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The Stream - Swim City


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rahzel rose
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Joined: 19 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 4:57 am Reply with quote
I have absolutely enjoyed The Eccentric Family this season. It's the show I look forward to seeing most each week, and I know I'm going to miss it when it's over. The overall feel and the gorgeous animation (and Sakurai's acting) has really hit something with me, and my hat is off to P.A. Works for creating such an excellent series. I'm glad to see it's at the top of the list.
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stardf29



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 171
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:12 am Reply with quote
Oh, hey, this thing's back. Welcome back.

Anyways, as usual, there are big agreements (The Eccentric Family and Silver Spoon are both fantastic), various disagreements (some of which based more on personal preference than others), and whatnot. (For the record, I think Servant x Service has gotten a lot better in more recent episodes, due to better development of the characters and their relationships.)

That said, this article was totally worth it for the section on Brothers Conflict. Wonderful panning of this trash heap of a show. As a guy, I'll admit that the main reason I'm torturing myself with this show is to see just how ridiculous it gets. And believe me, it only gets more ridiculous. At this point, the show has gone well beyond just "one of them tries to kiss her"... spoiler[about half the brothers have outright kissed her on the lips, with most of the remaining ones and the talking squirrel planting lips on her cheek]. And that's to say nothing about the one brother that spoiler[nearly sexually assaults the girl in her sleep]. I almost have to admire this show for how ridiculous, offensive, and trashy it can be, really...
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:17 am Reply with quote
Uhhh...wow. You seemed to have missed the entire point of Neptunia.

It was specifically designed so that people with no knowledge of the games could easily follow along. Its supposed to be weird and random with bizarre references left and right...thats how the games were! Its the entire point!

Also, it takes a whole ~three~ episodes for a plot to show up? Really? Its almost like its introducing you to the characters before tossing you into a major, three episode long plot arc that you never saw because you stopped watching it!

I'm not surprised that you aren't a fan of the show, but come on.
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Maidenoftheredhand



Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 2633
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:31 am Reply with quote
Eccentric Family & Silver Spoon are my favorites of the season.

So happy to see Eccentric Family take the top spot. Hoping it will get more people to check out this wonderful show.
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walw6pK4Alo



Joined: 12 Mar 2008
Posts: 9322
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:32 am Reply with quote
I think of this season, I'm enjoying High School DxD New and WataMote the most. DxD is more of the same, which is great, and WataMote is adapting a cheaply produced and "all over the place" manga in a fantastic way. It's capturing the tone and emotion in just the right way that the two are seamless.

On Gin no Saji, I agree that knowing where you food comes from is important, and I've even looking into simple methods for producing your own sources at home. I wish I had more backyard space, but the idea of raising hens for eggs seems like such a cheap yet rewarding little endeavor to take on. It only takes a small space for a coop and run, and it seems like you only need a few hens for your egg supply. The space issue also goes with wanting to plant some tomatoes or other crops that do well in my area. Buying fresh, local, and organic is a great way to approach your grocery shopping, but sometimes you're not going to get those bananas unless they're from Central America. On livestock, I'm definitely not buying and Tyson products, but I'm sure most mega-food-companies are full of terrible practices that not only raise the animals in terrible conditions, but likely affect the safety of the meat. I think having people just more aware of farm practices is about the best that can be done, as most people either don't know or simply don't care. Maybe it'll just be as small as only buying wild salmon over farm-raised; doesn't have to be lifestyle overhauls like going vegetarian, but just making some more informed decisions in the store. Maybe I'll swing by my local "U-pick" today, get some cucumbers and strawberries.

SxS
Quote:
Oh, also Lucy has giant tits, which seems to come up in conversation only a dozen times an episode.


I was hoping this would influence some doujinshi making decisions, but there's not a whole lot, yet.

I was hoping to get your input on the Misutah Hibbit segments of Space Brothers. Racist, ignorant, just completely unnecessary? It's not like they're harmless if you just skip them either, they're robbing the rest of the show of that screentime.


Last edited by walw6pK4Alo on Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:40 am; edited 2 times in total
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rizuchan
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Joined: 11 Mar 2007
Posts: 974
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:33 am Reply with quote
I'm really enjoying Servant x Service, but then again, I work in an office. So maybe you're right. Laughing But actually, the reason I like it has little to do with the office atmosphere. I just find it refreshing to see a comedy anime with adults, where characters dating each other isn't a huge deal and a character implying that they actually had sex with their boyfriend doesn't bring out fans with pitchforks.
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rizuchan
Collector Extraordinaire



Joined: 11 Mar 2007
Posts: 974
Location: Kansas
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:37 am Reply with quote
I'm really enjoying Servant x Service, but then again, I work in an office. So maybe you're right. Laughing But actually, the reason I like it has little to do with the office atmosphere. I just find it refreshing to see a comedy anime with adults, where characters dating each other isn't a huge deal and a character implying that they actually had sex with their boyfriend doesn't bring out fans with pitchforks.
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:39 am Reply with quote
ServantXService was funny until I realized that its main joke was "Hey workplace sexual harassment is just hilarious amirite?"
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MadMan400096



Joined: 30 Jan 2013
Posts: 266
Location: Chicopee, MA
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:45 am Reply with quote
Of the four series O'm currently watching, Watamote is the best, and, as usual, it's the highest of the four on the list. What really surprises me is how she ranked Dog & Scissors at rock bottom while allowing herself to watch Fantasista Doll for two more episodes (despite the latter easily being the weakest of the bunch, and the former, despite its questionable premise, probably outranks Day Break Illusion in my books).
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4070
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:48 am Reply with quote
Blood Lad 1-9 and "I am looking forward to where that thread is leading."? Ironic, almost as much as starting the whole Stream thing at the end of the season.

Well, like they say, hindsight is...
Right, Blood Lad. Yeah, it's not here. So what's the point ... at this ... point?

Quote:
Other co-workers are similarly disinteresting, such as the girl who really likes manga (wooooooooooah!), the girl who's Too Nice to patrons, the guy whose sister has a crush on him, and the other guy who's a playboy genius.


Well, five episodes of pure character and still you get it fairly wrong. How did you get Lucy [abr] right, was it her breasts or her compulsive behavior {bookworms can get like that, I'm quite similar}? Wait, you mentioned her obsession with her name but didn't get what it meant?

Hasabe put it best, these aren't people who are in high school with grand dreams, they social workers who want a steady paycheck.

And a plushie who wants to be accepted {since it's pink, I'm ok with it. If it was blue or brown, now that would have been unacceptable}. So Servant x Service is my favorite of the season for its well played humor and amazing opener.
...
Why the condescending look?
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danilo07



Joined: 25 Dec 2011
Posts: 1580
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:01 am Reply with quote
Yep The Eccentric Family is certainly the best show of the season,if not year.I have already written extensively about it in its anime thread so I have nothing to add up.Since you seem interested in topic of meat consumption,I do wonder how did you think "Eccentric Family" dealt with that specific topic ?I found 100 times more interesting,then the way Silver Spoon handled it.
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giseki



Joined: 19 Nov 2010
Posts: 54
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:16 am Reply with quote
great article again as always...i agree with pretty much everything said about the few anime i have followed....Anime hyper...i haven't watched the tanuki thing so gatchaman is my fave series...i love hajime... Very Happy

edit:
i also liked SWA C3, Free and i love the manga of watamote and silver spoon...i haven't got around to watching the anime versions yet...i might never watch watamote just because i already know how consistently heartbreaking it is...would be difficult to marathon...


Last edited by giseki on Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:31 am; edited 2 times in total
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Half Life





PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:27 am Reply with quote
For me this season it is The Eccentric Family and then Servant X Service, I am also enjoying TWGOK and Majestic Prince as continuations.

I'm on the fence about Watamote (ready to drop it) and Love Lab (haven't seen enough of this yet to decide) -- but everything else got dropped after a few weeks, and I started with nearly 20 series.
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terminus24



Joined: 19 Jun 2011
Posts: 304
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 6:46 am Reply with quote
Quote:
Attack on Titan continues to hurtle forward at a breakneck pace
Seriously? Are we even watching the same show? The slow as molasses pacing is one of the reasons I hate AoT so much, although I will admit, it felt better in episode 21 (have yet to watch 22). I know opinions vary, but pretty much everyone I know who watches AoT (myself included) says that AoT has slow pacing, along with a bunch of other people. It seems more like fact than opinion that AoT's pacing is slow, at least compared to most other anime.

Anyways, the placement of series in this Stream is somewhat similar to mine, with the exceptions of WataMote and Attack on Titan (and I'm following Railgun S, which is currently airing). Not watching much, but 6 shows is enough for me:
1. Rozen Maiden Zuruckspulen
2. A Certain Scientific Railgun S
3. Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya
4. Hyperdimension Neptunia
5. WataMote
6. Attack on Titan

I considered dropping Neptunia a while back, but then I decided to finish it because, while I'd like to play the game, I don't have the time, and it's been, at the very least, enjoyable.
WataMote started out in the #1 spot, but then just stopped being funny.
Prisma Illya started out really low, but then it kinda got awesome, like you'd expect from a Fate/ series.
Rozen Maiden has just constantly been at the top, It's a fantastic drama, and I really hope there are more seasons, as I'd actually like to see more of the different dolls. This series' only downside is probably the fact that so much time was just spent on Sugintou and Shinku, that the other dolls got nearly no time to really be introduced/developed. Well, I'm just gonna have to watch the first season.
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jymmy



Joined: 11 Nov 2011
Posts: 1244
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 7:13 am Reply with quote
Agree with you totally: The Eccentric Family is the best anime of the season. Its contemplative and poignant tone is fantastic and its characters are great.

I disagree that you need to identify with Tomoko in the least to enjoy or understand Watamote. I dislike that idea in general: if a show tells you something about the nature of humanity or love or friendship of whatever, then audience identification crosses over into the territory of being worthwhile. Rather, I think what's relevant is that even if you're nothing like Tomoko, you can still understand her and what matters to her.

After the fantastic first episode of Kiniro Mosaic, I had the same expectation as you: surely nothing in the show could measure up to that emotional, beautiful background story. Surely the everyday cutesy antics would be disappointing compared to the richer and grander scope of two children meeting in quaint England. I found I was wrong. Maybe the style of the first episode makes the rest of the show look cheap in comparison, but it's my favourite comedy of the season after Watamote. Although there's nothing quite as cinematic as the farewell scene in England, every episode rings with sweetness, friendliness and warmth.

I agree on Silver Spoon: it's smart and funny with a lot of heart. I'm also watching the new Monogatari; it's still pretty great. I like Gatchaman Crowds a lot, but it's a bit lower on my list than it is on yours.
Bamboo wrote:
I don't like dolls. They eat your soul.

Well. I find the depiction of college-age Jun's character and relationships more compelling than the doll and magical antics, anyway. It's worth noting that technically Zuruckspulen is an adaptation of the manga reboot. I like the subtler details in C3-bu the most: the quiet, understated way in which Yura's inner feelings are portrayed were the highlights of the earlier episodes. Although the show's gone in a strange direction since then, I still think it's impressive. I'm watching new Teekyuu. It's still excellent. I'm very happy that there's going to be a third season. I'm fond of Sunday Without God, too. I think the first season of Genshiken was my favourite. Hato is one of my favourite characters of the whole franchise, and I love the development Madarame's gone through in this season, but I found the more subdued, laid-back style of humour much more to my taste. It felt more real.

I initially had the same reaction to Servant x Service, but after watching more the relationships and occasionally another layer under some of the characters changed my opinion. It's not one of my personal favourite shows, but I think it's one of the better ones. The flaws you identified are definitely there, though Lucy's boobs haven't come up in a while. I like Prism Ilya. The battles are better than anything in the Fate/stay night anime, for a start. Season 2 of Tamayura is like the first: in terms of character and story it's only about as good as the average moe show (maybe a bit better), but its tone is a good one and it hits it a lot. Blood Lad's fun, but I feel it's lost a bit of the spunk it had at the start. Yami Shibai is an interesting horror short I'm watching; it's pretty solid.

I agree on Free!: it's solid and respectable. I find it much better than Kyoto Animation's last series. Day Break Illusion I thought was going to be all downhill from its intriguing but rather forced first episode, but I'm pleased it's maintained a measure of interest. I'm watching Love Lab, too. It has a great eye for gesture, body language and voice (Riko's ojou-sama affectation was flawlessly done, for example), but apart from being pretty funny I don't feel it's anything special. The new TWGOK is alright. It has some good emotional content.

What I'm enjoying most about Ro-Kyu-Bu! SS is the basketball.

I'm serious.

New Senyuu's pretty good. I was never that big a fan of the original, but it's pretty solid. Danganronpa's a lot of fun but its story and characters aren't great. I wasn't turned off by the merchandising aspect of Fantasista Doll, but its being thoroughly average or less than in every respect isn't winning my favour much either. New Symphogear is pleasantly insane, but I don't feel it has quite the innovation of the first series. New Recorder and Randsell is disappointing. I preferred it when it was a fluffier take on adults looking like kids and vice versa. I have no problem with lolicon elements (one of my favourite manga is Kodomo no Jikan) but I just don't find the guy who wants to bang Atsumi because she's legal and looks like a little girl funny. I'm watching Kimi no Iru Machi; I don't think it's very good. New Hakkenden is more of the same, and I don't think that's a great thing. I kind of enjoy Gifuu Doudou, but I also kind of hate it. I want to enjoy the huge, muscular men looking over a lake, drinking and discussing their heroic past in the purple moonlight, but its use as a framing device harms immersion in the rather bland story. Some bits are good, though. Devils and Realist is okay. I'm not a big fan of it.

I disagree that Kitakubu has good bits in every episode. The only part of the show I've actually found funny was the shiritori game that took up most of the first half of episode 7. Curiously enough, it also had few if any tsukkomis. Dog and Scissors... eh. New High School DxD is much the same as before, but somehow without the same spark. I didn't click to Milky Holmes's sense of humour (outside one fantastic episode from season 1 where Sherlock swapped places with some princess); I find Futari wa just dull and meaningless. I don't know if lack of familiarity with the source material on Neptunia is the problem; I'm more content to simply say it's a lame, shitty show and move on.

Brothers Conflict is just awful.
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