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Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion Episodes 1 & 2 - This is a rewatch as I recently got the UK bd. Not happy with this release - multiple trailers before you get to the menu and several subtitle errors already.

Romeo × Juliet Episodes 6 - 8
 
Two years after I stalled watching the stream, I finally got round to watching and finishing Tiger and Bunny on BD this week.

Not much new I can say about it really. Just an all round, terrifically entertaining and wonderfully creative series. A great tribute to superheroes and buddy comedies. The whole initial concept of superheroes as reality TV was just inspired.

Kotetsu is easily one of my favourite lead characters in recent years, it was really refreshing to see an older hero in anime. His lovable underdog nature, optimism and his concern for his daughter and his friends made him so endearing. I felt Barnaby was a bit melodramatic and one-note at first (boo-hoo orphan I WILL HAVE DA REVENGE!) but I did warm to him as the series went on and I really liked how his partnership and then friendship with Kotetsu developed. I liked the other heroes as well, Blue Rose in particular was adorable, especially at the end with that "100 ways to make a single father fall for you" book!. Sky High's relentless earnestness was great and Fire Emblem was always hilarious. I also liked the way Origami Cyclone developed, though I wish there was more time devoted to Dragon Kid and especially Rock Bison. In particular I would have liked to have learnt more about Bison and Kotetsu's history together, and more on how Kotetsu met Tomoe.

The action was always fast-paced and well animated, and visually the series looked a treat on BD. I also thought that the English dub was terrific and one of the best I've heard in years. Wally Wingert may be best known as Renji in Bleach, but he'll always be Herman Toothrot to me ;) In any case, he in particular was excellent as Kotetsu (still love Hiroaki Hirata's original performance though!). Was also great to hear Spottswoode from Team America as Tiger and Bunny's boss :lol: . The story was well executed in general, though I had some quibbles with the pacing and some unresolved questions. I'm assuming that Lunatic's story thread was deliberately left unresolved here so that it could be the focus of the upcoming movie, but it still felt incomplete.

Some comments about the Aussie BD. Picture quality was fine throughout and banding was minimal. One oddity was that Part 1 didn't feature chapter stops, thankfully this was corrected for Part 2. The subs were not locked and audio can be switched on-the-fly (as should normally be the case), which was cool. The very first time Mr Saito is introduced, you have to turn on the English subtitles to see what he's saying as there are onscreen burnt-in captions that are in Japanese with no signs track. However, after that, all his subsequent appearances feature English captions burnt-in so this no longer becomes an issue. Weird. Either the burnt in captions were actually player generated and I just messed it up because I was screwing with switching between languages, or Viz in America forgot to handle that particular scene correctly. There are no subtitles for the OP and ED songs either unfortunately.

Part 1 includes four of the trading cards and four of the Monthly Hero magazines that Kaze had, Part 2 also has another 4 cards but only a single Monthly Hero magazine. I assume that this is because Kaze are responisble for the magazines, so since their Part 3 and 4 aren't out for quite some time, the magazines weren't ready for Siren to use. Part 1 has the "Inside Sunrise" documentary and Part 2 has another making-of that I didn't check. Overall though, I'm very satisfied with the release as it gave me what I wanted: Tiger and Bunny on Blu-ray at the price I wanted to pay.

Overall, I had an absolute blast watching it and I can't wait for the movies! It seemed tailor-made for a broader audience, and were it 10 years ago, I could absolutely have seen it running on Toonami or something.
 
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SNAFU e.13 - A strong choice to end on a relatively celebratory note - although it still included just enough of the series signature tang - and quite a lonely thought that I won't be meeting these characters again for a while. Hopefully the LN series continues long enough to at least produce another cour of anime somewhere down the line. Currently vying for the position of best series I've watched this year.
 
ilmaestro said:
SNAFU e.13 - A strong choice to end on a relatively celebratory note - although it still included just enough of the series signature tang - and quite a lonely thought that I won't be meeting these characters again for a while. Hopefully the LN series continues long enough to at least produce another cour of anime somewhere down the line. Currently vying for the position of best series I've watched this year.
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Hear hear. SNAFU is my biggest surprise of the season, and one of the best.
 
Railgun S 13

Each time an episode focuses on one of the sisters, it's like being stabbed in the gut...then having the knife dipped in salt, shoved back into the wound and twisted.
 
Attack on Titan e.13 - Excellent ep to lead into the break, for many reasons Levi!

Main benefit is I am now psychologically free to order the manga and find out some actual things having managed to last all the way to the clip show.
 
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Oreimo ep13

Ugh, bad drama. It's what Oreimo does best (worst?). Compared to that, Kyousuke attracting females like a flower attracts bees in the previous couple of episodes was positively brilliant - even though my reaction to the last one was OH GOD NOT AYASE AS WELL FFS at the time. In normal circumstances a perpetual harem situation would annoy me but if resolution means what I think it means, then right now I'd bleedin' well take a lack of resolution. In fact I'd even take Ayase!

But there were some funny moments in the second half. Oreimo does comedy so well that it makes me sad whenever it goes all DORAMA.
 
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fabricatedlunatic said:
Oreimo ep13

if resolution means what I think it means, then right now I'd bleedin' well take a lack of resolution.
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Sadly, there is only one way this show is, or was ever, going to end. Despite it being blatantly there in the title, I had hopes that it actually wouldn't and we'd get Kyou x Kuro. I'll admit I did think young Kirino was very cute this episode.

One Piece Ep.602
Attack On Titan Ep.13
Pokemon B&W Adventures in Unova Ep.14-16
 
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20thCenturyBoy said:
Sadly, there is only one way this show is, or was ever, going to end. Despite it being blatantly there in the title, I had hopes that it actually wouldn't and we'd get Kyou x Kuro.
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I thought it would be hinted at and nothing more. It seemed unlikely to me that such a generally light-hearted show would wholeheartedly go there - incest themes are typically treated as a joke or with more gravity - but at this point it looks as though all bets are off.

Henneko ep9

Bit behind on this one. Honestly, I have no idea what's going on or who's wishing for what. I think the cuteness overload is interfering with my ability to pay attention.
 
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The problem with Oreimo is, despite us knowing what the title is, the hatred towards the ending has pretty much been universal xD. Personally, the way I was hoping the story would pan out was the story focusing on Kirino and Kyosuke repairing the broken relationship they had before season 1, growing it into a close sibling relationship, but not going any further than that, then introduce them to romantic interests, such as Kyosuke with Ayase or Kuroneko.. For me, the turning point where things got weird was when Kuroneko broke up with Kyosuke and there was the whole "I don't want you to have a boyfriend/girlfriend!" thing.
 
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Gargantia 13

NOOOOOOOOOO CHAAAAAAAAAMBERRRR!!!! :cry:

I really did like the execution of this final episode, though the resolution did feel a bit rushed. It was largely very satisfying though, and Chamber's role was brilliant.

As for the series on the whole, I thought it came out the gates blisteringly as the strongest series of the season. Episode 4 in particular I thought was emotional and very effective. Episode 5 brought the momentum crashing to a halt with a completely pointless episode that just felt like a complete waste of time. This was further exacerbated when Episode 6 accomplished what 5 was trying to do much more effectively. With this being such a short series, that wasted episode could have been used for so much more. The next few episodes were a lot stronger, and I thought the backstory of the Hideauze was very well done, if a little forced. My main problem was that a lot of attention was suddenly given to characters who weren't developed enough previously for me to be invested in their story (Ridget) or who I just didn't give a toss about in the first place (Pinion). As a result it didn't feel like it was reaching the heights it did at the beginning. Having said that, I thought Gargantia pulled itself together for the finale brilliantly.

Ledo and his character development throughout was the highlight for me, I found his arc very believable and compelling. His relationship with Chamber in particular was the heart and soul of Gargantia for me. The setting of Gargantia itself was stunningly realised and the series did a terrific job of world-building. Amy I liked a lot, but she felt under utilised, especially towards the latter half, which is a shame as Ledo's interactions with her and her little brother were real bright points. When the action occured, it was well executed, especially towards the end.

Overall, while I didn't think Gargantia completely fulfilled the promise of its first 4 episodes, it was still a wonderful sci-fi anime in its own right and I am very glad that I watched it.
 
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