Let's Talk About Anime

[John Benbo]

Rednal wrote:

Well, not once people found out who the writer was... but then, they deliberately hid his involvement for the first few episodes, I think. XD

And now he's writing a Godzilla anime with Polygon Pictures (Knights of Sidonia, Ajin)!

[Lemmy Z]

9 days with a post... Thread is slowing down. :(

[Thomas Seitz]

Lemmy,

Maybe they just need time to digest it all.

[Alzrius]

For me, I was taking a break to watch the rare bout of live-action television (American, no less!), but that's over as of yesterday.

[Greylurker]

Alzrius wrote:

For me, I was taking a break to watch the rare bout of live-action television (American, no less!), but that's over as of yesterday.

is it?

is it really?

cause Lucifer starts up again in a couple of week

[Cellion]

After souring on anime as a whole (mostly as a by product of growing older and my tastes changing most likely) and spending a long time not watching any shows, I finally watched something I've been meaning to get to for years: Chuunibyou Season 1.

I know, I know, the train left the station years ago, but that won't stop me talking about it

And wow, it was quite a ride. With the first episode with its awful opening (where the degree of pandering and "moe" getting pushed was absolutely out of control), I was convinced I would drop the show immediately. But I gave it a chance and found myself enjoying the whole thing way too much. The humor was so on-point, the main character so cringingly self-aware, and the supporting cast so memorable and hilarious. The writing was just really good. Even the characters I hated from day 1 I grew to enjoy.

I joke with my friends that only eldritch magic could have made Dekomori go from: "Please no" to "Best girl" somehow over the course of those episodes.

The drama I wasn't so hot on, but the delivery was good enough that I got caught up in it by the end too. And in the end, despite the entire show looking like something I would hate, its probably now among my favorite shows ever.

Pretty amazing.

[Rednal]

As a longtime fan, I can comfortably assert that most shows in any given season won't be to any given person's tastes... but there's usually at least one or two worth watching. ^^

[Sundakan]

I keep meaning to pick up Mob Psycho 100, but haven't gotten around to it yt.

I don't even know what else is on this season. I think the only other new show I gave a shot was "Taboo Tattoo" because I did a quick search on KissAnime for "martial arts" and filtered to new stuff and that came up.

That show is HILARIOUSLY bad. I recommend everyone to watch the first episode and take a shot every time a cringe inducing cliche, awkward pause, or bit of forced "quirkiness" comes up.

Actually don't you'll die

[Lemmy Z]

I decided to pick up Mob Psycho 100...

Other than a couple funny moments (such as the moment when he joins a school club XD), it wasn't particularly entertaining...

At episode 6~7, we finally see some semblance of a plot, and it's looking somewhat interesting right now, so I'll stick with it for a while longer.

[Alzrius]

For those who haven't seen, there's a very brief review of Chobits over at gaming blog The Alexandrian. Slightly NSFW due to cursing.

[Freehold DM]

Alzrius wrote:

For those who haven't seen, there's a very brief review of Chobits over at gaming blog The Alexandrian. Slightly NSFW due to cursing.

this guy doesn't read much clamp, does he?

[Alzrius]

Freehold DM wrote:

Alzrius wrote:

For those who haven't seen, there's a very brief review of Chobits over at gaming blog The Alexandrian. Slightly NSFW due to cursing.

this guy doesn't read much clamp, does he?

Yeah, I thought that too (though his review did make me laugh).

[Freehold DM]

Alzrius wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Alzrius wrote:

For those who haven't seen, there's a very brief review of Chobits over at gaming blog The Alexandrian. Slightly NSFW due to cursing.

this guy doesn't read much clamp, does he?

Yeah, I thought that too (though his review did make me laugh).

he also missed the part where they came up with the killswitch idea because otherwise the chobits race would essentially be a race of sex slaves.

Also missed out on the popularity of the no sex for you trope.

[Lemmy Z]

Well... "No Conventional Sex For You!" anyway... XD

(I did find Chobbits rather boring, though).

[Greylurker]

Well....kind of big news for anime streaming

To sum up Crunchyroll and Funimation just buddied up. Crunchy will handle the Subs, Funi will handle the Dubs

and customers get a much bigger library to pull from

[Freehold DM]

HOLY S&!+

[Freehold DM]

I finally get to watch the things Funimation snapped up and made sure noone would be able to see and SUBTITLED for the love of god!!!!!!!!

[Rednal]

I'm very happy for both sub and dub fans. XD

(I have no real preference, myself, aside from a leaning towards dub for comedy titles.)

[Alzrius]

WOOOOOT!!!

Freakin' booyah!!!

As a subs fan with a Crunchyroll subscription, and who has long wished to access the stuff on Funimation but didn't want to manage another subscription (particularly since, unlike Crunchyroll, Funimation doesn't have a channel that I can load onto my TV via my WiiU), this makes me so deliriously happy!

[Lemmy Z]

I just checked the latest Bersek series... And while the art is pretty good, the animation is so weird. They went overboard with CGI, so every characters moves like a robot. :/

[Greylurker]

Lemmy Z wrote:

I just checked the latest Bersek series... And while the art is pretty good, the animation is so weird. They went overboard with CGI, so every characters moves like a robot. :/

Yeah it's not great animation wise but the original work really shines through despite it, especially after they get past the intro stuff and start the Tower of Conviction Arc. In someways it really shows you the strength ofthe original work

[Lemmy Z]

Greylurker wrote:

Lemmy Z wrote:

I just checked the latest Bersek series... And while the art is pretty good, the animation is so weird. They went overboard with CGI, so every characters moves like a robot. :/

Yeah it's not great animation wise but the original work really shines through despite it, especially after they get past the intro stuff and start the Tower of Conviction Arc. In someways it really shows you the strength o fthe original work

I just want this manga to end. I've been reading this b#*#&!~% since I was in highschool! :(

[Sundakan]

Finally got around to watching the first episode of Asura's Wrath. It was pretty good, I think I'll continue watching.

[Lemmy Z]

They made an anime out of it? That's a pretty cool idea, considering watching the game was more fun than actually playing it. :P

[Sundakan]

Lemmy Z wrote:

They made an anime out of it?

What do you mean?

It was always an anime.

[Alzrius]

Sundakan wrote:

Lemmy Z wrote:

They made an anime out of it?

What do you mean?

It was always an anime.

To the best of my knowledge, it's a video game. That there's an anime adaptation of it is news to me.

[Sundakan]

*Whoosh*

[Aziraya Zhwan]

Just did a quick google search and I can't find any anime adaptations for Asura's Wrath, although there are a couple links of playthroughs of the game that people are calling the "anime" of it for some reason.

I'm one of those people who binge watch entire seasons at a time after the season ends, so right now a lot of things on my watch-list are annoying me a bit with their non-standard season lengths. Things like the latest season of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Rakshasa Street, and Re:Zero are throwing me for a loop.

I'm also waiting for the latest season of D.Gray-Man, Mob Psycho 100, and Tales of Zestiria to finish up.

As this is my first post in here I guess I'll post a couple things that I consider hidden gems that I haven't heard talk of much at all.

Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis:

Only one season that wraps itself up quite nicely. The main character is very different than most protagonists. He's the lovable rogue character that you usually see as a side-character. The plot revolves around the main character trying to swindle an attractive woman but ends up getting more than he bargained for, getting sucked into the middle of a war between angels, demons, and humans.

Zetman:

Another anime that only has a single season. I consider this anime a brilliant bridge between old-school style of anime and modern anime. The art style is very reminiscent of much older titles but with the cleaner lines you see in modern titles. It's a bit of a trope-killer in the sense that certain characters are designed to be stereotypical archetypes on purpose in order to open a bit of dialogue on what makes a character a true hero.

[Freehold DM]

Started watching testament of new devil.

So much cheesecake.

I truly love it.

[Rednal]

@Aziraya: If you watch the game's playthroughs, you'll understand. XD It's really not so much a game as it is a series of occasionally-interactive cutscenes, split into 'episodes'.

[Aziraya Zhwan]

Ah, I see. Kind of an annoying mislabeling to someone who hasn't seen much of the game itself (like myself), but I can appreciate a tongue-in-cheek joke for the ones who know what they're looking for.

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

[Grey Lensman]

Freehold DM wrote:

Started watching testament of new devil.

So much cheesecake.

I truly love it.

I used to like it, but lost respect once I watched the writer's earlier series Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero.

He recycled so much from the first series into the second that if a different author had done so I'm pretty sure an infringement lawsuit could have been filed.

[Rednal]

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

Hmm... Dog Days? The protagonist is a summoned Hero (not the best in the world he's summoned to, but immensely better than the rank-and-file), and the series as a whole is generally optimistic and fun, particularly from Season 2 onwards. The first two seasons are up on Crunchyroll.

[Aziraya Zhwan]

Rednal wrote:

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

Hmm... Dog Days? The protagonist is a summoned Hero (not the best in the world he's summoned to, but immensely better than the rank-and-file), and the series as a whole is generally optimistic and fun, particularly from Season 2 onwards. The first two seasons are up on Crunchyroll.

Thanks, I'll put it in my bookmarks to watch soon.

[Lemmy Z]

Alzrius wrote:

Sundakan wrote:

Lemmy Z wrote:

They made an anime out of it?

What do you mean?

It was always an anime.

To the best of my knowledge, it's a video game. That there's an anime adaptation of it is news to me.

Not your best Sense Motive roll, huh?

;)

[Here4daFreeSwag]

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

Rednal wrote:

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

Hmm... Dog Days? The protagonist is a summoned Hero (not the best in the world he's summoned to, but immensely better than the rank-and-file), and the series as a whole is generally optimistic and fun, particularly from Season 2 onwards. The first two seasons are up on Crunchyroll.

Thanks, I'll put it in my bookmarks to watch soon.

How's about Funimation's The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. or Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan.

Like Mob 100, Saiki's own psionic/psychic abilities are rather unparalleled (His narrations breaking the fourth wall, notwithstanding) but unlike Mob 100, Saiki's big concern is just to lead a relatively normal slice of life existence- when he's not having to deal with his classmates, family, a failed stage magician, ghosts, or even the local stray alley-cat. ;)

Depending on the formats out there, you could watch it dubbed, subbed, in snippets of under 10 minutes, or as a full episode with an OP and Ed.

[Alzrius]

Grey Lensman wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Started watching testament of new devil.

So much cheesecake.

I truly love it.

I used to like it, but lost respect once I watched the writer's earlier series Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero.

He recycled so much from the first series into the second that if a different author had done so I'm pretty sure an infringement lawsuit could have been filed.

I think that it was a learning experience for the writer. I hated Aesthetica, but found Sister New Devil much more palatable.

[Alzrius]

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Overlord.

[Freehold DM]

Grey Lensman wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Started watching testament of new devil.

So much cheesecake.

I truly love it.

I used to like it, but lost respect once I watched the writer's earlier series Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero.

He recycled so much from the first series into the second that if a different author had done so I'm pretty sure an infringement lawsuit could have been filed.

this happens in the field a lot. I love gunnm/battle angel alita, but the creator made two different manga with two different endings due to a combination of illness and wanting to end the series so he could work on something else.

[Aziraya Zhwan]

Alzrius wrote:

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

By the way, does anyone have any recommendations for series with the main protagonist being tastefully and/or playfully overpowered? Things like One Punch Man, Boku no Hero Academia, or Problem Children are Coming From Another World?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Overlord.

I quite enjoyed Overlord. I'm sad that it was only a single season. On the site that I watch it on, someone kept leaving posts in the comments telling people stuff that was left out of the anime from the manga. It was mainly explanation stuff about how the game mechanics crossed over into the new world and other really interesting (although ultimately unneeded) background information. It really helped flesh out Overlord for me.

[Rednal]

As usual, the best version of a story tends to be the novel - and Overlord isn't an exception to that. XD It has the most detail of all of the formats - and it's officially licensed, no less, so you can get it online, from your local bookstore, or from the library. It's definitely worth doing if you like the series.

[Alzrius]

Rednal wrote:

As usual, the best version of a story tends to be the novel - and Overlord isn't an exception to that. XD It has the most detail of all of the formats - and it's officially licensed, no less, so you can get it online, from your local bookstore, or from the library. It's definitely worth doing if you like the series.

The light novels (which I concur are the best format to enjoy Overlord in) are very slowly being officially published in English. That said, the fan community is far ahead of them (and has translated several supplementary materials that the official translations aren't touching).

[Grey Lensman]

Alzrius wrote:

Grey Lensman wrote:

Freehold DM wrote:

Started watching testament of new devil.

So much cheesecake.

I truly love it.

I used to like it, but lost respect once I watched the writer's earlier series Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero.

He recycled so much from the first series into the second that if a different author had done so I'm pretty sure an infringement lawsuit could have been filed.

I think that it was a learning experience for the writer. I hated Aesthetica, but found Sister New Devil much more palatable.

One thing Aesthetica had that I truly enjoyed is how the main character managed to always humiliate anyone who tried the abuse-kun approach, and made it more humiliating when they kept it up. I watched too many shows in a row with tsycho-tsuns to the point where seeing them suffer actually makes me happy.

[Alzrius]

Grey Lensman wrote:

One thing Aesthetica had that I truly enjoyed is how the main character managed to always humiliate anyone who tried the abuse-kun approach, and made it more humiliating when they kept it up. I watched too many shows in a row with tsycho-tsuns to the point where seeing them suffer actually makes me happy.

He did that because he wanted to be the only one occupying that particular niche. He even stated it flat-out; I remember some line of his that went something like "No one, except me, is allowed to make such a pretty girl cry."

[Rednal]

Speaking of novels, I also recommend Psycho Love Comedy. It's... pretty much exactly what it sounds like. The main character is framed for murder and sent to a prison school for 'rehabilitation', surrounded by people who are outright insane and possibly lying pretty much all the time, plus a brutally aggressive teaching staff... and yet it's still a hilarious rom-com. XD I believe the series is complete at six volumes, so it's probably not going to be animated. The second volume comes out in English next month.

[Sundakan]

Aziraya Zhwan wrote:

Ah, I see. Kind of an annoying mislabeling to someone who hasn't seen much of the game itself (like myself), but I can appreciate a tongue-in-cheek joke for the ones who know what they're looking for.

It is a mislabeling only technically, pretty much. It is very cutscene heavy with simplistic gameplay (most of which boils down to QTEs), and is very clearly trying to be an anime.

It even has mid-rolls and "next time on" segments between episodes, with some episodes ending on a cliffhanger and a "To Be Continued".

I'd check out a silent LP of it some time and pretend it's a CG animated anime, because it basically is.

[Grey Lensman]

Alzrius wrote:

Grey Lensman wrote:

One thing Aesthetica had that I truly enjoyed is how the main character managed to always humiliate anyone who tried the abuse-kun approach, and made it more humiliating when they kept it up. I watched too many shows in a row with tsycho-tsuns to the point where seeing them suffer actually makes me happy.

He did that because he wanted to be the only one occupying that particular niche. He even stated it flat-out; I remember some line of his that went something like "No one, except me, is allowed to make such a pretty girl cry."

True, but I had watched 5 series (or parts of, to be honest) that featured the protagonist being beaten unmercifully for the yuks in rapid succession. I still am hoping to find an anime with an abusive girlfriend who gets jilted at the end solely because of how abusive she is - preferably with a damning 'reason you suck' speech to drive the point home.

I thought no one could be worse than Louise the Zero, then I saw Haruna from Is This A Zombie?

[Aranna]

Rednal wrote:

As usual, the best version of a story tends to be the novel - and Overlord isn't an exception to that. XD It has the most detail of all of the formats - and it's officially licensed, no less, so you can get it online, from your local bookstore, or from the library. It's definitely worth doing if you like the series.

There was a novel?

Actually I got kind of bored with Overlord. I can totally see how others would love it being a power trip fantasy. But I found it to be ... dry? Is that the right word? It lacked the conflict that would keep me on the edge of my seat. You knew going into every situation he was going to stomp it flat somehow.

[Alzrius]

Grey Lensman wrote:

True, but I had watched 5 series (or parts of, to be honest) that featured the protagonist being beaten unmercifully for the yuks in rapid succession. I still am hoping to find an anime with an abusive girlfriend who gets jilted at the end solely because of how abusive she is - preferably with a damning 'reason you suck' speech to drive the point home.

I can understand that. When you watch enough of something that you start to become tired of it, it's not-unexpected that you'd want to go looking for the opposite as a palate cleanser.

That said, the best "stop acting like a trope" smackdown that immediately comes to my mind is the scene from When Supernatural Battles Became Commonplace, when Hatoko - an archetypal nice, quiet girl - finally loses her temper with Jurai's chuunibyou and starts screaming at him about how she doesn't understand why he's attracted to so much dark, gothic stuff.

[Alzrius]

Aranna wrote:

There was a novel?

Actually I got kind of bored with Overlord. I can totally see how others would love it being a power trip fantasy. But I found it to be ... dry? Is that the right word? It lacked the conflict that would keep me on the edge of my seat. You knew going into every situation he was going to stomp it flat somehow.

The novels (as with so many series) came first; in fact, the series was a web-novel before it became a light novel series, after which a manga and an anime were created.

Insofar as the power-fantasy nature of Overlord goes, it definitely is that, but what made it so incredible (to my mind) was that it handled it so differently than most. I also tend to get bored of "invincible protagonist" series - where's the drama when there's no tension due to (the illusion of) the possibility of loss? How can victories mean anything if they're so effortlessly acquired? - and so was surprised and fascinated when Overlord didn't bore me.

It's hard to explain why, but I think that it has to do with how the main character approaches the situations he finds himself in. That is, he acts with extreme caution in every situation, even when he has good reason to believe otherwise. Because he takes nothing for granted, he puts himself in the position of a potential underdog due to taking measures befitting of someone in the inferior, rather than vastly superior, position. Hence, his victories still feel as though they were earned, rather than being inevitabilities.

Moreover, his motivation for doing so is plausible. Not only is this the strategies that he learned through long hours of playing his MMORPG, but he is very worried about acting in a manner that could potentially disillusion him in the eyes of his subordinates, possibly to the point of causing a rebellion, which would be a serious problem, since they have power comparable to his own. Hence, he treats failure as being a very real, very threatening possibility. He can't just win; he has to look good doing it (and everything else).

Speaking of which, only sixteen more days until the next volume releases! I can't wait!