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REVIEW: Beatless ‒ Episodes 1-20 streaming


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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:49 am Reply with quote
How realistic is it to skip the first few episodes? I tried ep 1 and it lost me very quickly, and I read that episode 2/3 she's become some kind of fashion model and that was just too much "perfect girlfriend who can't say no to her master boyfriend" for me.
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Aerodynamic41



Joined: 20 Oct 2015
Posts: 223
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 11:29 am Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
How realistic is it to skip the first few episodes? I tried ep 1 and it lost me very quickly, and I read that episode 2/3 she's become some kind of fashion model and that was just too much "perfect girlfriend who can't say no to her master boyfriend" for me.


Well there's four recap episodes which cover up to episode 16 so you can just watch those.
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 12:25 pm Reply with quote
Should one skip the recap episodes or just watch the recap episodes? lol
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Yttrbio
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Joined: 09 Jun 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 12:44 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
How realistic is it to skip the first few episodes? I tried ep 1 and it lost me very quickly, and I read that episode 2/3 she's become some kind of fashion model and that was just too much "perfect girlfriend who can't say no to her master boyfriend" for me.
You should probably skip something you can't watch, but unfortunately that relationship is pretty central to what the show is presenting about AI and technology. E.g. spoiler[you are probably mistaken about who can't say no in this relationship.] The Haruto/Lacia faction is spoiler[advocating a benevolent AI dictatorship precisely because of his faith that technology can do what humans want/need without oversight. She's basically Google, and Haruto has turned on every automation feature.]
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18136
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:29 pm Reply with quote
The recap episodes are entirely skippable. There's not a stitch of new detail or insight in them.

And really, don't let any aversion to the Magical Girlfriend elements keep you from watching the rest. The series is about way, way more than that, to the point that the emphasis on those elements decreases in prominence as the series goes on. As you'll find out, almost nothing in the series - including the apparent Magical Girlfriend elements - is without specific purpose.
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Melicans



Joined: 01 Feb 2012
Posts: 620
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 5:40 pm Reply with quote
Key wrote:
The recap episodes are entirely skippable. There's not a stitch of new detail or insight in them.


I agree on the first three, but I found the fourth one really helped to consolidate the ideas it was expressing; my ability to read subtext is very low, so having that made a bit more explicit by condensing the important parts really helped my understanding.
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mabber36



Joined: 10 Nov 2009
Posts: 73
Location: georgia, usa
PostPosted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:33 pm Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
How realistic is it to skip the first few episodes? I tried ep 1 and it lost me very quickly, and I read that episode 2/3 she's become some kind of fashion model and that was just too much "perfect girlfriend who can't say no to her master boyfriend" for me.


Impossible. The show is already hard to follow. Don't make it harder.

The final 4 episodes aren't even out, so just wait till september
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EiMs



Joined: 14 Jul 2018
Posts: 50
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 4:00 am Reply with quote
I love this anime and I am waiting for the last 4 episodes on September. This was only anime in this season who wasn't going straight forward ( with a deeper idea ), like most anime you watch episode and you know everything. You go to forums and you discuss episode and you find out how much you miss it. What I am saying this anime was forum friendly who encourage discussion not like DITF where was just spam ( like in reddit for upvotes ). Just sad that people just throw it away after slow start. And one more thing I won't say recaps is a bad thing. Now you can ship them if you don't want watch them, but they help to understand this complicate plot. Watching just them, you can, but what is a point, save time for other anime ?
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Izanagi009



Joined: 20 Oct 2014
Posts: 464
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 9:44 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
The recap episodes are entirely skippable. There's not a stitch of new detail or insight in them.

And really, don't let any aversion to the Magical Girlfriend elements keep you from watching the rest. The series is about way, way more than that, to the point that the emphasis on those elements decreases in prominence as the series goes on. As you'll find out, almost nothing in the series - including the apparent Magical Girlfriend elements - is without specific purpose.


so someone like me who is a bit critical of the magical girlfriend trope and also a person who likes Blade Runner and Ghost in the shell may have something in this show worth my time.

I see, because, to be honest, the show just seemed a bit too much like a typical LN when i first saw it's concept and the like.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 11:09 am Reply with quote
^
I have thought about the Blade Runner comparison on this one in terms of how the concepts behind hIEs in some senses mirror the Replicants of that movie, but the tone and approach are very different. The GitS comparison isn't quite right, either, because while it shares similar inclinations towards philosophizing about technology and its role in human society, the angle it takes is also quite different. GitS focuses more firmly on the impact of advanced technology on individual identity, whereas this one focuses more on human interactions with advanced technology - in particular, AIs.

That being said, if you generally appreciate sci fi with a more cerebral bent - and IIRC you do - then you should easily find enough in the series to beat down any distaste for the Magical Girlfriend aspect. A minor spoiler that may whet your appetite: spoiler[Much later in the series Lacia reveals that the reason that she basically forces Arato to make the major decisions is so that she can devote all her processing power to the details, which makes her much more efficient.]
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SkyLETV34



Joined: 12 Feb 2018
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 6:35 pm Reply with quote
How realistic it is to try to start the series again when in the 3 episodes I watched I didn't like any of the characters and I found the relationship between the protagonist and the robot very cringy.

I don't know, I was quite attracted for the world setting but then....well, the things I said before.
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Yttrbio
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Joined: 09 Jun 2011
Posts: 3649
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 7:41 pm Reply with quote
There are plenty of characters within the show who find the relationship between the protagonist and the robot very cringy. And scary. I'd say that you're responding more or less how the show wants you to respond, and that response is important in how the rest of the show feels. Their relationship also fades into the background for a lot of the show's middle, so that discomfort might subside a bit until it becomes plot-relevant.

That said, I don't think anyone gets more likeable over time (maybe Kouka), so if not liking the characters is a deal-breaker for you, I'd give it a skip.
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Sulfy



Joined: 15 May 2018
Posts: 77
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:17 pm Reply with quote
This show had far more depth than I initially thought at the start of the winter season and was a great example of "never judge a book by its cover." I have to admit, I started to get behind on the episodes as it was airing but Key's reviews of the first half definitely helped sold the show.

Except for Arato's little sister. From the beginning to the end (of the 20th episode), she was still very much an annoyance.
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JustinTaco



Joined: 06 Jul 2016
Posts: 118
PostPosted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 10:15 pm Reply with quote
This is an extremely thoughtful show and a huge surprise. I went in expecting silliness and while there is still a lot of unintentional humor this is a really smartly written experience. I can't think of a show that doesn't deserve the low production values and delayed finale more. It really is a shame this is happening.
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SkyLETV34



Joined: 12 Feb 2018
Posts: 140
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 12:29 am Reply with quote
Yttrbio wrote:
There are plenty of characters within the show who find the relationship between the protagonist and the robot very cringy. And scary. I'd say that you're responding more or less how the show wants you to respond, and that response is important in how the rest of the show feels. Their relationship also fades into the background for a lot of the show's middle, so that discomfort might subside a bit until it becomes plot-relevant.

That said, I don't think anyone gets more likeable over time (maybe Kouka), so if not liking the characters is a deal-breaker for you, I'd give it a skip.

Thank you for your honest answer.
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