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A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 3-6

I feel as if the whole memory wipe thing would have made for higher stakes if it came later on in the series. These two characters spent a whole 2 days together, so the thought of Index forgetting who Touma is isn't really that bad, where as if they spend weeks or months together, it would have actually had some sort of emotional impact.
 
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Alderamin on the Sky ep 4. Damn, I'm really liking this for two reasons. Firstly, proper tactics are being used in the battles. And secondly is how deeply the two lead characters understand each other, as shown at the end of this episode, whilst giving no suggestion that their friendship will ever become romantic (which would have been the easy path for the creator to follow).

Berserk s2 ep 5.

The Highschool Life of a Fudanshi ep 4. Huh, seme and uke... I'm learning all kinds of things from this anime.
 
91 Days ep4

I thought there was a bit of Miller's Crossing going on last week, but now it seems like they've fully embraced the Coen brothers approach to extracting deadpan humour from potentially very grim situations. This pleases me.
 
Love Live! Sunshine!!-Episode 5

Hanamaru reacting to technology was the cutest thing. As far as the best girl race goes, she's certainly an underdog. I honestly didn't expect to like her as much as I do.

A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 7-10

Touma having his memory erased and him pretending to not have memory loss is certainly an interesting concept, although I do find it somewhat flawed. Sure, it makes sense why he wouldn't tell Index, he doesn't want to upset her, but why not tell Stiyl? It also makes me wonder how long he can keep it up too.

Orange-Episode 5

An excellent episode, great to see the Naho making some progress with Kakeru. However, it is rather a bittersweet episode as it's quite sad to see Suwa helping Naho and Kakeru get together even though he loves her himself. When it comes to Ueda, I actually thought that she was going to be nice and support Naho. No idea why...

Re:Zero-Episode 18

This episode was perfect, 10/10. Until the very end. I guess I'll see how it goes, but I'm a fair bit disappointed at the outcome.
 
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Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu - Episode 1 - 2 (out of 13) (First Impressions)
As soon as Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu was announced I knew that it would be something special, and after two episodes I’m bowled over and absolutely enamored by this wonderful show. First thing’s first, the art is beautiful. Although some rough edges can be found here and there overall it’s a fantastic piece of art that works wonderfully to create this tangible world that feels both real and lived in. Backgrounds are soft and painterly which works wonderfully in creating this depth of field that keeps your eyes centered and focused on the characters, but don’t let that stop you from drifting your eyes along the canvas, you’ll be rewarded for it with some pretty art and lush backgrounds, teeming with signs of life. Like I said, some parts do look a little rough but the shot composition does a fantastic job of hiding the flaws and keeping the viewer’s eyes on the characters and other points of interest. An abundance of close-up shots are utilized in this show and its usage is very important.
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You see, atmosphere and getting it right is paramount to a show like this. Allowing for the viewers to become immersed in this world is essential and makes or breaks a work like this. I think that it’s fair to say that the animators did a phenomenal job here in creating a show with atmosphere and the types of camera angles utilized throughout the two episodes is imperative to its success. Everything in this show takes place in close quarters and so a comfy sentiment exudes from each and every scene and everything feels personal because of this. Of course, due to the fact that the viewer spends a lot of time close up in front of characters their facial expressions play a key role, and they don’t disappoint. Animation affords creativity and so liberties are taken but overall the characters look grounded in reality and believable, and yet each one looks distinguished and unique. Most anime character designers rely on conjuring up designs that are far removed from reality as a means to make them memorable. Hair color that covers every gamut of the rainbow and apparel that looks as if it was pulled out at random is the norm for anime. Here, everything is grounded and real. Even the way in which the characters move feels highly researched and every nuance and mannerism has love and care crafted into it. It’s a phenomenal display of detail, all of which further enriches this world and makes it feel genuine and tangible. Lots of the etiquette will fly over the heads of many but the fact that they’ve been painstakingly animated is not only commendable but also pays dividends. Another aspect of this show that is executed with finesse is the audio and voice acting.
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Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu explores the long lost art of Rakugo, a verbal form of entertainment that is delivered by a lone storyteller known as the Koza, who sits on stage in front of an audience with only a small cloth and a paper fan as props. Not allowed to stand-up the speaker uses everything at his disposal in order to entertain and stimulate the audience using mannerisms, tone and gestures. With this in mind it’s easy to see how important the audio and voice acting is within this show and I have to say the job done here is nothing short of astounding. You see, a vast majority of the time being spent by the viewer is in front of the Koza, as if you were in attendance for the Rakugo and like a real Rakugo the show tells its story using only the mannerisms and gestures and voice acting and yet even with this limited array of tools the show is able to deliver a wide assortment of emotions. What the show does is legitimize the art of Rakugo to the viewer by winning them over and by doing so you become that much more invested in the characters and their objectives. If you the viewer didn’t care about Rakugo the show would ultimately fall flat on its face and so this achievement, the fact that it introduces this new form of storytelling and makes you the viewer a believer is a testament to the show. It really demonstrates the creators’ belief in Rakugo, the fact that they treat it with respect and again, legitimize it by actually utilizing it in the show with unwavering determination and not shying away from it is commendable. Having 10 minute, uninterrupted bouts of Rakugo in the middle of the first episode, which again ultimately amounts to a character sitting on stage and vocally playing the part of multiple characters using only mannerisms and tone to distinguish from one character to another displays the level of confidence that the director has in this art and the fact that they nail the performance is the icing on the cake. The Rakugo is both compelling and entertaining and legitimately funny.
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When the music is jazzy it adds a feeling of prosperity to the whole affair and when the music is lot more traditional it adds cadence that works well in transporting you to this bygone era. The presentation from the visuals to the audio accentuate the personal aspect of this series and the fantastic shot composition goes a long way too. Everything feels close, connected and comfy. I can’t praise the voice acting enough.
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This really is a magical show, one which effortlessly transports you and spellbinds you, very much like a Rakugo should.
 
Handa-kun ep 4
Tales of Zestiria The X ep 4
Food Wars Second Plate ep 5
berserk 2016 ep 5
Rewrite ep 5
Ace Attorney ep 17
Momokuri ep 9 - 10
Taboo Tattoo ep 4
This Art Club Has a Problem ep
Amanchu ep 4
Alderamin on the Sky ep 4 really enjoying this series . Definitely going to be in my top 3 for this season
 
91 Days - Episode 4
Amanchu! - Episode 4
Jojo's Bizarre Adventure DIU - Episode 18
Love Live! Sunshine! - Episode 5
Re:ZERO - Episode 18
Mob Psycho 100 - Episode 1
Kizumonogatari I Tekketsu-hen

Really enjoyed the first part of Kizu. For whatever reason the first film really clicked with me - something that the series hasn't really done for me since the start of Second Season. There was some pretty impressive animation work in there from Shaft, as well as some disappointing use of noticeable 3D. I have to say though, whilst Shaft's photography and animation work is definitely put to good use in this film, from a videophile perspective the transfer (much like the rest of the Monogatari series) is pretty naff with plenty of banding. It's also only a 720p production (well, technically 1280x544), so it doesn't look anywhere near as sharp as your typical theatrical production nowadays (heck, even TV anime).
 
Friday 29th July:
Berserk 2016 (Japanese audio) - Episode 5
Amanchu! (Japanese audio) - Episode 4

Saturday 30th July:
Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma: The Second Plate (Japanese audio) - Episode 5

Sunday 31st July:
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Japanese audio) - Episode 18

I've been busy playing Tales of Xillia so I didn't have time to get through some of the new episodes for 91 Days, Alderamin of the Sky, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable and Mob Psycho 100.
 
A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 11 and 12

Not sure I'm so keen on the Mikoto focus. Not that I dislike her or her story, but Railgun exists to give her the spotlight, so it feels like kind of a waste to not have Index involved.

Bananya-Episode 5

The fridge is truly a wonderful place.
 
Senkou no Night Raid / Night Raid 1931 Episodes 4-13 + OVAs.

I've posted about it in the rating thread.

It was reasonably enjoyable but ultimately somewhat disappointing, more for failing to meet it's potential than for being a bad show. The show does also suffer from a general lack of focus and direction, never really developing any of it's aspects as well as it could. Stand alone episodes and moments are often the best parts, with some being especially strong and perhaps elevating the show overall, but even those don't often mesh well with the rest of the show.

Something I found especially odd was the way the story handled it's main characters. Yukina basically loses (or loses touch with) everyone she cares about, as well as being left seemingly lacking any real sense of purpose, but the writing doesn't seem to realise this at all. It feels like they decided to focus on Aoi and Kazuma and stopped treating Yukina or Natsume as characters, not that they handled many other characters as well as I'd hoped either. Even then, Kazuma's fate is another weak point that undermines much of the effort put into his development and Aoi's fate is basically just okay.

DAYS Episodes 2-4.

I have to admit, I'm very impressed with this show. I can't say I had the highest expectations for it going in but there's something about it that just makes it a joy to watch. It's odd because it feels like many of the characters and their stories are fairly simple and obvious and the show often seems to be moving a little quickly but for some reason it just seems to exude a sense of fun and enthusiasm that makes it difficult not to get swept along and enjoy it. Funnily enough, that's also pretty much what the show is about. Main character Tsukushi constantly runs forward with a simple and positive view of things while those around him can't help but be inspired to start moving and try to find something positive themselves.

Perhaps more impressive is that the show still feels like it has some depth to it. Tsukushi doesn't exactly have an easy time of things and, even for all of his effort, success seems far from assured. He's even aware himself of the reality of things and doesn't expect things to work out just because he'd like them to. Even so, he's able to carry on with what he wants to do simply because it is what he wants to do. The show manages to keep a fairly positive and optimistic theme while also having a hint of reality. Some shows are easy to cynically criticise because of how unlikely their positive outcomes are but this show directly addresses those concerns without having to sacrifice it's overall positive feeling.

So far the actual sport aspect of the show has mostly taken a backseat, it's far more about the characters and even when games are being played they tend to be saying more about the characters than trying to be realistic representations. I do think this is for the best and hope that it continues, though it may be disappointing for anyone going into the show hoping for it to be about the sport. Still, if your reason for not watching this show is that you don't like sports (or sports anime) then you should strongly consider giving the show a try.

Sweetness and Lightning / Amaama to Inazuma Episodes 3-4.

Solid episodes, this is still a pretty great show. It hasn't really gotten too deep into anything more serious so far and I get the feeling it's probably going to continue that way. I certainly wouldn't mind if the show did go into those issues but it does seem to have at least sidestepped one issue that I thought it might be heading towards dealing with and it has only really implied most of the less cheerful stuff. Perhaps that sort of thing can be left for another show and with this show doing what it's doing so well it's hard to complain.

Amanchu! Episodes 2-3.

While this is another show that's staying on the lighter side while only really hinting at the darker stuff, it's also another show that's executed so well that it's easy to enjoy and difficult to complain. So far it's telling a fairly simple and pleasant story, with some really nice visuals and a relaxed pace.

New Game Episodes 3-4.

While I did enjoy seeing a bit more of the actual work that the characters are involved in during Episode 3, I have to admit that Episode 4 was my favourite so far. It was nice to see some character development in both episodes, especially the stuff with the more senior members of the team in Episode 4. It's maybe not doing something hugely different to similar shows but it seems to be improving with each episode so there's a reasonable chance it could end up being quite a strong show of it's type.

I did also appreciate that the show doesn't go overboard in hammering home a point, there were moments in both episodes where a lesser show would have explained exactly what the characters were doing and why but New Game is happy to give the audience enough information to work with and respect their intelligence. That's especially appreciated in a show that isn't exactly likely to deal with the deepest or most complex of issues and storylines.
 
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IncendiaryLemon said:
A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 11 and 12

Not sure I'm so keen on the Mikoto focus. Not that I dislike her or her story, but Railgun exists to give her the spotlight, so it feels like kind of a waste to not have Index involved.
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But Index herself was probably one of the least interesting parts of the show from what I remember. I could be completely wrong if I rewatch it again, but every memorable scene or character in that show does not involve Index.
The adventures of Touman, Biribiri and Accelerator stick out as being far more interesting than anything Index ever was.
 
Mangaranga said:
IncendiaryLemon said:
A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 11 and 12

Not sure I'm so keen on the Mikoto focus. Not that I dislike her or her story, but Railgun exists to give her the spotlight, so it feels like kind of a waste to not have Index involved.
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But Index herself was probably one of the least interesting parts of the show from what I remember. I could be completely wrong if I rewatch it again, but every memorable scene or character in that show does not involve Index.
The adventures of Touman, Biribiri and Accelerator stick out as being far more interesting than anything Index ever was.
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If I'm being brutally honest, Touma is a pretty bland protagonist IMO. He's not really interesting in the slightest, even with the memory stuff, which hasn't really impacted the plot whatsoever thus far. Index is cute and gets a few laughs out of me at least, so there's that.

A Certain Magical Index-Episodes 13 and 14
 
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