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What are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)


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CoreSignal



Joined: 04 Sep 2014
Posts: 727
Location: California, USA
PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 10:23 pm Reply with quote
Just finished Lupin the Third: The Woman Called Fujiko Mine. I thought it was great. The art style is fantastic, it looks like both a manga brought to life and like that stylish art work you see on movie posters from the 60's and 70's. Lupin and Fujiko's character designs in particular look great.

Old-school Lupin fans probably disagree, but I like his more sinister looking design. I thought the story and writing were generally pretty good although the ending seems like a little rushed. It's too bad we didn't get 24 eps. I didn't mind all the "fanservice" in the show, as it's presented in a mature way although I know it was an issue for some people.

My only complaint is that the animation can be inconsistent. There are a couple episodes where it's obvious they held back on the budget and even the art style can't cover that up. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and I'd love to see a second season of Fujiko Mine or another Lupin show done in this style.
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 2:03 am Reply with quote
I gotta say, I love FMA 2003, even more than the mangahood for the most part due to the drama and emotion, but I never really liked this portrayal of Hohenheim. He was brought up so much throughout the show, and when we finally see him, he's just a goofy hippy-looking guy with apparently no social skills. This sounds like it should be entertaining, funny, or maybe just sad, but he left no impression on me. Maybe keeping Ed and Al's dad for a small two episodes and then literally tossing him into the gate of no return wasn't exactly a good idea.

You know, while 51 episodes gave us a great show, I wish more things were explored. Envy hate Hohenheim for abandoning him (sorry Envy, he does that with all his kids apparently), but what did Hohenheim think of Envy? The identities of the homunculi's human lives could have been explored in more detail (especially Pride/Bradley, though I wonder what human looked even remotely like Gluttony). How much of their past lives do the homunculi remember (we get answers for Sloth and Lust, but the others remain vague and with the last second plot twist of Envy being Hohenheim's and Dante's kid, details would have been great). Roy and Winry's character conflict was never given any closure. What drove Dante/Hohenheim to create the homunculi (it's implied that they at least had some hand in Envy and Greed, possibly Pride and Gluttony too). Why do the homunculi follow Dante (they should very well be able to achieve their goals without a mere human for guidance). What happened to Shou Tucker after the last scene he was in? Homunculi's weaknesses are their human remains, so what happens if you created a homunculus based off someone who is alive? Does that living person become the homunculus' kryptonite?

While I hear nothing but praise, there are a few plot holes that bugged me. Hohenheim says that homunculi are originally given a crappy form because they must eat red stones to regain full form. If this is true, how did Wrath, who was stuck on an island his whole life, take form? No red stones there.

I wasn't really fond of our world being beyond the gate. I found it kinda stupid and weird. I dunno. Maybe if they did something with it outside of using it for a climax.
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:24 pm Reply with quote
I finished re-watching Season 1 of High School DxD. Despite having learned of the...unforeseen circumstances of a certain actor whom I shan't name, I still enjoyed it to its fullest. I'll be kicking off the morning of tomorrow with the New Season (no pun intended)! Smile
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Spastic Minnow
Bargain Hunter
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 02 May 2006
Posts: 4595
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 12:16 pm Reply with quote
I went from 80’s Mitsuru Adachi (Miyuki) to 90’s Mitsuru Adachi and watched the 41 episodes of the baseball anime H2, which could conceivably be called “H2: prologue” or “H2: Act 1” as it covers less than a quarter of the manga. (H2 seems to be Adachi’s longest work). Gone almost completely are the problems of Miyuki or even Touch but unfortunately, it also lacks a lot of the tension. Our MC and his friends are a bit pervy but not creepy, an adult does proposition a teen but the act is seen as supremely foolish and he is immediately punished for it for it and it does come off as effectively funny. These are horny kids and dirty old men, not harassers and predators. This also approximately redoes the worse moment in Touch- in which our main character violently slaps his childhood friend but in such a way that keeps the hero from being an unrepentant d-bag and our heroine from being a willing victim who apologizes for being a victim. In H2’s case the girl does do something extremely hurtful to the boy and the boy does apologize. It also includes the great line where the girl admits that she knows that what she said was wrong and “that’s why I didn’t punch you back.” The girl in Touch had no power, the girl in H2 takes the power back.

But as I said, this show also lacks the dramatic tension of other Adachi works. The heroes are some of the most well-adjusted teens you’ll ever see in an anime and the bad guys are, for the most part, plainly bad guys. It even mostly lacks Adachi’s trademark “death motivation.” Our secondary lead and a supporting character do suffer a tragic loss of someone important to them but it’s comparatively minor to the importance of the deaths that affect the main Adachi characters in other works.

As for the general plot goes. You know how it will play out. The heroes struggle to the top, losing battles but ultimately taking out and embarrassing the bad guys and meeting in proper showdowns with true sportsman rivals. Rather predictable stuff.

There is also a childhood friend love triangle that resembles the brother conflict in Touch but brings in a fourth character (I think one meaning of the title is meant to be H[squared] as there are two boys and two girls whose names all start with “H”) but the second girl is not really a full participant in a love “square”- she likes one of the “heroes” (the other meaning of the show, one boy is named Hiro and the other is Hideo [which means “hero]) and I don’t see that changing- and even though the other girl has feelings for both boys and they for her, I just don’t feel a real tension there. There is not a question of who will end up with who, just a question of when these well-adjusted, respectful, trustful, and very understanding close friends reasonably talk out their feeling and come to the obvious conclusions. Not exactly the stuff that great drama is made from.

It does suffer one very awkward and badly done arc that completely goes against the reasoning I just explained above though. While most villains are clearly villains it wants to make a point that not all people are what they seem and does switch a few from seeming baddie to ally. The most blatant example is a tough character who is shown doing a series of seemingly reprehensible things but is given complete trust by the “hero” who knows him the best- despite the shown behavior. It culminates with one of the girls being alone with the toughie and everything looking like he means to harm her- before showing he was being (mostly) truthful and honorable. The “hero” who trusts the tough kid is supposed to be seen as being validated and the “hero” who is worried can learn that the toughie isn’t so bad (and eventually invites him on his team)… EXCEPT the untrusting hero was completely justified in being worried and the trusting hero was being way too flippant in his acceptance despite his friend’s obvious worry- especially since the tough kid did actually put the girl into a legitimately VERY dangerous situation and had never been fully truthful to anyone about what that situation was. It also lead to the “slap” situation I mentioned above. The girl, the childhood friend, pulls a little prank on him. He’s been searching the town looking for her, guilty that he wasn’t able to follow and protect her as he had promised and when she sees him- cries and implies that he raped her… he grabs a bat and is about to leave to probably kill the kid when she laughs and basically says “gotcha!”
… so yeah, the characters are MOSTLY reasonable and understandable… except when they’re really not.

I’m definitely going to continue reading the rest of the series, despite the predictability and occasional wild inconsistency, and might follow this up in the manga reading thread. There is also a live action drama version from a few years that tells the full story but I couldn’t get past a minute of it before reminding myself just how painful the over-the-top and amateur Japanese comedy “drama” can be.


[edit]

After writing the above I searched for some other views on the show and came across multiple poor reviews, denigrating it for playing up the teen drama and losing the Adachi humor. I didn't really think about that while watching it, I read some of the chapters concurrently with the anime but only saw a little of the extra humor- mostly the fantastic fourth-wall stuff that has never translated well in an Adachi adapatation but now that I've read a few more chapters of the manga after what's covered in the anime I can definitely see it. The manga has the baseball action and emotional content but it's also freaking hilarious. The H2 anime is not hilarious. The Ishigami Shogyo game is just about perfect from first pitch to final out.


Last edited by Spastic Minnow on Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:43 pm; edited 1 time in total
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immortalbarksdale



Joined: 02 Nov 2015
Posts: 5
Location: Northeast Alabama
PostPosted: Mon Nov 02, 2015 11:45 pm Reply with quote
I'm currently swapping between Samurai Champloo and Attack on Titan if the whole family (My fiancé, my stepkids, and myself) is watching.

If I'm watching alone, then I'll be watching Psycho Pass currently. I have gotten really into it recently. Just the idea of having a system like the Sibyl System is both fascinating and terrifying.
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jay19



Joined: 19 Oct 2015
Posts: 21
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:44 am Reply with quote
I am currently watching kokoro connect. Still at the beginning episode. A friend recommended this to me. Hopefully this won't fail my expectations since i am very picky when choosing which anime to watch.
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Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:44 am Reply with quote
So three day ago, I finished Season One of Psycho Pass. I haven't seen any anime since then, and that's because I've been very busy thinking about the subjects that this show has brought up. Yep, it's another Urobuchi masterpiece. I could write an essay on how mental illnesses are examined within the story, on the relationship between Akane and Kogami, the entire character of Makishima, among other things. I've got at least three new future posts for my Akane Analyzes thread. (Please, please, PLEASE leave comments. I have a MIGHTY NEED to know how people feel, lest I mistake you all for chirping crickets.)



Anyway, I ought to get back to watching everything. Monster, Tokyo Ghoul, and Steins Gate are all wonderful! I only recently started ParaKiss, which has a lot of promise and artistry. Busy busy busy! Very Happy
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DuelGundam2099



Joined: 07 Dec 2014
Posts: 533
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 1:29 pm Reply with quote
For this post I will be taking on Doomed Megalopolis, a four episode 90s ova recommended by a guy I know on another site. I was expecting something gory yet entertaining like Demon City Shinjuku, Devilman, Cybernetic Guardian, Geno Cyber, Violence Jack, MD Geist 1 and 2, etc. What I got instead was a travesty on a magnitude I was not prepared for.

The animation is lackluster for an OVA of its time complete with questionable consistency and failing at anatomy (in example, glut cracks are not drawn and the camera poking through wooden bars gives it the illusion they are moving away from each other). This isn't getting into the obnoxious amount of ecchi material and gratuitous sex garbage (especially multiple accounts of rape that are unnecessary). Half the run time is layered with filler/padding/time wasting/things not relevant to the plot. The music has a bad habit of not being fitting with what is going on and is kind of bad on it's own. Then there are really stupid moments like when Kouta constantly strangles women and removes anti-demon seals for no reason. For a series about a city we barely know much about it beyond the budget used to make it and the earthquake that busts it up halfway through is not even shown. In other words the title is kind of a lie AND it should have ended at the half way point! The final episode throws in a second massive conflict that wasn't built up and moments not pertaining to the plot act like an overly dark epilogue. To top it all off there are WAY TOO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS: spoiler[Why the hell is Kato dressed like a soldier? Why do people call him a demon when he is a sorcerer? (we see actual demons he summons) If he is a minion of the dragon he is trying to wake up, why does he continue when said dragon explicitly states he doesn't want to wake up? Why does a horse god wait until the final episode bother doing jack squat? Why does the Moon have demonic magic, it is a celestial body and has more in common with Heaven. Why are pentagrams associated with magic in Japan when that is a European idea? How the hell is only Japan affected by the Moon being so friggin close to the Earth? How was everything brought back normal after what SHOULD have had cataclysmic results? How did Kato get inside a demon that spews acid without dissolving? Why were the stars being affected by something happened on EARTH!? Why did that demon spawn have an actual penis mouth complete with a urethra!? HOW THE HELL ARE THE DEMONS AT THE END SUDDENLY PURIFIED!?] What the hell was the staff of this thinking!?

And that ending was a perfect example of tone whiplash that went against the dark setting it was going for. Every "bad" OVA people complain about (IE Skelter+Heaven, Mars of Destruction, Vampire Wars, Psychic Wars, Plastic Little, Roots Search, Sword For Truth, and the like) usually ends with one friggin episode, this went on for four with an overall length over two and a half hours, most movies are not that long! This was a special level of stupid riddled with sex junk and bad production quality that warrants ultimate scolding.

1/10
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Tue Nov 03, 2015 4:27 pm Reply with quote
DuelGundam2099 wrote:
For this post I will be taking on Doomed Megalopolis, a four episode 90s ova recommended by a guy I know on another site. I was expecting something gory yet entertaining like Demon City Shinjuku, Devilman, Cybernetic Guardian, Geno Cyber, Violence Jack, MD Geist 1 and 2, etc. What I got instead was a travesty on a magnitude I was not prepared for.


Ha ha... I just bolded the ones that I totally disagreed with being entertaining. Not "good" but entertaining. I still found MD Geist and the others to be funny, but as for Genocyber and Violence Jack, those are worse than life. Devilman is just an incomprehensible crap pile where barely anything happens until the second half.

In other news, Sailor Moon R is treating me well. Sure, the plot moves at a millimeter per day, and Usagi is very annoying and rarely an interesting protagonist (though I can totally see how many girls relate to her), but the rest of the cast is fully interesting. One thing that this show excels at is its villains, at least when they're not completely one dimensional pieces of trash like Jadeite, or evil for the sake of evil badness, like Queen Beryl.
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DuelGundam2099



Joined: 07 Dec 2014
Posts: 533
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 8:36 pm Reply with quote
louis6578 wrote:
as for Genocyber and Violence Jack, those are worse than life. Devilman is just an incomprehensible crap pile where barely anything happens until the second half.

And I disagree! Smile

Yesterday I took on Sword of The Stranger, aside for some slow pacing in the first half and forgetting to add blood sprays once in a while (specifically arm dismemberment), I thought this movie was excellent all around and would definitely recommend this to other people. After that I realized the last episode of Triage X was released and until it is subbed I figured I might as well catch up on some shorts and specials I never got around to watching. Nothing really worth bringing up except the Nodame Cantabile ones; the first being a parody of kids shows with space travel (what it is parodying I don't know) and I tolerated it. The second one on the other hand had the male lead nearly drown in the ocean because his numbskull friends didn't think that maybe the guy afraid of going into the ocean has a good reason (in this case not knowing how to swim). I can see why this was not a full episode, if I was in his shoes I would not be hanging out with them ever again after they endangered my life. On top of that I finally got around to watching the Buddy Complex finale: Into The Skies of Tomorrow. A very worthwhile finale that gave a nice conclusion and answered all the remaining time travel questions although wow will it hurt your brain. Laughing Now to wait for over a decade for BC to get a SRW appearance since it is my third most wanted series to get in after Argento Soma and a PROPER version of New Getter Robo, not that pathetic 1 grunt 1 boss failure in Neo.

To top things off and prevent me from going on a nerd rant tangent, I just took on Ghost in The Shell 2: Innocence which I think is better than the first movie since it improved on everything I liked about it AND toned down the nudity. Not sure why everyone says it isn't as good other than them using CGI this time, but that is to be expected I suppose, we can't give new effects a chance or else it would seem so disrespectful to previous techniques. Rolling Eyes I liked it so much that I am even placing it in my top twenty anime of all time. Yup, it was that good. Cool Now that no compilation movies are in my top twenty five anime list anymore I can now make a 5x5! Some of you have seen 3x3s and maybe 4x4s, but I might as well show off a tad.

http://s28.postimg.org/b5boqo364/fivebyfive.jpg

Next time I take on the sequel to one of my least favorite anime shorts, better known as Little Witch Academia (and maybe give an update as to what I'm watching).
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One-Eye



Joined: 08 Mar 2011
Posts: 2260
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 10:12 pm Reply with quote
Re-watching Baccano! since its been several years and I have to say not only does it hold up I think I like it better than the first time I watched it. Plus I have a real fun time with the dub.

Also as part of my ongoing effort to streamline my collection I've been rewatching other shows to determine if they are worth keeping or if they are going into the sale pile. Right now little more than half way done with Burst Angel. I think its been something like 7 years since I saw it last and I'd forgotten a fair chunk. I've surprisingly found both the Japanese and English dubs to be kind of mediocre. Story wise Meg and Jo's history is one of the few things that hold my interest. I want more of their relationship and backstory together. Unfortunately, the show would rather repeat ad-nauseam spoiler[Meg] getting kidnapped (if it was at least sometimes funny it'd be bearable) in what I found to be several lackluster episodes. The show isn't bad looking for 2004 (?) it has its good moments, except when its ugly (its Gonzo I've rarely found them consistent). I do like the OP and ED though.
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Jose Cruz



Joined: 20 Nov 2012
Posts: 1767
Location: South America
PostPosted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 11:37 pm Reply with quote
CoreSignal wrote:
Wait a minute!, I like Law and Order SVU Wink


I also like it. It's entertaining but not actually great.

Quote:
Anyway, as a huge GITS SAC fan, lemme say something.

It's true, GITS is basically a police procedural/ military-action thriller at its core. For me and a lot of SAC fans, SAC is great because it expands on all those sci-fi and cyberpunk elements that are only touched upon in the movies. I admit, some of the standalone episodes can be dull but I'd also argue they give you a glimpse into different aspects of the GITS world. Personally, I thought the one SAC episode that takes place entirely in a chat room was brilliant, but plenty of people also thought it was super boring, so it depends.

This is same reason why I liked the first couple episodes of Psycho Pass, even most people complained it was too episodic. Most of high praise for SAC is because of the Laughing Man storyline, which I do think is excellent.


I think so far it has been a very good and well made show. However I didn't find it exceptional compared to other famous shows like Fullmetal Alchemist, EVA, Utena or Madoka. Overall it's a pretty good police procedural for me but not the kind of stuff that can make anime a special medium.
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Akane the Catgirl



Joined: 09 Oct 2013
Posts: 1091
Location: LA, Baby!
PostPosted: Fri Nov 06, 2015 2:42 pm Reply with quote
I just finished watching the Ghost in the Shell movie a few minutes ago. And...I will admit, it was better than I originally thought. I liked the ideas it was going for (I am a sucker for the "what is a human" theme), and the setting is intriguing. Hell, the Major even grew on me a little bit. So what's my personal issue with this film?

It's actually pretty simple. Either Kazunori Itou or Shirow Masumune cannot write dialogue to save his life. Seriously, the script can get pretty up-it's-own-butt at times. There's still a few moments where the characters just randomly blurt exposition or philosphy. I can barely stand the "let's give the audience answers instead of letting them come to their own conclusions" style of writing. I should tell you all that I do not hate this film or merely dislike it; on the contrary, I feel indifferent to it. It's one of those things where I respect the movie's ideas more than I like it itself.

Oh, and the animation is just gorgeous. I can't believe I forgot how beautiful this movie is. All I can say is that I am very happy when I look at this film as a pure art piece. Someone should give the art director a big fat wet kiss. Same with Mr. Director.

Anyway, I think I'm going to skip the sequel and go straight for the Stand Alone Complex TV series. This is because I heard that Innocence is where things get REALLY pretentious and annoying. Besides, I need my dose of Mary Elizabeth McGlynn voice. I NEEEEEEED it. ;A;
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Mr. Oshawott



Joined: 12 Mar 2012
Posts: 6773
PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 1:39 pm Reply with quote
Today, after a somewhat busy week, I finally finished watching Love, Chūnibyō & Other Delusions -Heart Throb-. I had just as much thrill from it as the first, if not more. I think Satone's appearance has added to the complex love romance between Yūta and Rikka as well as boosting their chūnibyō to new levels. Smile
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louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:53 pm Reply with quote
After getting past the Doom Tree arc, Sailor Moon R is really getting better. Ignoring the filler episodes (which are okay I guess, except the beach one which was adorable), I really like the plot progression here. Mamoru breaking up with Usagi was pretty forced melodrama though. I'm trying really hard to lower my standards for this since I've seen so many better shojo/magical girl anime that were made years later.
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