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Gintama - Episode 01
I've seen funny clips from the show, and this episode has funny moments, but it does seem to be a bit bogged down by attempting to introduce all the characters in rapid succession. I think subtitled comedy doesn't really work for me, so maybe it's me, but I hoped it'd be funnier. Anyway, I'll definitely give part 2 a try (I ran out of time otherwise I'd be watching now) and maybe a few more episodes to see if it improves.

Also, it's hard to tell if it's poorly subtitled or the non-sequiters really are that ridiculous "enjoy sucking on mayonnaise in the next world"...
 
Buzz201 said:
Gintama - Episode 01
I've seen funny clips from the show, and this episode has funny moments, but it does seem to be a bit bogged down by attempting to introduce all the characters in rapid succession. I think subtitled comedy doesn't really work for me, so maybe it's me, but I hoped it'd be funnier. Anyway, I'll definitely give part 2 a try (I ran out of time otherwise I'd be watching now) and maybe a few more episodes to see if it improves.

Also, it's hard to tell if it's poorly subtitled or the non-sequiters really are that ridiculous "enjoy sucking on mayonnaise in the next world"...

GinTama has a slow start to say (heck the first episode (aka the 2 parter) is even filler believe it or not) but it has its moments. :lol:
 
Subete ga F ni Naru e.7 - This episode was intense. I think the main scene between Moe and "Michiru" will be quite divisive, at least until/if the exact nature of it becomes clear. I'm not expecting it to become a complete Deus Ex Machina that explains the mystery to Moe, but it could possibly be a little further along the trippy SF-Fantasy continuum than I was expecting from this show.

Certainly I don't think anyone could argue with the power of Moe's semi-regression hypnosis though, both in terms of the imagery and also the effect it's likely to have on her going forward. The further this moves into psychological horror territory the more I think I like it. And it still retains its sense of whimsy, such as with the changing expressions on Saikawa's "Moe" T-Shirt.

Not sure about the extended English sequence. It was certainly a creative choice they deliberately made and followed through on, but I don't think I have anything else to add to that. It would not surprise me if something specific about the English dialog became important later.
 
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YuruYuri (Season 3) Episode 7.

I'd say this was a contender for my favourite episode of this season, which is particularly impressive given that Sakurako only appeared in the eyecatch and Himawari didn't appear at all. Ayano practising her Tsundere at the start was great and it was mostly uphill from there.

I really liked a lot of the little character details highlighted in this episode, especially some of the moments with Chinatsu and Akari. Chinatsu is kind of an interesting character in general, I was a little concerned that they were just forgetting some of her previous characterisation but it does seem that they know what they're doing and it's all character development. Akari is pretty solid too, it's much nicer getting to watch her be a character without the show feeling the need to torment her in some way. They even seemed to be making something of a joke out of that themselves, which was interesting.

It's possible that I'm reading way too much into something but the way Akari responded to one of Chinatsu's requests was kind of interesting. Saying "it's not that I don't want to" has some interesting implications, perhaps to the extent that she would have agreed had circumstances been different. I don't know if that was intended since it could be a translation thing or even just Akari's way of being polite, and even if it was intended there's a good chance that it was more as a tease than a genuine "plot point", but it still stood out to me. If it was intentional, it probably makes Akari an even better friend than she already seemed to be. It would also raise the possibility of a more genuine kind of Akari suffering, which I think I might actually be interested in seeing (though I'm not sure I'd say I want to).

Mirakurun looks like it could be a fun show from what I've seen of it (though I suppose a lot of what we've seen is Kyoko's fan made efforts), I wonder if they'd do a spin off at some point. Thinking about it, the relationship between the main characters in it seems to have certain similarities to the relationship between Chinatsu and Akari. I wonder if that was deliberate.

I hope we get more episodes along these lines. The ones that put some effort into exploring the characters and still manage to get some comedy out of it as well do tend to be the ones that I like most.

Mr. Osomatsu/Osomatsu-san Episode 7.

This one wasn't my favourite. It had some nice ideas and moments but tended to go a bit too far in the wrong ways for me. I'd say I probably liked the short and simple "Four" segment best.

I know the characters are kind of supposed to be "losers" but I think I just tend to prefer seeing losers win sometimes (or at least lose because of their own flaws but with the possibility of gaining something). There's a tendency for the show to treat suffering as inherently funny, which just doesn't appeal to me (this was sometimes my issue with YuruYuri in the past too, it's interesting how these two compare at times).

I do wonder if I'll want to watch a whole other season of this, I guess it depends if there are more episodes like the fifth one (it might mostly depend on what note the season ends really).
 
The Asterisk War e.1+2 - This show is just plain dumb. Like, on a level where I might actually just stop watching it rather than attempting to appreciate it for what it is. Holy moly.

edit: Heavy Object e.1 - Now this is much, much better, despite a number of similarities. Another great role here for Itou Shizuka, to add to a stand-out year imo.
 
A Lull in the Sea 1-6

Whatever merits A Lull in the Sea has - the backgrounds and lighting are spectacular, and its themes of discrimination and depopulation potentially interesting - they are unfortunately overshadowed by the overwraught melodrama. This is not entirely unexpected given the writer, but here it's far worse than in any of her other shows that I've seen. Right from the start barely five minutes pass without characters screaming and shouting, crying, running away dramatically, or punching someone. The low point was episode 4 when at least three or four characters were in tears and the hot-headed lead character, who is the source of most of the show's melodrama, prostrated himself in front of bullies he'd earlier attacked. From one extreme to the other.

Every episode is like watching the absurd conclusion to AnoHana, but at least that show had the decency to hold itself back until its viewers were at least a little bit invested. A Lull in the Sea thinks that a moe-blob or loli bawling their eyes our will automatically evoke dem feels in the audience. Maybe it does for most people, I dunno, but it doesn't for me.

Just so people know that I'm not a(n entirely) cold-hearted, soulless husk of a human being, earlier this year I watched One Week Friends. It's a less ambitious show than A Lull in the Sea, but the way it handles its romantic drama couldn't be any different. It relies on subtlety and characters acting like people instead of exaggerated anime stereotypes. It brought a manly tear to my eye. A Lull in the Sea is the anime equivalent of those made-for-TV tearjerker movies about a mother fighting for custody of her kids, or sodding Eastenders.
 
The Perfect Insider ep 5-6. This suddenly got good, mostly because there is actual progress with the mystery now. It also helps that the conversations have some meaning to them now, instead of the random pseudo-philosophical gibberish that was in the past four episodes.
 
Ghost in the Shell: New Movie

I found this enjoyable and quite entertaining and it had good continuity to the rest of the Arise anime but like the rest of the Arise anime it didn't feel like it was doing anything new.

Aura Battler Dunbine - Episode 36
 
Blade and Soul-Episodes 1-4
Off to a pretty good start.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere or if this is even the right place to say this but Animatsu's release (The DVD anyway, can't comment on the BD) is a direct port of the Sentai release. There are no Animatsu logos or trailers and Sentai's oversized yellow subtitles are unaltered, sadly.
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
A Lull in the Sea 1-6

Whatever merits A Lull in the Sea has - the backgrounds and lighting are spectacular, and its themes of discrimination and depopulation potentially interesting - they are unfortunately overshadowed by the overwraught melodrama. This is not entirely unexpected given...
... your well established hatred of melodrama. :p

BanzaiJedi said:
The Perfect Insider ep 5-6. This suddenly got good, mostly because there is actual progress with the mystery now. It also helps that the conversations have some meaning to them now, instead of the random pseudo-philosophical gibberish that was in the past four episodes.
I believe that was something along the lines of "setup". And was actual philosophical discussion drawing from actual philosophers.
 
Naruto Shippuden episode 438
Beautiful Bones episode 7
Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic episodes 9-11
Noragami Aragoto episode 8
Nisekoi episodes 11-20 (COMPLETE)
Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya episode 7
Attack on Titan Junior High episode 8
Digimon Tri: Saikai OVA
 
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