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Spent the morning finishing up No-Rin. I got quite a bit of enjoyment out of it with some subtle references to other titles like spoiler[Ape Escape] and spoiler[Sailor Moon]. On top of that, I've learned that farming is one of the most challenging and dangerous occupations on the planet.

Quote:

One man's filler is another man's character study.

I'll call it a character study when it has a point.

Anyway, recently I took on some shorts including two short series. The first was the infamous Abunai Sisters, one of those ecchi shorts Crunchyroll once licensed and no longer has. Oh dear, the fanservice, horrific squicky voice acting, the low grade animation, and poor writing made this a mess, I can kind of get why it is one of the worst averaged anime on MAL. For me though? Not even top 30, stuff like Samurai Champloo, Nanoha, Serial Experiments, and even Excel Saga pushed my limits so far this is barely much of anything beyond "these are dumb ecchi shorts with a low budget". After that was a short late 90s ecchi short series which is translated to Miss Critical Moment/Dangerous Girl/just linking MAL: http://myanimelist.net/anime.php?id=1057

So yeah, this was bad for similar reasons as well, but what made this one better was simple: It actually had science and math in an attempt to educate the audience. Sometimes it is the small things that save a rating even if this one had worse story writing. If you have a complaint about that post (somehow) you can always PM me for once.

^

It does have a point. Killing won't bring you happiness, and that's essentially Nina's goal with regards to Johan. He's Nina's only family. Perhaps she should think about this before doing it, as, while it's the morally correct thing to do at this point (Johan is a sociopathic monster who doesn't just kill people, but destroys the lives of those he leaves alive) it will destroy her soul if she justifies that sort of murder.

Alright, this is getting OT from the thread's purpose. If people want to discuss Monster in depth then by all means use the official series thread for the show. I'm sure others would join in. Thank you.

Psycho 101 wrote:

Alright, this is getting OT from the thread's purpose. If people want to discuss Monster in depth then by all means use the official series thread for the show. I'm sure others would join in. Thank you.

Sincerest of apologies. I'll keep series-specific comments to a minimum. You're absolutely right.

As for me, I just finished My Hero Academia Season One and the 24th episode of Assassination Classroom Season Two. Let me start off by saying that season one of MHA was alright. Good, not great. I'm eager for season two, but this season didn't woo me any more than the initial episodes did. Then again, it's not a complete story, so what should I expect. I just hope that the manga ends soon so that I can judge the show as a whole. As is, it's still incredibly fun to watch, though I think I'll wait on the whole season 2 being dubbed before I watch it. Watching week to week can be dull at times (like a lot of shounen anime).

As for the climax of Assassination Classroom (I know there's another episode, but that's an epilogue so this is the conclusion of the story), it was one of the most perfect endings I've seen in a while. We knew from the start that this show would end with the death of Koro-sensei one way or another, but not what it would look like. Many people had their own theories of what would happen, but the most common (and annoyingly cliched) assumption for people starting out was that Koro-sensei would grow too attached to his students and decide at the last moment not to destroy the planet because they've changed him. Another was that he was just using the "planet destroying monster" act to motivate his students to get better grades (which makes no sense). His true reason is compelling and interesting, while only a bit forced. But I think that him being a potential ticking timebomb is beside the point in the end. The true gut punch is his reason for wanting to be assassinated by his students in the end.

The true lesson he taught them was the value of life. It may seem cliched, but as assassins, there will come a time when you MUST kill someone for the greater good or money. This final project of finally ending Koro-sensei's life, only after each student has gotten some personal attachment to him, leaves them with the lesson he wanted to pass. Life is precious, but sometimes it has to go. Don't hesitate, but don't take life lightly either. It's a great way to redeem him and end his character arc, as well as leaving his trained assassin students with something to think about in whatever future careers they decide to pursue.

I rated season one "Very Good" because there was a lot of fun to be had (with this having perhaps one of the funniest characters in anime history in Koro-sensei), but certain episodes fell flat for me, and even if they didn't, it lacked the extra "oomph" of a truly great anime (I reserve the excellent and masterpiece ratings for the true greats). Season two though? I think that deserves an "Excellent" even with a slow first quarter. The reaper arc was great (especially since it let Karasuma-sensei shine brightly), Kayano's little arc revealing her true nature was pretty good, but I'm saving my highest praise for two things.

Koro-sensei's backstory was an amazing pile of reveals and insight into Koro-sensei's motivations. Not to mention that it managed to tell the story of the love/respect built between Koro-sensei and Aguri Yukimura in no more than an episode and a half without feeling too rushed or forced. His transformation from The Reaper to Koro-sensei felt jarring yet justified. People imbued with tentacles are asked by the tentacles what they want to be made into (strong, vengeful, worthy of being acknowledged, etc). Koro-sensei wanted to be weak so he could better connect with people, understand their flaws, and help them overcome their weaknesses. It's a beautiful moment, and the music playing through his scene after Yukimura's death almost made me shed a tear. In a show I wasn't willing to give more than a B+ earlier, this episode is a full on A.

The entire second half is great, but the final handful of episodes (19 or 20 onward) really emphasized why this is a must-see. The true masterpiece was, however, the penultimate episode. Koro-sensei's goodbye to his beloved class, colleagues and students alike. I admit, watching this made my heart ache. I honestly felt my chest hurt. When his students all start to cry, even the most hardened ones, it got me. The whole scene is definitely one of my personal top 5 of this year, and probably top 10 of the whole decade! RIP Koro-sensei. This show may have started out as a weird, shounen-y GTO knockoff, but it ended as something far greater.

Today I marathoned Akame ga Kill while waiting for my air conditioner to get fixed. And it's just okay.... Boy where do I begin?

-First of all, these Yaegers, they should have been the protagonists, none of them were annoying or obnoxious or useless and it included justice girl and Koro! Them together with Esdeath should have made the series about them stamping out rebel scum, but unfortunately they only lasted so long. I feel bad for justice girl, she (and later angel guy) literally called out Night Raid's hypocrisy very frequently. Then there was Kurome (I spell that right?), at first I thought she was just a diabetic swordsman, but after the awesome punishment she gave Chelsea in ep 17 she won me over. FATALITY! Cool

Also this was worth making a macro.

-The music, art, and pacing are still really good, however the animation managed to be wildly inconsistent, the last few shots of ep 23 highlighted that more than any other although dang did the inconsistencies plagued the series like a bad case of dermatitis and shingles.

-The "villains" (and I use those quotes loosely because the protagonists are hypocrites that do pretty much everything they do to a lesser degree) other than Yaegers were one shots that had little going for them despite these huge advantages. Let me describe most of the battles: Blow landed, blow landed, blow landed, protag might bite it, turns out someone else saves them in time/has a random rectum pulling power that comes out of nowhere and it happens way too often.

-I was going to bring up the merciless pervert in green hair that hates mercy, but the ep 20 pardoned all that. How? I'm not spoiling. Cool

What I will talk about is Mine though. spoiler[Justice girl almost successfully terminates the hypocritical trigger happy nutcase in a huge explosion only for Tatsumi to rescue her DESPITE THE FACT HE WAS ALREADY FIGHTING SOMEONE ELSE but then in ep 21 she dies out of FRIGGIN EXHAUSTION ARE YOU JOKING ME!? There is also a forced romance that goes nowhere between the two because I'm assuming hamfisted writing.]

-For someone who is the titular character Akame does very little throughout most of the series and barely gets screen time. I'd talk more about her, but beyond having a meat craving she has nothing going for her......... What else do I say? Might as well bring up the ecchi elements: They were stupid, but after the two minutes of wasted screen time in ep 15 they eventually died down which was a good thing.

-Episode 23, oh sweet merciful crap spoiler[How the hell did Tatsumi and fish guy not get squished by the imperator!? "Everything has a weakness" WHERE IS YOURS!? The amount of laser fire and even robot stomping should have crushed both of them! This is bad writing and when his death does come it is out of nowhere! They tried killing him off as a hero, but in ep 13 he and Leona murdered a bunch of dinosaurs for the sake of training. Oh yeah, I'm TOTALLY going to care for the death of an unrelenting animal torturer. /sarcasm] Speaking of that miserable drunken beast (I came up with about a dozen other worse things to call her before posting)....

>survives a napalm blast with only a tiny riot shield
>survives a knife in the skull
>survives being amputated in battle and even gets said arm back

....The only thing worse than a truly abominable character is one that can't die. Then there is that pathetic ending. spoiler[She tanks six shots in the guts and slays the main villain herself in three punches before walking around in an ally way and dies.] How do I even respond to that? She was on a level of obnoxious that literally brought the series down a full point or two. Yeah, all that above? I could tolerate to SOME degree because I've seen many stupider examples in my 10 years of anime reviewing. This though? My head hurts (or maybe that's heat and I'm having a stroke), I legitimately think this could have been well made. In fact, this might have been great if it was chopped down to a single course and they got rid of the excess villains. Yeah, the moral being karma centered was well, but Leona is the physical embodiment of a monkey wrench: Pointless, awful, gets in the way, harms others, gleefully does so, and somehow always gets her way. The first ep even sets up she's kind of evil. Most other bad anime characters I loathe are at least susceptible to mortality, have their cheapness coming from mechs like Guren SEITIN and Deathscythe Gundam, or have actually been defeated (the trio from King Gainer is a shining example). The only reason I do not call Leona worse than Mugann from Samurai Champloo is because she is not the MC.

*takes breath*

Enjoy that, this is my final epic rant before the ashes of the phoenix dissolve and reform into the new embers of intelligence. This is it, no more anime rants, and it was worth it.

*goes into happy slumber*

Edit: And I woke up and realize I don't have a set "finale", posting more than one later is still possible.

I can't even remember when was the last time I posted on this forum. Ageeeees ago.

I must say I was watching some anime in the meantime, but not as much, and no time to write about them. So at the moment I am onto third season of Rurouni Kenshin which I find surprisingly good, maybe because when i first watched it ages ago I actually hated anime and did not like it at all. It's quite a good mix of serious and fun

Secondly, went onto second season of Tokyo Ghoul, that I also quite like it, I think better than the first season- although I have seen the first one months ago and completely can't remember what was happening and who some of the characters are Razz

I got done watching Hanaukyō Maid Team: La Verite. It was quite amusing seeing the Lemon Trio having their personal fun with Tarō, even in moments where they've taken their deep affection for him to...extreme levels. Embarassed

Plus, it's not often that I would find a character whose last name just happened to be one that would normally be one's first...

I have started Soul Eater Not!
I like Soul Eater and this seems to be a variation of it that is even more my kind of show than the original, plus I was able to borrow it from the library.

After three episodes it is what I expected and I am enjoying it.
The girls are cute, all of the characters are likeable, and so far there is just a hint of some kind of drama to come.
This seems to be a prequel to the original, except that Medusa is said to be the school nurse which would not fit. But it doesn't seem that she is actually in this show so that is not an issue.

Funimation seems to have gotten all of the original actors for the characters that were in the first series, which is good because I like all of them. The new actors sound fine to me.

So far I am not enjoying this quite as much as Soul Eater even though Not! does fit my tastes more, but it is still early and I definitely do like it and will be continuing it.

I have now watched seven episodes of Soul Eater Not! and I am still enjoying it.
I do not really like the serious story that they are trying to do, but I will wait to see how they handle it in the last five episodes before I pass judgement.

I was lucky enough to watch a free showing of Tamako Love Story in town today.

What a joy it was to see Kyoto Animations's dexterous visual storytelling on a large theatre screen. I had no familiarity with any characters from the Tamako Market series, but this proved not to matter one iota: every individual's distinctions are conveyed with thought and clarity, ensuring everyone in the audience became sufficiently acquainted to enjoy this simple romance. Character quirks and moments of levity elicited audible laughs from the auditorium, something that a home viewing lacks.

As one would expect, directorial strengths encompassed all presentational matters. Carefully composed layouts and complementary sound design came together to instil a certain liveliness into each scene. Great significance is wrought from features as ordinary as the movement of limbs, the positioning of a character in a room, or the hum of background noise. This is a fine example of a studio in its sheer element.

My only complaint concerns pace. After a revelation in the film's midpoint, the inevitable strains on main characters' relationship result in a sluggish and slightly meandering path. While every scene contains something worthy of attention during the latter sections, the film's ultimate direction is governed by certain sequences more than others. This presence of these superfluous cuts results in the work running short of time: a rousing climax is immediately followed by the credits, leaving the viewer in want of a dénouement to let the heightened mood settle.

With such craft on display, I left the cinema wishing the film had been slightly edited to address this slight lacuna. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing more of Naoko Yamada's work. KyoAni is clearly in deft directorial hands under her helm.

I have finished Soul Eater Not!
I had some problems with the serious content in the second half, but in the end I enjoyed the show enough that I will probably watch it again so I will give it a Good rating.

If I have any more comments I will use the series discussion thread.

I just started Lord Marksman and Vanadis because it looks like it could be the kind of fantasy and fanservice show that I enjoy.
So far, after three episodes, it is enjoyable and entertaining.

I had been hoping for more fanservice, but it is still early in the show so I will not let myself feel disappointed yet.
Judging by the opening and ending animation there are still quite a few female characters to be introduced.

Well I've got a few episodes (6) into The Galaxy Railways and I'm enjoying it so far which is surprising because I kind of just picked it randomly from a lot of others that look more interesting personally and I tend to pick anime from the post-2000 over earlier ones because they're visually more easy on the eyes (and on writing this I've discovered this is actually from 2003 and is a spin-off of Galaxy Express 999 although so far it doesn't look like it was necessary to watch that first so that's not too bad).

As for the actual show the first two episodes worked well to set the tone of the story and the episodic aspect of it from then on is working well enough, and the characters of the Sirius Platoon are pretty likable, even including Bruce because although your probably supposed to root solely for the protagonist in these situations but I do feel Manabu's recklessness and lack of thought is not just life-risking for him but also for the others around him; and that feed into basically my only problem with the show so far with is the past four episode is that they've all been great in their uniqueness up until the very end with all ended with Manabu doing something reckless and just managing to finish successfully with no recoil for his action but that seems like it will end soon with him being suspended at the end of the latest episode and being forced to think more carefully about his actions.

I'm very happy with the show so far and its good it managing to go over my initial expectations of it and managing to have some character growth while still keeping its episodic nature

On an off-anime topic, I was just watching Animaniacs on Netflix. Hasn't aged a day in my mind. Still the same fun stuff it always was. Sure, I still don't get a lot of the pop-culture references, but these characters are so hilarious, I don't care. Without dwelling on it too much (since I shouldn't even be talking about it anyway), I'll just say that The Warners, Pinky and the Brain, and Slappy Squirrel are all hilarious, especially the latter two (I'm disappointed that Slappy never got a spinoff). Rita and Runt are extremely underrated, as I find Rita's singing and the darker, yet still humorous, adventures of those two to be great fun. In the middle is Mindy and Buttons, who I honestly didn't enjoy much growing up (poor Buttons getting hurt to save Mindy still makes me sad), but now I find it admirable that he's so devoted to her without getting any reward. In this case, I might enjoy it more as a parody of Lassie had I seen Lassie. Finally, Goodfeathers is weak to me and I never found it funny. Then again, I never saw Goodfellas, so I don't get the appeal. On that note, why would you parody a rated R movie regularly on a children's show? Chicken Boo, Hip Hippos, Katie Ka-boom, and the lesser one-shots are all skippable to me at best and annoying wastes of existence at worst. I'd say that while I more fondly remember Tiny Toons as a child, I currently enjoy watching this one more as an adult.

Phew. Now back to anime. I rewatched season one of Tenchi Muyo: Ryo-Ohki (The first seven episodes). After seeing Universe and its movies, I have to say that there's a LOT wrong with the supposed best installment of the franchise. Aside from the dub being noticeably weaker here (everyone is listenable except Tenchi and his dad, who sound horrendous). The whole story feels rushed. In six episodes (7 is a special), Kagato only shows up in the final two and gets slight build up in episode 4. He's a big part in the franchise and the only villain in all of this continuity who feels genuinely threatening, and he has a huge part in Washu's story, yet we get no flashbacks or insight to his backstory aside from vague one-off statements. The powers of Light Hawk Energy and Tenchi's own powers are vaguely explained and come across as a deus ex machina when he defeats Kagato (I know these things get explained in the following seasons, but if you stop after season one, you feel weird).

Certain characters' actions don't make a lot of sense after you find out more about them. Special mention goes to Ryoko attacking Tenchi when they first meet despite later revealing that she's watched him grow up and always loved him (yes, maybe she was just being playful, but even so, she never really explains it herself so it's up to speculation). Ryoko is the only one with a compelling reason to like Tenchi as well. I give Sasami having a childish crush on him a pass because she's a little girl (they're prone to falling for any old bloke who's nice to them), and because of certain spoilery reasons regarding Tsunami. However, Ayeka and Mihoshi falling for him seems incredibly weird. Ayeka should HATE this guy's guts, or at least distrust him!

Honestly, having just watched Universe and this, revisiting Ryo-Ohki made me realize that it really isn't the best entry into the franchise. Universe is more easily accessible despite lacking some depth. Not to mention that it's the continuity with the best installment into the whole franchise (the third movie).

One more thing that makes me have a soft spot for Universe. Mihoshi... is annoyingly stupid in both continuities. While her stupidity is exaggerated in Universe, she's given a foil to work off of in her partner, Kiyone. That makes the comedy surrounding her work more than just having Mihoshi be stupid on her own.

>I said I'm doing one last review

I forgot I had another month, boy did I get cocky. Laughing

That'll come soon nonetheless. With that said, I took on Monster ep 19 aka the last one I am going to watch. Why? Personal secret reasons (not related to here), but at the same time I'm not waiting through another 55 episodes. This one was.... Actually the best so far. It had a short mystery story, the mystery was plot relevant, the background gathering was actually useful, the writing was solid, the plot got back on track, and the pacing was probably at it's best. What a shame, and the farmer ate the witch in the ending segment (lemme guess, he becomes a witch too?). Willing to take PMs for those interested.

With that all said, dropping some famous long series is not the meat of this post, but rather something far far worse. Something so bad it is amazing. The anime in this case Fantascope Tylostoma: A short OVA from 2006 that is only half an hour in length that has an entry at MAL and AniDB for some reason*. Supposedly a fantasy story about some guy that appears every 700 years and bangs a goddess in prostitute form bcause YOLO. Why see this? It was short and reminded me of the best anime of all time.... And I got something 1/10 worthy instead. How? Simple: Most of this is just a bunch of paintings with subpar computer effects. I'm not even joking, the OVA starts out with some painter for the first minute and the rest of the story is the camera moving around his paintings as computers manipulate a few lines to give it the illusion of movement (it isn't) and random people throw out their lines. You know something went wrong down the line when Dinesh D'Souza's recent Hilary Clinton documentary had the same level of animation quality and effort thrown into it. This wouldn't even bug me as much if it was just some experimental short or abstract ONA (partially because I watch those on a regular basis), but this was a legit "pay me money" OVA when it came out. The tone is hard to pin down, it acts too gloomy for what I think is supposed to be a love story. The art itself is so so and when that is all it has to display.... Yeah. I'd comment about the music except it is rather stock and had nothing going for it, so much so it add nothing to mood which is what music is usually meant to do. The story is hard to comprehend if you didn't read a summary on it. The pacing is lackluster and only because it isn't at a snail's pace that I rank it higher than most other 1/10s. In fact I was half tempted to write "Dear Ikuhara I am sorry to call your works pretentious" as the opening to this. Laughing

I would gladly post a link just to show how bizarrely effortless this was if not for the gratuitous sex scene, but man is it easy to find on a search engine so if you want to see it for yourselves there isn't anything stopping you, maybe someone here can gather more intell than I was able to.

*Considering how little animation there is I'm iffy calling it anime, it is that low quality it is

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