Rate the Last Anime You Watched Out of 10

Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust - 8.5 /10

I'd kind of been put off this after watching the rubbish 80s film - but boy oh boy was this something else, and I'm so glad I finally checked it out. Directed by the dude that did Ninja Scroll and Clamp's X tv series, this has his stamp all over it - I love how utterly fluid and surreal the animation quality is - it's 15 years old but looks better than most stuff put out today. Cloaks billow, swords flash, and it's all so utterly stylised. And while there's definitely a certain similarity to Ninja Scroll in the methodical dispatching of enemies and a key femme fatale, the look is just divine - like something out of a Dali painting in its best moments. The soundtrack is amazing too, and the film doesn't end as you'd expect, either. I really hope someone manages to put the Blu-Ray out of this in the UK as it certainly deserves it.

Romeo x Juliet - 7.5 / 10

I have mixed feelings about this show - on one level, it felt like a bit of a slog to get through, and in some respects the fact it was 'Romeo & Juliet' put me off, as it's almost like - how can you even compete with the gravitas of the original? But equally, it's hard to argue with the fact this is an incredibly well put together, tasteful adaptation that makes some interesting adjustments. I just sort of wonder if it'd had been better spent on an original fantasy IP setting. That said, the soundtrack is excellent, and the English dub script is fantastic too - I like how they kept it all ye olde English, in respect to the original play. Brina Palencia as Juliet is so good too - definitely reinforces my opinion of her as one of the best English anime VAs. I'd say the show's biggest fault though is probably the look - I've always thought Gonzo shows looked ugly, and this isn't really any exception.
 
Lutga said:
Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust - 8.5 /10

I'd kind of been put off this after watching the rubbish 80s film - but boy oh boy was this something else, and I'm so glad I finally checked it out. Directed by the dude that did Ninja Scroll and Clamp's X tv series, this has his stamp all over it - I love how utterly fluid and surreal the animation quality is - it's 15 years old but looks better than most stuff put out today. Cloaks billow, swords flash, and it's all so utterly stylised. And while there's definitely a certain similarity to Ninja Scroll in the methodical dispatching of enemies and a key femme fatale, the look is just divine - like something out of a Dali painting in its best moments. The soundtrack is amazing too, and the film doesn't end as you'd expect, either. I really hope someone manages to put the Blu-Ray out of this in the UK as it certainly deserves it.

Romeo x Juliet - 7.5 / 10

I have mixed feelings about this show - on one level, it felt like a bit of a slog to get through, and in some respects the fact it was 'Romeo & Juliet' put me off, as it's almost like - how can you even compete with the gravitas of the original? But equally, it's hard to argue with the fact this is an incredibly well put together, tasteful adaptation that makes some interesting adjustments. I just sort of wonder if it'd had been better spent on an original fantasy IP setting. That said, the soundtrack is excellent, and the English dub script is fantastic too - I like how they kept it all ye olde English, in respect to the original play. Brina Palencia as Juliet is so good too - definitely reinforces my opinion of her as one of the best English anime VAs. I'd say the show's biggest fault though is probably the look - I've always thought Gonzo shows looked ugly, and this isn't really any exception.
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How dare you .... I like Romeo and Juliet
 
Yosuga no sora

FINALLY......SOMETHING THAT WAS INTRESTING.

I got to say I was sceptical with this series and I thought it was goin to be the same 12 episodes.... but it's how they show the episodes is just brilliant........Il let you guys figure it out... but i will say this.... make sure you watch disc 4 first.... otherwise you'll be depressed when you finish it.

The music is really nice
The romances are nice..... And disturbing.... I won't tell what happens but you have been warned.
The characters..... kinda cardboard but still it's a hate and like with all of them.
Animation.... not bad at all

It might get a 10/10....... but that doesn't mean it wasn't bad.

9/10

The 1 point off is because they missed out one character that should of had a arc
 
Tiger and Bunny The Rising - Thoroughly enjoyed this. Looked great, had a good story and great action. One day I'll watch the series but the two movies are good enough for now. Thought I'd dislike Golden Ryan but he turned out being a good character.

8/10
 
Akatsuki no yona 7/10
Really good series and holy **** this needs a season 2. This really isn't selling well though so I'm not getting y hopes (the manga has boosted in sales as far as I can tell though). Oh well, I can always read the manga.
 
Nanaka 6/17

A anime that feels like a anime within a anime.

A girl who turns in to a 6 year old mentally and her childhood friend helps her out with her high school life.

Pretty avenge
The minor characters only gets one or two appearances
Animations looks cheap
The story..... below avenge

It's not a bad anime and its nit good ether.

6/10
 
Kill la Kill - Good fun. Likeable cast of main characters, some excellent music (especially Ragyos theme....sublime) and a gripping second half, which made up for the somewhat weaker first half. The only real negative I could levy against it is that it had far more fighting than I ever thought it would have, but thankfully they were enjoyable to watch for the most part.

8/10
 
Sentimental journey.

This is a very unique series.. instead of having a ful 12 episodes of one story it has 12 episodes about 12 girls for each episode... And it's about how there first love got away from them... which I swear is the same guy funnly enough.

The animation is hand drawn which is great to see again
The characters... unique in there own way
Each story for each girl pretty good

For its uniqueness 9/10
 
I finished watching Love, Election and Chocolate (Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate) today, I guess my opinion is fairly similar to what it was when it started. It's a strange show that seems to vary between a few different genres but never really excels at any of them (and possibly doesn't understand any of them in the first place).

Maybe the whole thing is supposed to represent a bad candidate in an election, trying to be everything to everybody but without ever really understanding what people want and ultimately doomed to mediocrity.

After the first few episodes I thought it would move away from the harem stuff it had implied in the first episode or so but it actually moved back to harem ideas (and sadly, not particularly good ones). There are occasional moments of fanservice but it's generally quite tame so it could turn off those that don't like fanservice without actually appealing to those who do. It also went through a strange period of random dramatic escalation towards the end, kind of like that joke when people in a show are watching a particularly crazy soap opera ("actually I'm not your mother, I'm a man! And an alien" okay it's not that bad but it's still pretty strange).

Some of the dramatic stories could possibly have worked but they could certainly have been handled better and possibly needed more time. It also felt like the characters were underdeveloped in the first place so that made things even more difficult. I'd say I probably tend to read more into characters than may actually be there so it probably means something that even I found the characters to be underdeveloped. The show opens with an attempted murder so the possibility that one of the main characters could have been responsible could have made things interesting but the show never does anything with that idea (I suspect they never even had the idea). The culprit ends up being kind of fun to watch but also disappointing in a variety of ways.

I guess I've mostly been negative but the show still manages to be somewhat likeable for the most part. It's mostly harmless, light-hearted and kind of fun (though maybe you have to be in the right mood, which I guess I was). I guess the election stuff is potentially interesting, although it feels like some of it is hurried through and it's often ignored in favour of either silliness or questionable drama (some of which is kind of related to politics but is a bit too extreme). I wonder if the show might have been better if it had focussed more on the politics, although I'd imagine that would have put a lot of people off (and personally, I kind of feel like I've heard the ideas elsewhere and probably handled better).

As a bonus for some people, the childhood friend "wins".

I occasionally wondered if the show was strangely self aware, like it was making what seemed like poor choices but somehow deliberately. Except the payoff never seems to arrive. Still, maybe it's choice of catchphrase for the loli-catgirl character was somehow knowingly done so people could use it when talking about the show. "It's average".
 
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Is The Order a Rabbit?-8/10

Like with all Cute Girl shows, I'll keep this one short. As much as I love them, I'll be the first to admit there isn't much substance to most of them, meaning there isn't really a lot to talk about. First of all, the show looks nice enough, not the best looking show in the world by any stretch but I'd say it's slightly above average. The animation itself is also good. The characters aren't really anything special but they're all likable enough. The stand out for me was Cocoa, I thought she was a really great lead girl and her scatterbrained nature really reminded me of Yui from K-On, a character I absolutely love. I also really liked the slow developing sisterly relationship between her and Chino throughout the show, and that is probably my favourite aspect of the show on the whole. It's very gradual and you barely notice it but by the end you realise how close the two have become. The show's humour has it's moments but it definitely isn't as funny as some of the other shows I've seen in the same genre like Kiniro Mosaic. The show also has a little bit more fanservice than I'm used to seeing in this kind of show, and you can take that as either a positive or a negative, depending on your stance on that whole debate. Personally, I didn't mind it that much. On the whole, I'd say I enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to fans of the genre, although it's deffinitely not the best the genre has to offer.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
Is The Order a Rabbit?-8/10

Like with all Cute Girl shows, I'll keep this one short. As much as I love them, I'll be the first to admit there isn't much substance to most of them, meaning there isn't really a lot to talk about.
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I'm not convinced it's accurate to say they have no substance, I think they just tend to have a particular quality that is very personal and can be difficult to describe to someone else (especially if they haven't seen the show). I think that might also be why people tend to downplay what they get out of this sort of show because trying to explain it to someone else seems likely to end in embarrassment at best. I wouldn't say this issue is entirely specific to these kinds of shows, there does seem to be a tendency for people to feel that certain experiences and subjects are more acceptable to talk about the value of. I guess it's a personal feeling of mine that we sometimes hold ourselves back with that kind of attitude.

I'd agree with most of your points on Is The Order a Rabbit. My favourite is Syaro-chan (Sharo? Sjaro?), she kind of combines some of the best aspects of Ayaya and Alice. I think they did some official crossover marketing for KinmozaxGochiusa at one point (that or I've seen a fair bit of crossover fan art).
 
You're right, there is substance there, I think I just didn't word what I wanted to say correctly. I mean in comparison to other shows, there isn't really a lot you could comment on. Like, I couldn't talk about the story, because there isn't one, I couldn't talk about how the characters develop and change because they don't really (The one I mentioned aside). As you say, trying to say why I liked the show or any show in this genre is incredibly hard, Trust me, I've tried. If I truly thought there was nothing at all to these shows, I probably wouldn't watch them nor would I enjoy them so much, I just think they can be hard to talk about and in comparison to other genres of show, there is a lot less to talk about.
 
IncendiaryLemon said:
You're right, there is substance there, I think I just didn't word what I wanted to say correctly. I mean in comparison to other shows, there isn't really a lot you could comment on. Like, I couldn't talk about the story, because there isn't one, I couldn't talk about how the characters develop and change because they don't really (The one I mentioned aside). As you say, trying to say why I liked the show or any show in this genre is incredibly hard, Trust me, I've tried. If I truly thought there was nothing at all to these shows, I probably wouldn't watch them nor would I enjoy them so much, I just think they can be hard to talk about and in comparison to other genres of show, there is a lot less to talk about.
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I'd absolutely agree with you there, it's kind of frustrating trying to explain what's good about these kinds of shows because I'm just not sure there are words for it. It's also a shame because you basically rely on your enthusiasm to convince people and that's not really ideal. Even when people do go to watch them they might still be confused about what you liked, maybe because they like it for different reasons or because they didn't like it at all.

I guess it's similar to comedy in a way, explaining a joke rarely really gives a proper impression of what it was actually like.
 
HAL 8/10

This was a wonderfully touching movie short which felt as though it could have come from the Shinkai mould, and which you can say little about to be honest without spoiling anything. Although a little short in running time it was a lovely crafted story which for my money was nicely worth the experience.
 
Usagi Drop - 9/10

I had high hopes for this after seeing what a high score it had on ANN and MAL, and I'm pleased to say it absolutely lived up to my expectations. It's a breeze to whip through too, at only 11 episodes. It's just the most utterly adorable, feel-good thing I've seen for a long time, and it just continued to astound me at how effortless it made that goodness seem. Whereas some great series really feel like they're working hard for that quality, with Usagi Drop, it's the smallest, most inconsequential things that bring out the charm. The relationships between the characters, the nuances in the dialogue, and the broader themes of what it means to be a working adult/parent/man or woman in modern society were just done to perfection. I'd have loved to have seen a second series of this, although I understand the manga starts to get a little icky with it themes after where the anime leaves off. But yeah, I'd heartily recommend this to anyone - it's almost like an anti-Clannad After Story in a way, the flip side that just utterly restores your faith in humanity.

Trigun - 8/10

I have really mixed feelings on this one, so much so that I'd be tempted to call it a deeply flawed masterpiece. There's elements of it that are just so perfect, like the emotional tone as a whole, the character designs and the philosophical themes, as well as the rollercoaster flip in tone between the first and second half. But equally, boy oh boy has this show dated badly. It looks super ugly, has limited animation, and I think many of the episodes drag or don't explain themselves well enough in many places. It feels pretty bogged down at times, hammering home points again and again that it's already illustrated perfectly well the first time. I love the lightheartedness of the early episodes and their self-contained Cowboy Bebop style storytelling, but it's the final run of five or so episodes that really did it for me in terms of emotional pay-off. There's a particular scene, that I'm sure everyone that's watched the show knows about, that is just completely and utterly devastating. So, for all its flaws, if you've ever wanted to watch something that really gets you invested in its core cast and their place in the world, Trigun absolutely does that.

Fruits Basket - 8.5 / 10

Another one that had been on my to-watch list for a while. I think its age and art-style had always put me off a little, and I think I had an image in my mind of it as some kind of dated comedy series - but as it gets into the swing of things, it becomes so, so much more than that. I'd even go as far to say that the whole 'people turning into animals' thing can be pretty much dismissed out of hand - I just didn't find that aspect of the show interesting. For me, Fruits Basket was far more about getting to the crux of Tohru's world-view and her handling of various situations - this adorable, cute as a button girl that is an absolute paragon of good and how she helps the people she meets come to terms with their problems. I watched the English dub version, and Laura Bailey does her voice so well too, you just end up falling in love with the character and her absolute, unwavering innocence. And then you get the final two episodes which are arguably pretty dark in places, and the tension the show manages to conjure up in that respect just caps things off so well. I'd probably say the other best episodes are probably the ones which centre around Tohru's two schoolmates, as they carry some really emotional resonance too. But yeah, this definitely got me wanting to check out more shojo stuff.
 
Smeelia said:
IncendiaryLemon said:
You're right, there is substance there, I think I just didn't word what I wanted to say correctly. I mean in comparison to other shows, there isn't really a lot you could comment on. Like, I couldn't talk about the story, because there isn't one, I couldn't talk about how the characters develop and change because they don't really (The one I mentioned aside). As you say, trying to say why I liked the show or any show in this genre is incredibly hard, Trust me, I've tried. If I truly thought there was nothing at all to these shows, I probably wouldn't watch them nor would I enjoy them so much, I just think they can be hard to talk about and in comparison to other genres of show, there is a lot less to talk about.
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I'd absolutely agree with you there, it's kind of frustrating trying to explain what's good about these kinds of shows because I'm just not sure there are words for it. It's also a shame because you basically rely on your enthusiasm to convince people and that's not really ideal. Even when people do go to watch them they might still be confused about what you liked, maybe because they like it for different reasons or because they didn't like it at all.

I guess it's similar to comedy in a way, explaining a joke rarely really gives a proper impression of what it was actually like.
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I watched Is "The Order a Rabbit?" on Crunchyroll myself not so long ago, and found it a delightful little slice of life comedy, somewhat akin to another favourite "Non Non Biyori" :)
 
Lutga said:
Trigun - 8/10
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'Super ugly' - really? I was never a huge fan of Trigun, but I always thought it was a decent looking show at least. Very archetypally 1990s, but other than Vash's horrendous John Lennon glasses, I actually quite liked the aesthetic of it. Fwiw, I think the Badlands Rumble film is a far better prospect; I felt it squeezed everything that was good about the show into a single 90 minute chunk.
 
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