Let's Talk About Anime

[Krensky]

The trinity.

Macross, Gundam, Harlock.

[Alzrius]

Sundakan wrote:

As a tangent, given the overwhelming popularity of both Shonen action and fanservice Harem series', WHY by all that is holy is there not a good adaptation of Negima! Magister Negi Magi?

I agree with Bjorn that the source material isn't very good, but I disagree as to why.

Negima initially portrayed itself as the spiritual successor to Love Hina (and given a few easter eggs, that might have been more than just spiritual). Love Hina itself was less than perfect - to me, its cast became the embodiments of various tropes to such an extent that it inhibited showcasing who they were as characters - but it still managed to become an archetype among harem shows.

Negima initially posited itself as being the same but taken to a whole other level, what with having a harem of over thirty girls. But then something happened...the series underwent a genre shift. It became less and less romantic/sexy hijinks and more and more shonen action/adventure. This, at least to me, was a deal-breaker.

They key here (again, to me) wasn't due to what it started as, nor what it became. I like harem shows, and I like shonen action/adventure shows (for the most part). The problem was that it tried to change its tone; this is something that as a rule is extremely difficult to pull off, because once your audience has bought the initial premise, changing that underlying premise is essentially you pulling the rug out from under them. The show is no longer what they signed on for, and now you have to sell them on why they should stick with you even after you snatched back what you initially sold them.

I've seen shows that have been able to do this. Negima wasn't one of them.

EDIT: I also hated the fact that the series kept portraying the good guys as being the opposite of underdogs; "overdogs," if you will. If you have the heroes being consistently more numerous, more powerful (to be fair, Negima usually split the difference on this one), and receiving more popular support than the villains, then I find it incredibly hard to root for them. Heroes feel heroic when they're struggling against unfavorable odds, and yet Negima just kept giving advantage after advantage after advantage to its ever-expanding cast of good guys. It was boring at best, irritating at worst (since it meant we had to listen to the heroes bemoaning their situation despite having virtually everything in their favor).

Again, some shows can get away with having the protagonist be far and away greater than all of their opposition, but Negima wasn't one of them.

[Sundakan]

I agree it was a somewhat jarring shift, but very much to the benefit of the manga.

Harem shows, on the whole, are obnoxious and generally pointless (none more so than Love Hina).

Crafting a situation where the existence of the harem makes sense (such as they being part of a very large adventuring company) is something more should do.

It also avoided the main problem that Love Hina had: why is this group of girls so hot for a worthless loser like Keitarou?

Negi at least has many admirable qualities. Bordering on Mary Sue territory sometimes, but you can see why girls fall for even a creepily young person who is intelligent, focused, determined, and powerful.

I think the source material is pretty solid, at worst par for the course for shonen action shows, and does IMO have one of the best ways of handling the "dangerous forbidden technique" I've seen and quite a few fights involve the protagonist actually OUTSMARTING the opponent instead of overpowering them. It's closer to Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter (though not as good) in the way it handles its fights than Dragonball Z and post-timeskip Naruto.

The fanservice elements are pretty cringey on the whole, but the same could be said for 90% of fanservice in ANY series, most of which somehow manage to pull it off even worse.

It would NOT be at all hard to adapt it into a successful anime series, particularly if they skipped or trimmed down chapters 4-~40 and just started with Negi's introduction and went straight to some of the more action-y parts of the early chapters (exploring the insane library, the school trip, etc.), leveling out the curve from "Harem comedy" - "Shit just got real in .25 seconds flat" to "Light-hearted action series" - "Shit got real-er". - "Now it's really real for real".

It's a series that as an action show is IMO at least as good as Naruto or Bleach, and I'd say better than their latter halves. It's kind of weird that it's not more popular even disregarding quality since for a lot of otaku it's two great tastes that taste great together.

You can't tell me that in a world where shows like High School of the Dead were intensely popular, an adaptation of this series could never make it.

[GM Rednal]

As far as Negima goes... I'm pretty sure Ken Akamatsu WANTED to do an action series, but his publisher wanted more fanservice stuff (because it sold well), so he kind of sneaked it in on them... XD And frankly, I enjoyed it far more than some other Shounen series.

[Sundakan]

GM Rednal wrote:

As far as Negima goes... I'm pretty sure Ken Akamatsu WANTED to do an action series, but his publisher wanted more fanservice stuff (because it sold well), so he kind of sneaked it in on them... XD And frankly, I enjoyed it far more than some other Shounen series.

That's the story I always heard. He was basically forced by his publishers to make another Harem series because Love Hina did so well, and went along with it until they stopped paying attention.

[Alzrius]

Sundakan wrote:

I agree it was a somewhat jarring shift, but very much to the benefit of the manga.

You and I are really going to need to agree to disagree here. :D

That said, I think you're explaining your points very well; I'm replying mostly because I'm quite enjoying the conversation.

Quote:

Harem shows, on the whole, are obnoxious and generally pointless (none more so than Love Hina).

I'll admit that the harem genre seems to have more than its fair share of sub-par shows, but I attribute this to those shows repeatedly making the mistake of pinning everything on fan-service while ignoring things like characterization and plot-development. Fan-service, in my opinion, works best as a layer of frosting, rather than a foundation upon which a show is built.

Quote:

Crafting a situation where the existence of the harem makes sense (such as they being part of a very large adventuring company) is something more should do.

I would have agreed with this a lot more a few years back. I used to be of the opinion that establishing plausibility for how a situation like that could develop was the most important thing (e.g. buy the premise, buy the bit).

Now, though, while I still think that's important, I see that as being more of an aspect of each individual character than something situational. It's not so much a question of circumstances as it is why the characters involved reacted to their circumstances in the way that they did.

Quote:

It also avoided the main problem that Love Hina had: why is this group of girls so hot for a worthless loser like Keitarou?

Negi at least has many admirable qualities. Bordering on Mary Sue territory sometimes, but you can see why girls fall for even a creepily young person who is intelligent, focused, determined, and powerful.

Also a fair point; the whole idea of a main character who is "ineffectual but kind...and that's enough," is one that I do think is overrated (though going too far in the other direction is just as bad).

That said, I think there's a salient point to be made in that these qualities - that is, being focused and determined, etc. - is only applied to areas of problem-solving, and not to romantic relationships. In Negi's case, this is lampshaded by his being too young to fall in love, but the end result is the same: the center of the harem is entirely passive with regards to the girls around him, and they in turn seem to remain doggedly in love with him despite their feelings being continually unrequited. I find that that grows stale very fast.

(Incidentally, you should check out the Magika no Kenshi light novel series I mentioned a little while ago, as it has both very smart circumstances and a more proactive main character.)

Quote:

I think the source material is pretty solid, at worst par for the course for shonen action shows, and does IMO have one of the best ways of handling the "dangerous forbidden technique" I've seen and quite a few fights involve the protagonist actually OUTSMARTING the opponent instead of overpowering them. It's closer to Yu Yu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter (though not as good) in the way it handles its fights than Dragonball Z and post-timeskip Naruto.

It's been forever since I read the Negima manga (and I stopped at vol. 30), but I found the tactical aspects of the fights to be less about outsmarting and more along the lines of the story making up new rules mid-fight for the heroes to use to win. While I've only seen a few movies for YYH and nothing of HxH, I think that post-timeskip Naruto did have some very intelligent fights (albeit virtually all of those were ones that didn't involve Naruto himself).

Quote:

The fanservice elements are pretty cringey on the whole, but the same could be said for 90% of fanservice in ANY series, most of which somehow manage to pull it off even worse.

I don't think most of them were worse than Negima. Quite the contrary, Negima seemed to be quite keen on the "quantity, not quality" philosophy in that area, which I feel is exactly the wrong tact to take (though again, that's apparently a common mistake where fan-service is concerned).

Quote:

It would NOT be at all hard to adapt it into a successful anime series, particularly if they skipped or trimmed down chapters 4-~40 and just started with Negi's introduction and went straight to some of the more action-y parts of the early chapters (exploring the insane library, the school trip, etc.), leveling out the curve from "Harem comedy" - "S$@! just got real in .25 seconds flat" to "Light-hearted action series" - "S@#& got real-er". - "Now it's really real for real".

If it got its head on straight about keeping one vision for what it wanted to be, and stuck with that from beginning to end, then that would definitely be an improvement. But I question how much I'd like it even then, because it's very clear how much the series favors its heroes in terms of handing them superior numbers, easily-acquired powers, and moral certitude (or at least a lack of any serious bevy of doubts) all as a package.

Quote:

It's a series that as an action show is IMO at least as good as Naruto or Bleach, and I'd say better than their latter halves. It's kind of weird that it's not more popular even disregarding quality since for a lot of otaku it's two great tastes that taste great together.

There's much to indict Bleach on, but I think that Naruto gets a worse rap than it deserves. If you cut out the filler material, the post-timeskip stuff is actually better than the preceding material, to my mind (certainly the main character becomes more likeable, to my mind).

Quote:

You can't tell me that in a world where shows like High School of the Dead were intensely popular, an adaptation of this series could never make it.

And yet that's the world we're living in.

[Sundakan]

Three quick points, just because this is getting long =):

1.) The Yu Yu Hakusho movies are not at all representative of the series. Particularly *shudders* Yu Yu Hakusho The Movie: Poltergeist Report.

2.) Naruto retains some very good moments and SPECTACLE in their fights. The sheer scale of the battles is enough to be engaging. But there is quite a lack of strategy in much of the latter half, and the plot meanders a lot. ESPECIALLY the bits with Sasuke and Naruto's obsession with saving him.

3.) I agree we live in a world where it hasn't been adapted well, but I don't think we're in one where it CAN'T be adapted well.

I'll note also I have not actually FINISHED the series. I started reading it in around '06 and picked it up again a couple of months ago. I'm up to what I THINK is near the end of the Mundus Magicus arc, not long after Negi's fight with Rakan. I feel like the power-ups so far have made sense, even though the training occurred off-screen it still HAPPENED and 3 months or so worth of training is quite a lot in anime time.

[GM Rednal]

As far as adaptions go, I think the biggest problem is that the series is done. Many anime series are effectively advertisements designed to sell more copies of a comic. So if a series is finished, it doesn't need the boost... v.v

[Sundakan]

While we're discussing finished manga and anime I wish had a better adaptation: Get Backers. I'm not actually sure how popular this one was to begin with, but I really liked it myself.

[Alzrius]

Sundakan wrote:

2.) Naruto retains some very good moments and SPECTACLE in their fights. The sheer scale of the battles is enough to be engaging. But there is quite a lack of strategy in much of the latter half, and the plot meanders a lot. ESPECIALLY the bits with Sasuke and Naruto's obsession with saving him.

With regard to the meandering plot and lack of strategy, this is definitely the case insofar as the filler material goes - that's unsurprising, as filler is handicapped right from the get-go - but I don't think that that's true with regard to the main post-timeskip plot. It might be a little bit slow to ramp up, but once it does it really takes off.

Naruto's obsession with saving Sasuke is somewhat eye-rolling, but... (I'll spoiler this next part just to be safe):

Spoiler:

...it gets better because we see Naruto slowly growing out of this. It's never expressly stated as him giving up on that goal, but we do see him maturing away from it as the series goes on, largely when his repeated attempts to save Sasuke end in failure every time. This culminates in some personal losses for him, and he slowly comes to realize that 1) he can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved, and 2) it's not just about Sasuke, it's about everyone who loses someone they care about.

This eventually turns him into a much more palatable character, although it takes quite some time for him to get there. (Even better is that Sasuke's character arc goes through a number of very believable changes which, rather gratifyingly, have almost nothing to do with Naruto at all.)

[Freehold DM]

Jaçinto wrote:

I have yet to find a Japanese cartoon show I like more than, or as much as, Berserk. I wish they would continue that one. I know it is a comic book too, but I want to see it animated. Yes I am also familiar with the movies. One Punch Man is a close second though, with Desert Punk coming in third. Sure there is some good stuff but so very very much junk. I heard a friend rave about A Certain Scientific Railgun but I could not even make it ten minutes through the first episode. It got a bit too creepy with the middle school shower. I am told they smarten up, but they lost me. Can anyone suggest a good one that isn't harem based, creeping the lines into inappropriate kid stuff, overly goofball, or the one piece problem of "Ok I get it. Can we get to the point already please and have the pirates do piracy? Too much filler."

hm. Sounds like you need to go old school.

Check out guyver if you can, or black lagoon or basilisk.

[Freehold DM]

God I love high school of the dead.

[Greylurker]

I guess that is where UQ Holder comes in. It's Negima only they jump right into it being a Shonen battle series. Touta is pretty much the opposite of Negi. Dumb, impulsive and with good physical instincts.

IE: Shonen action hero to the core.

The Harem elements are still there but not nearly as strong as they were in Negima.

plus it is kind of fun seeing some of the Negima cast a hundred years later.

Even if some of them haven't aged much

Plus Negi as the villain is an interesting twist.

[Aranna]

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

[Aranna]

I also love Shonen action heroes. The over the top action is fun... it reminds me of why I like JJ Abrams movies.

Harems ... I don't automatically dislike them I mean playing up the angle of many girls chasing one boy IS high school level realistic. But please don't take those into creepy or sexual directions, I am NOT a fan of hentai.

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

I also love Shonen action heroes. The over the top action is fun... it reminds me of why I like JJ Abrams movies.

Harems ... I don't automatically dislike them I mean playing up the angle of many girls chasing one boy IS high school level realistic. But please don't take those into creepy or sexual directions, I am NOT a fan of hentai.

that's okay. I am.

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

[Aranna]

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

[Aranna]

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

[Aranna]

Heck you could even leave a little bit of the ecchi in the show tastefully done and it would have been fine. But you can't say scenes like the hypersonic boobs did anything good for the show.

[TOZ]

Yeah, that was ridiculously unnecessary.

[Freehold DM]

Yeah...hypersonic boobs were...un..something..something. runs out of thread to rewatch

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

removing the fanservice means Freehold no watch.

[Blayde MacRonan]

Jaçinto wrote:

I have yet to find a Japanese cartoon show I like more than, or as much as, Berserk. I wish they would continue that one. I know it is a comic book too, but I want to see it animated. Yes I am also familiar with the movies.

You are aware of the upcoming Berserk series, right? 24 episodes that pick up where The Golden Age movies left off. Meaning, we finally get to see Guts as the Black Swordsman. It starts July 1st. If not, then this is for you.

[Aranna]

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

removing the fanservice means Freehold no watch.

Really? UC Gundam has no fanservice for the most part.

[Blayde MacRonan]

I'm not into zombies, but that over the top fanservicey action was what held my interest in Highschool of the Dead. The plot got better as it progressed, but I was there mainly for the action. And Saeko, but I've always had a thing for busty, long-limbed katana-wielding ladies with a slight sadistic streak when fighting. :P

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

removing the fanservice means Freehold no watch.

Really? UC Gundam has no fanservice for the most part.

that's what the dojinshi are for!

[Freehold DM]

Just watched all I could find of space battleship Yamato 2199 remake. A true delight.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Oh yeah!
I wish they would remake the other seasons.

[Aranna]

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

removing the fanservice means Freehold no watch.

Really? UC Gundam has no fanservice for the most part.

that's what the dojinshi are for!

If you removed the fan service from High School of the Dead there would still be dojinshi made for it. Frighteningly they probably have dojinshi for ALL anime and manga.

[Krensky]

Remember that fanservice used to mean more than just titillation and panty shots, it used to be what we call easter eggs and long drawn out shots of shipsuccesses or robots or cars in addition to cheesecake and beefcake pinups.

UC Gundam has lots of fanservice. It just doesn't have lots of panty shots.

[Jaçinto]

The reason I don't like harem anime is because, generally, the story does not make sense even within the context of the universe it is in. There was this one, I forget the name, where there are these mech suits that only women can pilot for some biological reason. Then there was one man that could, so this was a big deal. Okay, I'm following so far. After one fight with a stuck up pilot at this academy he was in, every girl in the series and even the ones that hated him just moments before, went total obsessive stalker on him with how much they loved him for no reason whatsoever.

For One Piece, my issue is all the padding of "Okay, here's a neat story. Why is this one fight scene taking ten episodes to get through? Come on, get on with it!" It's like the Frieza "5 minutes" thing in DBZ.

I noticed a lot of older anime now, like 70's and 80's era, seem to have that serious drama with little spread out bits of comedy in it, but made me actually connect and see the characters as people. I like comedy sure, like I said I like One Punch Man, but come on. A saying easily used in cinema is that a bad serious movie can be a good comedy, but a bad comedy is just a bad movie.

I have seen some modern shows I liked. I enjoyed Log Horizon and Tokyo Ghoul. The first season of Sword Art Online was alright, especially if you ignore that stupid clip show movie. Ushia to Tora is nice too, also dead man wonderland. Accel world is a bit of a guilty pleasure.

I am extremely exited for the new Berserk series continuation. Thank you all for letting me know this is happening soon.

[Lemmy]

THEY CONFIRMED A SECOND SEASON OF KONOSUBA!!! F~!+ YEAH!!!!

[Dragon78]

Hypersonic boobs?

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Lemmy wrote:

THEY CONFIRMED A SECOND SEASON OF KONOSUBA!!! F~!~ YEAH!!!!

How does one top having just finished watching the OVA?

Learning we're getting a new season!

[Aranna]

Dragon78 wrote:

Hypersonic boobs?

sonic boobs

[Freehold DM]

Krensky wrote:

Remember that fanservice used to mean more than just titillation and panty shots, it used to be what we call easter eggs and long drawn out shots of shipsuccesses or robots or cars in addition to cheesecake and beefcake pinups.

UC Gundam has lots of fanservice. It just doesn't have lots of panty shots.

I would say that is still fanservice. The more...prudent...have taken it to mean all panty shots when it is more than just that.

[Freehold DM]

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Aranna wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

God I love high school of the dead.

As a fan of Zombie shows this was good. That said overt sexism and fanservice made the show less than it could have been.

I wuved it. I also enjoyed the scintillating biting political and social criticisms the series had.

That might be part of why I was able to look past the bad parts.

I have made the argument that the ecchi wad in the series to keep it from being too horrifically dark. There are all sorts of biting commentary throughout the series, if it was just zombies and that the series would have been unwatchable.

The comedic moments do more good here than the ecchi. Take the sexism out (not hard to do) by having them each rescue each other rather than the girls rescued by the boy. And replace the fanservice moments with more comedic ones and the show would have won my highest praise.

removing the fanservice means Freehold no watch.

Really? UC Gundam has no fanservice for the most part.

that's what the dojinshi are for!

If you removed the fan service from High School of the Dead there would still be dojinshi made for it. Frighteningly they probably have dojinshi for ALL anime and manga.

[Megatron]You make it sound as if that's a bad thing [/Megatron]

[Freehold DM]

Lemmy wrote:

THEY CONFIRMED A SECOND SEASON OF KONOSUBA!!! F$*~ YEAH!!!!

does cheesecake dance

[Krensky]

Freehold DM wrote:

Krensky wrote:

Remember that fanservice used to mean more than just titillation and panty shots, it used to be what we call easter eggs and long drawn out shots of shipsuccesses or robots or cars in addition to cheesecake and beefcake pinups.

UC Gundam has lots of fanservice. It just doesn't have lots of panty shots.

I would say that is still fanservice. The more...prudent...have taken it to mean all panty shots when it is more than just that.

Pretty much. I consider Macross Frontier to be one of the most fanservice heavy shows ever (it's got a Valkyrie Girl scene for cripes sake) but there's pretty much no titillation or whatnot.

Well, other than Sheryl's costumes, but those aren't really fanservice as the term is usually used.

[Alaryth]

Just end the chapter of Assasination Classroom. I have read the manga version before, but still on the verge of crying with that one. A really, really extraordinary serie.

Spoiler:

Koro-Sensei, you will be remembered.

[Blayde MacRonan]

Yashasuiin!

[Greylurker]

Berserk so far has been disappointing. The series deserves much better than we are getting.

Soma kicked into high gear right from the get go

Sweetness and Lighting is just freaking adorable

Hybrid x Hearts.....um..pass.

Ange Vierge......For a battle series they spend a hell of a lot of time in the bath. Gonna give this another shot later cause this was clearly an Info Dump episode, with nakidness clearly trying to keep people's attention

Prysma Illya 3: Hits the ground running. Princess Miyu is kidnapped, Heroes pursue to another world to save her

Bananya - Cat....in a banana.....I don't even....?

[Sundakan]

Generic J-Rock song for part two of Diamond is Unbreakable.

Why

The music has been so excellent up to now, why'd they have to drop the ball?

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Sweetness and Lightning is diabetes in anime form.

Binan koukou chikyuu bouei-bu love! Love! is like the first season only more so. More shiny, more colors, more nearly naked boys, more frills, more love. Unless the quality drops sharply after this episode I'm gonna enjoy this immensely.

Prisma Illya...I liked the way the first seasons were done, mostly funny and lighthearted, but now it's gone all serious and Fate-y, which isn't fun.

Masou gakuen HxH is to Infinite Stratos what Shinmai Maou no Testament is to High School DxD - more sex and tits and less interesting characters and story (so far). I doubt I'll bother to keep watching.

Tried a few others but they made so little impression I can't remember their names, which indicates that I probably won't bother to learn them.

[Drahliana Moonrunner]

Freehold DM wrote:

Krensky wrote:

Remember that fanservice used to mean more than just titillation and panty shots, it used to be what we call easter eggs and long drawn out shots of shipsuccesses or robots or cars in addition to cheesecake and beefcake pinups.

UC Gundam has lots of fanservice. It just doesn't have lots of panty shots.

I would say that is still fanservice. The more...prudent...have taken it to mean all panty shots when it is more than just that.

I think the specific word is prurient. :)

[Aranna]

I think people know what is really meant 95% or more of the time when people discuss fan service.

[Greylurker]

DBSuper episode 51

Spoiler:

Trunks lays out how Black showed up and how Mai lead the resistance against him. Black seems to have a specific grudge against humans, calling them the only failed creation of the Gods.

Everyone heads off for training and Goku gets shot down at all his first picks. (King Kai's like "GTF off my Planet")

Little Trunks freaks out over Future Trunks and Mai

Bulma and her dad start reverse engineering the Time machine.

Beerus and Whis, know something but they ain't telling.

I am loving the Trunks-Mai-Trunks triangle. and Bulma seems to be "I can live with this"

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

I realized that my last post was not quite true. One addendum:

Amanchu looks to be quite similar to Aria, including the occasional caricature faces the main characters get. I'll probably be sticking with this one.