Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

Kaede said:
Stand Alone Complex (Eps. 1-6) - Still undecided on this one. It's clear it's not a patch on the Oshii movie though. It's ugly to look at, the storylines are confusing and explained away with nonsense technobabble and I'm left wondering why the major runs around in a swimsuit most episodes.
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I found the storylines in SAC pretty straightforward, but then I love most of the political, philosophical and technological themes it touches on. I certainly don't think there's much which could be classed as nonsense technobabble; for the most part it does all make sense, even the anticipated technological advances.

The swimsuit was about being faithful to the manga, but personally I'm not a fan either. Kusanagi's outfit is the one major change (pun... not originally intended, but I like it) I would make to SAC.
 
I recall vaguely following the episodic content, often losing it once the in-anime terms started getting thrown around. (Random: I hate sci-fi - especially those with spaceships - purely because of all the meaningless, often confusing control room chatter. "Set warp zone to yankie-alpha-delta-bingo-bongo-dango, NOW!!!")

The only time it became truly headache inducing was during the Laughing Man saga, iirc. I was more bothered by the heroine in a serious story, with a serious business job dressing like a cheap hooker.

As for the movie, its main problem was being a typically boring Osshi flick- containing lifeless characters, philosophical babbling and lots of scenery shots. It all became a bit too much during the last stretch when the focus switched from action to non-stop, mind-numbing philosophical babbling. But, on the plus side, it was more survivable than Patlabor 2 - at least I never fell asleep repeatedly during GitS!!
 
I'm not the most perceptive viewer so there are episodes of SAC (both seasons) that flew right over my head, even when I went back to revisiting them, others I kind of watched not getting, then there's a 2 minute sequence or something right before the end of the episode where the whole thing was just waiting for that revelation/plot device/pay off. That kind of made me go 'wow.'

So for me I enjoyed GitS, but favouring the Stand-alone episodes over the Complex ones.
 
Red Garden - 8/10

Proof (if it were ever needed) that I'm better off trusting in my own instincts...

Red Garden is an impressive teen drama/horror series set in a vividly realized New York. Thanks to some strong characterization and writing it does the drama a lot better, though the horror elements are by no means terrible.

The story requires some suspension of disbelief right off the bat: the body of a young girl named Lisa is found, the cause apparently suicide--the latest of many such cases. Four female friends of the dead girl, all with very different backgrounds and with nothing to connect them but Lisa and the school they attend, have no recollection whatsoever of the night she died. Shortly afterwards all four girls are compelled by an unknown force to gather at the same place, where they're told that their bodies aren't their own; they're actually dead and must fight monstrous creatures in order to regain their lives.

But it's all a bit goofy because those monstrous creatures are actually feral humans and not especially scary. Not to me, at least, but then I don't have to fight them. The girls, however, are left with little choice: fight and live, or don't and die (for reals this time). And thus the series becomes more about how they cope with the horror of their situation; initially they must overcome their reluctance to kill, and later deal with other ways in which their lives are affected--and not only are these problems easily relatable, the characters are believable and very human.

It's a throughly enjoyable ride, though not one without a few issues. Elements of the plot, especially those relating to the curse, are not as well explained as they should be, leaving the viewer to fill in some blanks. And the whole police investigation is entirely without consequence; it could have been removed completely without affecting the plot in any way. The worst offence, however, was how in the early part of the series the characters would act as though they were in a musical and start singing. Badly. Mercifully it seems someone on the creative staff realized this was a bad idea, and it stopped happening after episode 8 or thereabouts.

Without a doubt I wouldn't have enjoyed Red Garden so much if not for the visuals. Even though the show doesn't seem to have a very impressive budget, it doesn't matter because the cracks are papered over with some gorgeous design work. The characters remind me of something Homer Simpson said about David Schwimmer: they're attractive in an ugly sort of way. Striking and bold, they're like nothing else I've seen before, and the amount of elaborate costumes they get through is staggering. And it all takes place against a unique and, as far as I can tell, faithfully recreated backdrop of urban New York. I even liked the grain that everyone else complains about, FFS!

For 12 quid you can hardly go wrong.
 
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More like proof you're [slur removed by moderator]; allowing for the appreciation of a poor attempt at American soap opera where the series repeats itself over and over after the beginning - the end being fittingly awful, too, as I recall.

...Where are those blog posts?...

The averages don't lie. Red Garden is ****. And you're a **** for not bothering with Kodocha. In spite of the characters' ages, there are few better titles that deal with serious subject matter without forced drama and without ever truly being depressing. It tells me all I'll ever need to know about your... taste that you went with Red Garden instead.

....You see? This is why I don't like you. I must make up for lost time and starting bullying you, or something to feel better. The irritation your ratings and decisions cause me make me averse to communication with other lifeforms. I should just talk to my hand, or something.
 
Pom Poko: 7.5 OR 8, not sure which

It's quirky and unique and an affecting mourning of the loss of the natural world. I bloody love Takahata. He's the only reason I'm still interested in Studio Ghibli.

Shamefully, I was tired when I started watching it. Although I loved every moment and thought it a romp on every level, I still ended up falling asleep near the end. I haven't seen its true ending, but certainly enough to make a good guess how it goes. Need to revisit it properly some time in the near future. I will add, though, I swear it went on for a crazy long time, or...?
 
Red Garden OVA - 5/10

What the hell. A thoroughly pointless look into the distant future of our Dead Girls but, like the series, beautifully designed. And that's the only reason I'd recommend watching this, though it was interesting how aspects of the characters' personalities had changed (or not) during the 300 years since the events of the series. Eye candy earns the Red Garden OVA five big fat points but otherwise I could have done without it.
 
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Bakemonogatari - 9/10
really loved this. The art stlye was great, the chacters were great. Theres almost nothing I could say thats wrong with it, however I would have liked to have seen the realtionship between Araragi and Senjōgahara to be devloped a little more, hopefully itll happen if the sequal gets an anime. At least well know a bit more of Araragis past with prequal.
 
Okay I'm new at this but I'll give it a shot...

Pani Poni Dash - 8/10

Having just finished the series (my reason for buying it was simply because Excel Saga, another show which I've not seen is almost hard to find so I figured PPD was the next best show) I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. My problems with it however were the fact that the show seemed a bit hard to understand in terms of injokes and the like (which makes me wish Funimation kept the extras from the ADV release which I guess exlplain some of them). The other problem I had was the dub...it wasn't bad or anything but some of the voices (in particular Becky and Himeko) really made my ears ring...no offense to the VAs and I know the characters are supposed to be young and all but I think they went a little too far...still I really can't complain much about the show and would recommend it

...I'm still trying to figure out what Maho means
 
Blassreiter - 7/10

To begin with, after an expectation lowering opening episode, I thought Blassreiter had the potential to be something special. The first half was lacking in terms of main plot details (basically, it came down to an evil scientist lady handing out happy pills to the despairing), and Joseph - the supposed lead - remained secondary to other characters throughout the entire show, but these 'flaws' actually did a lot good for the show. During episodes 1-12, three subplots got covered, and caring about the characters involved so much as the events linked together to form a web of misery made it easy for me to forget there had been no explanations about the evolution from man to machine-person. And the slaughtering in episode 12 was the icing on a very tasty cake.

Sadly, right after that, it all went wrong. Horribly wrong. Joseph's history with Xargin - the main villain of the piece - got explained as follows: Joseph lived in a modern German town where the rich are allowed to abuse the poor as much as they desire. In Blassreiter's Germany, the poor are fire-bombed in a church after flooding, and scholarship students researching a method for the poor to survive using nanomachines (...) are beaten to death/probably raped simply because they come from poor backgrounds. Xargin helped the poor; Joseph was poor.

Like Blassreiter's story in general, the back-story was horribly written. Xargin went from an overly helpful nice guy to fire-wielding God-speaker within minutes (with a horse, 'cause the whole 'Horseman of the Apocalypse' thing needed illustrating), and Joseph was randomly given a bike by the evil director of the nanomachine project which, of course, WASN'T REALLY INTENDED TO HELP THE WEAK AND WAS MEANT TO TURN MAN INTO MACHINE. "Go chase after the now clearly evil Xargin, using this hi-tech bike I pulled out of my ********!"

Following the flashbacking, out of nowhere it was revealed that Blassreiter's Germany is run from the shadows by Zwolf: a religious organization with its own military. The dead were revived to battle anew as Zwolf's triple, Power Ranger mechas entered the fray. Joseph continued being useless all the way to end as the revived dead continued to try to settle outdated issues. The under-developed characters got a few minutes dedicated to their pasts (in one, a horse was killed because old men don't like girls caring about horses, or something.) And, finally, everything ended with a terrible end duel to the death.

You know how, in your typically ****** anime ending, spirits give a show's lead some vocal support in his head, during his moment of need? Well, in Blassreiter, since its lead sucks so much arse even at the very end, he got owned within five seconds and needed DEAD PEOPLE to enter his body to fight for him. Then, after they lost, Joseph himself resumed the good fight, somehow getting an 'OVER 9000!' power-up... and got owned AGAIN; this time after telling Xargin he had no chance against his 'OVER 9000!' self.

.....

Without wanting to ramble any further, I'll put it simply: Blassreiter got worse the further it went after the halfway point. How well the struggles of the 'subplot leads' were presented made me think of 9/10ing it. But then it became obvious that the plot hadn't been planned out, the dead kept coming back to life, and it ended fittingly poorly with a character actually saying "Let's keep fighting the good fight!", followed by the dead all reappearing... or something.

On a happier end note, the CG looked extremely attractive throughout - blending with the 2D animation superbly. I wasn't taken with it at first, truth be told, but that was more to do with me starting an anime TV series and getting non-step CG shoved down my throat from the get-go. My only complaint is how zoomed-in and frantic some of the battles were; them giving off a hand-held camera impression and making it hard to tell what was happening.

My advice is as follows: buy the first half of Blassreiter, watch it, and convince yourself it ends with episode 12. Much like with Code Geass, it's MUCH more satisfying to live in blissful ignorance; unaware the writers were actually clueless tosspots in need of shooting. Repeatedly.
 
I intended to do this earlier, losing the will to do so following my Blassreiter rambling. This time, I plan to keep it short and remain focused. (...)

Fruits Basket - 8-8.5/10

On the face of it, I should hate Fruits Basket (FB).

-- An overly nice girl, surrounded by beautiful (and sometimes sexually confused) men.
-- Cute animal transformations.
-- A predictable (in fiction, the maternal instinct activators always win) cliche uncontrollable bad boy (Kyo) + boring but intelligent and princely pretty boy (Yuki) love triangle, with the nice girl at the center.

But I couldn't hate FB. I loved it. When you list the elements that make FB tick, glossing over the positives, then it reads like something aimed squarely at those without penises. However, in reality it's one of the rare 'genderless' shoujo in terms of both genders being able to derive pleasure from watching it.

FB's heroine, Tohru, could very well be described as kind to the point of fakeness, but that's not how she came across to me. She'd been raised with loving care and taught numerous life lessons by her mother, and that enabled her to show a natural, always giving loving side to those around her. The entire cast of characters fall for and/or like her not because she's kind but because there's no hidden agenda behind her actions. And, occasionally, along with being genuinely sweet, she'd come out with an intelligent insight or two, using an analogy - such as the time she told Kyo he was like a rice ball that didn't realize he had a plum stuck to his back in an attempt to get him to understand that he's unable to see his good points.

Tohru's character alone makes what would be an otherwise uninspiring love triangle worth investing in, emotionally. She stands in the middle of two rivals who hate each other with passion, and she unites them through the love they both hold for her. Because of her, friendship may blossom, but it's also true that their feelings for her may very well push their heated rivalry over the edge - that's why it's so compelling to watch how the trio's relationship develops.

Putting Tohru aside, I did start to tire of the episodic silliness, towards the end. The series reached a point, around halfway through, where the love triangle wasn't advancing at all and nothing new regarding the curse was being revealed. Instead, every episode covered a new but largely pointless character, or brought other already introduced characters back into the fray. It was entertaining, most certainly, but it was reaching the point of becoming old and stale.

And that's why the final three episodes shocked me so much. I expected a rushed 'original story' finale. Instead, the direction of the show changed completely - the comedy being removed completely - and, out of nowhere, some seriously hard-hitting drama replaced it.

Kyo's past and the dark secret he has to live with transformed him into a character with true depth - no longer was he a mere clone of every other bad-tempered, simple-minded, aggressive third point of a love triangle. His issues with his mother being afraid of him and not being honest are deep-rooted, and his happiness over Tohru admitting to being scared of him spoke volumes about the writing, as well as further highlighting why Tohru is so lovable.

You see, if Tohru truly was 100% perfect and the type of character that can only exist in the imagination of men, she'd have run right after Kyo after seeing the real him and not once hesitated. But she didn't. Instead, she was sick as she pursued and thought about him, and she couldn't help but admit to her fear. Her actions made me view her as a very human character, and Kyo's... problem means the story is probably going to go in an almost Beauty and the Beast direction. My only disappointment right now is that the anime is incomplete, requiring much manga reading for me to see the story through to its conclusion...

In closing, I'm happy I wasn't so foolish as to assume the worst before giving FB my time. Unsurprisingly, considering they share the same director, FB and Kodocha's humour is very similar, and I'm fond of stories that keep me laughing, even when dealing with difficult subjects that would weigh down other stories in doom and gloom.

If, like me, you have too many chest hairs to count, fret not: FB will not turn you gay. Every girly-seeming anime box set needs a 'SAFE FOR MANLY MEN!' sticker stuck on, and FB is the first I'd attach such a sticker to.
 
Hmm, I actually really enjoyed the first arc. I thought the idea was that if Kaiji got shipped off to the labor camp, he was coming back as a permanent cripple, if he survived at all. Going on that, I thought the card game and the human derby were the most exciting parts of the show. The e-card arc just didn't grip me in the same way as I felt there was much less at stake than before.

Other than that, I'm much in agreement. It's a great show that's crying out for a second season.
 
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Innocent Venus: 7.5-8/10

There's something deeply satisfying about ordering a series, complete with an art box, for next to nothing - knowing sod all about it - and, after watching it, realizing I've found a gem. Even my most cold of hearts is warmed by the feeling of satisfaction that comes over me. And, in a sentence, I like Venus because it gives me that feeling.

I'm not going to lie: Venus has issues. Namely, because it's 12 episodes instead of 24/26, the story moved from point to point with next to no downtime for character developing purposes. It started with chasing, then moved onto the tried 'n tested 'Join as a crew member of my ship, if you want to live!' part many anime seem to feature and, finally, it ended with a battle to rescue the princess in need of a savior -- Venus' very own special girl in need of protection, who may very well hold the key to the future. (You know the drill.)

I don't know why, but from the Japanese perspective, it almost seems fated in the stars that the current world will all about come to an end in the near future for one reason or another. Then, robots will then arrive on the scene as the surviving rich abuse the poor who cling to life, obstinately. (And, of course, rebellion will soon follow.) Venus sticks very close to this grim future they foresee as traitors of the Japanese elite - known, originally enough, as 'Phantom' - flee with a girl the higher-ups are, for reasons unknown, VERY interested in. Pursuing soldiers are slaughtered by the two protectors of this mysterious girl in wonderful looking CG battles, and in-between the slaughtering, the mostly psychotic commando crew from Phantom close in on them.

The early section of the story, where Jin and Joe - the protectors of mystery girl Sana - deal with the lower-ranked military assaults and, on the side, their inevitably fearsome enemies deal with anti-terrorism missions in knife-licking style reminded me a little of Front Mission 3. You know how, in that GREAT S-RPG, two opposing elite mecha forces encounter each other throughout the story; having intense duels? Yeah - that's what I'm typing about. Because of the length, little is revealed about the enemy team, but more than enough craziness and viciousness is displayed to make you (well... me, anyway!) get hyped about the future episodes.

Without wanting to ramble further, I'll share with you why I liked Innocent Venus so much:

-- For one, it looked attractive and the movement was fluid throughout. When a series is heavy with the CG mecha action, what I don't want to see is stuttering, awkward looking toy-models moving about, and in Venus there was never a moment where I thought, "WHY DID YOU DO THIS, GONZO!?" Good job, Brains Base. (And, on a semi-related note, the mecha designs were simple but that added a touch of maturity not seen in Gundam. A multi-coloured red, blue & white mecha that's as tall as two houses is NOT stealthy!)

-- For two, the limited amount of episodes meant there wasn't time for me to be bored. Pretty much every episode had robots exchanging fire and what you typically expect to see when robots go to war, and filler wasn't present. This is SORT OF a negative because the side characters never got enough time to be truly memorable - the pirate captain's relationship with an enemy soldier in particular striking me as unsatisfying - and even some vital main plot/character issues never got explained. But, obviously, the flipside of this is that, unlike in most 20+ episode titles, I wasn't forced to endure 6+ pointless, fillerish episodes. The pacing reminded me of Kawajiri's approach to directing - only revealing enough to make people care/understand and then just getting on with it; no messing about.

-- For three, there's a twist in the tail that caught me out. As an anime fan experienced enough to make a list of the recycled content used to created the show, it impresses me a hell of a lot when something makes me go, "Wow, I didn't see that coming!" You could argue that the only reason the twist caught me was because of the lack of info/character development time, but I like to focus on the positive of me not predicting something episodes in advance. (There were a few big hints leading up to what happened, but nothing significant enough to make it glaringly obvious.)

If I were to be cynical, I'd suggest that the original intent was for the lack of development/unexplained bits of the plot to be excused by the length of the show. But I'm not. So, instead, I'll lament over the lovable and cute heroine not being allowed to grow out of her dependent shell, and Joe's reasoning for blindly following Jin's betrayal of Phantom - putting both issues down to Brains Base not wanting to ruin the series by forcing it into a needlessly lengthy 24/26 episode timeslot. Sometimes, it's best to be grateful for what you have, rather than desiring more.

Overall, Innocent Venus is one of the true underrated gems out there, and you'd be a fool not to give it your time. There are few more impressive TV anime out there visually, and the show has enough substance and character - as well as a pleasingly surprising twist - to satisfy most. Buying and marathoning it is what a smart person, such as myself, would do.

Next on my hit-list is Rocket Girls. Please, NO MORE PLANETES-ESQUE HEADACHES/CONFUSION!!!
 
Ok, then: why are ninjas living on a space station in it?

And operating a spacesuit would totally give me a headache. Just watching the dumb broad learn how hurt my head.
 
AironicallyHuman said:
Ok, then: why are ninjas living on a space station in it?
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Pedant mode on: Last time I checked weren't the ninjas on the moon? Not to mention not actually being ninjas anyway - just a bunch of unemployed goofballs. Not that me telling you this seems likely to stop you hating Planetes... As you were.
 
That's right, guys/bitches: ignore the lovingly typed paragraphs, devoid of spoilers, that were created in an attempt to open the eyes of the ignorant. Responding to the last two, off-topic sentences is the way to go.

(Cocks!)

The ninja comment was a joke; not very funny but, regardless, a joke. It was a ****** episode but, afaik, Planetes' take on Naruto Tony the Tiger filler. My main issues were A) not caring about the hard sci-fi and B) disliking the two leads / not giving a toss about their relationship.
 
Kanon - 9.5/10

I went into this show not knowing if I'd like it or not, only really going on the fact that a lot of people praised it so much...and I can see why now. Kanon is probably one of the most emotionally involving anime I've seen in like...well ever, I've honestly never seen anything like it and considering I've been watching anime for a long time now that's really saying something. I did have a few problems with it however though to be honest they mostly revolve my understanding of just what was going on at times...and the ending...is it me or was I expecting a very depressing but somewhat upbeat (if not by much conclusion), I mean the series to me kinda gave that impression (especially with the sick girl) but no, instead we get a very upbeat happy ending that I kinda did not expect...I guess that's not a bad thing but I don't know it seemed kinda like a cop out to me. Still I can't complain much about Kanon it turned out to be one of the best shows I've seen and I'd happily put it up there with the likes of Macross, Cowboy Bebop and Azumanga Daioh in the list of anime shows I've seen that I think to be the best out there.

Now to move on to Air which I've heard is similer...oh and can someone please explain to me what Uguu means?...first Maho in Pani Poni Dash now this...I'll never understand anime and the cute phrases they give characters sometimes
 
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Reaper gI said:
Katanagatari 10/10
Best thing this year by bloody miles.
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o_O

Seriously? I mean, it's pretty good, certainly better than I expected after what I'd heard about the LNs, but as far as WALL OF TEXT ANIME go it was worse in that aspect than Bakemonogatari or the first season of Index. I feel like for all that they have put effort in, they didn't put quite enough effort into making it an adaptation rather than a reproduction (although I do usually complain about it the other way, too, haha).

I'll be fair and say I'm only just over halfway through the series (edit: in fact, looking at my list, I'm not quite half way through), so maybe it keeps on getting better as it goes towards the end, in fact you've very much piqued my interest to watch it now.
 
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