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The Summer 2021 Preview Guide


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zztop



Joined: 28 Aug 2014
Posts: 650
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:58 am Reply with quote
Quote:
considering the game Scarlet Nexus came out all of six days ago and the first two episodes were up on YouTube even before then, I have a sneaking suspicion that this tie-in was planned well before the release


According to source gameplayers, an in-game sidequest requires you to watch each episode of the anime. Each episode has a hidden code that will be used to complete said quest.
https://imgur.com/a/7VFVMsi

So yes, I'd say the tie-in was made well in advance to complement the game's release.

Players say the anime is pretty much adapting the game's basic plot faithfully, albeit with some pacing differences.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11557
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:06 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Nagara (center in image above), the mysterious transfer student Nozomi (right), and classmates such as Mizuho (left)

There are only two people in the accompanying picture. I'm assuming Mizuho got cropped off the left side?

Not sure what to make of Scarlet Nexus. It seems like your basic kids battling invaders to save the world set-up that we've seen a thousand times, with only the Others' designs of any real note. And at least 2/3 of the ones we've seen so far have such a mildly misogynistic or at least fetishistic flavor to them (both the dressform- and lampshade-based ones incorporate corset imagery, with heels and stockings variously added) that it's more off-putting than creepy or scary. Unless this season is really sparse, I doubt I'll be sticking with this one.

I'm up for more IDOLiSH7 though. I still can't remember everyone's names after two seasons, but I know their faces and stories and for me that's doing pretty good! Very Happy
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ab2143



Joined: 09 Jan 2021
Posts: 749
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:27 pm Reply with quote
Watched the first episode of edgy Momotaro and it was quite bland.

The octopus scene was really random lmao. Seeing as it's by Coolkyousinnjya, I expected fanservice in this series but the octopus scene was just super random? Did something similar happen to Sally in the past or something?

Frau's design is interesting.
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meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3445
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 12:46 pm Reply with quote
Sonny boy was hard to take seriously when one of the first line is "is this heaven or hell" when they're in a situation where they'll run out of food soon and will seriously have to consider cannibalism at that point. I get it's supposed to be about "higher" concept, but when the character act so un-human none of the higher concept can work.

I do find it funny that scarlet nexus as such consistent middling score while at the same time being heavily advertised for, if 6 different reviewer all watched it and just shrugged their shoulder and went "whatever", then surely someone in the company had the same reaction? Being a multi media project backed by a decent amount of money, surely someone realized that early in production and they could have done something. Is this a case where they intentionally went for bland in an attempt to reach mass market?
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residentgrigo



Joined: 23 Dec 2007
Posts: 2550
Location: Germany
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 2:11 pm Reply with quote
The schedule. https://myanimelist.net/anime/season
I don´t have hope for the TV season but the movie slate looks solid.

Biohazard: Infinite Darkness is clearly a movie that was sliced into 4 pieces because Netflix and I have no hope that it can turn out good in the traditional sense but it could be entertaining. Vendetta bordered on so bad it's good and Damnation was actually ok. I at least get how RE could make for a good anime, unlike Scarlet Nexus this season. Or most game to anime conversions.

Getter Robo Arc None of the 3 OVA runs by the same director were as good as they could have been but the 1st and 3rd were good enough. Let´s see if this final one will be the best of them. None of these 4 share a canon btw. A by now deeply confusing canon and the original manga lacking an ending will be the major hurdles.

Kaizoku Oujo I have to give something a chance so it’s going to be this.

Sonny Boy The pilot was a bunch of nonsense. I wonder if this original will eat itself like the similar Wonder Egg Priority? 5/10

Let’s clean up the disc/streaming releases from seasons past:
I wouldn´t have finished Eden if it was a film but Netflix got me by cutting this into 4 parts. 5.5/10
Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi turned out to be a cliché driven teen soap opera that misuses paraplegia to milk it for melodrama at every turn. Watch the downbeat live-action film from 2003 instead. 5/10
Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway released 3 decades too late as none of this can affect the anime canon in a meaningful way and it’s debatable how good an adaptation the trilogy starter is but I would rather watch a frustrating "Tomino Gundam" film that most of the other anime the IP released over the last decade. The female lead is a train wreck though who has no reason to be in the story and not just Tomino is to be blamed here. 6/10
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final is of course live action but I need to say something positive in this writeup. The film is destined to be the least good of the 5 films due to being very crammed but it’s still good. 8/10

This season´s films:
Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru might turn out interesting due to its writer Dai Sato. Gundam: G no Reconguista will release its 3rd compilation movie in July and the long-delayed Shika no Ou: Yuna to Yakusoku no Tabi looks interesting in general. I am less crazy about Hosoda than most but still like enough of his films. Let’s see about his Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime but it would be nice if he did something other than young adult fiction for a change.
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7395
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 8:43 pm Reply with quote
Gina Szanboti wrote:
Quote:
Nagara (center in image above), the mysterious transfer student Nozomi (right), and classmates such as Mizuho (left)

There are only two people in the accompanying picture. I'm assuming Mizuho got cropped off the left side?

I think that description was written with the image from the encyclopedia in mind.



Emerje
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Covnam



Joined: 31 May 2005
Posts: 3807
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2021 10:35 pm Reply with quote
I usually enjoy Coolkyoushinja's stuff, so it's a bit annoying to see the way it's being released at first glance. Seems like it'd be best to wait a few episodes before deciding to dive in now or wait for the whole thing to come out and what the chronological order.

zztop wrote:

Players say the anime is pretty much adapting the game's basic plot faithfully, albeit with some pacing differences.


That's annoying to see. A slavish adaptation to a game that just came out means it's only really worth experiencing one or the other. Presuming you care about spoilers of course.

Probably going to skip this one then as I'll probably play the game at some point
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Tanteikingdomkey



Joined: 03 Sep 2008
Posts: 2350
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 1:05 am Reply with quote
So with the satako situation I would like to point out that satako is very clearly a codependent preteen and then teen due to many factors. She was obviously very dependent on her brother to protect her and after he vanished, that was shortly thereafter transfered to Rika who she became text book codependent on.

This does not excuse her behavior, but the flashback arc made it very clear how hard she worked herself to the bone exclusively to keep Rika, and how Rika did effectively nothing once she got her wish to help her, and once she realized that she completely snapped. Love and hate are really to sides of a coin, so she went from one unhinged extreme to the other.

Not all reasons should be logical in story telling, that isn't how we actually act. Higurashi gou had problems to be sure, but honestly saying satako has terrible motivation for putting Rika back in the time loop I don't think is actually one of them.
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Kirki



Joined: 11 Jun 2019
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:19 am Reply with quote
I can't watch Sonny Boy and it seriously isn't due to lack of trying. Something about this feels like a drag - from the abscence of music to the alternative character designs to the artsy approach of a situation that should be way more devastating than it is presented. I mean, if you want to comment on human nature, but your characters' reactions aren't human-like or believable enough, then you've missed the point from the get-go. If someone wants to see something similar to the Lord of the Flies, Infinite Ryvius is still the series they should choose to watch instead.

Higurashi is as engaging as usual. I really hope we will see Satoshi in the upcoming episodes. I don't that he was ever afraid of Satoko... but this is Higurashi, so who knows.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1041
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 3:57 am Reply with quote
Higurashi was fine. I guess you could reasonably assume spoiler[Hinamizawa Syndrome] grants unnatural grip strength. Looking forward to the later answer arcs more as this one has the least potential for genuine surprises imho.

The relative lack of anything related to Satoshi has stood out to me, too. Not sure if it’s because it’s going to play a major role towards the end or just because he doesn’t fit well into the plot so his role is being downplayed.

Re: Rebecca’s review: I admit my memory of the original series is fuzzy, but isn’t the point that spoiler[Satoshi never actually ran away and was only assumed to have because he disappeared]?


Sonny Boy has potential for me. I’m OK with the stylised or dreamlike logic of the character behaviour as long as the story has enough interesting ideas, but it’s certainly not clear at this point that it will. Seems to me it could easily turn out very good or very bad, and at least a second episode is likely to be necessary to get a gauge on which direction it’s heading in.

Would have preferred them to comment on food and the sewerage system still working etc., but maybe food just appeared where they expect it to be and they think nothing of it.


Haven’t seen or played Scarlet Nexus but I got the impression the combat gameplay was the main draw of the game? Trailers don’t show much other than combat. I have seen some people saying the separate interweaving plotlines for the male and female playable characters are clever, though (but also some others who disagree and say the whole plot is useless). Is the anime following both playable characters?
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2638
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 5:37 am Reply with quote
Sven Viking wrote:

Re: Rebecca’s review: I admit my memory of the original series is fuzzy, but isn’t the point that spoiler[Satoshi never actually ran away and was only assumed to have because he disappeared]?


You are correct! But we've seen so little of him in this new iteration that that, plus Satoko's new role, are making me wonder if that's still the case. He's just been so markedly absent that he's standing out to me more. (Plus I'm just really hoping he isn't some sort of plot hole that no one wanted to deal with in Gou and Sotsu.)

@Taniteikingdonkey

You're right, she is codependent and has very good reasons to be so. I've always been irritated by her "traps," though, and I feel like no one ever took her to task for them and other unhealthy behaviors because of an "Oh, poor Satoko, she's been through so much" mentality, and I wonder how much of that just made her worse. (And, on a personal, gut level, I've just always found her annoying.)
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1041
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 6:10 am Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
Sven Viking wrote:

Re: Rebecca’s review: I admit my memory of the original series is fuzzy, but isn’t the point that spoiler[Satoshi never actually ran away and was only assumed to have because he disappeared]?


You are correct! But we've seen so little of him in this new iteration that that, plus Satoko's new role, are making me wonder if that's still the case. He's just been so markedly absent that he's standing out to me more. (Plus I'm just really hoping he isn't some sort of plot hole that no one wanted to deal with in Gou and Sotsu.)

The original facts can’t change in this version since they happened long before the loop started, but they could certainly fill in some unexpected details about it and maybe about Sotoko’s previous false report to child services for example. The child services arc would be a good fit for that.

I agree that Satoshi’s conspicuous absence seems to make him either important or a plot hole. Important would make a lot more sense considering the focus on Satoko.

I think Satoko’s original motivation, while obviously leading to unreasonable actions, was set up well to be plausible considering her mental state and her initial view that atrocities Don’t Count once they’re undone. Obviously she’s gone full evil voice at this point, though, and there doesn’t seem to be any mitigation for being gleeful about this stuff unless her mind is being affected by magic or viruses or whatever.
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Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2638
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 10:04 am Reply with quote
Sven Viking wrote:

The original facts can’t change in this version since they happened long before the loop started, but they could certainly fill in some unexpected details about it and maybe about Sotoko’s previous false report to child services for example. The child services arc would be a good fit for that.


True, and I do lose sight of that sometimes.

Quote:
I agree that Satoshi’s conspicuous absence seems to make him either important or a plot hole. Important would make a lot more sense considering the focus on Satoko.


I really hope so. I'm still a bit concerned that there's going to be an attempt to link this with Umineko more solidly via Satoko and Rika, and while that's not inherently a bad thing, I also think it could undermine Higurashi's story to a degree.
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Sven Viking



Joined: 09 May 2005
Posts: 1041
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 12:14 pm Reply with quote
Princess_Irene wrote:
I'm still a bit concerned that there's going to be an attempt to link this with Umineko more solidly via Satoko and Rika,

Personally I think that’s pretty-much guaranteed at this point, but I guess it could possibly be an alternate timeline that explains the connection to Umineko but is then averted at the last moment and splits off from the Umineko timeline to a happier ending.

While I could try to think of the original Higurashi as an alternate world to Gou, I admit I’d be sad to see the original ending overturned and moral essentially reversed.
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Gina Szanboti



Joined: 03 Aug 2008
Posts: 11557
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2021 2:20 pm Reply with quote
Looks like I enjoyed Peach Kidz Galore more than any of the reviewers did. I adore Frau already. Now if they can just keep the random fan-service to a sensible level I can live with that. I guess my main issue with the episode was how many times they kept teasing the "mystery" of her berserker eye before finally letting it pay off. That was just annoying. I hope they don't keep padding things that way going forward.

Sonny-Live! kept my interest for the opener, and I'm intrigued by the apparent spoiler[change in venue] at the close, so that will get at least one more ep from me. If it turns into a survival game though, I'll likely bail.

Bonfires of the Vanitas is absolutely in my wheelhouse though. Loved every moment of the premiere and did not find Vanitas off-putting at all. The leads have great chemistry, and I liked the blue-moon/blood-moon opposition.

But one detail that utterly delighted me for its sheer originality, not to mention beauty, is that it looks to me like the Book is spoiler[written in constellations.] Now if I'm totally imagining that, I don't want to know, manga readers. Let me wallow in my delusions until the inevitable disappointment descends upon me in its own time.
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