Forum - View topicThe Stream - All That Jazz
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ChibiKangaroo
 Posts: 2941 |
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Although I agree in general that Accel World could be better with making the consequences of this brain burst thing more clear, I am still enjoying the show because I like the characters and care about what happens to them.
Foremost, I love the character of Haruyuki. He seems so real. It's not that I hate bishounen. I think they're fun, but they're also just as fantastical as fairies and magical girls. Despite the fact that this show is about a future world where people have the ability to alter their reality through technology, both physically and mentally, the show still presents us with this chubby nerdy kid who is humble and kind. The fact that Haruyuki's struggles with self image are realistic rather than just self-imposed (as is often the case with whiny bishounen characters) is very refreshing. I really really hope the show continues to add depth to his character. If it does simply regress into another "opponent of the week" show, that will be a terrible waste of opportunity. Also, I love the character of Kuroyukihime. At first glance, she looks like all of the other super hot, super popular girls you see as either the love interest or tsundere in many an anime series. However, right off the bat, we learn that she's different. For some reason, she's become obsessed with this chubby nerdy kid that no one else likes. This set up could have been really stupid though. It could have been just some idiotic superficial or sentimental thing, like she cares about him because he's an outcast or because she has a heart of gold or something sappy like that. Instead, they went straight for realism. She cares about him because he has something she wants. Whether that "care" is becoming love is something that I think the show is trying to work its way through. Again, I hope this is developed more. Right now, it's working for me in a big way. I also like Chiyuri, Haruyuki's childhood friend. Again, if this were a conventional shounen show, she would either be his primary love interest or a girl on the side or something. Although there is some sexual tension between them, the fact that she already has a boyfriend keeps things chill, which seems kind of realistic too. You get more of a vibe of "what might have been" rather than the impression that he's going to have a one night stand with her at any moment. She's a likeable character and assertive with her feelings when Haruyuki and her boyfriend lied to her. It makes her seem like a strong female character rather than another of the unflattering airheads you see in a lot of other shows. I do think the robot designs are a little bland. Haruyuki's robot could have been a heck of a lot more unique, so that is one knock against the show. The battles do seem to be kind of meaningless as Bamboo said earlier. If they made it more clear that the battles resulted in something much darker and more tragic, the show would probably be a lot better (think Madoka Magica). However, the whole thing with "direct linking" I find intriguing. It does seem like a placeholder for sexual intimacy, which I think is 10 times more interesting than the spit thing in Mysterious Girlfriend X. It makes sense that it would be an intimate experience, i.e. sharing the same mind as someone else. I would love to see some more development there but I don't really expect it unfortunately. All in all, I think Accel World has fantastic characters and some interesting plot devices. However, the battling and robot designs are its weakest link right now. I'm going to keep watching the show to see where the development goes. Perhaps it won't be some masterpiece but there's no doubt that the show has a lot of potential. |
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Spastic Minnow
 Bargain HunterExempt from Grammar Rules  Posts: 4614 Location: Gainesville, FL |
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I just watch MOST everything, but I have to say I've burnt myself out. It's not that anything I'm watching is bad, it's just that watching it all isn't as enjoyable as it should be. I'll probably still watch about 7-10 shows next season (most being continuing shows- mainly episodic comedy) but I'm dropping and postponing some at the season break and focusing on watching completed shows for a couple months. these ranking won't be as detailed as the previous two I posted in the Stream threads, the rankings are pretty much the same. But because of the quantity, it's only the top teir that I actively look forward too lately. If there’s a show below the 2nd tier that’s continuing next season, I’ll be dropping or postponing it. Top Tier -Appointment viewing 1. Kids on the Slope - 2. Mysterious Girlfriend X - 3. Space Brothers - 4. Lupin III - A Woman Called Fujiko Mine - 5. Sankarea - 6. Tsuritama - 7. Sket Dance - 8. Polar Bear Cafe Second tier - Good watches 9. Acchi Kocchi - 10. Folktales from Japan - 11. Hyouka - 12. Dusk Maiden of Amnesia - 13. Bodacious Space Pirates - 14. Medaka Box - 15. Is This A Zombie? Of The Dead! -16. Hunter x Hunter Third Tier -watch due to convenience 17. Accel World (this is the only show that plummeted in the rankings, it’s not that it’s really bad, but I realized it’s one I don’t need to watch and will postone finishing after the season break) - 18. Natsu-iro Kiseki - 19. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san - 20.Kuroko's Basketball Bottom tier, could easily drop 21. Saki: Achiga-hen episode of side-A - 22. Jormungand - 23. Kimi to Boku. 2 dropped: Sengoku Collection (actually, I guess I dropped it during the last Stream article, rather, I just never bothered watching it again after ep.5 or 6... I forget which) |
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walw6pK4Alo
 Posts: 9322 |
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I wish Acchi Kocchi was getting legitimately streamed, so I could read all of the reviews saying "not much in the way of substance or animation, but it's so goddamned adorable I can't look away. At times it feels like an older versions of Hanamaru Kindergarten thanks to the Hime and Mayoi characters being quite reminiscent, and other times it feels like any other run of the mill toned down and relaxing anime, but it has one key difference. Tsumiki being totally in love with Kio, and pretty much from her perspective, is kind of novel for this manner of show. It's one anime I do look forward to every week because it meets its expectations well and the character antics rarely fail. A Nichijou or Lucky Star it ain't, it's more like Hidamari Sketch with some males for once, or a less manic GA: Geijutsuka Art Design.
If Hyouka were getting streamed, I'm not sure how that would fair. The show has ideas and characters, but the apathetic lead is so begrudgingly unsympathetic, I wonder why he even bothers going to school at all. You don't need to in Japan, high school isn't compulsory. While other characters might be more fun to have on screen and might give a damn about the stakes of the mysteries, he's just a Buzz Killington that makes the series a bit harder to swallow. It's not like he's on the verge of being a hikkikomori, but maybe Chitanda's overactive enthusiasm just sucks away all of his stamina. I don't think either series is that easy to recommend, unlike something like Slope which has a unique atmosphere and lively characters combined with generous and fluid animation where required. Oddly, one of the shows I am enjoying here that's streamed is probably also hardest to recommend after seeing where it's headed: Space Brothers. It's like asking someone if they liked the long cut of the Right Stuff, but knowing that a payoff of a liftoff isn't in sight. It's a show of watching someone getting some intense on the job training and how they relate back to their family, but tensions and drama is never overly intense unless through some weird circumstance, spoiler[like the fire extinguisher assailant.] Works well enough for a manga, but I have no idea what's going to happen with the cartoon. It's way closer to something like Bakuman that it is Rocket Girls or Planetes, even if the themes of space and JAXA are present. Maybe it's just a means of showing us all of the different things astronauts-in-training have to go through, along with some comedic commentary from Mutta. Good show, but limited audience and appeal. Like Bakuman, it coming back every few seasons instead of remaining an on-going project might work out for the best, but it's not doing too hot in sales. |
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
 Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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I agree with this whole heartedly. I really like atypical protagonists, because I think they're easy to identify with. It's the reason I like Mutta from Space Brothers so much (who is neither handsome nor "great at everything!!!!!!" like his brother), and Yuki from tsuritama. They're a lot more realistic. |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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Uchuu Kyoudai actually has pretty decent ratings (around a 3-4 at 7am on Sundays) and has outperformed its predecessors in the same time slot, Beelzebub and Yumiero Patissiere. I suspect that has partly to do with its adult cast attracting viewers who might not otherwise be watching anime at all. |
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5434 Location: Iscandar |
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That's pretty much the issue I have with Hyouka. Houtarou's apathy tends to kill the momentum. The best thing from this series for me so far is Kyoto Animation's great job animating it. I get the feeling that Hyouka will really pick up after episode 10 because it will be a 21-episodes series. In a way I don't want Hyouka to become awesome because I would want to buy it. And I am wondering if it will ever get a R1 release. Though, I would import it from Japan if it were English subtitled. |
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Asterisk-CGY
 Posts: 398 |
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At the same time the investigations are logical enough for me to follow without throwing something out the window, and if anything Kyoani can draw in the detail right away so the smart eye will catch it before the reveal, which is interesting. |
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Meygaera
 Posts: 324 Location: Maryland |
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That picture you have of Mutta for Space Brothers is hilarious. He looks like Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry) from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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ANN_Bamboo
ANN Contributor
Posts: 3904 Location: CO |
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Haha, right? That's exactly the reason I chose that screencap. |
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Aokidanza
Posts: 1 |
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Tsuritama has become a recent favorite of mine for this season, actually. It's just so weird and quirky that I can't help but love it. I actually thought the alien invasion was a bit predictable -- this show really reminds me of Ano Natsu de Matteru from last season with its nice, slow, normal pacing at the beginning, then throwing all the alien stuff at you towards the end. But at least Tsuritama has constant reminders of the aliens throughout -- watching Ano Natsu, I nearly forgot the redhead was an alien for a few eps.
My second favorite goes back and forth between Space Brothers and Kids on the Slope. Some episodes of Kids kind of bore me -- I'm not much for the slow-paced drama kind of thing -- but other episodes really get to me, like Kaoru and Sen's jam session at the festival. That episode was beautiful and really got me back into the series. Space Brothers is always enjoyable with its quirky humor, but I'm also loving the more serious turn it has taken in recent eps, probably more because of Mutta than the actual third exam. He has got to be one of the best main anime characters ever, and definitely my favorite of the season. I'm going to miss watching Upotte!. I never thought I'd miss such a blatantly pervy and offensive show, but for what it was, it was highly enjoyable and I agree, it did put an interesting spin on a lot of old tropes that made it worth watching. Dusk Maiden has grated on my nerves since the first episode. I keep expecting it to take a dark turn, and overall it has, but it always has to break up the tension with annoying humor and random groping. Not to mention the characters themselves, who are some of the most obnoxious, troupy beings I have ever seen in a 'paranormal mystery' show. Both they and the random comedy really detract from Yuuko's mystery, which is apparently supposed to be the main plot of the story, somehow. I really wish this series would have picked a side -- harem comedy or horror mystery -- but instead it tried to be too much of both, and ultimately killed any enjoyment I might have had watching it in the process. I suppose I'll still hang in there for the last few episodes (it is only 12 episodes, right?), just to see where they're taking this whole 'Shadow Yuuko' thing, but they've lost all chance at redemption and being a whole enjoyable series. |
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Etrien
 Posts: 525 Location: Tokyo, Japan |
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I haven't watched any of Jormungand, but this comment and the designs caught my attention. I found it interesting they actually went the extra mile in giving some characters white eyelashes since real people with albinism also have white eyelashes. Although if actual albinism is what they were going for, they undermined that by giving the boy darker skin and red eyes. Despite how anime and fiction likes to portray them, albino humans, along with albino dogs, cats, and many other animals, do not have red eyes - they have pale eyes that usually look light blue to medium gray (but can occasionally look violet or pink in certain lighting). But, the main reason I made this post is because I was impressed by the design of the character, Koko, who has the white hair and white lashes, with pale skin and blue eyes. She may actually be the very first character I've ever seen in anime that looks legitimately albino, and I think that's awesome. |
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Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
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Sorry to see that you're dropping Eureka Seven AO, but I sympathize with your reasons. It looks like it's going to be one of those stories where it's not possible to say if it's good or not the show provides the full explanation of what's really going on (or fails to provide one at all). At the moment, I'm still very optimistic about it, but I realize I may eventually look back on the dream sequence as the moment where it collapsed into total incomprehensibility and never recovered.
OTOH, the ongoing coverage of tsuritama, which I've had zero interest in until now, is starting to make me think I should pick that one up. If your next update says it's continuing in its current direction and still as good, I think I will have to. |
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tuxedocat
 Posts: 2183 |
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Tsuritama has the top spot for me. I'm loving the bizarre blend of fishing philosophy, alien invasion and MIBs in turbans with a ducky motif. IMO, this show is the most creative, crazy stuff of the season.
Hunter X Hunter - is on the appointment calendar, and I never miss an episode. Space Brothers - -The scene with Mutta, newly arrived in Houston, encountering his brother's lively pet Pug in the park really had me laughing. I love the way Mutta is presented. He is obviously a very talented person, but there is so much regular guy-ness about him that makes him realistic and funny. He is also one of those guys that seems to be a target for circumstance. If something ridiculous is going to occur, it will happen in his vicinity. I've known a few guys like that. Gotta love 'em, but I'm always grateful that I don't have to walk in their shoes. They always have such great stories to tell, though. Kuroko's Basketball takes the fourth spot for me. I tend to like sports anime anyway, but this one seems different because of it's strange, beta-character protagonist. Unlike a lot of betas though, he is happy with his beta role, and is not a slacker or lacking in confidence. Part of me agrees with Bamboo that it would be nice if it would slow down a bit and explore the characters, but the other part of me can't help enjoying the breakneck pace of the tournament. Kids on the Slope has fallen from 1st to 5th place as of episodes 8 and nine, for reasons I've outline in its dedicated thread in the forums. Still plan on finishing, and (probably) buying it. My husband loves this show. still .... 
And I'm still watching Polar Bear Cafe, though I've fallen behind, and You and Me 2, though I may be the only person still watching it. Hiro No Kakera is my "stupid" show of the season, and boy is it stupid. My only emotions for the protagonist are pity, since she is surrounded by really unpleasant men and treated like a mushroom. --and that's about it. I've dropped Folktales from Japan because it is boring, and long ago dropped Girl's High School Pirate Club, since it misrepresented itself as something that actually had a worthwhile plot. I'm waiting for the following to be complete and then will marathon: Jormungand, Fate-Zero, Lupin II. If I'm in possession of free time, I will try out Eureka 7 AO and Zetman, and may check out an episode or two of Sankarea and Dusk Maiden, since they come so highly recommended. @Bamboo - You have no idea how much I appreciate and look forward to your column. I not only find it highly entertaining, but extremely useful! So thank you! I hope the schedule will not wear you down so much next season. |
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crosswithyou
 Posts: 2892 Location: California |
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This week's episode of Shirokuma Cafe (11) had me rolling in laughter. I'm eagerly awaiting Bamboo's thoughts on it on the next column.
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Sven Viking
Posts: 1039 |
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There are lots and lots of zombie shows and movies out there, but a romantic comedy about zombies? That's different.
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