Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
|
Goto page Previous Next |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Song_Bird
 Posts: 27 Location: Bouncing between DC & Maryland |
|
|||
|
I'm doing one of those "anime challenge" thingies. So, everything I'm watching fulfills one of the criteria on the list. During this week I'm working on or polished off:
At this moment I am dragging through Eureka Seven. After being on my list for almost 10 years, it needs to go. I never really can pinpoint what it is about this title that makes me want to run. I've watched longer series. The story itself is not bad. I like some of the characters. I even like the music. Where exactly did I go wrong with this show? I quickly breezed through Ikkitousen: Great Guardians on Friday. Not much to report here. It is Ikkitousen after all. There's no deep meaning to be found. Just a lot of girls kicking butt, taking names and flashing the viewer. I could have done without the last part but it worked for my martial arts title. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic has been on my "Want to See" list for a while. So, when the opportunity to watch it presented itself (a show from 2012), I jumped on it. Glad I did watch it because I enjoyed it. When I'm finished with the challenge, I plan on going back for the second season. I also started watching Shirobako this week. I needed an award-winning title. With my first choice no longer available to me, I started watching this. An anime about the animation industry doesn't sound too exciting. However, I like it so far. There is a charm about it. Thanks to Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne I have found my new dingbat response: "Hi, I'm Muginami". An original anime was needed and this is the one I picked. For me, it fell somewhere in the middle. I did not hate it but, I didn't love it either. With Beautiful Bones: Sakurako’s Investigation, which I watched earlier in the week, I feel as if I missed something. I hate when a title leaves me feeling groggy. So, this will turn into a re-watch at a later date. King of Thorn never seemed like my cup of tea. That cover art can be a little misleading and leave you with concerns. But, now that I have seen it. I can say it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. |
||||
|
||||
louis6578
 Posts: 1861 |
|
|||
|
I've been holding off on continuing Fushigi Yuugi. Miaki is pretty bad, and the romances that I'm supposed to give a crap about all revolve around her. It's really nerve-wrecking. I might just read the manga since I hear she's less... god awful in it.
I was re-reading Bokurano. I still don't understand how people can say that the manga is bad and the anime is great. Maybe they're just overly defensive over the version they saw first, but after seeing the depth that the manga gave every pilot, I just can't agree. After Waku (who, lets face it, was just there to get audience expectations out of the way for what we thought the protagonist would be like), each character had a lot going through their heads as they prepared for their fates, worried about their loved ones and how they would get by, and fought to protect their world. The anime seemed to only allude to things vaguely rather than show the characters' true depth. Neither version is perfect (I never really saw Ushiro's abuse of Kana to be excusable or even sympathetic on either side of the manga/anime spectrum, but then again I was never put into their familial situation), but I would say that while the anime is a lazily based construct for how one could view the world in a state of thoughtlessness, Bokurano's flaws more clearly capture the real world it's based on and the false one it portrays. Flawed, broken, selfish, petty, yet all the same, the small beautiful things within it are worth protecting. I'm going to continue Fushigi Yuugi until I'm done the first disc at least. I can't find a good place to buy the manga from though. Maybe I just need help. |
||||
|
||||
DuelGundam2099
 Posts: 533 |
|
|||
I can answer this one. The overall plot can easily be condensed into the span of a three course series since Gekko State likes to do a bunch of detours, they have mystery elements only to not follow up on them for over a dozen episodes at a time, the action is lacking in places that could use it (the last quarter comes to mind), the main couple are children which can be much more difficult to write for and here they are often played for "isn't this cute?", the extreme sports motif is hardly used in the second half after all the world building, and while there are very good mecha and monster designs (around episode 30 or so you'll see what I mean) they are hardly the focus, reducing possibility of engagement. Now don't get me wrong, E7 I find great, it just has issues that don't seem to be brought to the surface and thus gives it reputation that can be perceived as deceptive. After it just dive into the sequel, Astral Ocean, not only is the tone and genre aspects much more consistent, but you still get the general motif and atmosphere consistently without as much side tracking. |
||||
|
||||
|
louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
|
|||
|
So... has anyone else here seen Nuku-Nuku? The OVAs to be precise. I just thought about watching the series and wanted an opinion as to whether or not they live up to the greatness of the OVAs.
|
||||
|
||||
Chiibi
 Posts: 4828 |
|
|||
Yes, though I've only seen the two OVA series, All Purpose Cultural Cat-girl Nuku Nuku and Nuku Nuku Dash. Both are six episodes. I've heard the TV series isn't as good but I never checked it out. |
||||
|
||||
|
Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
|
|||
|
So...I finished Noragami recently. Let's just say that I am looking very much forward to seeing Aragoto later on. WOW. This was amazing! It had fluid fight scenes, likable characters, and great production values!
And...it nearly brought me to tears. Surprisingly, it was not the Ablution scene that made me sniffle, but a small moment in Episode Eight. Yukine- in the midst of his hate spiral- finds himself in a classroom at Hiyori's school. He looks through the room, puts on a gakuran jacket, then pretends to have a normal classroom lesson. This is the moment when we see what Yukine really wanted- to be a normal kid. I was THIS CLOSE to full-on sobbing when I watched that scene. Well, I'll need time to cover from this show STOMPING ON MY HEART. 
Monster: "It's amazing how I can feel sorry for you and hate you at the same time." This is a quote from the top of TV Trope's "Jerkass Woobie" page, and this is how I feel about Eva Heinemann after the events of the second half of Episode Fourteen. The "jerkass" part comes from the fact that everything that's happened to her is her own fault. Eva's self-centeredness and spoiled attitude lead her to drive away Dr. Tenma when she wants to get back together. The only reason she even seemed to like him in the first place was because he Gave Her Things. She then decides to ruin his life by ratting him out to the cops simply because he stopped Giving Her Things. Even after nine years, Eva refuses to acknowledge her own faults. And yet...she's miserable. By the time we see her again, she's gained an alcohol addiction and gotten divorced three times. Eva is clearly very unhappy with how her life turned out, and she misses her dead father very much. And as soon as she learns to love another, that small chance at happiness is taken away, and the ending reflects that. Honestly, I could write a full essay on Eva for my thread, but I'll wait to finish the show. (Oh, and the first half was good too, but WOW that second half.) So, that's all I have to say for now. Everything else is good. My next show is Spice and Wolf II, just in time for Valentine's! God I love Holo and her romance. See you later! |
||||
|
||||
|
louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
|
|||
|
Nothing of note to add, just that I want to tell Akane that saying "Monster understands human psychology and writing bad people as people rather than villains" is like saying "water is wet." Naoki Urasawa is one of Japan's greatest literary figures for a reason. I love him. I hope that all of his works get animated some day.
|
||||
|
||||
Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1773 Location: South America |
|
|||
|
Stuff I watched over the past 10 days or so:
Little Witch Academia - Amazing animation and cute characters combined with great direction and subtle characterization (in Miyazaki's style) make this little short film an absolute winner and one of the best short films ever. Little Witch Academia: The Enchanted Parade - A masterpiece of animation, pure and simple. Better than Kill la Kill and Inferno Cop, this is the best animated film of the past several years and Trigger's best work to date. I am surprised that the corresponding Manga for these films are seinen (adult) but well, it's those otaku media like K-On that look childish but it's adult. Full Metal Alchemist - While people have been advocating the point that the 2003 FMA was superior to the 2009 version, I watched the 209 version first (around 2013) but now that I finally finished the 51 episodes of this series I must say that this is indeed a masterpiece and one of the best animations ever made. I also found it quite shocking that this is classified as children's Manga even though it's pretty complex, aggressive and explicitly sexual as well. Reminds me of Madoka in its darkness torwards the end (after it continued with the plot of the unfinished Manga it became incredibly dark). Ouran High School Host Club - Now for some light comedy. I am finding this series to be quite interesting and I loved the architectural style of the school. Clearly influenced by the likes of Rose of Versailles specially in that department (the school looks pretty much like the palace of Versailles). I also liked how it features a lot of crossdressing (even the daddy of the main character is a travestite) and it's objectification of man (showing indeed that Anime can be pretty much more female empowering than any western media). Madoka - After finishing FMA I decided to revisit this favorite of mine, I think its the 8th time I watched it. Now I don't feel like enjoying that much because I already memorized all of it and so I found it quite boring. Although I am still impressed by how muscular and brutal it is. Indeed it is easily among the most brutal things I ever watched. |
||||
|
||||
|
Kopp
Posts: 3 |
|
|||
|
I'm new to Anime, hence decided to start my journey with watching Fushigi Yugi. Hell, it's good!
Also I found that wathing anime and listening to Billy Joel is quite good as well. Looking forward when can attend his tour (dates are unkown). Last edited by Kopp on Wed Mar 02, 2016 7:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
||||
|
||||
|
Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6524 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
|
|||
|
@ Jose Cruz,
I finally found this great post from Chagen46.
On a completely different tack, I've just had a "hair standing on end" moment while watching anime. It's episode 20 of Blast of Tempest where Hakaze uses magic to escape to the roof of a building, only to hear a voice behind her. It wasn't just the total surprise but also the realisation that the other person was much, much more than I had thought, and much more terrifying, and that one of the major pieces of the jigsaw had fallen into place. It all happened in a fraction of a second. It gave me goosebumps. The best moment so far in a mostly disappointing series. |
||||
|
||||
|
DuelGundam2099
Posts: 533 |
|
|||
|
I guess it is time to update stuff since I made it six eps in them (eighteen for Blassreiter):
-Blassreiter: Oh hey improvements in the action AND mechs AND world building which were not in the first half because.... It got better though, it should have started out as a real robot series to begin with, so much so it feels like the first nine episodes were an over glorified prologue that went on for far longer than it should have. Also, I didn't think it was possible for a TV series not to have a main character since it jumps around unfocused so often, but this accomplished it. I admit it feels dumb that spoiler[Joseph's sister somehow survived after dying on life support], it screams kind of pointless. -Haibane Renmei: I have no problems aside from stock music and badly dated animation. Seriously, for a slice of life anime this is amazing, it might even end up being better than School Days (somehow), the pacing is fast, it has nice art, nobody is obnoxious or useless, has minimal comedy, and it knows what it is trying to be. I might as well mention that it took me until episode 6 to find out Kana was a girl and even then I had to confirm it through MAL. 
-Umaru on the front page: I should be complaining, but I can't.... In fact it is a lot like Haibane Renmei in it's positives and negatives (the music here is much worse, but still), Umaru SHOULD be annoying the tar out of me, but doesn't. Maybe it is because she has skills and intelligence at such a high level. It is literally Watamote done correctly. Two slice of life series and neither are in the realm of bad? HOW? Don't worry, a classic DuelGundam2099 rant is featured right below. -Gargoyle of The Yoshinga House: HAHAHAHA FAIL! From a structural standpoint is it trying to be a comedy? Some moments in the past two eps contradict this. An action series? There is barely in it aside from episodes 2 and 6. An adventure series? Nobody goes anywhere. A mystery series? Some organization is after Gar-kun, but it barely goes anywhere. A magic series? There is barely in it from episode 4 onward. A mecha series? There is only one robot in it and it does nothing. A slice of life series? Not with gargoyles, robots, and plant women with super science like a helmet that talks to plants. A crime series? Maybe, one of the protags is a mysterious thief and the first episode had a home burglary, but the police are barely involved. A horror series? Nothing is that scary. A sci-fi series? Too many fantasy elements. A fantasy series? Only in the most abstract way. You'd think that on top of mediocre pacing, music, and humor that this would be it, but no, it struck a stupid nerve with me, one I cannot tell if insulting or lazy. Gargoyles looking like an okami and and griffon? Odd but okay. Not okay was this in eps 5 and 6 "I come from Egypt and look at my killer plant girl, her name is Osiris." >O >Si >Ris >Egypt NO NO NO NO NO NO NO AND NO! First of all if you're going to use a character from Egypt why are you giving him a wardrobe far more common in Saudi Arabia? Second, controlling monsters with a flute is something much closer to India than Egypt. However, giving this the benefit of the doubt that the mad scientist has a different taste in clothing and control methods this does not excuse third: NAMING A FEMALE PLANT MONSTER AFTER A BENEVOLENT MALE DEATH DEITY. WHY!? I doubt people around here have read Egyptian mythology/played Age of Mythology to the extent I did so here is a historical mythology lesson for those unaware! In Egyptian mythology Osiris is the god of death and out of the human-looking gods he is the most famous, mainly because he had favoritism with the Pharaohs. He was among the three judges of the dead, the other two being his nephew Anubis and the primordial moon and knowledge god Thoth. What makes Osiris so special is that he is the only one of the Egyptian gods to experience death first hand thanks to his brother, Set, cutting him into seven pieces and scattering them across the Sahara. Depending on the myth his gentiles were never recovered so it had to have a replacement made of gold. What does this have to do with anything? Simple, he's one of the most masculine Egyptian gods period, meaning THE MOTIFS AND NAMES DO NOT FIT. In fact off the top of my head I could name five better names to still make this work: -Nephthys: Osiris's sister/Set's wife/Anubis's mom and a death goddess. -Hathor: Primordial goddess and likely the oldest goddess depending on the myth, had a thing for fertility and death aka something easily associated together in ancient Egypt. -Sekhmet: A powerful warrior goddess. -Renent: An agriculture goddess with a cobra head (also fitting into the flute control method). -Geb: Technically a god, but one of earth, aka what makes plants grow. IN OTHER WORDS THEY FAILED MYTHOLOGY CLASS AND BY EXTENSION THEIR OWN FREAKING THEMES AND WRITING. And considering how chaotic the structure is already I have low expectations for how this mess will turn out. |
||||
|
||||
Set1229
 Posts: 146 Location: Pittsburgh |
|
|||
|
I'm soon to be watching Bottle Fairy because genuinely cute and innocent fun helps me manage my emotions.
My niece might like, though I still need to watch it to see if she will. Cute + innocent = heart-warming smiles. |
||||
|
||||
zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
|
|||
|
Watched Terror in Resonance, my co-worker convinced me and he'll owe me one on something I'm curious on.
I had heard about it turning bad, so I went in with lowered expectations, and while I can certainly agree that it bit off more than it could chew starting around ep 5, and it passed the idiot ball around several times starting around there too, I still enjoyed it and found it engaging enough. I gotta say, bringing in the American FBI did not help things imo. That was the main problem right there, it abandoned the mystery it was working on to go mess around with that instead. Which also made it feel like it left too many loose ends by the end of the series. Also, I just hated that girl, Lisa. It's like she had no real purpose overall for me. I guess she was supposed to be a character helper for Twelve, but neither Nine nor Twelve were really well developed at the end either. The series really could've used an episode actually showing the institution place so we could connect with them more since we'd know about their past. I was kind of annoyed that their goals were so vague in the end. And once they were revealed, it only made so much of the previous stuff completely pointless. I really just wish it had stuck with what it had clearly started going with. I liked Shibazaki well enough, though he seemed to solve the things just way too easily for it to be any fun. Still, he was easily the most interesting character. Even then, I still found it pretty addicting to watch, thanks in no small part to the production values and music I'm sure. I love the OP, man! In the end, I don't think I disliked it as much as people who probably were watching it as it aired and were treated to 4 awesome eps, only to see it slip, while knowing it was going to slip definitely softened the blow. |
||||
|
||||
|
louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
|
|||
|
While I can agree with you that Lisa could mostly be removed and things would be the same, I have to say that I can nod my head at the argument that she existed to humanize Twelve. However, the one character who I felt was a waste was Five. Did we really need her? Her whole involvement felt more forced than a loveless marriage going strong at three decades.
Personally though, I do kind of think that the plot twist that the children are all dying was a little too abrupt. I guess it gives their actions meaning because they knew that they had no future, but the moment that Nine died just felt so out of nowhere. The effects of these drugs should have been less sudden and more gradual. I mean, we saw Five's health deteriorate, but Nine's didn't show any signs until the literal moment of death. Also, it was a little forced for the US military to come in and eff everything up by killing Twelve. I was just like... "Huh. That just happened for reasons that I'm sure make sense to the US military." WHY SHOOT TWELVE INSTEAD OF THE GUY HOLDING THE DETONATOR!? Jeez guys! Use your freaking brains! I know it's an old pastime of Japan to portray America (especially the military) as corrupt evilness, but when every other character in this show is so human, this sort of thing really sticks out. Do I think that the ending ruined the show? Not really. It was a great show that I'd watch again. Anyone who says otherwise is a little too full of it. It's easily made my top 5 of 2014, even if Lisa and Five were unnecessary and made the thing feel a little more padded out than it should have been. But hey, maybe a 6 episode TV series is just too awkward to authorize and they had to stretch it to 11 by adding... some girls. 
|
||||
|
||||
Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
|
|||
|
Today I finished watching Wizard Barristers. I enjoyed the fantastic animation that it has (the action scenes are epic), but there were moments where the story seemed a bit out out of place and the magic scenes got a bit repetitive. The show has even seemingly ended on a cliffhanger.
|
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group