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Children of The Whales (ep 1-9)
Really tempted to drop this but there's only a few episodes left. It just doesn't hold my attention much for some reason so wouldn't've got watched this far if it wasn't on Netflix (which I can watch on the telly downstairs when no buggers in). Some of the characters are quite annoying I thought but so far this is a 5/10 for me.
The setting/mystery thing sort of feels a bit like Gargantia but not as good.

I do wish their was more of Gargantia. I got a lot of the same vibes watching this, but while they spent time setting up an interesting world, they introduced far too many characters, each with little depth or much to do. A lot of them felt like they had been cut and pasted completely from other shows.
 
BEATLESS (Japanese audio) - Episodes 8-9 (note: next episode is another Intermission rofl)
KOKKOKU: Moment by Moment (Japanese audio) - Episode 11

And with that I am now up-to-date on all of the Winter 2018 anime titles. The Ancient Magus Bride is the only one left that I'm behind with, but there's at least 8 episodes left prior to the show's final episode next Saturday. I'll be making sure I'm up-to-date on the series before then.

Junji Ito Collection and KOKKOKU: Moment by Moment will also finish their run next week also.
 
Dragon Ball Super #130

Oh boy...this was certainly an experience. As a huge DB fan I couldn't contain myself and actually teared up part way through Shida's cut

I don't DB had ever looked good it felt like it literally was just 20 mins of movement and action barely any standing or talking. Everybody brought their a game here, direction was amazing, the story board was excellent and the narrative beats where great, Goku became Jiren's wall despite it being the other way around for the vast majority of the tournament.

Next week looks more of the same so cannot wait!


Seen it too, I do feel the direction changed about halfway through though, seemed to start with lots of flurries when jiren made balanced out the fight, then it became absolutely georgous flipping between more distorted cuts that emphasised the speed and scale of movement and your new avatar pic, becoming as clear as most recent and very detailed anime, mostly on the heaviest hits.
They've even managed to write it in a way where this cliffhanger is more surprising than most shoenen cliffhangers, can't wait to see how the final one turns out!
 
Violet Evergarden ep9-10

9 didn't do a lot for me, but ep10 felt like the strongest one so far. It's taken me a while to really get a handle on this series; I think just reading the comments about it while it was going on led me to expect something a bit weightier than it actually is. Narratively, I feel it tends to paint in rather broad strokes a lot of the time, but every so often it has these little flashes of inspiration that feel like something a bit special.
 
Fruits Basket episodes 16-26 (Complete. This was an enjoyable SoL with fantasy elements and subtle emotionally driven nuances as well as a charm that helped it stick out for me. The focus on the core characters and their hijinks were also quite fun. My only gripes came from any episodes focusing on the Yuki Fan club, they were just annoying. That and they never adapted the rest of the manga, though if an older anime like CCS can get a new continuation then maybe FB can too. A worthy blind buy from MVM.) 4/5

Fusé: Memoirs of the Hunter Girl (Film) A gorgeously animated film with some memorable setpieces that oozes in Japanese culture and mythology (that I wish I had more knowledge of in order to appreciate it.) The story was based on Hakkenden, which has been adapted numerous times. I found it to be quite enjoyable, and the climax had some impressive visual prowess, even if it was a bit confusing. The soundtrack was good as well, as composed by Michiru Ōshima. 3.5/5
 
DARLING in the FRANXX eps 9+10
Episode 9 was my favourite yet. It's very relatable, and had me fighting back tears. Episode 10 was kinda heartbreaking in its own way as well, seeing how cold and distant society has turned people. For me, this is an outstanding show.

Pop Team Epic eps 10+11
Ep 10 was... fine, I guess. The brief Princess Kaguya parody was good, though.

Ep 11: that sketch where Pipimi turns into a tree was grand. It's a pun on the Japanese phrase "Ki ni naru" ("I am intrigued"), which also sounds like "I will turn into a tree". And the sketch at the start was... something. I can imagine that really happening.
 
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DARLING in the FRANXX eps 9+10
Episode 9 was my favourite yet. It's very relatable, and had me fighting back tears. Episode 10 was kinda heartbreaking in its own way as well, seeing how cold and distant society has turned people. For me, this is an outstanding show.

Pop Team Epic eps 10+11
Ep 11 was... fine, I guess. The brief Princess Kaguya parody was good, though.

Ep 12: that sketch where Pipimi turns into a tree was grand. It's a pun on the Japanese phrase "Ki ni naru" ("I am intrigued"), which also sounds like "I will turn into a tree". And the sketch at the start was... something. I can imagine that really happening.
Episode 12? You a time traveller Neil? ;)
 
Children of the Whales eps 7-12 (complete)
I don't know whether being disappointed at something turning out to be completely different from what you expected it to be is a fair criticism or not (probably not), but this certainly wasn't what I expected. What it turned out to be was OK, but there are ideas not fully examined, too many characters with most not really getting a decent introduction before events over take them and an ending that's not really an ending where you hope that there is a second season, but not bothered enough to read the manga if there isn't!
 
Dagashi Kashi 2 (Dub) Episode 8
Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody (Dub) Episode 8
Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san (Dub) Episode 8
Katana Maidens (Dub) Episode 9
Karakai Jozu no Takagi-san (Sub) Episode 11
The Ryou's Work is Never Done! (Sub) Episode 11
 
Basilisk: The Ouka Ninja Scrolls episode 11 (Dropped. A shame, there's some quality here, but it's also dull and so is the cast.)

GANGSTA. episodes 1-12 (Complete. This is a difficult one, mainly because the first seven or so episodes looked really promising, I was very much enjoying the story and characters, as well as the action setpieces.

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that the makers of the series didn't really have a clear end point and for an anime with no clear sign of a sequel ending it on a cliffhanger, especially one such as this wasn't a wise choice. There was also a lot crammed into these episodes, with some world elements being mentioned but not explained here and there- Studio Manglobe went bust after this so it might have been a contributing factor to how rushed some of it felt. The antagonists introduced near the end are also pretty meh.

Overall, this was good, but the latter episodes held it back from being better, especially that ending.) 3.5/5

Gantz episodes 1-3
 
GANGSTA. episodes 1-12 (Complete. This is a difficult one, mainly because the first seven or so episodes looked really promising, I was very much enjoying the story and characters, as well as the action setpieces.

Unfortunately, it becomes apparent that the makers of the series didn't really have a clear end point and for an anime with no clear sign of a sequel ending it on a cliffhanger, especially one such as this wasn't a wise choice. There was also a lot crammed into these episodes, with some world elements being mentioned but not explained here and there- Studio Manglobe went bust after this so it might have been a contributing factor to how rushed some of it felt. The antagonists introduced near the end are also pretty meh.

Overall, this was good, but the latter episodes held it back from being better, especially that ending.) 3.5/5
Unfortunately the problem with Gangsta and the place it ended is because they ran out of manga to adapt.
 
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