Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6697 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I had to move out for a couple of weeks while my bathroom and toilet were renovated, so I was mostly anime free for that time. I've made up for its since Christmas, watching 3 series and finishing up the only series I was watching from the recently completed uninspiring Spring (
 ) season, namely...
May I Ask for One Final Thing? Sure, it was therapeutic watching protagonist Scarlet El Vandimion punch the living daylights out of a horde of pompous villains (and her love interest); however, the story line and the animation were depressingly boring and predictable. In the end it amounted to little more than the same punchline (yuk! yuk!) repeated over and over. Rating: not really good. After that it was back to watching more 2006 classics from the backlog on my shelf. Ouran High School Host Club. I watched the first episode years and years ago - likely as part of the Best First Episode tournament back in 2012 - and it's taken me all this time to get around to watching this gem of a series. I must shamefully admit that, in that first episode spoiler[I didn't get the light bulb joke until the last bulb lit up, even though, right at the start, I'd thought to myself, "Isn't Haruhi a girl's name? Strange giving it to a guy."] Oh well. Almost there. 
One of these "male" characters is not like the other ones. Main character Haruhi wins a scholarship to an exclusive-to-the-very-rich Ouran High School only to unwittingly - thanks to an expensive broken vase - join the singular Host Club whose sole purpose is to pamper the female students of the school. With the gender / sexual identity of several of the characters under scrutiny, and with Haruhi totally comfortable with these ambiguities, this becomes the springboard for a fun parody of and homage to anime tropes and icons. In it's sights are the entire harem genre, and things like Dear Brother, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Maria Watches Over Us, Alice in Wonderland and the Takarazuka Revue. Indeed, the Alice in Wonderland episode (#13) stands out both visually and emotionally. 20 years on, some of the terminology hasn't aged well, eg "tranny" (which, admittedly, may only be an issue in translation), and some of the gags would be borderline, but its heart's in the right place. Rating: very good. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion season 1. Mecha marketed to teenage boys isn't my go to genre but, given the enduring high regard for this franchise, I approached it with both apprehension and hope. Happily, it turned out to be worth my time, even with its shortcomings. I didn't like any of the characters, although having a main character whose personal flaws undermine his initial idealism made him a sort of classic tragic hero. Funnily enough, he reminded me a lot of Light Yagami from the contemporary Death Note. I don't appreciate posturing arseholes. The irredeemably evil villains and the constant resolution of conflict using violence were both to be expected but the overall theme of "good" choices leading to "evil" outcomes was compelling, if heavy handed. Best of all, the plot was thrilling, making it an easy and quick watch. Rating: good. I'll get on to the 2nd season in due course. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig - Individual Eleven. In my view, the 2nd Gig remains the best instalment of the whole franchise and this compilation film distils the core of the 26 episode series into 160 minutes. The original is a dense, complicated multi-narrative with a stance sympathetic to refugees / undocumented immigrants that mightn't suit some viewers' politics. The film cuts it down to accentuate the political implications the Japanese Prime Minister must face and resolve with the help of the Major and her comrades in Section 9. Rating: excellent, one rung below the 2nd Gig series with its room for greater nuance and complication. (Note: the ANN encyclopaedia incorrectly describes Individual Eleven as a compilation of the 1st season of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.) 
Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki. |
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Flash33
 Posts: 150 Location: Florida |
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I've watched and rewatched some shows recently and here's what I thought of them.
May I Ask for One Final Thing? (reposting most of what I wrote in the Ep. Review thread): I watched all of it and I honestly really enjoyed it. Credit must be given to Morgan Lauré and Reagan Murdock for their wonderful performances as Scarlet and Julius respectively. Scarlet reminds me of Vi from League of Legends ("Punch first. Ask questions while punching."), but while Scarlet does enjoy punching corrupt officials & hooligans and solving problems with her fists she also knows when to hear people out & display a good amount of maturity, restraint & decorum for lack of a better word, such as with Diana & Nanaka. Julius spoiler[letting himself get charmed] just to mess with Scarlet is definitely within character for him, and I thought it was cute how Rex tried to enter the hideout only to fail due to being too big to fit in the entrance. As for Terenezza her spoiler[combination of self-loathing and self-importance made her easy prey for Palmia to use]. That said while she does enjoy watching people suffer she at least is smart enough to know that killing the villagers means there'll be no one to rule, which combined with some of her other actions shows a capability of planning ahead, and spoiler[despite her defeat here I doubt this is the last we'll see of her]. I do look forward to a S2 if one were to happen in the future. Side note: Some might call it an iskeai simply due to Terenezza originally being from Japan but while the show does reference it if need be considering how that isn't the show's main focus and how it isn't brought up often I wouldn't consider it as one. It's similar to series like The Executioner & Her Way of Life and The Weakest Tamer Began A Journey to Pick Up Trash where despite there being an isekai element it's not the main focus & only shows up here and there when it's absolutely needed. Handyman Saitou in Another World: I've watched it for the second time recently and just like the first time it was better than I thought. Saitou doesn't have any combat prowess aside from basic knowledge of sword wielding that he practiced but as Kisarugi said he's the heart of his team, with the team being hopeless without him, though it's not just him as it's shown that the team needs everyone to succeed in general. Speaking of while it would've been easy to leave the main cast as one-note characters I like that the show goes out of its way to explain why they act the way they do: Morlock especially. I also like how spoiler[Kisarugi's story ended: crippled and initially hesitant to be with the woman he loves but thanks to help from his friends he works up the courage to do so]. It's also neat how it subverts expectations for the roles of different characters, such as elf warrior who fights up close and personal, a dwarf spellcaster who can turn damage he takes into energy to power his spells and a mage who has a staff so big that he can just whack his foes into submission with one strike of it, though later on it shows the weaknesses of having that big a weapon. Check it out if you're interested. The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows: Finished rewatching it yesterday and I still enjoyed it on my second watch. While I still don't necessarily think an In Medias Res E1 was the best call it was at least a better viewing experience the second time around. I like how Zenos' main motivation is just giving back to the community & hopefully save those who need it the most, essentially giving the gift of life & comfort he was denied to others in his own unique way. It's also rather sad in a way that it took him being kicked out of his adventuring party to realize just how much he was abused, but at least he used that pain to better the lives of those around him while also making sure he's fairly compensated for his efforts (not limited to money, even just providing a good meal or showing the way to some plants for tea is enough for him). The other characters were entertaining too, Carmilla especially, and while some of their antics could get annoying for some they didn't feel like one-note characters to me & had their own lives and goals outside of Zenos. Eli Farmer I felt did a good job as Zenos, staying calm and composed but also knowing to have more emotion when the situation calls for it, such as the fight against Aston. While some didn't find the second half as good as the first half I still enjoyed it. Cresson was annoying at first but I like how he came around and realized his folly after he realized what his high & mighty behavior and tendency to suck up to nobles like Goldran was costing him. You can also understand spoiler[Becker's pain & anger upon learning that Goldran with his Life Transfer magic killed his fiancée & several other people just to save a noble (Fennel in this case) while also not agreeing with his plan to kill him in return (Fennel for his part immediately dropped his support for Goldran & worked to hold him accountable for his actions upon learning the truth).] Overall an enjoyable show & hopefully a S2 is made in the future so I can watch more of it. Sentenced to Be a Hero: With only 1 episode out so far I was surprised to see it be just under an hour. A rather interesting premise where the job of Hero is a form of punishment and is looked down upon by many, and although some like Dotta may deserve it others like Xylo don't but are given it anyway by the higher-ups to eliminate, frame & discredit those who speak truths or facts they don't want getting out. This is also a problem when people like the so-called Holy Knights refuse to listen to them or acknowledge their contributions & assume the worst of them simply for being Heroes, opting for an Honor Before Reason approach instead. As for the goddesses having the appearance of small children who like to be praised for their hard work considering they were stated to be artificial lifeforms early on it's too soon to make any firm judgements on it but I don't see a problem right now, especially since I'm assuming the story will explain why they look like that. The Fairies being corrupted animals is interesting, with it apparently being a possibility for goddesses as well. Overall I did enjoy watching this & am interested to see where this 12-episode show will go from here. Dealing with the Mikadono Sisters is a Breeze (reposting what I wrote in the show's review thread): Going into this show I had recently finished watching Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister (a show I also enjoyed watching), and this show's premise has similar vibes, at least at first. Having watched it all honestly I really enjoyed it. You can tell each of the main characters are struggling to live up to everyone else's expectations of them, and it's made them emotionally stunted in their own ways, especially with each other. It certainly doesn't help that the sisters father is one of the main reasons behind their issues since he seems to place more value on their long-term successes in their fields at the cost of almost everything else. That may not have been true at first but as the girls grew up this toxic success mindset drove the girls apart from both each other and themselves, which is sad to see. Yuu coming in does help them develop slowly but surely, but it's not like Yuu is this perfect answer himself as he also had to struggle with unreasonable expectations, with him only being able to make up with his mom shortly before she died, which also helps explain why he's so desperate for everyone in the Mikadono household to get along with each other & why he's so afraid that he'll be abandoned if he screws up one too many times. Actually, having just said that, Yuu reminds me of Takeshi Natsume from Natsume's Book of Friends, as both came from broken families & are afraid they'll quickly lose it again despite their best efforts not to. I actually hadn't thought about that comparison before typing this out. In both cases they slowly but surely are able to grow & not feel so afraid of abandonment thanks to the help of those around them even if those emotional scars still remain deep down. As for the dub cast I felt it was solid all around, especially for the main 4. Each of the sisters sound like how you would expect them to sound like in their fields (shogi Miwa having that raspy like voice due to normally not talking much, actress Kazuki having a deep voice due to playing male roles mostly & karate Niko being loud & serious for obvious reasons). While Kieran Regan as Yuu took a bit to get used to I think it's a good mix of feminine and masculine overall. Overall I really enjoyed this show, and if a second season is ever made and dubbed into English I would definitely watch it for sure. P.S. Mikadono Sisters is also a case where you should definitely keep an eye out for a variety of shows in the future, not just ones that get picked up for daily/weekly reviews, as with so many shows coming out these days some are bound to slip through the cracks. That said I will also say that sometimes shows can be delayed coming out on some platforms for various reasons, so by the time people watch them it's too late to vote for them to be reviewed. Speaking for myself there have been many shows that don't or do but get dropped that I've enjoyed, such as this one, Beast Tamer, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule The World, I Left My A-Rank Party, I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years & Maxed Out my Level, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash & Radiant. While I can't promise you'll enjoy these kinds of shows who knows? You might be pleasantly surprised when you find one that you do enjoy. Girls Und Panzer Das Finale Part 4: Anglerfish team getting taken out so early as shown at the end of Part 3 by the winter sniper was definitely a surprise as was the reveal of spoiler[St. Gloriana's] newest member in spoiler[Alice,], which makes sense when you consider the reason why she decided not to join spoiler[Oorai] when she had the chance in one of the OVAs, but that aside I liked how it forced the rest of Oorai to step up and show that they're not just reliant on Miho to win or even succeed and boy did they step up in a hard fought battle against the worthy opponents in Jatkosota. The finals being spoiler[Oorai vs. St. Gloriana, the one team the former has never beaten,] is very poetic and appropriate for the series finale, and I very much look forward to seeing how it goes. The English dub was as solid as ever as well with the right amount of energy and emotion given at various points and it was well worth the wait in my opinion. Last edited by Flash33 on Thu Mar 12, 2026 12:11 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6697 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Angel's Egg. I first watched this over 15 years ago at low resolution and didn't think much of it at the time. Local distributor, Umbrella Entertainment, recently made available on BD a newly restored version of the film so I decided to supplement my Mamoru Oshii collection. Oshii is a visual story teller first and foremost and here he mostly eschews dialogue for the entire 70+ minute length to let the imagery guide the viewer. I've updated my rating to decent thanks to the startling imagery but I still find its pretensions mask an otherwise simplistic message.
Then it was back to my 2006 project, with 2 yuri titles. Strawberry Panic is a more explicitly yuri sibling to the Maria Watches Over Us franchise but with more generic characters and less delicate character designs and with the melodrama ramped up. It starts of in pedestrian fashion but steadily raises the emotional stakes. Episode 18 ("Storm of Love") is a favourite where, in the howling wind, the torrential rain, and with thunder and lightning all about, the two main characters - Nagisa and Shizuma - fail to acknowledge, let alone consummate, their love, accompanied by a gloriously overwrought piano piece "Unmei", which, unsurprisingly, translates as "Destiny". The series culminates in a scene reminiscent of The Graduate where one girl steals away another in a chapel before a mass assembly of students. I was waiting for the back seat bus ride. Rating: good - lots of great melodramatic hi-jinx but hard to take seriously. Where Strawberry Panic's main theme is about finding and acknowledging love, Kashimashi - Girl Meets Girl starts of with a gimmicky sci-fi gender swap but then settles into a generally well written, sensitive love triangle between the three main female characters. That is, until the last episode when the protagonist, Hazumu (who took her enforced gender change in her stride) selects the wrong girl, contrary to both her own convictions and the outcome in the original manga upon which it was based. An OVA was released seven months later where Hazumu and her partner change their minds and the protagonist pairs up with the other girl. It's as if the makers wanted to please everyone but only managed to be unconvincing. Despite the start and finish, the TV series rates a good, while the OVA gets a so-so. Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf. When I watched this subtitled on its debut on Crunchyroll two years ago, I thought it lacked the sparkle of the original. I recently purchased it on BD and decided to watch the American dub this time. The anime was transformed. There's a couple of reasons: the English language script is more adult and wittier; and the American voice actors, particularly Holo, sound more age/experience appropriate. I normally prefers subtitles but this is, for me, a contrary example. Rating: subtitle - excellent; dub - masterpiece. 
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DARKLO
Posts: 1 |
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Ghost in the Shell vol 1
Before the new series (and re-watching the film with the 4K release) I thought I'd re-read this. It must have been close to 10 years at least since I read it as I can't find a post here recording my reading it and I've been here (second time round) for nearly 9 years now! Because my main take from that first read through was that the Major is so different from the film I somehow "remembered" that the plot itself was completely different too, but whilst there are many differences, including chapters that weren't adapted, all the main stand out plot points are there (the opening scene, the binmen section, the Puppeteer and the Major's finale). |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 25654 |
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After years of the four Haibane Renmei DVDs sitting on my shelf, collecting dust, I recently watched them. Given my current anime mindset which puts a premium on watching things that I find "fun", it probably wasn't the best time to watch a show like this. Ultimately, it didn't matter, because I loved it and rate it a masterpiece. It is slow, measured, poetic and ultimately emotionally powerful. It's beautiful to look at. It's a tricky title to recommend simply because I could imagine somebody trying it out and thinking, "zomg, what a snoozefest." But it hit me the way the show intended, I'm sure. I'm almost tempted to rewatch it immediately because I know I would pick up so much more that blew by me during the first watch when I was expending a lot of mental energy trying to figure things out and if I wait too long, I'll forget stuff. We'll see.
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6697 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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^
Yeah, it's a wonderful show. I'm always berating myself, "Why have I left it so long to watch this (insert name) anime?" |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 10379 Location: Virginia |
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@Blood-
It has been a long time, but I was never able to get through more that a couple episodes. It mostly confused me and what little I could get out of it indicated that no possible "good" ending could be expected. Pretty though. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 25654 |
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@ Alan45 - even for somebody like myself who really liked the show, the early going tried my patience in places. I'm glad I hung in. As for whether or not a "good" ending could be expected or not, I will give my opinion in spoiler tags. I won't be specific at all about what happens, just letting you know whether it's an upper or a downer.
spoiler[I think it has a "good" ending... yes, a bit melancholic, perhaps, but not a downer by any means.] |
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Mammalogy
Posts: 1 |
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Mobile Suit Gundam - Episodes 4 - 11
I am really enjoying watching MSG again, it has a great story and such well written characters and I love the constant background feeling of tension that it maintains. I'll admit I had forgotten just how wonky some of the animation is in a few of these episodes , you can understand why they were cut from the movies. Takegami: Guardian of Darkness - Episodes 1 - 3 [Final] Unlike GranDoll, Takegami isn't quite as good as I remember it being, the main problem being that episodes 1 & 2 generally take what feels like a long time to get going but the final 10 minutes is then very good and episode 3 as a whole is really good. I can clearly see a few visual influences from Zeorymer and The Guyver this time round that I hadn't picked up on before too. The real highlight for me though are the gorgeous Masami Ohbari suit and monster designs. I also love watching the trailers on these old CPM discs, they are a great time capsule of what was was being released 20+ years ago. |
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Gina Szanboti
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Watched the first couple episodes of an odd little Chinese isekai series called King B, which seems to be a cross between Zenshu, Pokémon and Hunter x Hunter. Short episodes, but I don't know how long I'll stick with it.
Like The All-devouring Whale before it, I keep wondering who they had in mind when making this. There's the cute spirit pet designs and kid friendly conflicts as expected, but then in the second episode we get off-camera tentacle sodomy by jellyfish of the adorable tiger cub pet, which apparently it enjoyed so much it turned gay, which the MC tamer was quite displeased about (the gey, not the rape). How does this shit get past their censors?  I'll probably give it a couple more episodes to right this ship before I bail (even though the MC has already literally jumped off the skyship he was on).
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Cam0
 Posts: 4978 |
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All right I got words for the void.
I've fallen into an Umamusume hole. I started playing the game and then went on to watch multiple series back-to-back. The first cour of Umamusume Cinderella Gray was my first venture into the horse girl universe. I thought it was ok, but couldn't really get into it. I liked how the anime depicted the speed and power of the horse girls but I didn't like how the sport was depicted in the form of hot blooded shonen sports anime where rivalries are sometimes framed so antagonistically that you'd think it they'd be fighting a contact sport and not racing on a track. Many months later I decided to give the game a try and I got hooked. I grew to like a lot of those horse girls so I decided to go back to the original anime series. I liked the first season of Umamusume: Pretty Derby. The vibe was completely different from Cinderella Gray with a bigger focus on comedy. Since I had gotten a lot more familiar with the world of Umamusume through the game I found myself far more attached to what was happening on screen. The 2nd season blindsided me. I think the last episode made me cry. How it depicted the motivations and emotions towards horse girl racing elevated it far above the first season. Tokai Teio's trials and tribulations remain as the high point of anything Umamusume related I've seen so far. The 3rd season following Kitasan Black is similar to the 2nd season but doesn't have the same level of emotional punch. It's still good though with the comedy continuing to hit my funny bone. Between season 2 and 3 I watched the movie Road to the Top. It was ok. It took itself too seriously with comedy taking a backseat in favour of more serious, shiny and prestigious movie presentation. With no comedy to loosen things up Narita Top Road's straight-laced personality was very dull while Admire Vega's back story and motivations felt forced. With 3 seasons (+ova) and 1 movie of Umamusume behind me I decided to go back to Cinderella Gray. Although I didn't vibe with the first cour I liked Oguri Cap. With so much accumulated Umamusume knowledge I figured I'd see the series in a new light and I was right. While the over the top death stares still make me cringe at times, the firmer understanding of horse girl racing and the attachment I've grown towards this Umamusume universe have made me more inclined to care about the races. The 3 seasons of Pretty Derby were never all that focused on making the races thrilling. All the excitement came from the emotional baggage tied to those races, not from intense shonen sports energy. Each one cour season of Pretty Derby covers the entire racing career of one horse girl while Cinderella Gray with its focus on creating exciting racing moments doesn't seem to cover even half of Oguri Cap's career in 2 cours of anime. However one thing in particular I learned from watching so much Umamusume is that these anime follow the real racing careers of the horses these horse girls are based on. I didn't know that when I first watched Cinderella Gray and that knowledge in particular has made me appreciate the races far more. I don't know the Japanese horse racing history, but I do know that the real horse races aren't decided by shounen manga logic which meant that regardless of Oguri Cap's desire to win or Tamamo Cross's grasp of The Zone, they can't win races their real life counterparts never won. That gives races a level of unpredictability that I didn't know about before. And so in one day I blitz through 9 episodes of Cinderella Gray loosing myself in the excitement of these races. It still doesn't reach the highs of Pretty Derby's season 2, but I'd put Cinderella Gray as the second best Umamusume anime I've seen so far. After I watch the last episode of Cinderella Gray I still got the movie Umamusume Pretty Derby: Beginning of a New Era left to watch. I'm not as excited about that one since I'm guessing that's gonna be more like Road to the Top, but I'll probably watch it. |
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6697 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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It's been almost 3 months since I reported on what I'd been watching so, even though there were a couple of weeks where I didn't watch any anime, there's a few to get through, especially now the summer season has finished.
.hack//Roots, which I watched as part of my project to complete 50 anime from 20 years ago. The .hack franchise is interesting by being a pioneer of the "trapped in an MMORPG" genre but, as a viewing experience, it's both dated and generally dull. The original .hack//SIGN was enlivened by its engaging characters but, unfortunately, it isn't the case in this instalment. The biggest disappointment is that the underlying dilemma isn't resolved by the end of the series. I still rate it as decent as I don't mind director Koichi Mashimo's languid style. .hack//G.U. Trilogy completes the .hack//Roots story line; however, the dreadful, stilted CG visuals left me disengaged. Rating: so-so. Stratos 4 (TV), Stratos 4 (OAV), Stratos 4 Advance and Stratos 4 Advance Kanketsuhen. This franchise was released from 2003 to 2006 and is very much a product of its time. Four cute girls in tightly clad flying suits pilot high-tech fighter planes high into the atmosphere to intercept meteors that have managed to get by orbiting satellites, the inference being that some hostile interstellar intelligence is sending them earth's way. The whole franchise is disposable fun, although the situation gets more urgent and compelling as it progress. Hence, I rate them as decent, except the last one, which gets a good. 
As a Melburnian this had me sniggering. Sky Girls (OAV) and Sky Girls (TV). This time from 2006 and 2007, four (later five) cute girls in tightly clad flying suits pilot high-tech mecha to battle mysterious beings spawning from the oceans and laying waste to cities. After a couple of months, I'm already merging this franchise and Stratos 4 in my memory. In addition, the parallels with Strike Witches (which began in 2008) are, well, striking. Like Stratos 4, it's disposable fun, although the character arcs are better written. Ratings: so-so for the one-episode OAV and good for the 26-episode TV series. Now for the season just completed, from least to most liked. The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife has all the ingredients and says all the right things to make a fun rom-com but ends up an anaemic nothing. Everyone is too polite, too nice. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as an iyashikei with rom-com elements. Either way, it leaves me with an unanswered question: how is it that 2 people who are in love, who end up sharing a house and even share a bed at times, are too shy, too proper, to have sex? No wonder Japan's population is declining. Rating: decent but tempted to downgrade it to so-so. Fate/strange Fake suffers the same malady as Fate/Apocrypha - so many masters and servants that it's unable to explore them in any worthwhile detail, so much so I struggled to remember how several of them, whenever they appeared, fitted into the narrative. Also like F/A the servants were generally identified too soon, robbing it of much the fun to be had in earlier segments of the franchise. The story lines and lore of the Nasuverse have always been, to put it politely, fanciful, so its best features have been the iconic characters and the choice of historical / legendary servants - how they're imagined and how they're placed into the story. This time around, their possible impact has been diluted by overpopulating the cast. That said, I liked the setting outside of Japan, and, if the hint given towards the end of the series is anything to go by, I'm looking forward in the second season to a confrontation between Rin/not Ishtar and Ishtar/not Rin. Rating: decent. You and I Are Polar Opposites. Fun and reliably engaging rom-com featuring a classic odd couple. It's greatest strength is the way the two leads talk things through - not always as well as they would like - enabling them to overcome their apparent differences and grow within the relationship. The character types - he is terse and solitary; she is loud and popular - are unnecessarily exaggerated with insufficient comedic pay-off. Nor are they particularly memorable on their own. In a way, their sincere communication works against the humour. Nodame Cantabile does an odd couple comedy much better, although in a tertiary level music conservatory rather than a high school, as does Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro but I'll get to that presently. Rating: good. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End 2. A mishmash of a season, propped up by the terrific characterisation of Frieren herself and, to a lesser degree, Fern. Happily, the fights with the demons weren't the main focus, allowing Frieren's better nature to shine through. Rating: very good, but I want to know what happens at Ende; I don't give a flying fig for the demons. Given the next season will apparently concentrate on Frieren's battle with a particularly powerful demon, I may well give it a miss and come back when she's closer to Ende. Journal with Witch is a perceptive, intelligent and adult tale of a young woman moving in with her eccentric aunt after the death of her parents in a motor vehicle accident. Asa's grief is sensitively and convincingly portrayed, mitigated by Makio's offbeat wisdom. The latter's oddities prevent the series from wallowing in despair so that, despite the way it starts, it's an optimistic tale. Rating: Masterpiece. 
Asa and Makio. Last night I binge watched the first season of Don't Mess with Me, Miss Nagatoro, a rom-com that's wackier and therefore more entertaining than You and I Are Polar Opposites. For sure, Nagatoro and Senpai aren't too good at communicating, but the I found the former, despite all her teasing, much more appealing and fun than Suzuki, her counterpart from Polar Opposites. Her teasing is forgivable as it's obvious from the start she's sweet on Senpai, but the same can't be said for her friends who come across as mean-spirited even accepting their motivation is to goad the two would be lovers into getting closer. Rating: very good. |
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ScarlettEvanss
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Hey everyone. Since I just started my anime journey here ( I was unregistered user for quite some time and finally decided to join community ) I just wanted to share the I'm currently re-watching the amazing series called One-outs. its a shame it didn't get a second season cos the manga is bottom line awesome.
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6697 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Nature abhors a thread vacuum, so... I've watched a fair amount of anime in the 5 weeks since my last report, amplified by binge watching a pair of rom-com franchises early in the period, then following those with a number of movies and specials.
I started with Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro 2nd Attack and, while it concludes the franchise with a happy ending, I enjoyed it less than the first season. The central gag was getting harder to sustain, and I found the secondary characters' behaviours increasingly tedious. Whatever, it continued to be heaps of fun. Rating: good, a notch below the first season. Just a little disappointed with Nagatoro-san, I decided to watch what seems to be the gold standard of rom-coms, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, completing the entire franchise over 8 days. The premise is both absurd (meant postively) and simple - the leads, Kaguya and Miyuki - love each other, however they are both much to proud to admit it, so they both set out getting the other to make a confession first. Happily, it lived up to its reputation, being both clever and funny, ending with a bang in the final special. The two leads initially come across as unpleasant, but the character writing will reveal their complexity and anxieties in a sympathetic manner. Ratings: Season 1 - excellent; Season 2 - very good; OAV - so-so; Season 3 (-Ultra Romantic) - excellent; Movie (-The First Kiss That Never Ends-) - good; Special (-Stairway to Adulthood-) - excellent. It would be my highest rated archetypal rom-com. Where I do rate romances higher, they're either a drama (eg Koi Kaze) or transcend or go beyond the genre to be somewhat more (eg Spice and Wolf, Princess Tutu). 
I have a picture I'd rather have used from -Stairway to Adulthood- but it's kinda NSFW & spoilerish. Link (You've been warned.) Gintama. I began watching this back in February as part of my 2006 project, and so far managed the first 49 episodes, equivalent to Aniplex's first 12-DVD set collection. It's been slow going and, given that means I'm now well into 2007, I'm inclined to give the remaining 152 episodes a miss. I mean, the quality of episodes released in 2010 have little bearing on what I think of the 2006 episodes. Anyway, any individual episode is fun, with absurd situations and over-the-top characters, but it never develops and the characters remain unchanged, thereby rendering strings of episodes a chore. Watching it once a week on TV back in the day would've made more sense. Rating: either a low decent or high so-so. The Last Blossom. From the same director/script team who gave us ODDTAXI, I'd been wanting to watch this movie since I heard about it. To my surprise, it scored a brief season at a major chain here in Melbourne. Like ODDTAXI it's a tale of criminal low-life, similarly character driven but more sentimental. Also, like ODDTAXI, it has a twist, though it's more obviously spotted in advance. It tells the tale of an aged yakuza dying alone in his prison cell and who's spent most of his adult life in gaol after taking the rap for the shooting death of a rival. Taunted by an anthropomorphic flower in his cell, Akutsu relives the events leading to his incarceration. We learn his life has had far more value to him than his outward circumstances suggest. Rating: masterpiece. 
Yep. There's a family involved. There always is, but things aren't quite so conventional in The Last Blossom. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2. Continues from the first season, but more complex, less convincing, the arcs more fantastic than ever, and without the moral ambiguity of good intentions leading to bad outcomes as witnessed previously (although Lelouch himself is as ambiguous as ever). Like his spiritual sibling separated at birth, Light Yagami, he's a self-important, arrogant poseur with few endearing qualities. Nor are any of the other characters particularly interesting. With that spleen out of the way, the story itself is gripping, making it an easy watch, while the climax is fitting - when all seems lost the good guys come out on top. Because it's thematically a little less interesting than the first season, I rate it one rank lower: decent. I have an inbuilt dislike of overpowered shounen heroes so I understand you may find my rating harsh. To Every You I've Loved Before and To Me, the One who Love You. Please bear with me as I put on my physics hat. The enduring gift of quantum mechanics to speculative writers is the concept of multiple universes, where they branch into new universes whenever events with multiple possible outcomes occur. (ie Schrödinger's cat is neither (or both) dead or alive in its box. When we open the box, if it's alive the collapsing of the wave function has us in the universe where it lives; if it's dead we're in an alternative universe.) This is a philosophical and unprovable theory that tries to account for all the weirdness. (Hat now removed.) Anyway, these 2 films explore 2 parallel universes that separate when the protagonist, Koyomi, must make a decision as a child who to live with when his parents divorce. In one film he chooses his father and spends all his available time at his father's laboratory where they're researching multiple universes with a view to communicating with or travelling to them. In this scenario he falls in love with another researcher's daughter. In the other film he chooses his mother and becomes estranged from his father. In this alternative scenario he falls in love with a girl from school and eventually marries her. There are gimmicks (not to say they're a problem) with the film. The first is, the 2 universes do get to communicate with each, complicating Koyomi's love choices in each case. The second is, you can watch the films in either order, each elucidating unexplained oddities in the other. The third is, there's a ghost of a girl pining forever for the love she's been denied. To Every You... is spoiled by its abrupt change of narrative towards the end, which is mitigated by the bitter-sweet encounter at the end of To Me.... On that basis, my ratings are To Every You I've Loved Before as decent and To Me, the One who Loved You as very good. Maybe, if a different me in a different universe had chosen to watch them in a different order, I'd have rated them differently. 
The ghost on the zebra crossing and the boy (now an old man) who might have loved her. SpyxFamily Season 2 continues the fun from the first season with the addition of pet dog who can see the future. Anya, the mind-reading "daughter" remains the franchise's greatest asset, while the dog adds further cuteness. The weakest element is Yor, who remains something of a cipher. Even then, the growing affection and intimacy within the family is beguiling. Rating: good. R20 - Ginga Kuukou. The ANN encyclopaedia lists this as a 3 minute trailer from 1991 for an unfinished film. To me, the artwork is so basic, it looks more like a storyboarded pitch for an imaginary anime producer, consisting of a patchwork of largely unrelated images. Rating: a generous not really good. Why did I watch it? The early 1990s are under-represented in my anime viewing; it was short; and available on YouTube. Passage of the Stars - Birth. Likewise, the year 2000 is under-represented in my anime viewing and, further, I was surprised I'd missed this one-episode prequel to the Banner of the Stars franchise. This short special introduces us to Lafiel's parents (her father is the Abh emperor) on their honeymoon where they're exploring a floating space wreck, which, they discover, contains a poignant secret about the origin of the Abh and the gem adorning their foreheads. Typical Abh - can't help working, even on their honeymoon. As with the rest of the franchise, the dialogue is pointedly witty, and it was good to find out how Lafiel got her name (in the Abh language "laf"=gem; "fiel"=source of life). Rating: good - much better than the feeble what-happened-after 2-episode Banner of the Stars III The Green Cat. Short film from 1983 directed by Osamu Tezuka and based upon one of his manga where an alien green cat brings temporary good fortune to its chosen "owner" before corrupting them and bringing about their downfall. Too short to build the necessary tension or to demonstrate Tezuka's ability to explore complex themes in simple narratives. Rating: not really good. Ah! My Goddess! (1993 OVA). (Note: the ANN encyclopaedia lists it as Oh My Goddess! to distinguish it from the 2005 TV series, although the 2 have the same Japanese name.) I watched this to catch up on my early 1990s anime; and, also, there's an additional 2006 TV series in the franchise to add to my 2006 project (which is forever expanding). This insulin inducing magical girlfriend anime tells the story of university student who tries to order a pizza over the phone, rings heaven by mistake and is sent a goddess instead of a pizza. (A goddess as a commodity, I guess.) Belldandy's so perfect, so loyal, so Yamato nadeshiko, she's kinda dull. But, yes, I enjoyed every moment of this sweet confection. Hardly nutritious; hardly sustaining, but nice in the moment. Rating: good. 
Belldandy in the kitchen. Ushio & Tora (1992 OVA). Yep. Another early 1990s title. It's not my favourite era in anime, possibly due to the bursting of the Japanese economic bubble in 1990 and the belt-tightening all round. This supernatural anime tells the story of a boy (Ushio) releasing a demonic, tiger-like monster (hence, Tora) from a pit in the family-run temple. The two come to an understanding of sorts and team up to rescue the pretty girls in Ushio's life from other monsters in ever-ascending violent encounters - though it retains its overall comic nature. The production standards aren't high, the comedy is juvenile, and the story forgettable. Rating: not very good. *** Up next will be 2006's NANA. Last edited by Errinundra on Tue May 26, 2026 12:13 am; edited 1 time in total |
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killjoy_the
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I've only watched the one where he moves in with his mother, and thought the other perspective was probably not going to be significantly better or anything so I passed. Should I? It's been months and I probably also won't watch the other movie for a few months either so I'll forget some stuff rather than watching them back to back, but I'd never seen someone rate them both so differently, starting to think it might be interesting especially if the one I didn't watch is the one you rated higher |
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