrill after thrill because of how superbly fear and the human mind were examined; the conversations being amazingly intense as the players tore into each other verbally. Much like with One Outs before it, all that let Kaiji down was its story ending incomplete; requiring a sequel.
School Days: 7.5/10
I've long grown tired of seeing a dumbfcuk, averagely average lead form a harem - multiple girls throwing themselves at the dumbfcuk - and *SOMEHOW* the lead managing to save himself for the one he loves. And my tiredness is linked into why School Days is so great: because, if there is such a thing, it's the most realistic harem title ever created.
It starts out cutely enough; the typical dumbfcuk lead, Makoto, finding himself in a love-love relationship with a big-breasted girl he lusted after, via some help from a girl he'd just got to know. But once good ol' Makoto realized the big-breasted chick wasn't going to put-out with ease, he forgot about her/stopped caring - going back on his 'love' confession - and happily played 'hide the sausage' repeatedly with the girl who hooked him up with the big-breasted chick; her being an easy lay. After this point, the series is all about the psychological breakdown of the big-breasted chick as she's bullied, isolated, called a liar and other nice things happen to her, while Makoto somehow manages to screw every chick at his school... eventually blaming one for ruining his life after his seed managed to hit the target.
...I can't say any more for spoiler reasons, but Makoto's actions up until the final episode and what happened in the final episode left me feeling very satisfied, and made the suffering all worth it. Screwed up, yeah, but he had it coming from the moment he complained about being tired of the big-breasted chick after she wouldn't let him into her panties straight away.
/helpful comment end
Due to being inactive, I haven't posted in this thread in, like, forever. I have, however, finished a lot of anime; rating, tag-reviewing and making the odd forum post on MAL. I'm too lazy to C&P and/or type at length, but here are SOME of the titles:
Touch: 7.5/10
Close to 10/10 throughout the opening 1-27 section. The childhood love triangle allowed for most romance cliches to be avoided, and Adachi's a MASTER at creating lovable but believable 2D ladies. But, after the early tragedy, the main relationship didn't progress AT ALL throughout the remainder of the series, and there wasn't even a conclusion. I stuck with it because the start had made me LOVE Minami, and the baseball was fairly intense, but it became something of a chore, eventually... and Tatsuya made me want to punch him the longer the series went on. Seriously: what sort of teenage guy places a plot-device in a room he shares with the girl he loves to avoid sex? I'm unsure if to classify him as moronic or slightly gay; much like anal-master Fabio.
Cross Game: 7-7.5/10
Not the perfected version of Touch I had envisioned. Unlike Touch, there was no build-up to the tragedy that shaped the rest of the story, and that left it seeming like a far more empty version of Touch. And the 'romance' was executed so badly that I'm not even sure if romance should be one of CG's genre. The baseball was generally better than Touch's, the supporting characters were likable, and it looked nice... but it became just as fillerized as Touch once a clone of the deceased JUST HAPPENED to move in next door to the lead, and it even lacked a conclusion - just like ALL of Adachi's work. Only close to Touch's rating because it lasted half as long.
Kimagure Orange Road: 7.7.5/10
For a 50ish episode series, the fact that the important bits only got covered in the two movie-sequels says a lot bad about what is, ultimately, a silly romantic comedy. The love triangle was ruined by one-third being an annoying plot device from hell, too. But there was something insanely attractive about the heroine, Madoka; her truly having the "adult allure" mentioned by the spineless lead, Kyousuke, and that kept me coming back for more episodic silliness, until the end. The episodes dedicated to Kyousuke going into a trance/trying to have his way with Madoka were great - them highlighting how soon the story could have ended, had Kyousuke not been a spineless idiot, as well as making Madoka cute.
Kimagure Orange Road: Summer's Beginning - 9-9.5/10
I expected another 'Miss Lonely Yesterday' of Touch infamy. I got my all-time favourite anime movie.
Summer's Beginning differed from what came before in the sense it gave me exactly what I wanted and didn't include what irked me previously. It left me completely satisfied. No never-ending stream of rom-com silliness; no stalking plot device to stop the lovin'; no old school clumps of hair. The film was based on a light novel written by someone with actual writing talent... unlike KOR proper, and the difference between the tone of this and the older KOR entries was light and day. Sex became a casual thing and even Hikaru's character got rewritten to the point where she had believability AND likability. Even the sci-fi aspect got used to great effect, allowing Kyousuke to jump to the future and interact with an older version of himself; receiving 'virginity losing' support from his experienced self, and teased by an even more womanly Madoka. The love hotel bit at the end made me end what had been a great experience on a very happy note.
Maison Ikkoku: 8-8.5/10
Maison Ikkoku is, arguably, the best romance story in existence. I knew this already, based on my faded manga memories from yesteryear. But if I ever doubted my hazy memories then watching the anime reaffirmed my love. Somehow - and I honestly have no idea HOW I managed it - I went on TWO 30 episode marathons; even though I knew the story already. That says it all, really. I was very impressed with Kyoko's voice acting (the "I... HATE YOU!" scene was PERFECT!) and the extra emotion inserted into the drama by the emotional, shimmery eyes - episode 60 managing to actually draw a tear or two out of me. What spoiled my fun was how Kyoko lead-on Mitaka, even though she never loved him/her double standards and the anime cutting out one of the best scenes in the manga (the love hotel/erection struggle bit), as well as numerous lines of Kyoko after that that highlighted how deep her affections for Godai were. In the end, I felt forced to go lower than my manga 9/10 score, after re-reading the final three volumes of the manga after finishing.
One Outs: 8-8.5/10
Touch/Cross Game/H2/Adachi had already helped me get into animated baseball. And, after going through those titles, the prospect of baseball mixed with Death Note was too hard to resist.
From start to finish, the intensity level NEVER lowered. Whether Toua was introducing himself by out-witting characters who would later become his team-mates or managing to win against the fastest base runner in the world (lol @ the American 'Oh, ****!' guy) with average-speed fastballs, it was totally gripping. Information about Toua's character/characterization wasn't even needed - as long as the reader/viewer knew he was a genius who'd win against anyone by using his brain, nothing else was needed. Even when playing the role of player-manager for his team, as well as taking on both the opposing team AND his team's owner, no-one could stop him - a pitcher with only fastballs - because of how easily he could read and disturb the minds of others. The only reason it isn't a 9/10 is because the full, 20 volume story wasn't animated - leaving it incomplete.
Kaiji: 8.5-9/10
Another psychological thriller and another example of Madhouse's excellence. My new #9 anime.
Kaiji differs from its psychological thriller brethren for one very simple, easy to understand reason: its titular lead isn't a perfect genius. In fact, he's a good-for-nothing bum who slashes wheels in his spare time. But all that changes when he gets tricked into going on what he thinks is a 'ship of hope' for those in debt. In reality, it's a ship for the scum of society to gamble against each other; the losers getting sold into slavery and losing it all. From this point onwards, Kaiji has to evolve as a person or die as he quickly learns about the true nature of friendship through betrayal after betrayal. The three games - two of which being no more than simple card games - provided thrill after thrill because of how superbly fear and the human mind were examined; the conversations being amazingly intense as the players tore into each other verbally. Much like with One Outs before it, all that let Kaiji down was its story ending incomplete; requiring a sequel.
School Days: 7.5/10
I've long grown tired of seeing a dumbfcuk, averagely average lead form a harem - multiple girls throwing themselves at the dumbfcuk - and *SOMEHOW* the lead managing to save himself for the one he loves. And my tiredness is linked into why School Days is so great: because, if there is such a thing, it's the most realistic harem title ever created.
It starts out cutely enough; the typical dumbfcuk lead, Makoto, finding himself in a love-love relationship with a big-breasted girl he lusted after, via some help from a girl he'd just got to know. But once good ol' Makoto realized the big-breasted chick wasn't going to put-out with ease, he forgot about her/stopped caring - going back on his 'love' confession - and happily played 'hide the sausage' repeatedly with the girl who hooked him up with the big-breasted chick; her being an easy lay. After this point, the series is all about the psychological breakdown of the big-breasted chick as she's bullied, isolated, called a liar and other nice things happen to her, while Makoto somehow manages to screw every chick at his school... eventually blaming one for ruining his life after his seed managed to hit the target.
...I can't say any more for spoiler reasons, but Makoto's actions up until the final episode and what happened in the final episode left me feeling very satisfied, and made the suffering all worth it. Screwed up, yeah, but he had it coming from the moment he complained about being tired of the big-breasted chick after she wouldn't let him into her panties straight away.