General anime discussion thread

Shadow Dragon

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Also, a cool FITB for everyone:

(1) The five series you enjoyed a lot that you'd most want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:

(2) The three series you enjoyed a lot that you'd least want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:

Alongside is in person, on a couch or something, and the first-time viewer is a friend (not a SO) who watches anime semi-regularly.

Exclude hentai. Otherwise #2 might reduce to "Pornographic anime that you enjoyed a lot:" for some people. Hell, even #1 might. :)
Watch with someone for the first time:
FLCL, Lucky Star, Deadman Wonderland. That's all I can think of.

Wouldn't want to:
Elfen Lied.
 

Kyra Wright

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You have impeccable taste Kyra, we can definitely be friends.

I've introduced at least half a dozen people to anime through Berserk. They always proclaim that "Game of Thrones is awesome, blah blah" and I set them straight by lending them Berserk on bluray. No complaints yet.
Berserk buddies!

Funny, I was thinking about some of the similarities between Berserk and ASOIAF recently. I tend to recommend Berserk to everyone, regardless of age or genre preference (which has landed me in trouble on one occasion), but it would definitely be a good suggestion for people who like ASOIAF.

I can't wait for the third movie in particular. I really want to see the Eclipse get re-animated (also, the Skull Knight!). Plus, I've had plans for a certain Berserk AMV for two years, and need all three movies for it.
 

kuwisdelu

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Which fan-subbing groups are the best? The worst?

Best at what? Visual quality of releases? Translation quality? General attention to detail? Speed? File compression? The last two and the first three tend to be in opposition to each other.

I'd say UTW are the least shitty speedsubbers out there right now. gg isn't nearly as bad as lots of people like to say, if you don't mind their tendency to troll with their releases (e.g., see their version of Hidan no Aria, which was a parody of the whole "TL Note" thing and had subtitles in Japanese by the end, or their tendency to cut funny commercials in their releases). Mazui is quite good, but they rarely do more than one or two shows per season. Gotwoot isn't bad. And if no one else is subbing it, there's always Commie...

Coalgirls are said to be very good at the visual quality/attention to detail part, but they're abysmal at the speed/filesize part.

Coalgirls aren't fansubbers. They're an encoding group, and only worth using for archival purposes. They only do BDs and don't use their own subs; they take subs from other groups and re-typeset them.

Overall, I'd say HorribleSubs (AKA "We don't need no stinkin' QA!") are the worst group currently operating, as they occasionally turn out episodes with broken/missing subs . . . unless you need to maximize the amount of anime stored per GB of disk space, in which case their 480p encodes seem like a good bargain, so long as you check them and replace the occasional broken episode with something from a more reliable subber.

HorribleSubs isn't really a fansub group either. They don't do their own translation and subbing either. They just rip Crunchyroll/ ANN/ nico / Funimation streams and release those. That's also why their videos have such variability and lots of times aren't even in a consistent resolution — it's just taken from the best quality legal stream they can find. HorribleSubs doesn't even try.

I watched Ao No Exorcist in Horriblesubs and Coalgirls version, and that small Times New Roman-esque serif font Coalgirls used drove me up the wall (and messed with my crappy eyesight a lot). Is that a regular thing with them? If so I'll stick with a subbing group that uses sans-serif.

Lots of groups try to use whatever font they think matches the show best. Groups with more time (which Coalgirls have plenty of) will be more elaborate, while speedsub groups will go with what's easier.

Coalgirls usually has more than one subtitle stream. Since they only do BD releases and take subs from other groups, they usually include subs from multiple groups, so you have a choice which you want to use.

You'll also want to keep in mind where the encode comes from. If you watch a show on HorribleSubs, you're going to get a shit encode, because they just take it from the legal stream. Most speedsub groups get a TS from the Japanese television airing, and re-encode it using whatever settings they think is best. Lots of times, this also includes trying to improve the picture quality where possible (e.g., making darker shows like Psycho-pass lighter so you can see more). Although archival groups like Coalgirls have high-quality encodes in terms of near-losslessness due to their ridiculous bitrates and always being from a Blu-ray, they're also kind of shitty in that they don't actually try to use encoding settings wisely.

You can always mux your own release if you want to mix-and-match subtitles and encodes. Just extract the .ass subtitles and mux them into the .mkv containing the video encode you want to watch.


Ji-hi used to be a nice fansub comparison page, but it closed recently. It looks like a new one is opening up, though, which is good, 'cos I was missing a fansub comparison page this season.


ETA: And I just realized we haven't even touched on the heated topic of localization in subs...
 
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Capeless

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I watched Ao No Exorcist in Horriblesubs and Coalgirls version, and that small Times New Roman-esque serif font Coalgirls used drove me up the wall (and messed with my crappy eyesight a lot). Is that a regular thing with them? If so I'll stick with a subbing group that uses sans-serif.

Are you aware that you can change the appearance of subtitles to your liking -- the font, size, color, shadow, outline, position, etc.

This is done easily in the media player itself, in a Microsoft Word type fashion.

What media player do you use? The best media player IMO is PotPlayer which can be downloaded here. To get the most out of it though, you do have to tweak a few things.

Personally I use the font Impress for all subtitles. It's a sans-serif font, has a nice thickness, and is much more pleasing to continuously read than other "boring" sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana, etc.

Let me know if you need any further clarification or help.
 
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LOG

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Can't remember the name of the anime.
It featured three young girls in elementary school, one of them had purple hair I think.
 

EMaree

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Kuwi, as always, thanks for the advice. :) This forum is going to turn me into an expert purveyor of anime.

Are you aware that you can change the appearance of subtitles to your liking -- the font, size, color, shadow, outline, position, etc.

This is done easily in the media player itself, in a Microsoft Word type fashion.

What media player do you use? The best media player IMO is PotPlayer which can be downloaded here. To get the most out of it though, you do have to tweak a few things.

Personally I use the font Impress for all subtitles. It's a sans-serif font, has a nice thickness, and is much more pleasing to continuously read than other "boring" sans-serif fonts like Arial, Verdana, etc.

Let me know if you need any further clarification or help.

I'm using RaspBMC, a Raspberry Pi build of the latest XMBC, and when watching AnE it didn't recognise any other subtitle track. I didn't check, but I assumed this was because they'd been hardcoded. (Also because the font changed between the two release groups.) In retrospect this seems unlikely for an .mkv.

Haven't found any options to customize the subtitle settings in RaspBMC yet, but I'll have a dig through the menus tonight because being able to set a standard subtitle font sounds awesome.

Also, a cool FITB for everyone:

(1) The five series you enjoyed a lot that you'd most want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:

(2) The three series you enjoyed a lot that you'd least want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:


Ack, I always overthink these things because I have anime-watching friends who really don't click with some of my favourites (Haibane Renmei would be too quiet for most of them, and a few friends just didn't get Madoka and wouldn't watch past the first episode) but let's pretend my theoretical anime viewer is less frustrating than that.

(1) The five series you enjoyed a lot that you'd most want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer: Puelle Magi Madoka Magica, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Serial Experiments Lain, Haibane Renmei, Cowboy Bebop. Bonus 6th and 7th: Death Note, Digimon Tamers.

(2) The three series you enjoyed a lot that you'd least want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer: Evangelion. Can't think of any others.
 
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kuwisdelu

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I'm using RaspBMC, a Raspberry Pi build of the latest XMBC, and when watching AnE it didn't recognise any other subtitle track. I didn't check, but I assumed this was because they'd been hardcoded. (Also because the font changed between the two release groups.) In retrospect this seems unlikely.

No one uses hardcoded subs in 2013.

Using .ass subtitles allows you to specify the font, and embed it if you think the player might not have it.

Haven't found any options to customize the subtitle settings in RaspBMC yet, but I'll have a dig through the menus tonight because being able to set a standard subtitle font sounds awesome.

Just be warned it might adversely affect things like karaoke and typesetting for signs.
 

Capeless

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No one uses hardcoded subs in 2013.

It depends. For standard HD releases (720p MKV) you're right, but often re-encodes use hard subs because of format limitations. Also, don't put anything past HorribleSubs...

Personally I avoid re-encodes like the plague. But judging from the fact that they continue to be released, they must have a demand.
 
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kuwisdelu

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Actually, it depends. For standard HD releases (720p MKV) you're right, but often re-encodes use hard subs because of format limitations. Also, don't put anything past HorribleSubs...

Personally I avoid re-encodes like the plague. But judging from the fact that they continue to be released, they must be in high demand.

"No one" is relative.

Read: "no one that matters."
 

SomethingOrOther

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Great responses. I'll have to look into the ones I've never heard of. :)

Using .ass subtitles allows you to specify the font, and embed it if you think the player might not have it.

Yep. This is their chief advantage over .butt subtitles.
 
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kuwisdelu

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Yep. This is their chief advantage over .butt subtitles.

I'm not familiar with .butt, but .srt can only display up to two lines of subtitles, and can't be typeset like .ass can. Using .ass allows stuff like softsubbed karaoke and in-place translation of signs.
 

AshleyEpidemic

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Recently I have been going through and watching all the CLAMP universe series. I have been enjoying it, but it forced me to get netflix dvds.:cry: Tsubasa, is my current show.

In fact, I have been going back and watching a lot of old stuff I used to watch when I was a kid. I really need to watch some newer stuff. But I feel like I am very picky and not much catches my eye, nor do I have the time to test the first episode like I prefer to do.

Oh well. Up next is rewatching NGE since my bf has never seen it.
 

Little Ming

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Just finished Dennou Coil. A decent anime that still managed to disappoint due to its slow pacing at the beginning, then it rushed through the last few episodes with lots of info dumps.

The "villain" got very little character development, and his motivation was given in complete "As you know Bob" info dump to another character who already knew his reasoning. :rant:

Mostly likeable characters, though it was annoying that the MC didn't really get involved with the main plot for almost half the anime. Again the pacing problem.

Overall, an average anime that had the potential to be much better.
 

Dawnstorm

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Just finished Dennou Coil. A decent anime that still managed to disappoint due to its slow pacing at the beginning, then it rushed through the last few episodes with lots of info dumps.

The "villain" got very little character development, and his motivation was given in complete "As you know Bob" info dump to another character who already knew his reasoning. :rant:

Mostly likeable characters, though it was annoying that the MC didn't really get involved with the main plot for almost half the anime. Again the pacing problem.

Overall, an average anime that had the potential to be much better.

Aww, I thought Dennou Coil was way, way above avarage. Loved it. I do agree about what you said about plot revelations near the end, but that's - to me - a minor flaw. The slow pacing in the beginning, to me, was necessary to set up theme and character.

But, yeah, the "villain" stuff was silly.

kuwisdelu said:
@Shin Sekai Yori

Shit's gettin' real.

That episode 19. Better at horror than many dedicated horror anime.
 

Little Ming

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Question: For someone who hasn't seen any Berserk, where should I start? Do I need to watch the anime first? Or can I jump right into the movies?

Currently watching Another. Like the dark atmosphere and mystery so far.
 

Kyra Wright

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Question: For someone who hasn't seen any Berserk, where should I start? Do I need to watch the anime first? Or can I jump right into the movies?

You can jump right into the movies, if you wish, as they follow the manga. They do leave out quite a bit of detail, though, so it depends on whether you prefer the streamlined version. The trilogy that's being released now covers the first two arcs of the manga, which is what the original anime covered. There should be more movies in the future to cover further story arcs.
 

AKyber36

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(1) The five series you enjoyed a lot that you'd most want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:

(2) The three series you enjoyed a lot that you'd least want to re-watch alongside a first-time viewer:

Alongside is in person, on a couch or something, and the first-time viewer is a friend (not a SO) who watches anime semi-regularly.

Exclude hentai. Otherwise #2 might reduce to "Pornographic anime that you enjoyed a lot:" for some people. Hell, even #1 might. :)

Ah! For me, my five series would be:

  • Gai Rei Zero (first episode is priceless)
  • Big O
  • Samurai Champloo
  • Yukikaze (esp. if they like fighter jets)
  • Steins;Gate

For the three series, they would be:

  • Texhnolyze (too depressing for some people)
  • Golden Boy (funny ecchi, but ecchi nonetheless)
  • Mirage of Blaze (some scenes are really uncomfortable to watch)
 

Little Ming

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You can jump right into the movies, if you wish, as they follow the manga. They do leave out quite a bit of detail, though, so it depends on whether you prefer the streamlined version. The trilogy that's being released now covers the first two arcs of the manga, which is what the original anime covered. There should be more movies in the future to cover further story arcs.

Thanks. So I guess the answer is yes, I can skip the anime. Then my next question is should I? I can't really say if I would prefer the streamlined version without seeing it.... Though Berserk does look like the type of anime I would enjoy. Anyone want to share an opinion? :D

***

Finished watching Another. Minor spoilers ahead.

The best way to describe it is: Final Destination meets Battle Royale. I don't think there was an episode where at least one person didn't die. But one of the problems of having a higher body count than episode count is that the audience never really gets attached to any of the characters, especially during the massive blood bath at the end, and that makes their deaths less significant.

OTOH, the pacing was good, and every episode (with the exception of maybe one, depending on how you look at it) advanced the main plot. The mystery evolved well, though there were a few moments where you wish the characters had better communication skills because that might have cleared things up sooner.

Unfortunately, most of the characters were underdeveloped. The MC was a generic anime "hero" character. Sad, because the ending should have been more emotional, but it wasn't.

So, conclusion: Not a great anime, probably not even a good anime, but it's short (12 episodes) so not a major time investment. And it's fun to watch students get killed in bloody, horrific and unexpected ways. :evil
 

Dawnstorm

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Here's what I posted after watching episode 1 of Another back when it was new:

Me said:
Trying too hard to be sinister, but could get interesting.

The feeling that the show was trying too hard never really left me. It was only mildly interesting.
 

Little Ming

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Aww, I thought Dennou Coil was way, way above avarage. Loved it. I do agree about what you said about plot revelations near the end, but that's - to me - a minor flaw. The slow pacing in the beginning, to me, was necessary to set up theme and character.

But, yeah, the "villain" stuff was silly.

Here's what I posted after watching episode 1 of Another back when it was new:

The feeling that the show was trying too hard never really left me. It was only mildly interesting.

You know what? I think you're right. I have a bad habit of letting my expectations color how I view an anime (or anything really). That's why I had higher expectations for Dennou Coil and I felt they were unmet, so it was not that great. Conversely, I had little to no expectation for Another, so I just enjoyed it, even though I knew it wasn't that good.

OTOneH, I read reviews to figure out which anime I want to watch, but those reviews tend to color my actual watching experience. OTOtherH, I don't have time to watch every anime out there. :tongue
 

SomethingOrOther

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A few random thoughts:

I wish I didn't find out about the post-timeskip ending of Usagi Drop. Ewwww.

I started Hourou Musuko but decided to put it off for a bit because episodes 2/3 were kind of baffling. The anime starts halfway through the story, apparently, so I guess you need to pay close attention to understand the character dynamics and all. Right? (Or maybe I'm just absentminded.) I do plan on picking it up again, because episode 1 was amazing—the repeated "What are [girls/boys] made of?" lines, especially the one that ends the episode, were so affecting, for some reason.

Star Driver's ending theme (the first one) is so good. It repeatedly made me teary-eyed. Especially the time it bled into the last scene of the episode where Takuto and Sugata fought. I'm sad it went away in e14.