What Anime are you watching now?

[DarkZedge]

Just now, ittaku said:

Sure, everyone has different tastes. For me at least, I'd rate that the worst show for many seasons...

Not even close to the worst one for many seasons to me, there's been much worse stuff.

It's meh at best but like I said I don't hate it and might as well finish it since I'm already up to date with it

[ittaku]

Just now, DarkZedge said:

It's meh at best but like I said I don't hate it and might as well finish it since I'm already up to date with it

I did that with Gakusen Toshi Asterisk but it exceeded all my expectations and just kept getting worse till it had the flattest most boring ending I've endured in a long time.

[DarkZedge]

Just now, ittaku said:

I did that with Gakusen Toshi Asterisk but it exceeded all my expectations and just kept getting worse till it had the flattest most boring ending I've endured in a long time.

I enjoyed Asterisk and the second season is alright as well, we just have different tastes. It's all good 

[ittaku]

Indeed tastes vary wildly and I agreed with that to begin with. Interestingly enough I concur with "popular" opinions on ANN/MAL about 80% of the time and 20% of the time I rate shows much less than the average there. On the other hand it's much rarer that I rate a show much higher than the average there so there must at least be a fair amount of crossover between most peoples' tastes. However usually if I rate a show lower than the average there it's not for production values but just because it doesn't click with me - not funny, don't like thematic material, too frustrating writing etc.

[john 'mr. customer' smith]

I know it's not quite the right thread, as this one is made in France, butt fuck it, no one reads the general movie thread.

So through a lot of coincidence that i was mostly unaware of, I got to see Ghibli's first international co-production, The Red Turtle, weeks before its official release, with an hour-long Q&A/commentary with the director. Which was interesting. The movie was pretty awesome as well, just don't expect it to be Ghibli-esque in any way. It's mostly a classic fairytale with some very powerful undertones of family. in terms of visuals, it had some decent 2d and 3d animation, but absolutely stellar art direction.

I'm not the kind of person to rate films, and i certainly don't intend to rate this one a 9/10.

[NowItsAngeTime]

I finished Nagi no Asukara/A Lull in the Sea.

It was pretty good, probably had a bit too much melodrama at times but I liked the character development and a bunch of the themes.

[Fred the Barber]

1 hour ago, NowItsAngeTime said:

I finished Nagi no Asukara/A Lull in the Sea.

It was pretty good, probably had a bit too much melodrama at times but I liked the character development and a bunch of the themes.

NagiAsu is a little divisive, but I'm a big fan. Glad you enjoyed it.

I recently wrapped up KonoSuba, which remained great all the way through, and then I resumed JoJo (I'm somewhere around episode 15 now?). I like how the show keeps changing things up, while still keeping the same heart and insanity. Also, the ridiculous naming choices keep cracking me up.

[LiquidShu]

I started Working!! and got to episode 3. Realizing that it seems to be just straight up SOL I probably won't be marathoning it. Not to say I don't like it, I just rather marathon Nodame Cantabile instead. 

Speaking of Nodame Cantible, I started it tonight and got to episode 4. Lost track of time while I was watching it. I have high hopes for this series~

[Leaf]

Finally, FINALLY finished the CardCaptor Sakura series, and yes the two movies as well. I'm glad that I watched this show, it was such a magical and heartfelt experience.

I'm happy, but it's also sad to let go of this show which i've been watching for so long. I'm gonna miss Sakura so much.

[ittaku]

3 hours ago, Leaf said:

Finally, FINALLY finished the CardCaptor Sakura series, and yes the two movies as well. I'm glad that I watched this show, it was such a magical and heartfelt experience.

I'm happy, but it's also sad to let go of this show which i've been watching for so long. I'm gonna miss Sakura so much.

There's a cardcaptor reboot planned (?) next year so you can revisit Sakura's romantic comedy disguised as a magical girl series all over again.

[Kenshin_sama]

Almost finished watching Gintama°. Fantastic series as I expected it to be, while at the same time surprising me in a few ways. I never once thought an anime would have me crying for a vending machine. And now I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever have the opportunity to experience everything I can in entertainment, lol. The Shogun Assassination arc was amazing too. Like, seriously, I never would have come to expect myself having any more respect for Gintoki than I had already, but it was an intense experience getting to know more about his past. And for him to turn out to be such an amazing character, it would make sense that his teacher would have been great too, but it was beyond the extent that I had imagined. Now I understand a little more about how his students felt so passionately about him, and why Takasugi hates the world so much.
 

4 hours ago, LiquidShu said:

Speaking of Nodame Cantible, I started it tonight and got to episode 4. Lost track of time while I was watching it. I have high hopes for this series~

Woo, another person on board the Nodame train. You're in for a treat, really. I've never even been remotely interested in classic music, but the music in this series captured my heart. The characters are great, too. Very realistic, yet interesting enough to get you emotionally invested in them.

Gyabo!

[jaxter0987]

Finished Mayoiga, Shomin Sample, and Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry.

I didn't get what I expected in Mayoiga but I liked what I got instead. I expected to enjoy Shomin Sample a lot more than I actually did, but still a fun show. I didn't like the main heroine in Rakudai all that much so the show was pretty meh.

Started Joukamachi no Dandelion and I absolutely love it. I really can't go wrong with watching a show where Hanazawa Kana voices the main heroine.

[ittaku]

Well there's nothing like being on many hours of boring flights with a laptop full of anime to catch up, so I marathoned my way through Chihayafuru S1 and S2 (yes Australia to Europe really does take that long.)

All in all this is a very good sport anime (and I really mean that since it could have been baseball, tennis, ping pong, cycling or anything else the way it was handled.) I liked the character evolution, the execution and the introduction to a game I knew nothing about and probably never would have.

One of my complaints with it is the over the top melodramatic music was sometimes out of keeping with how dramatic the actual events were. It was all music with a limited selection which is not unusual but occasionally  managed to detract from the story telling since it was so over-the-top. The other thing was, even though I preferred the characters in season 2, there was far too much in the way of flashbacks filling out the story by that stage - and by flashbacks I don't mean past backstory but scenes we'd already watched over and over already. It was kind of tiring. The story itself seemed to be heading in a mostly predictable direction though rarely through obvious plot devices. The romance was indeed very much secondary to the story and with no sign of it being resolved any time soon; fortunately since it was only minor in the story it didn't hurt to not be resolved so much (unlike shows where romance is the primary endpoint.) No doubt romance will become a big part of any future season(s). Towards the end of season 2 they started to overuse my most hated plot device though - the conveniently interrupted important comment from someone who never gets to finish what they want to say and lose the opportunity or courage...

The fact that the episodes are numbered as poem verses suggests to me they plan 100 episodes in total, one for each of the card poems which would mean 4 seasons. I'll definitely watch a S3 and S4 if they ever come out.

A most appreciated recommendation, 8/10

[Novel21]

right now I'm going to watch Gyakuten Saiban: Sono "Shinjitsu", Igi Ari! Episode 9 siden jeg har feel in love With thar serie, It was my cup of tea

I didn't belive I will like Gyakuten Saiban: Sono "Shinjitsu", Igi Ari siden I didn't like the game but I was wrong

[Kenshin_sama]

Finished watching Aria the Animation. For a iyashikei (healing anime), it does well at what it sets out to do. Interesting world, relaxing atmosphere, nothing even remotely over the top, and "healing" segments that will melt your heart away. Now as much as I thought the anime excelled at the areas I mentioned, I just couldn't really get into it. I suppose iyashikei just isn't my cup of tea, as I didn't really like Mushishi either. I don't know, just something about the general slowness of the events kinda make it a chore for me to sit through the whole episode. I'll enjoy these kinds of shows for about 5 episodes, but I lose interest after that. If you have a high tolerance for slow anime, then I'd definitely recommend giving this a shot. I understand it's suppose to get better after this, but I don't plan on watching Natural or Origination. After talking it over with my friend, we both came to the conclusion that they wouldn't do much for me either.

Still, for Animation to be good enough for me to actually not drop it does say a lot about its quality.

Damn, I'm down to 27 anime on my on hold list. I plan on knocking out the last 3 episodes I have left for Majestic Prince and then moving on to Heavy Object. I'm getting there!

[ittaku]

Finished watching Special A. It was okay but never really tickled my fancy very much. Not a popular enough show to write a lot more about it.

Now watching Kuragehime.

[Ceris]

1 hour ago, ittaku said:

Finished watching Special A. It was okay but never really tickled my fancy very much. Not a popular enough show to write a lot more about it.

I hear most people compare Special A and Kaichou wa Maid-sama, though I think generally people like the latter more. I haven't seen Special A, but I did like Kaichou wa Maid-sama

[ittaku]

2 hours ago, Ceris said:

I hear most people compare Special A and Kaichou wa Maid-sama, though I think generally people like the latter more. I haven't seen Special A, but I did like Kaichou wa Maid-sama

They're extremely similar in style, scope, comedy type, and even the lead characters. If you liked one you'll like the other. I watched both and would say SA is a little better, but I gave them both 6/10.

[Kenshin_sama]

Well, Majestic Prince was decent-ish. Plot's kinda standard and uninteresting and the characters were pretty much the same. Kinda disappointing considering how it had the same writer and staff as GetBackers. The mecha fights were really good though, so at least it held up on that end. Probably not worth watching unless you're hardcore into mecha.

Kinda decided to drop Heavy Object at episode 10. Gotta hand it to Kamachi for once again coming up with a unique premise to set his world in, but I'm just really not enjoying the anime that much. Could be a problem on the adaption's end, not really sure. The action segments are pretty exciting and interesting, though I can't say I like the characters or the story that much. Because of my general lack of interest, it was a chore to stay focused on the lengthy dialogue.

Jitsu wa Watashi wa is basically everything I love and hate about harems. Affable cast, hilarious shenanigans, misunderstandings abound, and enough blush faces to last you a lifetime. But, as with literally every harem I've watched besides Shuffle, the romance goes unresolved. What's even worse is that Shiragami and Kuromine actually could have made my top 20 pairings list. But in spite of all the indications that the pairing was gonna pull through, it didn't. It maintained its charade until the last moments of the final episode, and it ends with a massive slap in the face for anyone hoping to see a resolution. Gripes aside, there were some overly cute moments between the the MC and Shiragami, and I did end up laughing at the general absurdity of its exaggerated comedy. Wasn't a complete letdown.

[Riku]

You should read the manga of Jitsu wa, it's comedy gold. Also, Asahi and Youko are going out together in the manga.

[ittaku]

5 hours ago, Kenshin_sama said:

Jitsu wa Watashi wa is basically everything I love and hate about harems. Affable cast, hilarious shenanigans, misunderstandings abound, and enough blush faces to last you a lifetime. But, as with literally every harem I've watched besides Shuffle, the romance goes unresolved. What's even worse is that Shiragami and Kuromine actually could have made my top 20 pairings list. But in spite of all the indications that the pairing was gonna pull through, it didn't. It maintained its charade until the last moments of the final episode, and it ends with a massive slap in the face for anyone hoping to see a resolution. Gripes aside, there were some overly cute moments between the the MC and Shiragami, and I did end up laughing at the general absurdity of its exaggerated comedy. Wasn't a complete letdown.

I really enjoyed jitsu wa as well and was disappointed by lack of resolution too. The reality is I did thoroughly enjoy it anyway. No doubt they're banking on getting funding for another season. Still, all it takes is to watch something like rakudai kishi or ore monogatari which goes "fuck that shit" and resolves the romance early on instead and runs with it to see that this approach of not resolving romance should have died as a mechanism a decade ago in anime.

[john 'mr. customer' smith]

8 hours ago, ittaku said:

 this approach of not resolving romance should have died as a mechanism a decade ago in anime.

And yet it hasn't, and probably never will

I suppose it's just a matter of target audience

[ittaku]

2 minutes ago, john 'mr. customer' smith said:

And yet it hasn't, and probably never will

I suppose it's just a matter of target audience

Absolutely. Should and will are completely different. The forces at work that determine how much funding a series gets towards being animated have far less to do with the original story and far more to do with how saleable the product is in the short term. The two examples I gave, the romance is resolved early on in the manga so it made sense to do so. Stories that end with resolution of romance it makes sense to hold off till the last episode or two. It's the rest that are frustrating - shows that are animated before the original source material has ended (LN, manga etc.) and they cannot resolve the romance since it "spoils" the original material, or shows that only get funding for a short stretch of the original material and thus never get to the romantic resolution part. It's something I've struggled with in anime for decades now and one of my biggest peeves... After a frustrating ending without resolution I usually fire up a VN with a solid H scene to wash away my frustration.

[john 'mr. customer' smith]

11 minutes ago, ittaku said:

Absolutely. Should and will are completely different. The forces at work that determine how much funding a series gets towards being animated have far less to do with the original story and far more to do with how saleable the product is in the short term. The two examples I gave, the romance is resolved early on in the manga so it made sense to do so. Stories that end with resolution of romance it makes sense to hold off till the last episode or two. It's the rest that are frustrating - shows that are animated before the original source material has ended (LN, manga etc.) and they cannot resolve the romance since it "spoils" the original material, or shows that only get funding for a short stretch of the original material and thus never get to the romantic resolution part. It's something I've struggled with in anime for decades now and one of my biggest peeves... After a frustrating ending without resolution I usually fire up a VN with a solid H scene to wash away my frustration.

Isn't the idea behind it also that teenage boys don't want resolved romance (cuz it's GAYYYYYYYYYYYYY hehehe) and enjoy when the show makes fun of it? Just speculating.

[ittaku]

Just now, john 'mr. customer' smith said:

Isn't the idea behind it also that teenage boys don't want resolved romance (cuz it's GAYYYYYYYYYYYYY) and enjoy when it's being made fun of? Just speculating.

Nope, I'd say not. I believe it's more about possible further season funding.