Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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The King of Harts
 Posts: 6712 Location: Mount Crawford, Virginia |
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I had no idea what that meant until I watched Durarara this morning, especially since they're in America for the entirety of the show. Then I remembered Isaac and Miria have cameos is Durarara because Brains Base made both, but now I'm a sad panda because I also remember Tatum and Glass don't reprise their roles 
@Nichijou Am I the only person in the world that finds every episode hilarious? Sure, not every second has me in stitches, but I cry laughing at least once every time I watch it, and I'm chuckling throughout all the other moments. It seems like everywhere I go I hear "It's hilarious sometimes, but it's also really slow", and I don't see it. Then again, I'm the odd duck out in thinking Azumanga Daioh isn't that funny. In fact, I'd describe AZD the same way people do Nichijou, except I'd replace "hilarious" with "pretty funny". |
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Mister V
 Posts: 1000 |
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Finally finished Bartender. I must say, the second half of the show is much better (and more exciting) than the first, though its approach to the art of cocktail making makes it consistently pleasant. There are some weaker spots, and the budget is... pretty low, but it is truly a unique series. Hell, I'd probably watch several seasons of pouring drinks with those seiyuu, and if I had a good bar nearby, my spending would drastically go up.
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TheErebus
 Posts: 3 |
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Well, I'm checking out this Highschool of the Dead, and it's pretty god so far.
Also, I'm new here, so greetings everyone. 
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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I thought it was because the original light novels are by the same author. |
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6523 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I didn't mean to be so cryptic.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Finished Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai., rated it as Very Good.
A strong and fresh premise combined with a fantastic start unfortunately did not result in a superb series. It almost was, however there were some elements that let it down, pacing being the most obvious. I can just see the meeting room for the production team. After the team has come up with four or five excellent episodes, I can picture one random guy throwing up his hands and crying "what now?" See, the series lost momentum in the middle, shoving most of the juicy emotional and plot-related developments into the final few episodes rather than spacing them all out. The finale was especially jam-packed, with so many emotional scenes and plot-bombs crammed in that I became worn out and it struggled to affect me. The characters never really developed until quite late, although there was the occasional hint. The whole Anime came across as the work of someone who really struggled to turn their great ideas into a workable eleven-episode show. Perhaps a movie would have been better, in fact I'm sure it would. But, what we got was still a really, really good show, with a pair of beautiful themes for the OP and ED. Geez there was a lot of crying in this, mostly towards the end. It's just too bad that I couldn't join in the characters. The show's premise had huge potential for emotional impact and yet inexplicably struggled to really move me in any notable way. I did seriously contemplate giving it a grade of Excellent, but I just couldn't justify it to myself. I could have forgiven the series for the general plot, pacing and direction problems if I had felt that all-important emotional connection, but the series never quite got me there. I would recommend this show (with its absurdly long title) to people, especially those who like the sort of hard-hitting character drama and waterworks. I do know of some people who were moved to tears by the finale. I wanted to be one of them. Despite my disappointment, it is a great series, and another nail in the coffin of the idea that Anime has no originality these days. If only the writers could have followed through with the execution . . . |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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It's official: Hanasaku Iroha is the winner of the Spring 2011 Best Anime award. While there were a couple of speed bumps, overall this series exudes charm and it was a pleasure to watch without having to worry about forced plot elements to grab our attention.
The three generations of women were a pleasure to watch, as each brought their own attitude to the table and left viewers with an understanding why they were the way they were. It's not too often I ask a series be longer than 13 episodes, but this would be one of them. If all goes well, we'll get another season, this time focusing more on Ohana's growth, rather than her trials. *** Deadman Wonderland sucker punches the hell out of its audience. It starts off as one of the strongest anime we've seen in a while only to completely fizzle and turn to crap later. Once you've seen the episode featuring the Hummingbird (which was excellent), go ahead and find something else to watch because any future excitement's pretty much lost. There are two major disappointments with this series: Shiro - nice girl, fun to watch, but instantly spoiled the entire series for me. It didn't help when the writers did their best to shroud her in secrecy, and unfortunately, that's why the series' spoiler is ruined (for example: spoiler[one doesn't have a "fun day" at a "dog" race where everyone else tries to survive]. Writer's Block - after the Hummingbird episode (which I believe is 4), the writer(s) seemed to believe the formula used up to this point wasn't going to sustain itself, so rather than try something unique, it fell back on (over)used story plots all too common in "I'm innocent, so why am I going to jail?" stories. The only one I've ever seen effectively blow this formula was Shawshank Redemption, which this series could have cued from. What's astounding are the ratings vs. reviews. The ratings all scream this is some sort of "better than good" (with far, far too many masterpiece ratings here at ANN) all the while those not duped by blood and gore find the series slowing to a halt as well. If you've heard the hype, and are salivating, best read reviews which didn't over-inflate themselves because they were based on the first handful of episodes. *** Dragon Crisis was the next full series I started, though I'm only up to episode 6. So far, it's mediocre. Dragons, in this tale, have the ability to walk around like humans which helps when humans they do care for (or want to kill) allows them to turn to their true forms at will. Unfortunately, there's really no plot up to this point. Episode 1 introduces us to Rose, but after that, it begins to introduce us other dragons and creatures, some of whom need help. With so few episodes, I can only chuck this one up to a fun time killer. It's not so bad if this is what needs to be done, such as on a rainy weekend day. *** I know I said I was done with the series, but with one episode left... Lotte's Toy concluded last night with a 23 year old man stating he was "in love" with a 10 year old girl. It's going to take a while before the vomit smell goes away. *** It's not anime, but it did come from Japan: Frankenstein Girl vs. Vampire Girl. It garnered two stars on Netflix. A few people were being more than generous, that's for sure. Do not approach this movie with any functioning brain cells. For 90 minutes, you will be subjected to one of the oddest movies you'll ever witness in your lifetime. It truly is an anime gone live action, including the infamous "high pressure" blood loss. As an example of how far it'll go (and this is not even the limit!): One scene features Frankenstein Girl ripping off a leg, putting it atop her head, spinning it, and flying to give chase to Vampire Girl. I believe my favorite part was the "mad doctor" breaking out into song, while killing a student, using a guitar made of the human spine. It's beyond "B" movie. It's beyond "campy". It's.... you just have to see it for yourself. I recommend watching it with friends so you can all have a great time laughing at this... live action anime presentation. *** Brighthouse received another error file from our good friends at S23/SF as the labels for the last two episodes of Hell Girl: Three Vessels was labeled with those of season one. The good news is the series was still there. Though, I'm at a loss on what episode I'm really one because I thought it was 22 just a week ago. With the 2 new this week, it means it's a 26 episode season? Regardless, it would really suck to see all this come closing down in two episodes, which tells me there's a season 4 around the corner if it doesn't. Nice. Still enjoying it regardless. *** I'm not sure if this is accurate, but the runner up to the Spring 2011 Best Anime belongs to Gosick, and yes, the goth loli wasn't enough to win on its own. The latest episode is a good reason why it didn't win the #1 spot, as it seems this series just concluded with a time gap so large, it makes me wonder what the hell's going on (I do know, but it just seemed to come from no where without warning). With one episode left, my hopes this will close cleanly are now dashed. Ever since the fortune was told, it seemed this series was doing its best to ensure it came true rather than focus on the bigger issue at hand. No matter. It's still going into my collection when FUNimation releases it. *ahem* *** If you've been curious why I haven't been writing up anything about other series, such as Stein's Gate, it's because I wanted these series to finish up first. Nothing sucks worse than watching an episode and waiting a week while watching other things only to forget what the hell the last episode was about. I'm also playing Bioshock, which takes time away from viewing (and in some cases, a hidden thankful distraction). Next update: a week? |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I took a break from Fafner to have a look at C – Control – The Money and Soul of Possibility. it seems like quite a smart series, and I hope to see most of it by the end of next week. What I saw in the first ep was interesting enough.
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the Rancorous
 Posts: 2248 Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys |
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Well, there is a "Next Episode" preview at the end of the 13th episode, and its ANN page says it has 26 episodes. So hopefully this is correct and ep 14 isn't just one of those "bonus" episodes. But I really liked how they handled the relationship between the ladies in this past episode. And they still need to address spoiler[the inevitable love-conflict between Ohana and Minko concerning Toru.] I didn't have as negative of a reaction towards Deadman Wonderland as most others simply because right from episode 1 I found it impossible to take the show nearly as seriously as it wanted to be taken. The whole process of putting Ganta in jail, the way over-the-top characters, the extremely lax prison system, the sacrificing of common-sense for dramatic-effect, and the B-movie grade cruelty, all told me that this is little more than watch for the f-ed up mess that it is. |
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Mister V
Posts: 1000 |
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Don't expect it to be smart to the very end. It had exciting moments, but don't get your hopes up. Still worth a watch, though. Finally going for Hell Girl. Despicable people, despicable people everywhere! And it's pretty nicely done, too (some episodes are better than others of course, and some much worse, like the little girl selling her soul for a dog... rolling my eyes so much they could pop out of their sockets). So far I'm not seeing any background on the girl and her servants/helpers, but I hope that will be covered later. Also I've heard that the third season is abysmal, can anyone confirm/deny? |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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I'm not sure "abysmal" is the correct word but there is something very different about the third season. I can't go into details without spoiling it, and that's the double-edge sword here. There's a plot line which just dumped itself on us and that's after pretty much 2/3 of the series quickly moving through the queries of people wanting to send others to hell. I think the biggest part of it, and I won't count this as a spoiler, is that the people making the calls really don't have grudges but are just calling out names for the sheer hell of it. After about 6 episodes of this (and there's more than that), it started to feel different for me. With the first two seasons, we wanted to see people rot in hell. Now, it's just "meh", especially when the same reasons seem to the only thing in common. |
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Mister V
Posts: 1000 |
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Right, I see. At least in season 1 so far people got their due, if she just starts servicing everybody who has a little grudge left and right...
Am I right then to assume that they continue using the same episodic format for most of the show? I'm okay with it, just wish they had something else once in a while... arcs maybe. |
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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That's what happens for most of the first season pretty much. The last few episodes concentrate more on Ai's story and reveal why she does what she does, and for me that was the most interesting bit. The reason why I never even bothered starting the two other seasons is pretty much because the formula of the show gets tiring pretty quickly, it was a stretch in a 24 or 26 episode series, but this times 3 would be a bit too much for me. |
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PetrifiedJello
Posts: 3782 |
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Yes, it's still episodic, and part of the episodes is actually due to the arc it's building. 
Yeah, again, hard to explain without spoilers, but I'll put one out so you can judge for yourself. In all honesty, I don't think it's really spoiling anything, so read at your own risk: spoiler[Yuzuki seeks the attention of Ai because she's to become the new "Hell Girl". The latter half of the series hints at it, but two episodes ago dropped the "bomb" she's going to be it. Now, the remaining episodes are basically a combination of the story telling with a side of arc. To emphasize this, they brought back a character from the first season, aged since then, as she was supposed to be the new Hell Girl. Remember her? ;~)] That's season 3 in a nutshell, sadly. Not great. Not bad. Just mediocre, unlike the first two seasons. |
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Mister V
Posts: 1000 |
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That's what I'm thinking, don't know if this can hold my interest. Besides, a lot of it is based on social ostracisation/bullying the Japanese way, and it stretches my suspension of disbelief. I know it's a problem there, but... don't know, makes me facepalm, makes as much sense as the doggie episode. Right, thanks Petrified_Jello, don't mind spoilers. |
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