Rate the last anime you watched out of 10

I was watching something on Crunchyroll just earlier today. After the opening titles, it played the same bloody advert three times in a row. And for every episode at that!

It didn't make me want to buy the thing it was advertising. 😛
I think they make them as obnoxious as possible to make you want to pay for the premium membership. Worked on me! BTW Looking at my guest pass thing you haven't redeemed it yet, that'll make 'em go away! You've got plenty of time to do it, if you're saving it up though (runs out 13th May). Although next one is due in 13 days.
 
I think they make them as obnoxious as possible to make you want to pay for the premium membership. Worked on me! BTW Looking at my guest pass thing you haven't redeemed it yet, that'll make 'em go away! You've got plenty of time to do it, if you're saving it up though (runs out 13th May). Although next one is due in 13 days.
Same here, subscribing for a year has already worked out worthwhile since I'd watched a fair bit on there, certainly more than Netflix. Not sure if I want to dive in with FunimationNow at the moment though.
 
I did read about this; apparently it was cleaned up for the Bluray release? Or is it for the DVD as well? I can't remember, but I read that the creators did acknowledge the fact that it was rushed towards the end due to time and budget constraints...it's understandable sometimes, but I just don't like seeing inconsistencies in animation!
That was it, it's a common problem with anime when they have to be rushed to meet deadlines. I'll comment on the animation difference when I watch my Blu Ray set.
 
BTW Looking at my guest pass thing you haven't redeemed it yet
Yeah, I've got your pass lined up and ready to go, dude. I'm saving it for the next two episodes of DARLING in the FRANXX; I've taken to watching those in pairs. (Seems appropriate somehow!)

I'll also use your pass to check out A Place Further. If it's that good, though, I might actually end up putting it on hold after a couple of episodes in expectation of a BD release.
 
That was it, it's a common problem with anime when they have to be rushed to meet deadlines. I'll comment on the animation difference when I watch my Blu Ray set.

Thanks dude, it'll be interesting to hear your thoughts, and thank you for commenting regarding my review. I tried to mention pros and cons, but I don't really consider myself really good at writing up things. However, despite not wholly enjoying the anime, the experience of watching it was interesting for me, and it feels good to be getting back into the loop again, and I was actually looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you all one here. It's been good to exercise my brain a little bit ^^
 
Yeah, I've got your pass lined up and ready to go, dude. I'm saving it for the next two episodes of DARLING in the FRANXX; I've taken to watching those in pairs. (Seems appropriate somehow!)

I'll also use your pass to check out A Place Further. If it's that good, though, I might actually end up putting it on hold after a couple of episodes in expectation of a BD release.
You can use mine too if you like, assuming someone hasn't already nabbed them (have no idea since I hadn't checked since I put them on here)
 
Thanks dude, it'll be interesting to hear your thoughts, and thank you for commenting regarding my review. I tried to mention pros and cons, but I don't really consider myself really good at writing up things. However, despite not wholly enjoying the anime, the experience of watching it was interesting for me, and it feels good to be getting back into the loop again, and I was actually looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you all one here. It's been good to exercise my brain a little bit ^^
There's something satisfying about writing my little summaries that I can't quite describe, also helps me keep track of my ratings.
 
There's something satisfying about writing my little summaries that I can't quite describe, also helps me keep track of my ratings.

It did feel oddly satisfying actually; I even hand-wrote some notes on paper before commiting my review on here. Writing isn't my strongpoint, and right now, I've been finding it hard to mentally commit to anything, so I thought something with 12 eps should be manageable fornow. That said if anyone can take any little thing from anything I write on here regarding reviews, then it's a bonus ^^
 
Yeah, I've got your pass lined up and ready to go, dude. I'm saving it for the next two episodes of DARLING in the FRANXX; I've taken to watching those in pairs. (Seems appropriate somehow!)

I'll also use your pass to check out A Place Further. If it's that good, though, I might actually end up putting it on hold after a couple of episodes in expectation of a BD release.
You've got more patience than me. Takes about a year for that, that's even if we get a release here (you're a UK only guy, right?)
 
You can use mine too if you like, assuming someone hasn't already nabbed them (have no idea since I hadn't checked since I put them on here)
Yeah, I checked the thread since you'd kindly offered to use them but, yeah, they'd already been taken. I tried a few different ones, and they all had, actually. I'm guessing they don't last long in the public domain these days!

You've got more patience than me. Takes about a year for that, that's even if we get a release here (you're a UK only guy, right?)
Yeah, I've just never gotten into the whole importing thing. But then, I've only just gotten into streaming, so...

There's a fair bit on CR I hope to watch, so, like I say, I might put the shows that seem likely to get a physical release on the back burner. For now, anyway.

But, yeah, I'm a very patient person. I mean, I've waited longer than a year for bigger things than a pair of Blu-ray discs! 😅

Who knows, though, I might end up watching A Place Further all the way through if I get addicted!
 
Kakegurui

Like the illegitimate love child of Prison School and Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji, this was a tremendously entertaining show that spits in the face of such concepts as 'subtlty'. I did feel it tailed off a little towards the end, as it began to feel formulaic, and it never quite hit the same highs as Kaiji at its best, but it was well paced and boosted by a great lead character in the monstrous-yet-brilliant Yumeko.

Keen for season 2.
 
No Game No Life Zero

10/10

I just finished watching my copy of NGNL0, and it was one of the very best films I've seen in a long time. I already feel the desire to rewatch it after just finishing it, which for me is very rare since I rarely rewatch films.

The animation was great, the soundtrack was fantastic, and the whole film in general brought me to tears.

I say the film is a must watch.
 
B: The Beginning 9/10

Ever since I saw the first i had high hope for this one and in the end my expecations were met. Loved the dark tone of the show, main characters were nice, always good to see some clever main characters. The villains were good along with the action scenes. The "puzzling solving" situations were good, last time I remember watching something similar was in Death Note.

Cant recommend this enough. Lets just hope that tease in the end will really bring us a 2nd season.
 
A Silent Voice

Even with some knowledge of the manga, this story of a deaf girl and her repentant bully still struck me with its raw emotional power and palpable sense of isolation. Its subject matter is handled with remarkable maturity, creating a world in which I was not only constantly questioning characters' sincerity, but where understanding and forgiveness are hard to come by.

It doesn't surprise me that it would be snubbed at the likes of the CR awards in favour of Your Name as it's nothing like as nakedly crowd-pleasing (frankly, I often found it hard to watch), but I think it works harder to justify its potentially mawkish drama, and I suspect its quiet rewards are far more likely to linger in the memory.
 
I should be laid up with illness more often, gave me the time to marathon Devilman Crybaby.

And I liked it a lot. It's very stylish and an excellent updating of a story which perhaps these days doesn't feel quite so original (though let's not forget that the original Devilman, if not Go Nagai in general, is responsible for originating more than a few anime tropes) but man, did it feel like the pace was rushed. The story they managed to cram into ten episodes here surely deserved at least twenty - Maybe it's okay for today's ADD generation but I like my plot progression a wee bit less breakneck and my high stakes action sequences to last a mite longer than an average of about four seconds. Oh, this demon seems powerful, how will they beat it? Oh, it's already dead.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad something like Devilman Crybaby exists in the modern world. But having watched it, I think I'll forever be slightly resentful they couldn't have shelled out a bit more to give it the extra runtime it deserved.

Also did I ever mention how much I hate that you can't take screencaps of Netflix? I want a hallucinoJenny attack gif as an avatar dammit, but I can't have one because I can't make one myself and most of what I get when I image search is porn. Not of Jenny herself (although nothing would really surprise me anymore) but by a hentai artist who apparently goes by that name. And then halfway down the page it becomes real porn and pictures of Christian Bale.
 
I should be laid up with illness more often, gave me the time to marathon Devilman Crybaby.

Could not agree more. Despite being entirely won over by the unexpected use of Team Yuasa's trademark naive art style, I really missed the long-form fight scenes from the second Devilman OVA. I can understand not wanting to rehash what's been done before, but chopping down what I thought of as real highlights in the story, to such a minimal amount of screentime was just frustrating.

And yeah, the no-screengrabby policy on Netflix bugs the hell out of me too.
 
Oh, this demon seems powerful, how will they beat it? Oh, it's already dead.
I especially didn't like Ah ha I've got a whole army of Devilmen, let's go f*** Satan up. Flies into battle. Come on guys let's do this. Guys? GUYS!? Oh they're all dead already. And so is everyone else and the world is now desolate wasteland! The End!! All in about half an episode (it felt like at least, it's been 2 months already since I watched it)
 
Chibi Maruko-Chan: My Favourite Song (Film, 1992)
As the years have gone on and as I have gotten older I've found myself seeking out and enjoying movies aimed at a younger audience. The stories that they tell are often simple in nature with themes and messages that are both universal and pure, easy to understand and yet deeper than many would be lead to believe. In this often cynical world it's nice to be able to retreat to a world in which the worst thing humanly possible is homework, a world where imagination runs wild, adults are weird and a tasty treat is enough to make all your troubles melt away. Chibi Maruko-Chan: My Favourite Song is an absolute joy of a film that effortlessly captures the essence of a child's imagination and presents it in a way that only animation could. Released in 1992, this is the second film in a long running series that has cemented itself as something of a national treasure, entertaining countless families all over Japan. Since this film is stand alone it needs no prior knowledge of the series in order to be enjoyed, doing a wonderful job of introducing you to its world and characters during its one and a half hour runtime. The cast of characters themselves are a bundle of fun, their designs playful and their personalities entertaining, I quickly found myself becoming attached to the cast, aided no doubt by the charismatic voice acting that helps ascend the material. It's an entertaining script, both witty and eccentric and I found myself genuinely laughing at what would come out of characters mouths, all accentuated further by the fact that the voice cast itself is all comprised of adults that somehow perfectly straddle the line between sounding way too old to be playing the parts that they are and at the same time sounding absolutely perfect. The visual/audio combination of a child with an onion head speaking with the voice of a middle-aged man is fantastic and never fails to crack me up and it's emblematic of what this film entails.
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The story of My Favourite Song revolves around 9 year old Maruko and her goal to complete her homework which is to draw a picture that represents her favourite song. The plot itself is fairly simple however the hook that holds everything together is the musical numbers that create the backbone of the film and within the first five minutes we're introduced to the first of many. This two minute sequence was animated by Masaaki Yuasa and it's an absolute treat for the eyes. What's fascinating here is the fact that even-though this scene was done well before Yuasa would get the chance to pen his own series it's still remarkably emblematic of what he would be later known for. Everything is fun and dynamic, colours all bold and contrasting, the sky one moment red the other pink, clouds yellow and the grass blue. The camera is constantly moving and panning around, zooming in and out as this Rolls-Royce is speeding through the meandering countryside road, turning into a boat, ricocheting downstream before growing mechanical legs, sprouting wings and taking flight as it soars above. The whole segment is imaginative and a marvel for the eyes. Not unlike Yuasa's later works such as Ping Pong The Animation the animation here is free-form and kinetic, not one to adhere to reality objects morph and shift in unique and interesting ways that kept me on my toes and it turns what should be a mundane scene into something fun and exhilarating.
As Maruko stares at a painting she finds hanging on the wall the second musical piece begins, and it's an equally fantastical bit of animation that's backed by a favourite song of mine, Haruomi Hosono's Paraiso. The whole segment is surreal with giant humanoid cloud people swatting at Maruko as she flies on the back of a little dragon creature, the backgrounds are purposefully simple, mimicking the look of a children book, it's both imaginative and entertaining and it's all choreographed perfectly to the beat of the laid back track. As a fan of the song it was a delight to hear it pop up.
As the students complete their pictures and as they detail just what song inspired them we enter a few more music numbers, another of which is animated by Yuasa. The backgrounds here are simple and the character designs distinctive, the focal point here is the phenomenal and dynamic camera angles. The animation is perfectly in sync with the music with backgrounds changing to every clap. Like with the previous Yuasa piece it often feels like a flexing of the muscles, showing off as the camera tilts and turns seemingly with little effort in scenes that in reality couldn't have been easy to animate, if anything it displays with certainty that even then Yuasa's style had been formed at this juncture. Even though My Favourite Song is a film for children it's abundantly clear that it's a film made by adults whom have a love for the craft, the amount of love and effort that's been poured into this film is palpable.
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From a story perspective the film is pretty simple as you'd expect but endearing nonetheless. For most people here the musical segments are the reason to watch, but the characters are charming and genuinely funny. Watching this film it's easy to understand why the series has lasted so long and just why it's so beloved. An innocence exudes from each and every scene and the focus on the family dynamic creates a sense of nostalgia that makes the film relatable. Chibi Maruko-Chan: My Favourite Song is a simple and charming film that's home to some fantastic animated pieces that helps cement this film as a must see for fans of the craft and for the young at heart.
 
Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond

Had been putting off finishing this, as I was unsure how to feel about it possibly being the end of the franchise, but that was a fine conclusion. I liked the little callbacks to S1, although I can't say I missed having an ongoing storyline running through the season - I was entirely fine with this one being self contained eps. Would have happily taken another cour. And an invisible werewolf squad OVA.

Punch Line

It's not something I'd go running out to recommend to people, but give it what's due, this oddball fantasy was a better series than I'd ever have given it credit for. If you can look past the considerable fan-service content, it has some interesting narrative devices that it puts to good use. It gets a bit convoluted towards the end, but the only thing I feel lets it down is the characterisation - the main cast never really seem to move past broad archetypes - and it smacks of being a visual novel adaptation where you need to follow a character specific route to learn more about them, even though it wasn't. It does make me wonder if the subsequent game adaptation was planned from the start for that very reason though.
 
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