General anime discussion thread

[LOG]

After the poor to mediocre experience I had watching Vandread, I feel like finding a well-done Balanced Harem series, preferably with a Tenchi Solution. I only know two: the Tenchi series and Umi no Misaki.
To TVTropes!

[c.m.n.]

I am absolutely loving Gintama lately.

Okay, the first 20 episodes or so are hard to muddle through. But after that it gets better.
Yeah, I'm sort of behind, I just started watching it hehe.

But I guess I would call it episodic. Though most episodes are comedic, some short arcs are very dramatic... though not at all depressing as the crappy, long arcs in Bleach or Naruto.
And they're short, 4-5 episodes each.

[LOG]

The series I've found so far to look at:

• Love Hina (It's actually classified as a support harem, but I'm interested anyways.)
• Hoshizora E Kakaru Hashi
• Asobi Ni Iku Yo
• SHUFFLE!
• Kanon
• Infinite Stratos

Anyone have anything to say for or against any of them? Any other Balanced Harem/Tenchi Solution anime/manga suggestions?

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by LOG

Love Hina (It's actually classified as a support harem, but I'm interested anyways.)

The classic. It's good fun, and I really love the opening song. It's got flying mecha turtles!

Hoshizora E Kakaru Hashi

Haven't seen. Don't know.

Asobi Ni Iku Yo

Full of absurd fan service, but surprisingly fun. If you like this, you might check out To Love Ru, which is in a similar vein.

SHUFFLE!

It's okay, I guess. Nothing special. It doesn't have the sort of ending you're looking for, though.

Kanon

One of the better ones, if you can get past the ridicularly [I just had to leave that typo in: "ridicular" should be in the dictionary] large eyes. I had the impression his harem consisted of D&D Beholders... And it's not really balanced, since the plot has a very clear centre. (Actually, I'd say it's a support harem much like Love Hina.)

But if you do like that show, I suggest you also check out Clannad, which is - IMO - much better. (Clannad After Story, too, but it's no longer a harem.)

Infinite Stratos

No. Just no. The main character is an idiot (which isn't exactly rare in anime), and he passes the virus on to any girl he meets. They all turn into doting idiots who lose all individuality. (One exception.) It's a true balanced harem, though.

Also, you might try:

Amagami SS. It's a "serial harem", in the sense that the guy's really a monogamist, but the series reboots every four episodes to focus on a new girl. (Very distinct and likable characters. Oh, and I'd join that tea club in a heart beat... ) Anyway, that format makes it the most balanced of all harem shows, if you're willing to accept it as one in the first place.

ETA:

Oh, and maybe White Album. It starts out unbalanced, but it ends on a balanced note.

[Dawnstorm]

My favourite scene in this week's Nichijou: Sakamoto looking back at anxious Nano, walking away and saying, "Nya". Priceless.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by LOG

Anyone have anything to say for or against any of them? Any other Balanced Harem/Tenchi Solution anime/manga suggestions?

It's not really a harem show, but Macross Frontier is a ridiculously awesome series that often gets ignored in the West because it'll never get licensed. It's a mecha series, with space dog fights choreographed to the music of Yoko Kanno, as sung by the two idols who compose the main character's harem. And Kawamori seems to love tenchi solutions, but they're usually just threesomes.

[LOG]

Should I watch the Macross series (just the TV series mind) by in-series chronology, or release date?

Edit: On the matter of Infinite Stratos, looks like it's another light novel series adapted for anime, and considering it's only 12 ep...yeah, that seems like a bad idea. There is a manga adaption though, that may be worthwhile...

Has anyone seen any sign(s) of Japanese (light) novels being translated or coming to the U.S. in greater numbers? I've only ever been able to find a single book from Japan here in the U.S., and that was the first novel of the Twelve Kingdom series. Unfortunately I had already seen the anime, so a lot of the inner emotional turmoil and drama that the book tried to create was ruined.

[Camilla Delvalle]

What's a Tenchi solution? The TV tropes explanation didn't make any sense to me.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by LOG

Should I watch the Macross series (just the TV series mind) by in-series chronology, or release date?

I actually haven't seen the original yet. They're interrelated, but most can be viewed independently of all the others. If you want to go through the old ones first, I think Kawamori recommended having watched the original, and re-watching Macross Zero, to get ready for Frontier. I was impatient and jumped right into Macross Frontier, though. All the important background you can infer.

[Camilla Delvalle]

I wanna watch harem too. I tried Love Hina, but it was to loud and violent for me. I hope they are not all like that.

So much to watch! I'm getting anxiety from this.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Camilla Delvalle

I wanna watch harem too. I tried Love Hina, but it was to loud and violent for me. I hope they are not all like that.

For a while I thought the Japanese space program involved accidently walking in on girls dressing and getting puched into orbit. It's a staple, but, no, not all are like that.

I suggest Clannad, Amagami SS, and White Album (which doesn't appear that popular, but I liked it).

EDIT: You know you watch too much anime, when you type "White Album" into google and the anime comes up before the Beatles album. Heh.

[Camilla Delvalle]

Interesting, all those three animes are based on romantic computer games. Anyway, I'll look into them.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Camilla Delvalle

Interesting, all those three animes are based on romantic computer games. Anyway, I'll look into them.

96.3% of harem series are.

I haven't seen White Album, but I very much enjoyed Clannad and Amagami SS, though the former develops into monogamy and the latter is more a revolving girl-of-the-arc different reset routes thing. Amagami SS didn't annoy me nearly as much as that format usually does.

Though definitely no longer a harem show, I'd say Clannad: After Story is the overall best thing that Key has done so far.

[Chumala]

So... I'm not sure if this is considered anime, but due to my disappointment in Gosick's ending, I haven't really found any new anime I'm interested in. So I started to watch My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.....I must say that show is quite.... entertaining to say the least, the characters are all enjoyable. (Applejack's my favorite, with Buttershy ((I think her name is)) in a close second).


Is there anything out this season that is romance? Not Harem.... BECAUSE THOSE SUCK AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!.... Gahhh what was the name of that harem where the kid could either choose the princess of hell or the princess of heaven.... then he says "Nope I'm going with the normal human girl." .... Normal human girl/ Childhood friend looked terrible.... just terrible....

The only decent harem in all of anime is Rosario Vampire.... they attempted to do it right and actually choose a girl for the guy to get with, plus the girl was adorable and a asskicking vampire. How much win is that?

But really? I need suggestions. :/

[kuwisdelu]

None that I'm currently watching. I forget if you watched Kimi ni Todoke? I also enjoyed Kaichou wa Maid-sama from last year. ETA: Just checked. I'm not currently watching it, but you can try Uta no Prince-sama.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Chumala

Is there anything out this season that is romance? Not Harem.... BECAUSE THOSE SUCK AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!....

Can't think of anything (Uto no Prince Sama seems to be a reverse harem,)

Gahhh what was the name of that harem where the kid could either choose the princess of hell or the princess of heaven.... then he says "Nope I'm going with the normal human girl." .... Normal human girl/ Childhood friend looked terrible.... just terrible....

That's Shuffle.

But really? I need suggestions. :/

What are some Romances you enjoyed? I have this feeling that if I just suggest my favourites you'll be either bored or annoyed by them. Our tastes don't seem to match that much, do they?

A couple of Romances I enjoyed:

Kimi ni Todoke
True Tears
Toradora
Myself, Yourself
Lovely Complex
Aishiteru Ze Baby
Suzuka

[LOG]

Originally Posted by Chumala

So I started to watch My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.....I must say that show is quite.... entertaining to say the least, the characters are all enjoyable. (Applejack's my favorite, with Buttershy ((I think her name is)) in a close second).

Fluttershy; her name is Fluttershy. Where do you get the 'B' sound? (We have an MLP thread here) Wether MLP is anime or not depends on how you define anime.

Is there anything out this season that is romance? Not Harem.... BECAUSE THOSE SUCK AND NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!....

Tenchi solutions count as something happening in my book if said solution actually takes effort to achieve. But otherwise, yeah, I don't like them. That's why I was looking for Balanced Harem/Tenchi Solutions.

As far as romance, I'm not particularly enamored of either monogamy or polygamy. I just gravitate towards polygamy because it tends to lead to more emotional drama. Too often I get romance that seems to revolve seeing how many different ways implausible and wacky things can happen in a single, closed environment--even when it's not a romantic comedy. [1]

I prefer more open and fluid environments, but "slice of life" and other romances seem to like single or few closed environments. At least if I have to suffer through closed environments that constantly reset to status quo, then getting more people in the mix at least allows for more things to happen.
Really, not all that many one-on-one romances seem to move around much either, even if it's not always returning to status quo, they rarely feel as if they're alive. They act and play out flat.
That said, an open environment doesn't necessarily mean I'll like the story, and closed environments can potentially be done well. I just prefer them open.

For a harem, Umi no Misaki, I think, does a pretty good job with handling emotions (i.e. romance) and atmosphere. The plot actually moves forward at a steady pace and the characters change and react according to what has occurred, but they're also proactive people.

[1] When I say "closed environment," I don't necessarily mean it's closed in a physical sense (although that's fairly common too) but rather that it's as if the entire world of the story exists in some kind of pocket universe. I'm not looking for hyper-realism, nor do I mean to suggest that I look for stories with unexpected occurrences as a sign of fluidity. In a sense it's kind of like how many stories have a habit of returning to status quo after every episode or story arc, but it has more to do with the kind of atmosphere that the story can create, and is usually accomplished through plot and character. In what I consider an "open" or "fluid" environment, the characters push and they pull on the environment around them as it pushes and pulls on them as well. That's about as best I can summarize it. Sorry if it's kind of nebulous. I'll look for some examples to see if I can pin it down more.

[Camilla Delvalle]

Originally Posted by Chumala

So... I'm not sure if this is considered anime, but due to my disappointment in Gosick's ending, I haven't really found any new anime I'm interested in. So I started to watch My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.....I must say that show is quite.... entertaining to say the least, the characters are all enjoyable. (Applejack's my favorite, with Buttershy ((I think her name is)) in a close second).

Have you seen Spice and Wolf? I thought it was somewhat similar to Gosick, and it didn't have a disappointing ending.

The only decent harem in all of anime is Rosario Vampire.... they attempted to do it right and actually choose a girl for the guy to get with, plus the girl was adorable and a asskicking vampire. How much win is that?

Here I was thinking that I'm the only one who liked that series. It had fun characters and it was nice to see how they learned to cooperate. This made me endure the horrible fan-service, but in the beginning of the second season it became too much and I couldn't watch any more.

[Camilla Delvalle]

Originally Posted by LOG

I prefer more open and fluid environments, but "slice of life" and other romances seem to like single or few closed environments. At least if I have to suffer through closed environments that constantly reset to status quo, then getting more people in the mix at least allows for more things to happen.
Really, not all that many one-on-one romances seem to move around much either, even if it's not always returning to status quo, they rarely feel as if they're alive. They act and play out flat.
That said, an open environment doesn't necessarily mean I'll like the story, and closed environments can potentially be done well. I just prefer them open.

Resets are not so fun. Especially when they have their memories erased, that's just a waste. All that they had learned thrown into the garbage. I like when the characters change during the series. I think an example of a series that you'd probably call open is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even though it was a long series, things changed all the time, even the setting sometimes, if not in every episode, and there was interaction with the environment. I see Buffy as an ideal of how a long series can develop over time.

[Camilla Delvalle]

Ok, I began on Amagami SS and it seems promising. It's not at all annoying. I'm also glad that the main character boy is not totally shy. He actually said to one girl that he liked her in the first episode!

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by Camilla Delvalle

Ok, I began on Amagami SS and it seems promising. It's not at all annoying. I'm also glad that the main character boy is not totally shy. He actually said to one girl that he liked her in the first episode!

It's not like I haven't said it before, but since you don't like resets... This show resets completely every four episodes. What you get is 6 alternate timelines (one for each girl). This sort of explains the pacing. They have only 4 episodes to tell their story. (It's not like the resets in Steins;Gate, though, since you get a conclusion every time.)

The characters are what makes this show. (Even the minor characters are well drawn and indivituated.)

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Camilla Delvalle

Have you seen Spice and Wolf? I thought it was somewhat similar to Gosick, and it didn't have a disappointing ending.

That's because it didn't have an ending.

*season3wheregrumblegrumble*

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

It's not like I haven't said it before, but since you don't like resets... This show resets completely every four episodes. What you get is 6 alternate timelines (one for each girl). This sort of explains the pacing. They have only 4 episodes to tell their story. (It's not like the resets in Steins;Gate, though, since you get a conclusion every time.)

The characters are what makes this show. (Even the minor characters are well drawn and indivituated.)

I think the reason it didn't annoy me is most of the arcs gave pretty reasonably thorough emotional development to the girl in the arc. Most of them felt complete, even if I would have liked to see more, so it didn't feel like such a waste when it reset to focus on someone else.

I'm not much of a romance guy. I enjoy them if they're good, but I don't seek them out.

[Dawnstorm]

Originally Posted by kuwisdelu

I think the reason it didn't annoy me is most of the arcs gave pretty reasonably thorough emotional development to the girl in the arc. Most of them felt complete, even if I would have liked to see more, so it didn't feel like such a waste when it reset to focus on someone else.

Agree completely. These shorts make sense as stories in themselves. Although sometimes I found that the romance ending seemed a bit rushed. (I thought the girls singing their own ending themes was a nice characterisation touch.)

I'm not much of a romance guy. I enjoy them if they're good, but I don't seek them out.

I watch pretty much everything, except sports. (And watch that, too, if it promises to be interesting.) Usually, it's the visuals that draw me. If I like the character design, I'm going to watch the show.

That reminds me of a harem show I quit after about half an episode (because I didn't like the character design):

School Days

From what I hear the ending is... unique, for a harem show.

[kuwisdelu]

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

I watch pretty much everything, except sports. (And watch that, too, if it promises to be interesting.) Usually, it's the visuals that draw me. If I like the character design, I'm going to watch the show.

I'll watch anything with a premise that interests me. The genre doesn't really matter to me.

My favorites tend to be those shows which really take advantage of the animated format to tell stories that would be difficult to tell in any other way. Often those happen to fall into sci-fi or supernatural or magical realism. And I prefer more serious and ambitious storylines. We'll see where Mawaru Penguindrum goes...

[Camilla Delvalle]

Originally Posted by Dawnstorm

It's not like I haven't said it before, but since you don't like resets... This show resets completely every four episodes. What you get is 6 alternate timelines (one for each girl). This sort of explains the pacing. They have only 4 episodes to tell their story.

You are right. Though maybe I'll like it if it is done well. What I was thinking about when discussing resets was more what happens in some very long, episodic, series. E.g. in Charmed, which is about three sisters who are witches, often the secondary characters lose their memories of what happened at the end of the episode. Thus it's like the episode never happened. At least in the first season it doesn't matter much if one watches the episodes out of order, because they are all similar, and there is no significant change from episode 2 to 20. One could easily miss 5 episodes and not even notice it.

I've never before seen any romantic anime that I have liked, except Chobits if that is romantic, but so far I like Amagami SS.