General anime discussion thread

Dawnstorm said:

Right now, I wish I'd be watching: Saki ~ Senryama hen. In that one scene around Toki's bed they showed greater diversity than Achiga in an entire season. That's how you individuate the players.

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That's a very good observation. The group that Toki belongs to is way more cool than the protagonists, and they would be better heroes.

This phenomena is probably a result of the idea to use such a massive cast for these Saki series. Whith so many players, all of whome are depicted as unique individuals, there is bound to be some of them that are more cool than the original protagonists. The first Saki series had more dynamics among the main group, with the conflict between the rationalistic Nodoka and the supernatural Saki, and so on. Even then I rooted most for someone who was not in that group, namely Fukuji Mihoko, the girl who uses to have one eye closed.

Camilla Delvalle said:

This phenomena is probably a result of the idea to use such a massive cast for these Saki series. Whith so many players, all of whome are depicted as unique individuals, there is bound to be some of them that are more cool than the original protagonists. The first Saki series had more dynamics among the main group, with the conflict between the rationalistic Nodoka and the supernatural Saki, and so on. Even then I rooted most for someone who was not in that group, namely Fukuji Mihoko, the girl who uses to have one eye closed.

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For a long time, with Achiga, I had trouble remembering who is who. I wouldn't confuse them within a scene, but in the next scene I wouldn't be able to remember who did what. They seemed so... exchangable. I sort of think that's partly deliberate. They're trying to make a show about avarage girls. I think that they're less cool is part of the concept. I think they've been designed to be unexceptional. They were not designed to be indestinguishable. (And if you watch very attentively, they're not. Someone linked to this very interesting blogpost that shows that the player's personalities are even reflected in the way they discard tiles. The show seems to be very careful at giving them each a distinct personality. It just doesn't come across to me, perhaps because I'm used to watching for stylistic difference rather than subtle characterisation (which is a better choice for large casts).

As for rooting, in the original Saki who I rooted for changed according to the matches, and I often found myself rooting for more than one player (even when only one could win). To a lesser extent, that's still true in Achiga hen, though my sympathies are more pronounced. I really want Kuro to win at least one hand, though.

Dawnstorm said:

For a long time, with Achiga, I had trouble remembering who is who. I wouldn't confuse them within a scene, but in the next scene I wouldn't be able to remember who did what. They seemed so... exchangable. I sort of think that's partly deliberate. They're trying to make a show about avarage girls. I think that they're less cool is part of the concept. I think they've been designed to be unexceptional. They were not designed to be indestinguishable.

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I really like that concept.

As for rooting, in the original Saki who I rooted for changed according to the matches, and I often found myself rooting for more than one player (even when only one could win). To a lesser extent, that's still true in Achiga hen, though my sympathies are more pronounced. I really want Kuro to win at least one hand, though.

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Yes, I rooted for others as well, like the invisible girl. And Kuro yes. When she was worried about Toki and looked at her during the game, that was really cute. Toki means time, by the way. I guess you already knew that.

Camilla Delvalle said:

Toki means time, by the way. I guess you already knew that.

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Heh, I did know that, but somehow I never made the connection.

***

New season coming up. So far, there's fairly little that catches my interest:

Maybe Natsuyuki Rendesvouz (trailer), a romance which at least looks good.

Or Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate (trailer), a comedy with character design that reminds me of Amagami.

Or Tari Tari, (trailer, which looks like PA Works getting stuck in the Hanasaku Iroha reel.

All in all, next season seems dominated by comedy. I'm going to watch the 2nd season of Yuru Yuri; Joshiraku (trailer) looks cute; so does Chitose Get You (trailer).

Also, it looks Shirokuma Café will continue and start next season with a beach episode.

I'm curious, but not really fired up. Which means there are probably going to be a lot of pleasant surprises.

Maybe they just fit togher? It's hard to tell without knowing the source, but I guess she'll have her good sides, too. One of the things about anime/manga is that context matters - characters are often extremely cruel to "outsiders" and extremely kind to "insiders". That often tends to confuse Western morals, though I'm fine with it. Actually, it's one of the things that I find fascinating. (Not sure if that's the case, here, though.)

I wouldn't worry too much.

Loved From Up On Poppy Hill. MUCH better than Goro's last film. Slice of life really seems to be his forte and with Takahata's next film being maybe two years away, it's nice to have a Ghibli film in this genre to tide one over until then.

childeroland said:

Loved From Up On Poppy Hill. MUCH better than Goro's last film. Slice of life really seems to be his forte and with Takahata's next film being maybe two years away, it's nice to have a Ghibli film in this genre to tide one over until then.

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I'll have to catch up with that film; I keep hearing good things. Takahata is making a new one? Yay. I actually prefer him to Miyazaki.

New Deadman Wonderland episode... holy shit. Humming Bird's (forget her actual name) past is so dark and over the top that it was funny, but in a good way. It was like dark done in a campy way. Between that and her personality, she's become one of my favorite villains.

Crap, I meant that Humming Bird's past was so over the top that it was funny in a dark, campy kind of way.

For Casshern Sins, it's been hit or miss for me. I'm still digging the art style and they way they animated their fights. Hell, that latest fight showed exactly how to animated a fight between two super powerful people. However, at times with the story, it seems like they're trying to drag stuff out as much as possible. Also, I don't know if it's the dubbing or the character's facial expressions, but they seem kind of emotionless at times.

Mind you, I do like the story overall just that the execution seems off at times.

Watched a couple of the new shows this season. So far the most promising show? Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita. It appears to be a post apocalyptic show about scarce resources, tinged with fairy diplomacy. If you want to make the most of this show, you'll need to pay attention. There's a lot going on, and much in passing comments that's probably going to be important. It's the fairy apocalypse. The only downside so far is that the fairies' cutesy talk might become annoying pretty quickly. Here's the ending. So far, show of the season (out of four and a half I watched).

***

Also, Saki ~ Achiga Hen: I was completely surprised how well they wrapped up Kuro's story. I didn't see that coming.

Glad Hyouka continues. It's getting better with each episode. It's a bit of a sleeper hit with me.

Yes, I've also followed Achiga and Hyouka, as you know. Hyouka was my favourite from the beginning, so you are late to the party.

Among other things, I've followed Fate/Zero, which had a cool story. At the beginning they took it easy and I was afraid that they would be too careful to kill anyone; how wrong I was.

Nobody saw Hiiro no Kakera? It has a limited setting, but the villains turned out to be powerful and a good fight for the heroes. Only the main girl was a passive.

Shining Hearts seems to be a mix of cute fantasy, mecha and battleships. I don't know where that went but it remids of Nausicaa.

Sankarea lost momentum, but Nazo no Kanojo was strong throughout. Urabe was more awesome than anyone this past season. Confirmed when she owned the cultural festival.

It'll be interesting to see what comes next.

Camilla Delvalle said:

Yes, I've also followed Achiga and Hyouka, as you know. Hyouka was my favourite from the beginning, so you are late to the party.

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Yep, I was wary about Hyouka in the beginning, if you remember. Also, mystery shows seems to be where we diverge, since you seem to emphasise plot more than I do.

Still, Hyouka is becoming very interesting for me, too.

Among other things, I've followed Fate/Zero, which had a cool story. At the beginning they took it easy and I was afraid that they would be too careful to kill anyone; how wrong I was.

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Well, Fate/Zero was written by the same guy who wrote Madoka...

Nobody saw Hiiro no Kakera? It has a limited setting, but the villains turned out to be powerful and a good fight for the heroes. Only the main girl was a passive.

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I watched the first two episodes, maybe three. I didn't much like the passive lead. The villains only started to make appearances when I quit, so who knows. It was such a strong season that I didn't miss it.

Shining Hearts seems to be a mix of cute fantasy, mecha and battleships. I don't know where that went but it remids of Nausicaa.

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I've played the original Shining Force games on the Mega Drive (Genesis), so I know the franchise. I watched exactly one episode. It seemed too generic. I occasionally read a thread about it. Someone said it should have been "Shiawase no Pantsu" to make it bearable. The main attraction of the show seems to have been unintentional comedy.

Sankarea lost momentum,

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Yep. And the fanservice turned to general anime silliness, too. The best episodes after first few were the flashbacks. I still quite like it, but it's not what it could have been.

Tasogare Otome X Amnesia also slipped in the middle but made a strong come back. I liked the ending (except the post-script).

but Nazo no Kanojo was strong throughout. Urabe was more awesome than anyone this past season. Confirmed when she owned the cultural festival.

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This show was almost perfect. It stayed true to itself throughout, and it often avoided cheesy drama. The final episode was brilliant, too. The first master piece of this season. (Urabe is the most memorable character this season for me.)

It'll be interesting to see what comes next.

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First episode impressions:

Campione: Conventional fighting show. Has the potential to be mildly entertaining.

Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita: Brilliant. See above. (I did some research, and it seems its from the writer/director duo that did Kamisama Dolls.)

Chitose Get You: Cute. Nothing too special, but it's only five minutes long, so that shouldn't be too much of a bother.

Muv Luv: Looks like Military propaganda with fanservice suits. Not going to watch that one. (Strange title, though.)

Arcana Famiglia: Reverse harem: Leader of a tarot superpowered group retires, holds a turnament to decide his successor, and forces girl to marry the winner (but girl also competes, probably). Looks fun, but nothing special.

Kokoro Connect: A group of misfits gathered together in a club by the school start to experience "body shifts" at random. Looks interesting. I saw half the first episode - a pre-air.

So, of 5 1/2 shows I've watched there's one winner, one that piques my interest, three I may follow, and one I definitely won't.

Watched the first episode of Chitose Get You. It looks like it has potential to be good. Nothing stellar so far but it was kinda funny.

Sailor Moon's getting a reboot. No word yet on the studio but it'll closely follow the manga and get a world wide release at once. Whether that means simultaneous dubs or not, I'm not sure.

I'm pretty stoked. I loved Sailor Moon growing up and I'd love to see the original as it was intended. I understand that a few of the characters have substaintal different personalities through the dub, and we never even got the Sailor Stars dubbed due to.. well.. Yeah.

http://www.csicon.org/new-sailor-moon-anime-coming-in-2013/

Channy said:

Sailor Moon's getting a reboot. No word yet on the studio but it'll closely follow the manga and get a world wide release at once. Whether that means simultaneous dubs or not, I'm not sure.

I'm pretty stoked. I loved Sailor Moon growing up and I'd love to see the original as it was intended. I understand that a few of the characters have substaintal different personalities through the dub, and we never even got the Sailor Stars dubbed due to.. well.. Yeah.

http://www.csicon.org/new-sailor-moon-anime-coming-in-2013/

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It'd be nice to get some Sailor Moon DVDs that cost less than an arm and a leg. And holy shit, I might be able to make some Sailor Moon AMVs now!

Dawnstorm said:

Yep, I was wary about Hyouka in the beginning, if you remember. Also, mystery shows seems to be where we diverge, since you seem to emphasise plot more than I do.

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Yes, I like both plot and characters. And yes, I like mystery.

Tasogare Otome X Amnesia also slipped in the middle but made a strong come back. I liked the ending (except the post-script).

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Oh, I forgot to mention this one, which was the one I was most eager to talk about. This was a scary one, sometimes. And for once I managed to guess the end really early, i.e. how they would defeat the shadow. I wonder if that had anything to do with Carl Jung. And what's up with all the amnesia in anime?

This show was almost perfect. It stayed true to itself throughout, and it often avoided cheesy drama. The final episode was brilliant, too. The first master piece of this season. (Urabe is the most memorable character this season for me.)

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Yes, Urabe was the best! It's a pity she didn't get a matching boyfriend. [Deleted Rant about Tsubaki.] Girls also want someone to dream about.

Camilla Delvalle said:

Oh, I forgot to mention this one, which was the one I was most eager to talk about. This was a scary one, sometimes. And for once I managed to guess the end really early, i.e. how they would defeat the shadow. I wonder if that had anything to do with Carl Jung. And what's up with all the amnesia in anime?

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Yep, I thought of Jung, too. Shadow-Yuko and Persona-Yuko. (Having watched Persona 4 last season makes for some odd imagery...)

Yes, Urabe was the best! It's a pity she didn't get a matching boyfriend. [Deleted Rant about Tsubaki.] Girls also want someone to dream about.

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Heh. It's insipid protagonist syndrome. I didn't mind him too much, but he's... not what drives the show.

***

I wanted to watch Joshiraku but it appears it hasn't been subbed yet. A sub might come, but it's going to take time. I couldn't control myself and watched the raw. From beginning to end. I wish I spoke Japanese. (I know just enough to get the gist of what they're talking about, but not enough to actually know what they're saying about it.) Since the show is very word-centred that's a bit of a disadvantage. But the show looks and sounds great. It's probably the best comedy of the season, and might (if a subbed version appears) make my top three (along with the faerie show, and Natsuyuki Rendesvouz).

***

A new Sailormoon? Good god, I didn't expect that. I doubt I'll watch it (too many episodes), but it's a blast from the past. I hope they do a better job with... Tuxedo Mask. Good god, that's one of the most ridiculous anime characters in my memory.

Dawnstorm said:

Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita: Brilliant. See above. (I did some research, and it seems its from the writer/director duo that did Kamisama Dolls.)

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Omg, undead chickens!

I'm looking for some series and movies where the animation's most salient qualities include the juxtaposition of idyllic/beautiful imagery and scary/creepy/grotesque imagery, sort of like in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Any recommendations? The recs can be drawn from the full range of genres—they don't need to have anything else in common with those two films.

Thankroo.

SomethingOrOther said:

I'm looking for some series and movies where the animation's most salient qualities include the juxtaposition of idyllic/beautiful imagery and scary/creepy/grotesque imagery, sort of like in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Any recommendations?

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Just take a look at the first episode of Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita.

SomethingOrOther said:

I'm looking for some series and movies where the animation's most salient qualities include the juxtaposition of idyllic/beautiful imagery and scary/creepy/grotesque imagery

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How did you become interested in this combination?

SomethingOrOther said:

I'm looking for some series and movies where the animation's most salient qualities include the juxtaposition of idyllic/beautiful imagery and scary/creepy/grotesque imagery, sort of like in Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. Any recommendations? The recs can be drawn from the full range of genres—they don't need to have anything else in common with those two films.

Thankroo.

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Hm, from the examples you gave maybe:

Mushishi
Natsume Yuujinchou

A bit further off, but if you go for city-idyll, you might also check out

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica

I'm trying to think of other shows, but I'm drawing a blank. I wouldn't have thought of either of your examples, though, so I may be wrong about what you want.