Media Anime and Manga Thread MK3 - Beware Spoilers

Lemonade

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Boruto: if you are a Naruto fangay like me, you will like this show. It's pretty cheesy and they are still in the academy, but in a way that makes the fights more interesting because they have like 1 jutsu each to use. The kids of Naruto characters are a bit too much like their parents imo, but there are new blood characters.
 
seasonal stuff now that its coming to a close

LWA: Trash

Re:Creators: gets better and better each episode, the entire cast is compelling. except meteora fuck her. ep 3-5 are a bit of a slog.

Machiavellianism: good dumb harem, probably the best harem i've seen. still not really worth noting though.

Sakurada Reset: Fascinatingly bad, its bad in a way i've never seen a show be bad before. Main girl is insanely autistic

Eromanga-Sensei: the fact that he chose objectively worst girl brings this show down a bit. team elf yamada.

Warau Salesman: shitty twilight zone basically, the plot twists / punishments werent interesting at all. Few notable segments though (the night owl bit is a personal favourite)

Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine: started out ok but i got bored really fast i have 0 idea why i watched the whole thing

SukaSuka: way better than it has any right to be. the ctholly willem relationship carries the show hardcore. next episode will make or break the show.


and during the offseason i decided to start watching EL CAZADOR DE LA BRUJA https://myanimelist.net/anime/2030/El_Cazador_de_la_Bruja which is a surprisngly heartwarming tale of a bounty hunter and a witch girl. im only 3 episodes in but the relationship between the 2 MCs is really good. Theres a lot of dumb ways this show could go though, and its already showing signs of that.
To your disappointment, Machiavellianism won't have a harem ending. Nope, I ain't givin manga spoilers, I'm saying as to how Onigawara and Fudo were shown and were given more screentime as a ship, unlike normal harems which show normally-equal screentime and allow y'all to enjoy harem. Yep, I neither enjoy harem, nor would I prefer harem over a straight, direct ship.

Well, furthermore, lemme add 3 more animes to the winter 2017 anime list.

Renai Boukun: Expected this to be a straightforward romcom, but it did have harem. But the comedy made me watch it, and yep, some episodes served so good for Guri X Seiji. 7/10.

Saekano flat. (season 2): This is what we call emotionally-driven. The ups and downs of emotions, from the tearful diversion of the team to the comical Kato's nature, Saekano proved that sometimes season 2 can outperform season 1. Those of you who haven't watched the last episode of this yet, go treat yourself. 8.5/10.

Tsuki ga Kirei: The second most realistic anime after White Album 2 (Read below for a minor review of mine of White Album 2). Though one episode has yet to air, the story till now has seriously flown beautifully. The romance between the two main characters has mentioned every difficulty a person may face. Seriously, this was exactly what the anime name suggests. As the moon, so beautiful. 9/10.

White Album 2:
Honestly, one of the most realistic animes. Though yeah, most people may believe that Tsuki is more realistic than this but, I'm saying this on the basis of my personal experience, and I have faced a situation bit similar to this one. Moving forward,
This has music, and if you're a fan of plain, soothing instrumental to calm you down, the basic tune of the anime will be stuck in your mind. And then moving to the main part, this anime has the EMOTIONS. It will make you smile at moments, make you extremely happy at times, but as the episodes move forward, it will drop. Drop harder than bass drops in music, though I honestly won't give any more spoilers but would recommend y'all to watch it instead.
 
I haven't done a "review" of the seasonal anime in awhile so why not (I'm just going to do quick thoughts, so don't expect anything riveting):

Boruto: If you liked Naruto, you'll like this, if you hated Naruto, you'll hate this. Also, I'm not the first person to make this joke, but Shino has gotten more screen time in Boruto then he did in the entirety of Naruto, which is sad, but amusing. 7/10

AoT Season 2: Better than what I was expecting, though I don't think it satisfied the people who have been waiting for it. Thankfully we don't have to wait too long for season 3. 6.5/10

My Hero Academia Season 2: So far so good. The tournament arc was good, had some epic moments, and the next arc looks really interesting, looking forward to it. 8.5/110

Warau Salesman: I actually have 3 more episodes to go, but I really don't want to watch them. It's funny for one episode, but once the shtick is established, it gets very boring very quickly. 4/10

Sakaruda Reset: Anime equivalent of most forum users. Tries to act really smart, but is actually really dumb. 3/10

Re: Creators: Didn't know about this one at first, but just as RODAN says, it keeps getting better and better with every episode. Also, the soundtrack is rad. 8.5/10

Grimoire of Zero: Just a solid anime. Does nothing inventive, but not every anime has to. If you like fantasy/adventure type anime, then check it out. Also, Mercenary made me question if I was a furry or not, so I guess it gets points for that. 7.5/10

SukaSuka: First off, wasn't it weird that this season had two anime that had humanoid animals? Anyway, motherfuck, I knew it was coming, but damn the ending with the soundtrack did me in. The ending was ambiguous and confusing, yes, but the last episode and the chemistry between the two main leads were just so fucking good. Definitely my AotS. 9/10
 
I haven't done a "review" of the seasonal anime in awhile so why not (I'm just going to do quick thoughts, so don't expect anything riveting):

Boruto: If you liked Naruto, you'll like this, if you hated Naruto, you'll hate this. Also, I'm not the first person to make this joke, but Shino has gotten more screen time in Boruto then he did in the entirety of Naruto, which is sad, but amusing. 7/10

AoT Season 2: Better than what I was expecting, though I don't think it satisfied the people who have been waiting for it. Thankfully we don't have to wait too long for season 3. 6.5/10

My Hero Academia Season 2: So far so good. The tournament arc was good, had some epic moments, and the next arc looks really interesting, looking forward to it. 8.5/110

Warau Salesman: I actually have 3 more episodes to go, but I really don't want to watch them. It's funny for one episode, but once the shtick is established, it gets very boring very quickly. 4/10

Sakaruda Reset: Anime equivalent of most forum users. Tries to act really smart, but is actually really dumb. 3/10

Re: Creators: Didn't know about this one at first, but just as RODAN says, it keeps getting better and better with every episode. Also, the soundtrack is rad. 8.5/10

Grimoire of Zero: Just a solid anime. Does nothing inventive, but not every anime has to. If you like fantasy/adventure type anime, then check it out. Also, Mercenary made me question if I was a furry or not, so I guess it gets points for that. 7.5/10

SukaSuka: First off, wasn't it weird that this season had two anime that had humanoid animals? Anyway, motherfuck, I knew it was coming, but damn the ending with the soundtrack did me in. The ending was ambiguous and confusing, yes, but the last episode and the chemistry between the two main leads were just so fucking good. Definitely my AotS. 9/10
Is sukasuka really good? I mean, the only reason why I didn't watch it was because of it's name. Seriously:
Shūmatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii Desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desu ka?
 

TMan87

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Is sukasuka really good? I mean, the only reason why I didn't watch it was because of it's name. Seriously:
Shūmatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii Desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii Desu ka?
I mean, if long names turn you off, you could miss gems like Chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai! or Kono subarashii sekai ni shukufuku o!, so I recommend getting past it.
 
I mean, if long names turn you off, you could miss gems like Chuunibyou demo koi ga shitai! or Kono subarashii sekai ni shukufuku o!, so I recommend getting past it.
I have watched both of them. Keep that aside, I have completed OreImo and Oregairu.

And since this has come, is it an anime-only thread or are we allowed to discuss things in LNs too (specifically, konosuba LNs)

Also, let's talk about Summer 2017! Any anime which excites you?

I'm not sure about myself yet, but Gamers - I checked this anime's LN sales, and it was in top 30 (#26) in June 2017 with approximately 86k sales. Not sure how it is going to be myself, but guess that sales really excites me!! Hope it doesn't turn me down. The plot summary seems more or less than similar to Netoyome (another anime with large name lol) and SAO (though not completely similar to this one), and I personally liked both of them. (Please don't attack me for liking SAO)
 

Martin

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Never mind those two what about Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai

Anyway, I strongly reccomend SukaSuka; fully recommend it for anyone who wants to see likable, well-written characters and extremely cool stylisation in a fantasy setting and setup which both have the perfect level of "generic" to make it appealing and easy to understand without making you think you've seen the exact same thing 10 times before. Ctholly is a strong contender for character of the season imo (other contenders being Mamika, Souta, and Magane from Re:Creators, Uraraka from BNHA2, and the Akane from Tsuki ga Kirei), and even if for nothing else the show is worth watching just to see the way that her story unfolds as well as the stuff between her and Willem. We seem to be hitting the first arc of the second cour of the show now (note: I've not seen this week's ep yet), and I'm interested to see the way that it unfolds, even if it does end up changing the dynamic compared to the first half of the show. There's a sequel LN series, so hopefully if this show does well enough we might see that adapted at some point in the foreseeable future.
 

TMan87

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I usually don't know in advance what animes are airing, and only take interest when I watch anime cracks or something and say "hey, that looks good/funny/intense/whatever", and then I decide to research a bit about it.
However, I know one thing I'll be watching this summer: the NGNL movie. I've read vol.6 of the LN, so the content won't be much of a surprise to me, but I'm still excited for two reasons:

1) Having the events of the Great War animated really thrills me, as the volume was much, much darker than the previous ones (well it's a war, so it was to be expected), and I'm expecting some great action scenes.

2) If the movie has success, that'll maybe prompt MadHouse to make a S2 for the anime (which I've been dying for since I completed it). I know for sure there is enough material in vol. 4 and 5 to make another 12 episodes, so my guess is MadHouse just wants to make sure the show has some success to make it profitable. Which I hope.

Anyway, I still need to catch up to the last season, so apart from that I probably won't watch anything aired in summer.
 

Mr.E

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last month I semi-ironically watched Love Live S1 as part of iateyourpie's sub viewing party

It was not nearly as bad as people led me to believe. The worst I can say is everyone's face is samey -- at least it's a cute one -- and sometimes the transitions in and out of 3D CG had a real uncanny valley feeling to it. But it was lighthearted fun and the plot made enough sense to get me invested, I had to see the story to its conclusion by spending the past couple days watching season two... and shit there's a movie too? Fine. Poor Honoka, delusionally speaking to her future self as a poor street performer in NYC in a desperate attempt to return to her former glory as a child actress school idol...

maki > kotori >>>>>>>>>>>> rapechan > nico-nico-NO

also not that I'm a regular but I didn't see anything interesting me about this summer's lineup except a season 2 of New Game! (which they regretfully didn't name NG+) based solely on the fact that the original interested me last year and I haven't heard anything to dissuade me from watching it in some distant future
 
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Martin

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Cardcaptor Sakura (including movies 1 and 2)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★ (3x3)
This show caught me off-guard in quite a lot of ways when I watched it back in May. I went into it expecting that I'd enjoy it, but as I was watching it I got gradually more and more obsessed with it as each episode went by. By the end I was obsessed to a degree which I don't think I've been since watching ERASED all the way back in winter 2016, which says a lot considering that back then it was largely attributable to the fact that it was my first time live-watching anything. A show targeted towards 8-12 year-old girls managed to completely enthrall an almost-19-year-old boy in its world and characters without even particularly doing anything special. Maybe it's 'cause I'm really childish, maybe it's for a completely different reason, but it got me completely invested and hyped for the Clear Card Arc which will begin airing next January. I guess it just kinda opened my eyes to things about myself that I wasn't really fully aware of, such as how childish and girly I am, as well as making me consider the purpose of demographics (and how they are complete nonexistent beyond the context of advertising), and even without taking that into account it was enjoyable as hell watching the relationships between the characters evolve throughout as more things became apparent, and they all felt well written and, for the most part, were likable (even if Meilin–the only character I didn't particularly like–was insanely annoying before the end of the Clow Card Arc, I can't deny that later on the quality of her character writing was brought out). The one thing I will say about this show is for fuck sake do not watch the dub. Not only do they completely botch the pronunciation of Sakura, but they also cut out a load of stuff while chopping and changing the order of events.

Shingeki no Kyoujin Second Season (Attack on Titan Second Season)

Enjoyment Rating: ★★★
This is just more Attack on Titan. While it certainly is an improvement over the first season, most notably regarding its characters, it still has a lot of the same issues that the first season had (such as the fact that it is still pretty boring a lot of the time) without really improving over a lot of the first season's good aspects like the animation/choreography, or its great thriller moments and direction. Eren is still an annoying shithead, with the main draw of the second season being lost the moment the focus was put back onto him again as opposed to the other members of the cast, and overall it just kinda went downhill after the fight with the Collossal Titan and Armoured Titan. Ultimately it was just boring, and it lost the edge that the first half of the season had over both season 1 and the other action shows which aired on the season. All in all I was just disappointed.

Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu Ka? Isogashii Desu Ka? Sukette Moratte Ii Desu Ka? (WorldEnd: What Do You Do At The End Of The World? Are You Busy? Will You Save Us?)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★
I've already talked about this a few posts ago, so I'll keep this reasonably short. SukaSuka is extremely good, and I'm kinda relieved that I was mistaken in thinking it was 2-cour 'cause I didn't really know how they'd keep it going from where it left off. As a psychological anime, it does a very good job of exploring the emotions of its two main characters, Willem and Ctholly, in the situation that they have been placed in as well as developing their relationship in a really moving character piece. I really loved the stylisation that they used for mental deterioration, and the fact that they didn't forget to include little details regarding the colouration of Ctholly's hair to ensure good continuation from episode to episode just added that little bit extra to the experience. All in all, I'm very happy with how this show turned out. I am kinda interested to know how the sequel LN series plays out though, so I hope it gets adapted.

Assassination Classroom (both seasons)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★ (3x3)
Ass Class rocks holy hell. If I were to point out everything which is extremely good about this show I'd be here all day. Every character in this show is just excellent. They are all well explored, three-dimensional, and likable, and their character designs are good. Watching this made me go through a lot of emotion shifts if I'm completely honest: probably more than it should have, and it just comes down to the great writing throughout. I was totally on-board with it and its universe, and I was fully invested in both the goals of the students and in their friendship with Koro Sensei, and everything else in the show too. Ultimately this is the best shounen I've watched so far.

Bungou Stray Dogs Second Season
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★
Take the first season of Bungou Stray Dogs, improve over it in just about every aspect, give actual backstory to some of the cast beyond the MC, and you get Bungou Stray Dogs 2. I remember one of the things I liked a lot about the first season was how creative the gifts (i.e. glorified superpowers) were, and the second season didn't slack on this for the new characters that it introduced. The "I want to be an author" drive of one of the major characters in the first arc of the series is neat easter egg (in that all of the major or semi-major characters within all the different factions (barring Atsushi (not named after anyone) and Elise (based on a German dancing girl from Mori Ougai's Maihime) are named after either Japanese or English authors) which ties in with the writing+stylisation of both of Bungou's EDs well and creates a point of interest regarding one of the characters from the 'Dazai's past' arc. That said, I can't say that I think it is more than just "good" for reasons that I can't quite put my finger on, even though I intend to watch everything which gets released regarding the show in the future 'cause I'm hooked, and I don't think that I enjoyed it as much as a lot of my 5-star shows, hence the four-star rating.

Death Parade
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★
The first half of this show was very disappointing on the whole. The concept is cool and all, but it didn't do enough with it to properly sell it for me. The second half was good, and then the last two episodes were both great. In fact, the last two episodes were completely disproportionate compared to the entire rest of the show that they single-handedly pushed what would be a three-star show up to a four-star show. Decim and Chiyuki are both very good characters, but it takes way too long to reach a point where it starts proving that to me, which is just really frustrating. Beyond this the characters were a very mixed bag in general, with there being a number of cast members who I don't think served any purpose but still got way too much screen-time (literally every character in the Viginti affiliation). All of these things really bring what could have been a great show down, and it's a shame really.

Kimi no Na wa (Your Name)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★
Your Name wasn't perfect; you'd be an idiot if you said it had no issues at all, and for me it's kinda hovering on the borderline between a four- and five-star movie because there were plenty of moments in this movie in which I wasn't completely enthralled. However, what I think just pushes it over the boundary into the five-star region for me ultimately comes down just that: I wasn't constantly completely enthralled, but its high points were so high that I didn't need to. I've not seen any of the director's other movies, but even if I had I hate comparing shows and prefer to look at them in a vacuum to prevent it affecting my enjoyment--pushing the argument that it is basically a rehash of another one of their movies out the window. This movie's concept is very good, and it executed very well. There is lots of very good stylisation, and it didn't go over the line that a lot of shows love to cross for the sake of "humour" to the point that it made me cringe at any point. It knows how to stick to its own limits, which is ultimately one of the best things about the movie. It looks stunning and was beautifully animated throughout (with the exception of a panning shot right at the very beginning of the film, which looked very frame-y when I was watching it), and I particularly liked the art styles which were used for the stuff with the comets and the clouds, with them being the moments when the movie pulled me in most, and as absurd as the events of the show were, I couldn't help but believe it as I was watching. The OST is also very good. All in all, I have no gripes with this which are really major enough to push it down from 5 stars, although if I was still on a 10-point scale I'd have probably settled with between 8.5 and 9 for it.

Tsuki ga Kirei
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★ (Anime of the Season)
When I saw this show on AniChart before the season started, I said on discord that I really hoped that this show to be good. I wasn't disappointed, and if anything it exceeded my expectations immensely. Just about every aspect of this show that matters is spectacular, whether it be the character writing, the rest of the writing, the storyboarding, or the shorts after the credits. While the animation was inconsistent in places (there were animation quality drops in places where it was obvious Flying Dog were rushing to hit the deadline, and the background CGI characters are utterly disgusting), overall the show looks good from its gorgeous backdrops to its easy-on-the-eyes art style with impossible lighting, and it all combines with how there are constantly shots packed to the brim with meaning consistently throughout every single episode of the show (the most obvious example in the finale was the scene with the stepping stones, but there are multiple examples that I could bring up in every single episode, all of which feel deliberate and well thought-out (the best scene is the book store scene in episode 5)) which just generally really improves the amount of enjoyment I was able to derive from this reasonably simple romance anime. It left me smiling from ear to ear on multiple occasions, and I found it very easy to sympathise with the three main cast members and their situations(yes, that includes Chinatsu). Overall I struggle to fault this show, and it is why I think that it is AotS.
 
To your disappointment, Machiavellianism won't have a harem ending. Nope, I ain't givin manga spoilers, I'm saying as to how Onigawara and Fudo were shown and were given more screentime as a ship, unlike normal harems which show normally-equal screentime and allow y'all to enjoy harem. Yep, I neither enjoy harem, nor would I prefer harem over a straight, direct ship.

Well, furthermore, lemme add 3 more animes to the winter 2017 anime list.

Renai Boukun: Expected this to be a straightforward romcom, but it did have harem. But the comedy made me watch it, and yep, some episodes served so good for Guri X Seiji. 7/10.

Saekano flat. (season 2): This is what we call emotionally-driven. The ups and downs of emotions, from the tearful diversion of the team to the comical Kato's nature, Saekano proved that sometimes season 2 can outperform season 1. Those of you who haven't watched the last episode of this yet, go treat yourself. 8.5/10.

Tsuki ga Kirei: The second most realistic anime after White Album 2 (Read below for a minor review of mine of White Album 2). Though one episode has yet to air, the story till now has seriously flown beautifully. The romance between the two main characters has mentioned every difficulty a person may face. Seriously, this was exactly what the anime name suggests. As the moon, so beautiful. 9/10.

White Album 2:
Honestly, one of the most realistic animes. Though yeah, most people may believe that Tsuki is more realistic than this but, I'm saying this on the basis of my personal experience, and I have faced a situation bit similar to this one. Moving forward,
This has music, and if you're a fan of plain, soothing instrumental to calm you down, the basic tune of the anime will be stuck in your mind. And then moving to the main part, this anime has the EMOTIONS. It will make you smile at moments, make you extremely happy at times, but as the episodes move forward, it will drop. Drop harder than bass drops in music, though I honestly won't give any more spoilers but would recommend y'all to watch it instead.
Tbh instead of giving an edit of Tsuki, since the last episode came out, I will giving another post about it.

It's beautiful enough to actually make me write about it and I'm keeping my trolls aside just for this one, because the anime was so beautiful and real and, I don't know, I mean, I'm at a loss of words.

Firstly, the anime loved to play with your feelings. Instead of most animes where they bug you by giving a slow SoL episode each week, this anime gave you off a confession at episode 4 and focuses more on how many problems they both face, which in my opinion is extremely realistic, instead of just showing 'oh they are alive good'.

Plot: 10/10
Plot hole less, anime logic less (atleast at one view, the plot of the anime IS realistic), cliche less (totally, or probably I haven't seen much, but I find it cliche less), and a in a flow. Also, it was based on an original story so for the studio itself, this was a risk.

Art: 8.5/10
Well, the art at certain episodes seemed to clay-ish and was too bright, but as the episodes passed, the art seemed to considerably improve and the brightness and lighting was lowered, and at certain times, I could say that no art would fit this anime other than this.

Music/Sound: 9/10
The music or sound, was as the anime title suggest, 'as beautiful, like moon'. I know, considering music or sound as beautiful, is weird, but listen to it yourself. It's like, it's built for the anime.

Character: 9/10
The characters were built well, though I would not go in detail about this, because I want to keep it spoiler-free, but the way they have shown support from others and the practical 'love rivals', wonderful.

Enjoyment: 10/10
Sorry people, but I'm a person who finds good 'feels' and a beautiful-romantic story, I personally enjoy it. I enjoyed the anime, from the start till the end.

Overall: By totalling it's around 9/10, but I would give it a 10/10
Yes. This anime, from my side, deserves a 10/10. The anime was too good and one of the shining gems of Spring 2017. Comparing to what all I saw this season, this was one of the greatest.

I haven't seen sukasuka yet so, well till now, I would consider this the best.
 

Martin

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Oh forgot to talk about this yesterday

Quánzhí Gāoshǒu (The King's Avatar)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★

This is another show from this season which I enjoyed a lot, and I feel like it is China's first shot at a genuinely good long-running cartoon series. There are 1728 chapters of source material for the show to get through (I'm not making this up), and the online novel has won an award, so I'm sure that we're going to get more than just one more season of this assuming it makes money (which it will). I can see why too; this show does loads of things really well, has a reasonably down-to-earth premise (I wish more gaming anime were like this as opposed to absurd shit like SAO or some excuse for a dumb, gaming-based moeblob show) in that it is about an aspect of gaming which is disproportionately popular in lots of parts of Asia when compared to in the west and is about people playing games as games without invasive stuff turning it into something which isn't actually about people playing the game. A competitive MMO like Glory is the perfect way of presenting this idea too because it provides a setting which can be animated as an anime without feeling weird or out of place while still platforming a lot of the basic things which allow it to stay connected to reality properly. It takes the OP, unstoppable protagonist trope and presents it in exactly the way that it needs to be presented for a show like this to work; the aim of the characters he goes against is to surpass him as opposed to just posing as other people for him to take down, and it handles the frustration that it causes to both his rivals and his teammates well while actually putting the MC down a lot in the out-of-game setting, which other OP protagonist shows tend to be too scared to do, and it just means that you can completely relate to him. You don't root root for him with the drive being that it's a struggle for him, but rather you root for him because he feels human despite his inhuman playing ability. Beyond this, the show is visually interesting, using a range of different animation techniques throughout that allows for you to not get bored by seeing the same look 24:7 while also being good from a budgeting perspective, and the main art style used throughout is aesthetically pleasing, taking advantage of the key differences in the typical appearance of a Chinese person instead of falling back on the big-eyed, puffy-faced look that Japanese artists/animators tend to fall back on, and it works remarkably well to the point that I actually prefer this look to the "standard" look of a lot of anime nowadays. It brings out the actual ages of characters properly instead of making anyone under 22 look like a 14 y/o and matches the mature tone of the show really well. I really like the sound of Chinese as a language, and it really isn't something I had to get used to due to the fact that I've been watching stuff in other languages on a regular basis since a long time before I started watching anime and, as such, am not put off by watching a show in languages I've not watched stuff in before. If you aren't used to it though it shouldn't take too long to get used to it (and it's really worth it just to hear people say "ni ge" a few times lol), so I'd recommend toughing it out regardless instead of waiting for a Japanese or English dub which may or may not even be made.
 
I didn't like SukaSuka as much as I feel like I was expecting to from the trailer and concept and I'm not entirely sure why. It did still hit most of the emotional notes I came for and didn't feel incomplete or anything, though
the impact of the finale was slightly lessened by the fact that it was pretty dumb, sensible thing would've been to let Ren go instead of everybody jumping off after her and probably dying (Willem and Ren presumably survived but still). On an unrelated note it's weird to think about the story continuing after Ctholly is gone given that the relationship between her and Willem was basically what the show revolved around. It'd make some sense in a sequel/spinoff series but I think the anime just adopted up to 3/5 of the main LNs so idk.


As far as other non-sequel stuff goes, Eromanga was kind of hilarious in its trashy, stupid, self-lampooning way. Re:Creators is still weird, it's odd to see a show with a concept as goofy as "anime characters coming to life" taken so seriously. It does tend to drag or be overly dry at times but I still like it. Sakura Quest also has been kinda slow and is still no Shirobako but I've been liking it more as time goes on.

If you aren't used to it though it shouldn't take too long to get used to it (and it's really worth it just to hear people say "ni ge" a few times lol), so I'd recommend toughing it out regardless instead of waiting for a Japanese or English dub which may or may not even be made.
If there's no other option after a couple months I'll probably do that, yeah.
 

Martin

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Noein: Mou Hitori no Kimi e (Noein: To Your Other Self)
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★

I don't quite know the right way to explain how I felt about this show tbh. The director clearly knows how to make the most out of the medium in the context of storyboards, using lots of interesting shots and angles throughout as well as using other effects such as fish-eye extremely well and positioning characters meaningfully throughout, and the way that the art/animation style shifted during action scenes lead to a very visually interesting experience throughout those scenes too due to the dynamic, sketchy animation. While at the start the art style felt weird, once I had gotten used to it I actually ended up liking it for the most part due to the way that it tied in well with a lot of directional choices and the surreal nature of the show. Speaking of surreal, the premise is very interesting for a sci-fi series, which as a genre has a bad habit of falling into very samey setups, and it managed to very clearly cut itself away from the major genre clichés to create something a little more philosophical+artsy. I love the thought of a show where it focuses on the interaction between various dimensions, especially the way that it interprets them as "illusions" up until they are observed and the contents interact with each other, and its use of real scientific concepts/theories throughout as opposed to centering mostly around fictional scientific principles designed specifically for its own universe (or, for that matter, set of universes) added to how absorbed within the show I was. It was well executed and enjoyable throughout. Also I really liked the OST despite it having one of the worst OPs of all time. However, the show simply doesn't handle a lot of aspects as well as it could; the show lacks the impact and, concequently, has a very hard time embedding itself within my mind, and the same goes for the cast which, while not all badly handled (in fact, I think that in the case of most of the characters which needed it (as well as Yuu's mum... for some reason) were at least decently fleshed out and/or had their world views updated or had their personalities explained properly by the show), were ultimately all unmemorable characters. I didn't come out of it like "hey, I'm going to remember [insert cast member here]" because none of them had much in the way of impact of writing or memorability. Furthermore, there were a lot of things which felt really convenient. The show was good at ensuring that every character was in the right place at the right time, but if anything it did too good a job of it because I could completely tell when events were happening 100% to ensure that characters X and/or Y were/were not in location Z, and it really pulls you out of the show when that happens. All in all though, I am happy with how this show ended up, and I enjoyed the watch.
 

Da Letter El

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Nothing new this season is jumping out at me; kakegurui is weird as fuck in a "this will occasionally be cool and other times just be weird" way, dive!! looks like it's gonna be a worse free, fate is fate, touken ranbu is probably gonna be like tales of zestiria and be super pretty but have no story, and ballroom might be ok? I guess I'll check out made in abyss but I dunno.
 
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I'm calling it right now made in abyss is going to be anime of the season. It has some great source material backing it up too. The world it creates is absolutely fascinating. The other thing that jumped out at me was the score seems pretty fantastic and from reading the sakuga blog it is in extremely competent hands. I have no doubts from seeing this first episode and reading up a bit in the manga that this show will be at least great.
 
time for giant anime roundup cause i haven't done one of these in a while and the new season is starting

Challenge 30: Watch an anime adapted from a Web Manga, Digital Manga or 4-koma Manga
Azumanga Daioh

Overall rating: 8/10
this one was fun, basically the prototypical CGDCT anime whose influence you can see in a lot of other CGDCTs that followed it. the cast is lovable, the jokes are generally hit-or-miss but there are plenty of genuinely hilarious moments in this show that made it worthwhile. kinda refreshing in that its tone is extremely laid back and it's willing to spend a ton of time on jokes where the punchline is straight-up silence, which is something that you usually don't see SoL do nowadays. there's not a whole lot else to really say about this. I'm probably overrating it slightly because of how influential it was (as opposed to rating it in a vacuum) but I'm fine with that


Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu S2
Overall rating: 9/10
on the whole I actually liked this one more than the first season - the storytelling in this season is absolutely masterful and somehow a step up from the first season, which is a goddamn hard thing to accomplish. I had this sitting at a 10 for a while after the episode where you learn what truly happened the night that Sukeroku and Miyokichi died, because it's pretty much the only time I can think of where the second season of a show retroactively improves the first season (and patches up one of its only flaws, imo). there is so much to love about this season, and I could go on for pages about the atmosphere, the symbolism, and the way that SGRS tells stories in general, but I'm not gonna.

my biggest issue was with the ending - partly because of the obvious. the implication that Yakumo was the father of Konatsu's first child kinda felt like a slap on the face, even if it is a rather well-used trope in Japanese storytelling (the father falling in love with his adoptive daughter). in general I was dissatisfied with Konatsu's development in general, which seemed way too trivialized given how fantastic of a character she is. Yakumo, Sukeroku, and Yotaro all have fantastic character arcs, but both Konatsu and to an extent even Miyokichi have their characters neglected as a consequence.

one last aside just to mention that Sukeroku's eyes appearing blood-red in the OP is one of the most genuinely scary/unsettling moments I've ever seen in an anime, and it's in the freakin' opening credits. damn.


Youjo Senki
Overall rating: 8/10
this show is dumb and incredibly entertaining. Aoi Yuuki as a psychopath Nazi loli - what more could you ask for, tbh

this was basically better Overlord in every way. Overlord I felt dragged on for way too long at parts; not so with Youjo Senki, and it was much more enjoyable as a consequence. Tanya is way more charismatic than Ainz, and the fight scenes are more dynamic and more thrilling to watch.


Attack on Titan S2
Overall rating: 9/10
I really wanted to rate this lower but I'd be being contrarian for no reason. I watched this with a friend every week so we were hype for pretty much every episode, and apart from the one episode that was 95% talking (which was boring since we've both read the manga), this season delivered pretty well. The pacing was significantly improved from the first season, though not perfect, and the focus on fleshing out side characters as opposed to putting the spotlight on Eren and co. was a massive improvement as well. Eren/Mikasa/Armin still completely fail to be interesting characters, but most of my appreciation for this season stemmed largely from hype for seeing certain scenes from the manga get adapted on-screen.


Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭
Overall rating: 8/10
I literally only watch this show because it caters to my leg and foot fetish the fanservice is good, but Megumi Katou is one of the most genuinely enjoyable characters that I've seen on screen in a long time. So I watched it for her and the fanservice, pretty much. The plot is still stupid and the show is taking itself more seriously than the first season, which is a bad move, but there are a lot of improvements from the first season, too: the general absence of Michiru (the purple one) and Izumi (the red one) being the most welcome. Stylistically, it feels like a Monogatari clone, with some really distinctive decisions regarding color, framing, and even how the characters' eyes are drawn.

I enjoyed episodes 9/10 quite a lot because the MC of this show is possibly one of the worst anime leads ever created, and I like to see him get shit on. Those episodes also give Eriri/Utaha some actual agency for the first time in the series, which is a step up from being walking anime archetypes that are hungry for the MC's dick. In general this show is still dumb, but I still had fun.


Little Witch Academia
Overall rating: 7/10
this show's highs were amazing and its lows were flat-out bad, but most of the time it hovered somewhere around "decent". my thoughts are basically summed up by one of the Asenshi subbers, who said "Little Witch Academia was a mostly pleasant and sometimes magical show". its pacing was bogged down by a first half that didn't do anything exceptionally well apart from a strong pilot; its characters often suffered from a lack of development due to Akko getting too much screentime that ultimately didn't really advance her own character arc too much, either. the three characters that most suffer from this are Chariot, Croix, and Diana, and in particular I think the parallels between Chariot/Croix and Akko/Diana could and should have been made more prominent.

Croix's character in particular is a mountain of wasted potential: she goes from a breath of fresh air during her introduction to "generic evil villain" over the next few episodes, is made immediately more interesting by episode 22 and then falls completely flat once you learn that her motivations consist of... being jealous of Chariot and eventually launching an ICBM at the moon in the finale

while not the only way, here's a 4-step program to instantly make Croix and Chariot more complex, compelling characters:
1. Croix finds out Chariot has been chosen by the Shiny Rod and is jealous, but saves her from the Wagandea tree anyway because they're best friends, losing her magic in the process
2. Croix is driven to develop Dream Fuel Spirit out of a desire to regain her own magic, not because "lol steal magic from people b/c evil". Chariot's failure to collect the seventh Word is due to her guilt at being the reason why Croix lost her magic, and Chariot overcompensates as a result, also blocking out all of her other friends to avoid the same thing from happening again
3. Croix tells Chariot that Dream Fuel Spirit takes magic from people and Chariot voluntarily accepts
4. The reason Akko succeeds is because she continues to believe in magic whereas Chariot did not, and because Akko has the support of her friends whereas Chariot shut them out, yada yada

generic as hell backstory but the entire show is unapologetically generic and cheesy, which is part of its charm - and at least this way, chariot + croix are better characters than what they ended up as

the best scenes from this series in no particular order are the first few minutes, the second half of the finale, most of Episode 22 (where you learn that Chariot is the reason why Akko is bad at magic), and the ending sequence of episode 12 where Akko sees the flashback of Chariot as a student. these parts of the show alone are 95% responsible for me giving LWA a 7 as opposed to something lower.

other than that, Trigger did a great job with the animation, and the visuals in the final "fight" scene alone were a joy to watch. the soundtrack is spectacular and I honestly can't praise it enough.

MAMORU HOSODA TRILOGY ROUNDUP

Summer Wars

Overall rating: 6/10
for a movie that's supposedly based off of one of the Digimon movies (that Hosoda also worked on), I found it to pretty much be a worse version of Our War Game that also happened to lack Digimon

it set out to do way too much and ended up doing nothing particularly well. the MC does virtually nothing, the love interest has a totally nonsensical 180 halfway through the film that isn't explained properly, Kazuma's only purpose is to have """cool digital fight scenes""" and otherwise has no character, and the conflict between Wabisuke and the grandmother is given far too little screentime to have any substance whatsoever. the same goes for the grandmother's death, which is supposed to be a somber moment but totally lacked any emotional impact for me, personally. some other things frustrated me, too, ranging from plot-induced stupidity (the one guy moving the ice blocks out of the room with the supercomputer to keep his grandmother's corpse comfortable) to logistically impossible stuff (the MC solving a 2056-bit hash in his head which is computationally impossible for even a supercomputer to do).

with basically any movie, there's a tradeoff in how much negativity you can brush aside if you genuinely enjoyed the film. for instance, Your Name had several problems, some of which are similar to ones I listed above, but I enjoyed the film enough while watching it that they were never blatant enough problems to ruin my experience. Summer Wars treads too much on the other side of that spectrum, and I found it an incredibly mediocre watch overall.


Wolf Children
Overall rating: 9/10
this was very much a foil to Summer Wars in that it set out to do very little, and a criticism I've seen of Wolf Children online is that there's no plot, or that the plot is boring. None of that really mattered to me because Wolf Children made me feel something, and I was absolutely invested in its characters by the half hour mark. Summer Wars set out to do too much, whereas Wolf Children tells much simpler story and has so much more depth, as a consequence. go watch this movie and then hug your mom.


The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Overall rating: 8/10
this one is more of a mixed bag: it's somewhat generic but it's also 11 years old, its cast is kinda bland but the plot is decently interesting, its MC makes stupid decisions but it makes sense for her to make stupid decisions, etc. I enjoyed it enough to give this an 8, and seeing as I ran out of steam writing this post about 5 paragraphs ago, that's all I'll say on the topic


other than these: BnHA is solidly good, with some great stand-out episodes recently. fate/apocrypha is decent. dragon ball super is exciting again and looks good, too. apparently tsuki ga kirei from last season was amazing, so I'll get on that eventually as well. probably finally starting JJBA next.
 
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brightobject

there like moonlight
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speaking of summer wars did anyone else think the tanned kid was a girl and that "she" (tomboy?) and the mc were gonna be the main love interest for 90% of the movuie
 

P Squared

a great unrecorded history
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speaking of summer wars did anyone else think the tanned kid was a girl and that "she" (tomboy?) and the mc were gonna be the main love interest for 90% of the movuie
i already talked to you about this but yes, and i felt robbed when this didn't happen
 

breh

強いだね
Continuing the trend of people in this thread watching shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu, I finally finished it (well, s1 anyway). It reaaaaally drags you into it and I found it really hard to pull myself away from episodes. In other anime you're often fine with quitting, like, somewhere, but you practically feel like you're physically strung to the show in this case. It's so immersive you don't even realize the show's gone and bait and switched you until like four episodes in. The premise starts off as "generic slice of life" and turns into historical fiction in the blink of an eye. Ultimately, I guess it's fitting that a show about storytelling has a compelling story.

I strongly recommend people watch it. I don't know if I'd call it my favorite anime or anything, but it's one of those almost objectively quality anime that there is value in seeing.

also you even get the tokyo meme accent with bon (and iirc shin as well) turning every hi into shi, which makes this infinitely more historically accurate!!!

I pretty much felt the same way about summer wars. good animation wasted on a frustratingly stupid world.
 

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