What Anime are you watching now?

[Fred the Barber]

I finished MMO Junkie. It pushed my buttons all the way through, and ended up being extremely satisfying. I'm sure it's not for everyone, but if you 1) like sweet romances, 2) are a recovered MMO junkie, and 3) enjoyed Welcome to the NHK but maybe thought it was a bit darker than necessary at times, then have I ever got the show for you.

I've since started my roughly annual re-watch of Maria-sama ga Miteru. I still enjoy it a great deal. Trying very hard not to look at subtitles this time through, which means I'm getting more enjoyment out of Yumi's goofy facial expressions than I ever have before. Otherwise, it's about the same as usual, which is to say, I still enjoy it a great deal.

[Fred the Barber]

No posts here in the almost two weeks since I last posted? Oh well, so it goes. I shall double-post if I must.

I was most of the way through season 1 of MariMite when I needed to find a show to watch while cooking, and I ended up with Citrus. I wrapped that up today, pleased with the choice. Very good, if not great, and very effective at manipulating my emotions, which I admit to enjoying every now and then.

I was a bit tickled at first at parallels between the two shows (girls into other girls; strict all-girls school; focus on drama; banner themes notably included the importance and difficulty of reaching mutual understanding) and the places where they diverged wildly (presence of malicious characters vs. total absence of malicious characters; prurient/pandering handling of sexuality vs. much more subdued treatment).

The presence of malicious people, especially, led to Citrus having a lot of outright negativity in it. It got pretty nerve-wracking for me at times, particularly during the Matsuri arc, since I don't like seeing characters I care about being put in danger, particularly danger of any kind of mental trauma. But the plot's willingness to put people in danger also makes for a more powerful story, and as Rooke pointed out elsewhere recently, as a reader, being made a little uncomfortable is often a good thing, when it broadens your experience and perspective.

[BookwormOtaku]

Finished watching Gabriel Dropout a few days ago, really enjoyed it as it's probably one of the funniest anime I've seen in a while, especially any scene with Satania.

Also watched a couple of episodes of Gintama, man is there a night and day difference between the first two episodes and the ones after that. The latter actually being interesting and funny whereas I can't  remember a thing about the former.

Also been working on getting caught up on Detective Conan; watched up to the Kaito Kid two parter of 627-628 along with its Magic Kaito tie in episodes. Also watched Movie 14 which all in all was pretty good, but a little too long

Spoiler

especially that plot twist that they use that feels like an excuse to extend the movie

. Also while I like Heiji and Kazuha but you could easily cut them out of the movie's plot

Edited April 16, 2018 by BookwormOtaku
Meant "former"

[Jun Inoue]

2 hours ago, BookwormOtaku said:

Finished watching Gabriel Dropout a few days ago, really enjoyed it as it's probably one of the funniest anime I've seen in a while, especially any scene with Satania.

Also watched a couple of episodes of Gintama, man is there a night and day difference between the first two episodes and the ones after that. The latter actually being interesting and funny whereas I can't  remember a thing about the latter.

1

Btw, what do you mean in the Gintama part? One of those two "latter" should be "former", right? I'm guessing/hoping you meant the first episodes are the not-too-rememberable.

[BookwormOtaku]

7 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

Btw, what do you mean in the Gintama part? One of those two "latter" should be "former", right? I'm guessing/hoping you meant the first episodes are the not-too-rememberable.

I meant to use former for the last part, indicating I meant the first two episodes were forgettable. My fault for typing this stuff up before bed

[Jun Inoue]

28 minutes ago, BookwormOtaku said:

I meant to use former for the last part, indicating I meant the first two episodes were forgettable. My fault for typing this stuff up before bed

Ah, good, good. And, certainly, the first few episodes basically introduce the main cast and context... and then the insane show begins.

[milkteebaby]

Watching Boku no Hero. Tried to give Mahou Shoujo Ore, but...meh. It's outrageous, but the jokes faded kind of fast for me. Towards episode 2, I was thinking "OF COURSE they would do that." Felt like they were going down a checklist of common tropes, checking them off going "Yep. Let's do this but in an unusual way." Not entirely the wrong way to go about things, but it just felt sort of gimmicky. 

I really want to see another season of One Punch Man or Mob Psycho 100 =_=;;; (ffs, no more Yowapedal)

[ittaku]

Rewatching Cross Game - for the fourth time - with the whole family. Truly a remarkable anime and deservedly one of the few to score a 10/10 in my ratings.

[Pomelo]

Currently juggling JJBA Part 4, Yuru Camp, and The Ancient Magus' Bride.

 

And by juggle I mean I watch a few episodes in one sitting and then totally forget about it until several months later. 

[milkteebaby]

5 hours ago, Pomelo said:

The Ancient Magus' Bride.

How is it? I watched the first few episodes but they were such tearjerkers. Does Chi...fuuuu, forgot her name, but does she actually fall in love with the Magus dude-guy?

[BookwormOtaku]

Deciding to finally put my Crunchyroll app to use and have been watching the following:

Gintama:

Watched up to episode 11 and I have to say this series is growing on me. While not as laugh out loud funny as Gabriel Dropout, I do like the group dynamic of the central cast and the Shinsengumi are pretty funny too.

Lupin III (first series):

Watched up to episode 3 and I am liking it so far. I admit I am mainly liking it for how 70s it feels, especially the opening. I'll admit episode 3 was a little on the weak side, like it tried to do two much in one single episode. Also...

Spoiler

There's a character that dies in that episode whose death just doesn't have the impact the story wants. First since we don't know that much about her as a character and most notably it feels like the only reason she dies is because the characters were dumb enough to forget about her until it was too late.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These

Watched up to episode 2 (I don't have a subscription for CR) and I am liking it so far. The space battles were cool and both main characters are likable; so count me interested in seeing where this goes. Of course I'm saying this as someone who has not watched any of the other parts of the series, but I don't feel the least bit lost so extra points for being a good jumping on point.

Gun Gale Online:

Watched up to episode 2 and this has been pretty neat. I haven't watched SAO, but thankfully wasn't lost watching this either. The main character is pretty likable and as someone who does tend to agonize over my character's look in WRPGs (yes that even includes Baldur's Gate) the second episode really clicked with me a bit. Curious to see how she met the guy she was partnered with in the first episode...

Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!

Watched up to episode 3 and it's been pretty funny so far. It does a good job pardodying the magical girl tropes, reminding me not only of quite a few of the ones I saw in anime club growing up but also of this one anime I saw in my college's anime club called Pretear in which the transforming characters were also guys (plus the main girl) and their transformation also had an awkward name to it (through in Pretear's case it was more the phrase than the name).

Edited April 23, 2018 by BookwormOtaku

[Pomelo]

On 4/22/2018 at 7:09 AM, milkteebaby said:

How is it? I watched the first few episodes but they were such tearjerkers. Does Chi...fuuuu, forgot her name, but does she actually fall in love with the Magus dude-guy?

Haven't gotten very far myself (I think I'm on episode 6 or 7), but it definitely hasn't stopped being a tearjerker so far. 

[Zidan209]

Watching Oregairu, and the OST is so great

i'm in love with this one

 

[BookwormOtaku]

Watched the Hunter x Hunter movie Phantom Rouge...it wasn't very good. I'd heard it was an adaptation of a scrapped rough draft the author made and it shows. Plot details are rushed, so much time is spent with Gon and Killua hanging around with an original character who isn't very interesting and you can tell what they're planning for this character within seconds after she's  introduced, the conflict on Killua's end feels like retredding of stuff handled better in canon, Kurapika and Leorio don't do much until the end and perhaps worst of all the villain is boring. This guy's supposed to be a former member of the Phantom Troupe, who all had interesting personalities and design to go with their villain role, but he doesn't have any of that.

After that I decided to check out Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid and watched the first two episodes and I'm liking it so far. The first episode did feel a little disjointed but it still had a weirdness appeal to keep me interested; the second one was better put together with not just good comedic scenes but also quieter more character focused scenes between Tohru and Kanna. Who knew one day anime would give me the dragon sitcom I've wanted since the tragic cancelation of Scorch.

 

[milkteebaby]

Rewatching Hellsing and Yu Yu Hakusho. I miss animes like Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Outlaw Star, Wolf's Rain. Hell, even Patlabor or Excel Saga. Can't stand most of what comes out lately. 

[ittaku]

On 21/04/2018 at 5:39 PM, ittaku said:

Rewatching Cross Game - for the fourth time - with the whole family. Truly a remarkable anime and deservedly one of the few to score a 10/10 in my ratings.

Finished it. Loved it as much as the first few times. Now moving onto watching Working!! with the family, for the 5th time maybe?

[BookwormOtaku]

Finished watching Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid yesterday and I really liked it. All the character are likable an their quirks never get old, the jokes are all funny, Kobayashi is surprisingly relatable and the series does a really good job evolving her and Tohru's relationship. Really hope they make another season. My only real (and overall minor) complaints are the last episode isn't as rewatchable as the others due to it being more serious and I really wish Funi had dubbed the OVA. They did such a good job dubbing the main show that I really wanted to hear how scenes like this would turn out in english:

Also watched the first five episodes of Hina Matsuri and it's been a funny and enjoyable watch. Just the premise of alone of an up and coming yakuza suddenly having to adopt a psychic girl was enough to get me to check it out but it surprised me at how good the character comedy is. The characters just bounce off each other so well in this.

As for the others I've been watching:

Gintama: Finished episode 17. I have to admit I am liking how the show still maintains its comedy but is able to present story points you can take seriously enough without it clashing with that.

Gun Gale Online: Well that arc ended on a very good note. I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from there and just what kind of person Pito is in real life.

Yuru Camp: Watched the first 6 episodes. Funny yet surprisingly relaxing show so far; it also brings back memories of what I enjoyed with camping back when I was in Boy Scouts

[Jun Inoue]

51 minutes ago, BookwormOtaku said:

Finished watching Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid yesterday and I really liked it. All the character are likable an their quirks never get old, the jokes are all funny, Kobayashi is surprisingly relatable and the series does a really good job evolving her and Tohru's relationship. Really hope they make another season. My only real (and overall minor) complaints are the last episode isn't as rewatchable as the others due to it being more serious and I really wish Funi had dubbed the OVA. They did such a good job dubbing the main show that I really wanted to hear how scenes like this would turn out in english.

 

2

My main complaint with the show was Lucoa. Who was the character, the dragon or her breasts? She wasn't even important as a secondary character like Fafnir was!

[Templarseeker]

 Finally finished watching Alderamin on the sky despite my busy life  

I find the anime art somewhat lackluster although the story is decent since I always like war themed animes. Perhaps next on the list would be Violent Evergarden or Shangri La? Hmm...  

[Darklord Rooke]

A while ago I thought I'd give Gintama a go, because it was supposed to be really funny and popular. I dropped it midway through the first episode. It just seemed really stupid to me.

Just recently though, as the popularity of Gintama doesn't seem to be waning at all, I thought maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just being really uptight and anal about stuff. So I sent it to my sister saying "give this a try, it's supposed to be really good". If she says it's good I'll give it another go.

I got a message back today. "This is, most likely, without a doubt, the worst show I've ever seen."
"I know", I said. "I thought it was pretty terrible also."
"Then why did you pass it on for me to try!"

So yeah, now I can safely ignore Gintama without thinking I'm missing something special. Happy days!

[Kenshin_sama]

48 minutes ago, Darklord Rooke said:

A while ago I thought I'd give Gintama a go, because it was supposed to be really funny and popular. I dropped it midway through the first episode. It just seemed really stupid to me.

Just recently though, as the popularity of Gintama doesn't seem to be waning at all, I thought maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just being really uptight and anal about stuff. So I sent it to my sister saying "give this a try, it's supposed to be really good". If she says it's good I'll give it another go.

I got a message back today. "This is, most likely, without a doubt, the worst show I've ever seen."
"I know", I said. "I thought it was pretty terrible also."
"Then why did you pass it on for me to try!"

So yeah, now I can safely ignore Gintama without thinking I'm missing something special. Happy days!

Ideally, you want to start watching at episode 3. The first two are filler, and easily the worst this series has to offer.

I can understand if you've been put off by your experience and I won't blame you for not giving it another chance, but those first two episodes are a poor representation of the rest of Gintama.

[Riku]

Exactly. I didn't understand why Gintama was so popular when I watched the first two episodes. But I didn't really had something else to do at that time and decided I might as well continue. Didn't regret it one bit. One of the funniest anime I've seen, and serious moments and battles are really good too.

Though I would understand that some people don't like the humour as sometimes it's really "Japanese" and we can't relate to it.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Riku

[Fred the Barber]

On 5/7/2018 at 1:34 AM, BookwormOtaku said:

Finished watching Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid yesterday and I really liked it. All the character are likable an their quirks never get old, the jokes are all funny, Kobayashi is surprisingly relatable and the series does a really good job evolving her and Tohru's relationship. Really hope they make another season. My only real (and overall minor) complaints are the last episode isn't as rewatchable as the others due to it being more serious and I really wish Funi had dubbed the OVA. They did such a good job dubbing the main show that I really wanted to hear how scenes like this would turn out in english:

...

I wish I'd waited and watched the dub for Dragon Maid, since the subs were godawful. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[BookwormOtaku]

On 5/8/2018 at 1:52 PM, Darklord Rooke said:

A while ago I thought I'd give Gintama a go, because it was supposed to be really funny and popular. I dropped it midway through the first episode. It just seemed really stupid to me.

Just recently though, as the popularity of Gintama doesn't seem to be waning at all, I thought maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just being really uptight and anal about stuff. So I sent it to my sister saying "give this a try, it's supposed to be really good". If she says it's good I'll give it another go.

I got a message back today. "This is, most likely, without a doubt, the worst show I've ever seen."
"I know", I said. "I thought it was pretty terrible also."
"Then why did you pass it on for me to try!"

So yeah, now I can safely ignore Gintama without thinking I'm missing something special. Happy days!

I also recommend watching from episode 3 (it's the real first episode the episode 1 ad 2 of the anime is some two part special that isn't in any way canon), it's practically a night and day difference of quality. I was similarly put off twice because both times I made the mistake of watching episodes 1 and 2 and quit because they just sucked.

Edited May 10, 2018 by BookwormOtaku

[cro-mag]

I don't watch ongoings so have to postpone Boku no Hero, Steins;Gate 0, Persona 5, Darling in the FranXX and some other shows. But recently finally finished reading ReLIFE (miss it now) and wanted to watch something similar, so finished Net-juu no Susume... And now i miss both shows((