General anime discussion thread

Ehh, I'll just simplify it by saying that the Japanese tend to prefer playing the ambiguity card far more often than do Western storytellers. It's one of the things I really enjoy about anime. Don't expect a definitive interpretation to ever be forthcoming.

Glad to see Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? back.

kuwisdelu said:

Glad to see Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? back.

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Now new with rainbow-puking fairy.

I like this anime season, so far. Already raved about Sankarea. Mystery Girlfriend X is great fun, with a fairl-tale soundtrack á la Danny Elfman. Medaka Box looks solid, but I hear it gets better. Shirokuma Café actually works - antropomorphic animal fun. Both Accel World and Tasogare Otome x Amnesia are better than expected.

And the noitaminA shows have yet to air (Sakamichi no Appollo; what's the other?). Also curious about Hyouka (literature club detectives).

And of course old favourites, which includes Kore Zombie, Fate/Zero and Kimi to Boku. And the Mouretsu Pirates continue.

There's also a charming show about Japanese Folk Tales, your avarage comedy (Acchi Kocchi) and the utterly unexceptional show about anime highschool girls who are really creatures from the Lovecraft mythos... (er, yeah).

Some shows I'll probably drop at some point: Uchuu Kyoudai (too sentimental for my taste; I might have stuck with it, since it's not actually bad, but I heard it's running for a year - um, no), and Uppotte (the girls in this show are assault rifles - I have to admit some of the scenes are a clever combination of straight anime ecchi and gun fetishism, but neither draws me in, and to top it off, the character design isn't my taste... no.)

Mystery Girlfriend X is delicious. And yes, Sankarea looks good, too. Can't wait for more.

In addition to Fate/zero and Mouretsu Pirates, Aquarion EVOL is continuing, too.

I think I'm going to loop the last half of The End of Evangelion while I'm doing stuff.

SomethingOrOther said:

I think I'm going to loop the last half of The End of Evangelion while I'm doing stuff.

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How will you be able to do stuff?

I need more yuri animu.

Finished up both Lucky Star and Bottle Fairy.

For Lucky Star, it is a really good slice of life and it does live up to the hype, in my opinion. All the main characters have a pretty good amount of depth and the art style works well for the show. Also, Tsukasa is just freaking adorable.

Bottle Fairies, this is an anime that you watch for the cuteness. Basically, four fairies are trying to become human by learning about human nature and live with sensai (they never actually name him during the series). Even though it was originally designed for kids, it can be surprisingly deep at times, including having an episode about dealing with death. And Sarara is one of the best fairies ever.

Does anyone know where one can catch the new Space Battleship Yamato 2199?

Have only seen previews so far, sorry.

I did not know we had otakus here ^_^ yay I fit in!!!

Welcome, Jinx.

I recognise neither your avatar, nor you sig. Where from?

Am I the only one here following Aquarion EVOL?

kuwisdelu said:

Am I the only one here following Aquarion EVOL?

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What's it like? All I've seen of it is - I think - the ending song, which I liked.

Dawnstorm said:

What's it like? All I've seen of it is - I think - the ending song, which I liked.

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It's a Kawamori anime. So it's totally crazy, but, in a weird way, it works.

It's one of those mecha animes that has action plot points that are just way far out there, totally nonsensical, and go against every law of physics imaginable, and has emotional plot points that are just cheesy in every way and would be groan worthy under less competent directors, but somehow just work and feel incredibly sincere despite that and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside afterward.

It's not as serious as Macross, nor does it have the depth and complexity of Star Driver, but it has the character-driven quality to its monster-of-the-week action that I love about both those series.

The over-the-topness may certainly drive some people off, but once you get past that, and the fact that physics doesn't matter, it's pretty good.

Also, for anyone who got their hopes up with the Shinji Ikari expiness of Shu in Guilty Crown, only to have them obliterated with the plot (or mess thereof) that that show turned into, I highly recommend Mirai Nikki.

Totally different genre (psychological thriller vs. mecha action) but if — like me — you're into weak, passive protagonists like Guilty Crown was trying to do with Shu à la Shinji Ikari, but never really managed to pull off well (and I totally realize that kind of character isn't everybody's cup of tea), I think you'll love Mirai Nikki. The Shu x Inori relationship falls flat in every way that the Yuki x Yuno relationship totally works and drives the story. Yuki's weakness consistently felt more real and believable to me than Shu's, which seemed to change at a moment's notice to meet the requirements of the scene. And unlike many anime out there, Yuki is constantly questioning the shallow, unhealthy nature of his relationship with Yuno.

To build off the latter point, I think Mirai Nikki offers a rather nice deconstruction of the yandere and manic pixie dream girl archetypes. (And Yuno has the trope image for the former.) Yuno is probably one of my favorite characters from the last few seasons, and she's complex and interesting enough to pretty much drive the entire show (since Yuki certainly doesn't want to). The examination of what kind of relationship really develops when you get a girl like her is quite refreshing. And for anyone disillusioned with the unhealthy relationships found in many paranormal romance novels, Yuno offers a great deconstruction of the gender-flipped version. I'm totally into fucked up love stories that aren't afraid take it all the way.

Another refreshing thing: someone was actually intelligent enough to adapt a manga that was pretty much complete and make the anime long enough to actually tell the whole story at a reasonable pace, meaning the anime version actually delivers a satisfying conclusion. As bonus points, its twists are not only adequately foreshadowed and make a modicum of sense, but also are not totally contrived. (They're not brilliant either, but I'll totally take the tried-and-trueness of their steady-handed execution over the wtfery that Guilty Crown — and lots of anime, it seems — started pulling off partway through.)

But really, what sold me on this anime was the main characters of Yuki and Yuno. Yuki delivers in all the places where Shu failed for me as a character that was trying to follow in the same vein as Shinji Ikari. (If you hated Shinji, this probably isn't the anime for you.) And Yuno is just awesome. And evil. And I love her.

Mirai Nikki is definitely my pick of the last two seasons.

kuwisdelu said:

How will you be able to do stuff?

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Luckily it didn't happen. I can't reread/rewatch things until months have elapsed. Whereas, for whatever reason, I'll loop my new favorite songs or the songs I've recently finished about a hundred times within a week and eventually get sick of them. I should stop doing that, but I can't help it.

I am actually sad about my favorite anime and manga being cancelled MM!. The author died - btw RIP Akinari Matsuno.

Any one heard of it?

Dawnstorm said:

What the... Go watch Sankarea. Now.

If I'm right this is going to be a story about loneliness and suppressed emotion under the guise of a tender mock(?)-necrophiliac love story. I'm not kidding. The concept is so out there; yet the tone is one of tender melancholy. I suspect future episodes to slip into depravity, and I'm not talking about the necrophilia (which is possibly only the governing trope, although anything is possible...)

This might be the surprise of the season.

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Yes, it seems to me to be the most promising new series.

I have also seen a couple of episodes of Saki: Achiga-hen. It seems to be similar to Chihaya furu, but with mahjong, and meant for a younger audience.

_Jinx_ said:

I am actually sad about my favorite anime and manga being cancelled MM!. The author died - btw RIP Akinari Matsuno.

Any one heard of it?

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That's sad. I haven't heard of it. The description's a bit vague. It sounds like there's some masochism?

Camilla Delvalle said:

I have also seen a couple of episodes of Saki: Achiga-hen. It seems to be similar to Chihaya furu, but with mahjong, and meant for a younger audience.

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Well, considering it's based off Saki... I haven't seen Saki, though, so I'll be holding off on picking this up.

kuwisdelu said:

That's sad. I haven't heard of it. The description's a bit vague. It sounds like there's some masochism?

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Yes it involves Masochism. Taro (MC) is a masochist he has crush a girl who happens to be *spoiler ahead click link to read* click here *spoiler end*. The issue with this is he cannot be a masochist to be with her (it would plenty of issues lol). So to remedy this he goes to Mio who runs a club after school... she believes she is a goddess... and helps people. Her solution is to *minor spoiler ahead click link to read* click here *spoiler end*. If you want to know more read the manga and watch the anime :3

Hm, maybe I should try MM again? I've tried once, but wasn't in the mood, and the character design wasn't exactly my favourite.

Since Mirai Nikki is now finished, I expect to give it another try in the next few months. Maybe I'll try Aquarion Evol, too. It doesn't sound exactly like my cup of tea, but you never know. I could be surprised.

I like the original Saki; it's over-the-top with mah-jong-superpowers, and lots of weird characters. While Chihayafuru goes for realism depicting the game, Saki tends to go for the symbolic (with one character being so unobtrusive that people forget to pay attention to the tiles they lay out, for example; the titular character has the ability to always finish with score of zero that she neither wins nor loses.) The Achiga Hen spin off has shown some signs of this, but nothing too drastic yet. But Saki is worth a watch.

I suspect the most unjustly ignored show of the season is going to be Shirokuma Café.