Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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louis6578
 Posts: 1862 |
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I finally got around to watching the famed Martian Successor Nadesico. By famed, I of course mean that I've personally seen it in tons of anime sections, but never bothered to pick it up until a few anime reviewers started listing it in recommendation videos. I heard it was a deconstruction of the mecha genre, which it is. I just wasn't expecting it to be so lighthearted considering that the word deconstruction has been horribly lost to the modern audience, much like the word "literally," and now people seem to associate any "dark" or "edgy" show of a certain genre as a deconstruction of that genre.
So, to make it clear, this is a "deconstruction" of the typical mecha genre because it takes the typical criteria associate with the genre and places the story in a realistic setting where the pilot doesn't want to pilot (but he isn't angsty about it, it's just a job he doesn't care for), the government doesn't want the craft to be piloted by civilians, and the aliens they're fighting turn out to be humans just like them. It simply subverts expectations in ways that would make sense in a realistic setting. It doesn't make some awful twist every few seconds like "whoever pilots this mech will become a mech themselves!" or something like that. Aside from that, I'm enjoying it just fine so far. 21 episodes in and... yeah. I'm glad I watched it. 6/10 so far. A great ending could change that score around though. |
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Cam0
 Posts: 4888 |
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So I just watched The irregular at magic high school movie: The Girl Who Summons the Stars. Maybe I was really hungry for something like this or something, but I uh... actually enjoyed the movie. Really enjoyed it, in fact. There were some things in the movie that I feel like only the LN readers could understand. Like how the main cast seems to know who Lina is. I don't know who or what the Stars is. For some reason Lina spoiler[changes her appearance at one point]. Mayumi has apparently graduated (I'd assume that includes Mari and Katsuto)? So yeah, feels like a lot has happened between this movie and the tv series.
Yet, I enjoyed the movie. During the first half of the movie, not much happens. Yet, I didn't get bored and I can't really explain why. The second half of the movie was pretty awesome though. Mostly because it was really cool. The cool factor was super strong here. Lina has some cool, badass magic. Tatsuya's suit looks cool. Katsuto has a short role in all the action, but it's cool. Everyone has a chance to show some of their cool, badass magic. It's all just really cool. I remember the review for this movie on this site saying that the animation is bad. I thought the animation was fine, all the cool bits looked cool. This movie made me want to see more Mahouka. If Mahouka can be this cool then yeah I want more. I don't recommend this movie to anyone though. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1862 |
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I just watched two science-fiction, space opera anime about teenagers being in charge of a space ship. Infinite Ryvius and Martian Successor Nadesico.
... Well, they're similar in that vague, all-purpose way only, considering that Nadesico is a Tenchi-esque harem comedy mecha show about otaku joining the fight against supposed aliens, and Infinite Ryvius is Lord of the Flies in Space. |
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moniker
 Posts: 4 |
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25-sai no Joshikousei
I was watching Overlord and Aoi Bungaku Series but Im not in the mood with those types of anime so for now Im watching some smutty mini episodes wherein I get horny, excited yet criticize everything stupid about it. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1862 |
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I just watched three episodes of Children of the Whales on Netflix and I can honestly say that it's one of the worst anime I've seen this decade. I'd give it a 2/10, but there were two things that brought the score up slightly. That pink-haired crazy dude, and a few unintentionally funny moments.
Let me start by saying what didn't work. Every character gives exposition that other characters already know in the most forced way possible. I mean, it's... horribly uninteresting already, but they couldn't even inform the audience of a single thing through actions or context clues. If it's not "As you know, _____" then it's "Protagonist-kun! You're one of the few people with magic powers, so you'll die in your 30's! I can't imagine what it's like, considering that I'll live to a ripe old age!" Or even worse... "Dammit Protagonist-kun! You never do anything around the house! You've lived with me for X years and I do all the work!" It was painful by the end of episode one. I was just hoping that something of substance would happen already. And then it did, sort of. A main character died in episode 2's climactic end scene, and it was one of the most empty deaths ever. I won't "spoil" who died, but lets just say that she was just blandly energetic, cute, and in love with the protagonist enough that I could forgive you if you felt something for her, but still too bland and undefined for me to personally care for. This character's death sparks a massacre, where dozens of the islanders are shot up like it's the Ishvalan War. I mean, several innocent men, women, and children die! ... And a total of two named characters too. Um... three if you count that one died with their poorly defined love interest. Aside from the previously mentioned named-character whose name I won't spoil, the other two had a combined total of 5 minutes worth of screen time in the show prior to their deaths. I, again, felt nothing while the characters themselves did. "Louis! You're being too negative! Why don't you tell us what you liked about this show! After all, you're not rating it a 1/10, so it must have some merit!" Well, fine! I'll tell you exactly what this show does right! 
Thing is, there's only... half of one good thing in this show, and that's the scene where the protagonist interacts with... the dead girl's corpse. He doesn't seem to process that she died in an unintentionally hilarious fashion. "Hurry! Run before they get us!" Is what he shouts to her CORPSE before picking her up and irritably stating "Fine, I'll carry you just this once!" This is comedy gold. On a lesser note, there's a scene near the end where... Lykos or whatever her name is, is confronting the attackers who were about to kill a group of innocent bystanders... and the bystanders are literally just sitting in the background, curiously watching instead of trying to seek shelter or escape. I couldn't help but laugh my bum off. So yeah. 3/10 for the unintentional hilarity. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2460 |
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^ I actually had to check how many episodes I lasted in that show. Apparently two! Wish I'd dropped it at the first. I think it was literally the worst dialogue I've ever seen in anime - even the shitty light novels that cannot make conversation without inserting a boke + tsukkomi combo every two seconds at least have conversation.
Anyway, let's post positive things. I recently finished Shirobako. I'd dropped it during its initial run for feeling it was too cynical and that I didn't care about any of the characters nor the struggles they were going through, and that was turned upside down now. I laughed, I cried, I liked every character, and really liked how "hopeful among all the chaos" was sort of its message. |
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phia_one
Posts: 1657 Location: Pennsylvania |
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Been hacking away at my Crunchyroll queue again:
5 Centimeters Per Second-I watched this a few weeks ago and the only thing that really stayed in my mind was that it was pretty to look at. I can't even remember any of the characters names that's how little of an impression it made on me. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade-It was my first time watching this and I was hooked. The way it handled diving into Fuse's psyche and how his relationship with Kei progresses added to the bittersweet ending. Now, I didn't know any spoilers about this movie before watching, but it was easy to figure out how things were going to end. The whole movie had a very depressing, inevitable tone to it. Oh! Edo Rocket-I've seen this show so many times and it continues to be my favorite anime. It has everything I could ask for: great characters, comedy that I actually like, an entertaining story, and nice animation. I'm disappointed that this show doesn't get more love. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1862 |
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Oh God. If there's one thing that's worse than the bland, uninteresting characters, it's the comedy. I mean, the only way that their lack of understanding for comedy could be any clearer is if the writers stopped the show for every comedy scene and showed live footage of a clown being beaten up by a gang of hack manga writers. It doesn't help that it has one of those faux-interesting settings like Fairy Tail or Black Clover. It feels like this was written by a committee that saw how popular fantasy settings were but didn't know how to flesh one out properly. This is NO One Piece, or even a Re:Zero. Instead, it's just... a central hub for characters to run around and have the most formulaic dialogue in. For most anime, even ones that I hate, I can see how someone MIGHT love it. Yes. Even Future Diary, Fushigi Yuugi, School Days, and Elfen Lied. But with Children of The Whales, I fail to see how anyone could like this on a personal level. Even if it's your first anime or something. There is nothing that sets it apart from any other anime of its genre. It's a modern day Samurai Deeper Kyo. |
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Cam0
Posts: 4888 |
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I've been watching Berserk. Some time ago, I tried watching the old TV series and for some reason I wasn't feeling it at that point so I stopped watching after like 4 episode with the intention of picking it up again someday. And in fact I did. I watched the old 1997 TV series to completion and I did really enjoy though I did have some issues with the pacing being too slow early on. I felt like the show only got good somewhere around half-way point when it starts to get into some political intrigue stuff. And then the final story arc is excellent.
After the show's intense finale I had to see what happens next so I jumped straight into the new TV series. I had heard bad things about it but honestly the strength of the story alone is enough to make the show enjoyable. I honestly like the direction of the story and the story elements of this new series more. I feel like it has a lot more action, it has more fantasy elements and feels more briskly paced. The animation does hold it back, but I still find the show very enjoyable. |
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louis6578
Posts: 1862 |
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^ Might I strongly recommend the manga?
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Cam0
Posts: 4888 |
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I'd read the manga in a heartbeat if it wasn't an ongoing manga. I don't wanna have to wait who knows how long to read 1 chapter after I've forgotten tons of details and just kinda moved on from that story. It would be difficult for me to get into the story again after some time has passed. I'll wait for the manga to end and then I'll most likely read it. Don't know how long that'll take since the manga has a reputation for going on a hiatus all the time.
Also I wasn't sure if I wanted to mention it, but I've also been watching Record of Lodoss War. Note: post probably contains some relatively minor spoilers for the aforementioned show. I have nothing positive to really say about it so I wasn't sure if I wanted to make a post just to crap on that show since I know it has a fanbase. Anyway, yeah, the show sucks ass. It has a bad habit of straight up skipping stuff for one. Like Parn will be tasked to go on a quest to find a hermit or something and then the next episode will start with him having returned from that quest. Along with dudes going "Parn you've returned! Long time no see!" Yeah, he was gone for half an episode. Such an adventure that we never saw. The dwarf dude and Slayn go fight the villain and the Parn shows up out of nowhere to help them. Earlier that episode he was fighting some berserker dude along with Deedlit but maybe Deedlit knows teleportation magic or something. The thief dude (big spoiler) spoiler[gets possessed by the villain] and by the time one of the characters wonders where he has disappeared to we see him somehow traveling in a desert somewhere. That's some quick movement considering he was just near a lake surrounded by a forest. Parn is a bland as hell dim-wit and for some reason Deedlit has a crush on him eventhough I haven't seen any reason for her to. I'm watching it dubbed too and the dub is kinda meh. Mostly what I dislike about it is the dubbed opening. It's not like it's a good opening but it sounds really cheesy in English. I have like 5 or so episode left so I will finish the show, but it'll probably take time. |
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Akane the Catgirl
Posts: 1091 Location: LA, Baby! |
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Progress Report
Guys, I'm going to be honest with all of you. My heart's just not in the mood for Code Geass anymore. I don't think it has been for a while. I don't want to put half an effort into something, even if I promised I would. So I'm putting my Geass recaps on the backburner for a while. Haibane Renmei too. So here's my slate: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Little Witch Academia Pop Team Epic And as of most recently, I finished Devilman Crybaby. Now THAT I have words for. I think I'll do recaps on that instead. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23793 |
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I have watched the first three episodes of Children of the Whale and I have to say that for me the opinions of louis6578 and killjoy_the are so wildly out of whack it isn't even funny. Consider how many absolutely crap, generic LN adaptations there've been this decade where a red-haired tsundere makes a contract with dark-haired Bland-Kun at effing Magic Academy X and THIS is the show they decide is among the worst of the bunch? Oi freakin' vey.
Oh and thanks louis6578 for not using spoiler tags on a major plot point... damn decent of you. 
I don't want to make the same mistake those guys did in the opposite direction and oversell it, but after three episodes I am really digging this show. I love the visual look and there is an unmistakeable Miyazakian whiff to the show. I know for some people that will seem like a condemnation as opposed to an endorsement, but whatever. I found the events emotionally powerful and poignant, yet also frustrating. However, the frustration is organic and arises out of the events, not out of poor execution. There is expository narration and dialogue but certainly nothing like your average Fate/Stay Whatever info dump or other types of shows. I found generally that the information was parcelled out in very manageable bite-sized pieces and gave me only what I needed to know as opposed to weighing me down with endless detail. I feel the world-building is quite interesting. Anyway, just a counter to what I think is the ridiculous negative hyperbole of above. You may not enjoy the show as much as I am right now but I find it hard to believe that the average person would consider it one of the worst of the decade. |
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Alan45
Village Elder Posts: 9848 Location: Virginia |
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@Blood-
I expect if you had a contest for "worst anime of the decade" you would get dozens of entries, if not more. For every entry there would be people arguing that it did not deserve to be there. As long as people are willing to acknowledge that different people can have different viewpoints, its all good. Of course this also explains why trying to get all anime fans behind a single issue is like herding cats. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23793 |
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Oh, for sure. However, there still would be a general consensus opinion that certain shows, regardless of what flaws they may have, simply don't belong in the "bottom of the barrel" category. Sure there will be individual outlier opinions but in the main there would be a rough consensus that Show A might not be the greatest thing since sliced bread but it certainly doesn't deserve to be seen among the worst of the worst.
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