Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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louis6578
 Posts: 1861 |
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Since I just rewatched Steins;Gate with a good friend of mine, I feel that I should say something about it. I rated it Excellent, and not much has changed. It's the finest example of a sci-fi conspiracy thriller I've seen in an anime, but the first half is slow and Faris, Ruka, and Moeka's arcs in the second half feel more like detours than plot advancing bits. That being said, everything from the second half's start to the end of Suzuha's arc, and then everything from the end of Moeka's arc to the end of the series is five-star material. If the in between bits were stronger, I would have rated this a masterpiece. Of course, Excellent is still, well, excellent. For reference, I've also rated Arcadia of my Youth, Assassination Classroom season 2, Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter 2011, Baccano, Berserk, Black Butler: Book of Circus, Evangelion 2.22, Excel Saga, The Garden of Sinners series, Great Teacher Onizuka, Gunbuster, Gurren Lagann, Haibanei Renmei, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (season 1 and the Egypt Arc of Stardust Crusaders), Jin-Roh, Castle in the Sky, Summer Wars, Monster, One Punch Man, Paranoia Agent, Princess Mononoke, Prison School, Re:Zero, Selector Infected Wixoss (Season 1 in particular), Serial Experiments Lain, Shiki, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, Welceme to the NHK, and Sword of the Stranger as excellent.
As such, you can tell that I hold Steins;Gate in very high regard. I'll just say my top 5 favorite moments from it and be done. Honorable Mention - Faris' Decision to let her father die. A weird choice, considering how indifferent I am to her and her arc, but something about her conversation with Okabe really helped me realize just how much the creator managed to nail emotional stakes. My favorite line from her being in response to Okabe asking if she was sure about letting him do this, to which she replied "Of course I'm not sure!" That's a pretty human thing to say regarding letting one loved one die to save a friend. 5. Kurisu cheering up Okabe. In episode 14 or 15, Kurisu hams up her own Mad Scientist persona in order to get Okabe's morale back up. It isn't much, but it's the simplicity of such an act that reminds me of how much chemistry these two characters have. This is one of the few "harem" anime where the guy and girl both have unique personalities and bounce off each other very well, rather than the guy being milquetoast and boring while having the girl be very appealing, but nothing we haven't seen before. Kurisu is easily the best character behind Okabe, and this scene exemplifies why. She sincerely cares about the protagonist, but these feelings aren't unfounded wish-fulfillment. Part of my love for this scene is built off of my love for a previous scene where Kurisu admits to have fun at this lab more than her professional one, because this lab feels more like a home to her. 4. Okabe tries to die for Mayuri to live. Later on, Okabe jumps in the way of a car, hoping that he can prevent Mayuri's death by dying in her place. Of course, that's not how things work, and Mayuri dies anyway, but the fact that he was willing to do that speaks miles of his care for her. The scene prior that shows Mayuri talking to her grandmother at her grave also helps to humanize her a bit, as she remembers dying over and over again, but writes it off as a scary reoccurring dream. 3. Suzuha's letter to Okabe. The depressing reality that Suzuha failed to get the IBN would have been sad enough, but the anime shows us her hellhole of a future while hammering in her guilt by repeating the letter in her desperate, frustrated, hopeless voice. The scene of a group of people moving in a line, only for one to be shot in the head for stopping briefly, still chills my heart. 2. Okabe' realization/Okabe and Kurisu(tina) kiss. Tie for second. The first moment being the instant Okabe remembers what the first D-Mail was. I think this one worked because, as an audience member, I totally forgot about the original timeline being... well... the cold open of the first episode. I assumed that was never going to be referenced again, but when it was brought back in such an immense storm of emotions and denial from both the viewer and the protagonist, I could do nothing but applaud the mastery of this writing team. The way that Okabe's face contorts as he realizes the reality of the situation was gold as well. Secondly, everything from when Okabe explains to Kurisu what he just realized until he undoes the D-Mail just in time for Kurisu's love confession to be interrupted by his time leap was also great. For once, I was in the headspace of the protagonist, instead of watching him as a fun third person. That's one thing that I think Steins;Gate does exceptionally well. Because the protagonist is alone throughout all this, being the only one who can remember multiple timelines, no one can really understand him. Kurisu is the only one who can accept the crazy things he says, but really, the audience are the only people who could reach out and assure Okabe that they truly understand what he's going through, but with the wall between fiction and reality built so strong, there's no way we could provide him that comfort. To see Okabe throw away the woman who understands and loves him to protect the girl he grew up protecting isn't easy to do, and the scene directly afterwards just hammers in how lonely he is. On a sidenote, I think that Re:Zero attempted to recapture these emotions, but Steins;Gate is the true king of it. And finally 1. Okabe's renewed confidence. Episode 23. Everything from the instant that Okabe returns from killing Kurisu to the end of the episode. Pure gold. |
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Jose Cruz
 Posts: 1773 Location: South America |
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Finished watching Key the Metal Idol, classic OVA from the mid 1990's. It certainly has the zeitgeist of the period (the feeling reminds me of a lot of other Japanese media from the period). Watched it because it's one of the few titles that are on Key's favorite list that I haven't watched (his taste is great in general). Powerful drama and psychological thriller, I was very curious to know all the mysteries but the show has a deep flaw in that episode 14 they drop enormous amounts of exposition on the viewer non-stop.
I also began watching Kokoro Library. This is pure moe before it was a thing, it's like from 2001, hence, older than Azumanga Daioh and all other famous moe shows. Really relaxing, it's atmosphere reminds me of the manga Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou and Aria. |
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Chiibi
 Posts: 4829 |
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Geeze, louis, you might as well tell them it was me....isn't it stupid to keep that a secret. 
(hopefully they won't start shipping us) 
Anyway, yes, no wonder everyone loves this anime so much. I'm quite sorry I put it off for so damn long!! Okabe is love. Okabe is life. John Tatem's Okabe is just amazing. He brings this special energy to the role, making it impossible to not love the character. Well, the entire dub cast is pretty fantastic as well as the script and writing. Kurisu: Kurisu is best girl. We all know this. What more can I say? Mayuri: She teeters back and forth from 'cute' to 'annoying' for me. I'd prefer if her character was an actual child. Like maybe a twelve-year-old? Then her immature behavior would make more sense. The cast already treats her as such. It's clear she is the "heart" of the series and she brings everyone closer. But when she does things like try to stick raw eggs in microwaves or open the oven DURING AN EXPERIMENT, I get the urge to smack her around a little bit.... : / Faris: I think she is second best girl. It's absolutely not because she's a proud, pink-haired otaku icon or anything. .........fine, it is. 
But really, her story was touching and sad. What she went through is really unfair and painful and she was such a good sport about it. Ruka: I normally don't favor spoiler[trap characters] all that much but Ruka was a sweet and sympathetic character. Suzuha: She is a cool character and she kicks ass. Really did not see that twist with her coming. Moeka: Ergh. Moeka sucks. I'm sure not a lot of people like her. lol But we don't watch this show for Moeka now, DO we? No.... I'm much looking forward to watching this masterpiece of anime again. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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[YOU FOOL!] Thou shalt not tarnish the name of the best girl Moeka Kiryuu! *HISS* Anyway, progress report. I put up my latest recap of Ouran (please leave a comment; I haven't gotten many of them recently). Is it me, or are the Hikaru and Kaoru episodes some of the best the show has to offer? These two are my second and third best boys after Host King Tamaki himself. I will be a bit busy this week, but I want to start posting recaps more frequently from now on. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
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Jeez, you share a makeshift bed with someone ONE time and all of a sudden everyone's shipping you with them and writing ship fics on DeviantArt.
She's honestly the only one whose last name I didn't remember. Akane Suzuha, Okabe Rintaro, Makise Kurisu, Shiina Mayuri, etc. but then when we get to Moeka, I blank. She's entirely uninteresting as a character, though she made for a kind of interesting antagonist before they decided to humanize her. Honestly, her story arc should have been more focused on Mr. Braun. He's the one with the child. He's the one whose motivation and backstory could have been interesting to watch. He's the one voiced by Chris Sabat. Moeka is just... boring. Bland. Nothing. More importantly, she got two episodes where Faris and Ruka got one. I would have liked to see Farris waste less time with that dumb, "YOU BEAT US AT RAI-NET SO NOW WE'RE GONNA _____ YOU!" subplot. I say blank because it's very unclear what they would've done. For some reason, they beat up Okabe simply by association, but while beating him up, they're merely subduing Farris. Perhaps they were just aggressively asking her to go out with them for tea? Regardless, great show. Easily an 8/10 for a lot of people, but I humbly grant it the privilege of a 9/10. Always happy to rewatch it with new people. It's always one of the first anime I show my friends when I show them anime. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23769 |
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Dropped my first show of the new season: Love and Lies. Got about five minutes into the third episode and realized I didn't like any of the characters, didn't care about the story or how things would turn out. Buh-bye. My new rule: will not watch any romance show where the lead character is a boring, non-entity.
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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Lol, Akane.......are you being sarcastic?
I really can't tell..... 
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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...no. I did really like Moeka the first time I watched Steins Gate (partially because I read her as being autistic like I am because representation matters and stuff). I really should watch that one again. Hopefully, it's streaming on Funimation's website (I didn't check).
Meanwhile, I'm watching Attack on Titan's second season while it airs on Toonami. Ymir is officially Best Girl. FIGHT ME. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
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Mobile Fighter G Gundam is getting great after episode 33. 34 started a pretty good plot point, and something that I was worried this "Tournament arc" of a series wouldn't address. With all these objective Good Guy vs Bad Guy and Good Guy vs Obstacle Who Will Never Be Relevant Again tournament matches, the people in charge finally decided to have Domon fight his friends, the Royal Flush Gang or whatever. And honestly, the fights aren't as satisfying as the character moments that feature the friendly rivalry and drive to improve that Domon has inspired in his comrades. G Gundam might very well be one of my favorite Gundam shows now, and at first I thought very little of it.
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Jose Cruz
Posts: 1773 Location: South America |
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Been watching Boku no Hero Academia. From my imouto's, I mean, my sister's recommendation. Really great stuff, among the most entertaining things I ever watched. I though the way the show handled tension was excellent: I was always 100% entertained during its whole duration. Its really the work of a genius in entertainment. Korei Horikoshi has great potential as a manga artist.
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louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
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G Gundam is great so far. Only two episodes to go, but I only see myself rating it "Good," not "Very Good." True, there were some moments that I would classify as Excellent on their own, but unlike a few other Gundam shows, nothing really justifies this being more than a 25 episode show. It is 49 episodes long. Domon is probably my favorite Gundam Protagonist, Wong was a pretty entertaining, if shallow, villain, Asia was a great rival character, and the supporting cast was... alright. Honestly, the other members of the Shuffle Alliance were pretty straightforward. To the point where if they were genderbent, this would feel like a harem with each member fitting a specific personality archetype.
Most of these fights were against no name Arrogant Kung Fu guys until the second half. The fights with the Shuffle Alliance all followed a formula, even if a few character arcs were decently concluded. I just didn't think that this was better than any of the non ZZ Gundam shows I had finished. Maybe Wing will be better? |
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Spawn29
Posts: 551 |
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I love G Gundam and I know a lot of fans hate it. I like it for being different and not trying to take itself seriously like most Gundam shows try to be.
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louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
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I liked it for that reason too. And the fact that despite all the over-the-top, silly, bombastic, flamboyant stuff, it still carries the "anti-war" themes of the franchise. I just think Gundam shows in general tend to be too long. It works better as OVAs and movies. |
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Chiibi
Posts: 4829 |
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I have finished Ashita No Nadja and I would call it "Very good". I did have some issues with it but they are "Studio Toei nitpicks" lol I wish the ending was a bit stronger though. The series feels 'unfinished'. I thought "That's fine; I'll just read the manga that's probably like 20 volumes".......NOT!! It's TWELVE chapters!!
 Twelve! And it's even less finished!
I was completely unaware this was an "anime original" series. So I'm quite disappointed. Still, I enjoyed what I got and I do recommend it for shoujo fans who "want something different". Because it was so diverse and unique. Now I've started Nurse Angel Ririka SOS to fill in my shoujo thirst because NOTHING OF THE SORT IS AIRING RIGHT NOW. WTF, JAPAN? (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ lol |
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louis6578
Posts: 1861 |
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Mobile Fighter G Gundam is a great 24 episode TV Anime.
... Too bad it's 49 episodes long. It just overstays its welcome with pointless fights. Granted, the final stretch, episodes... 36 to 49, I'll say, is great. Overall, I rate it a 7/10. Good, not great. |
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