Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Finished Guilty Crown yesterday, and it was a load of crap just as I expected. I'm seriously punching my brother, who talked me into giving it a chance because Inori did "interesting stuff". spoiler[Badoozles, all she did was become bipolar, then spend half the show being someone's bride/girlfriend/hostage/prize. Though I'll admit Gai looked pretty handsome after he was resucitated]
I've now picked up Kaicho wa Maid-sama, and I'm around episode 7. It's OK I guess, I really like Misaki, her design is very pretty and I love her independent personality. Usui is your typical shojo knight in shining armor yet kind of mean and possessive, which I guess is OK too, I'm a girl and it satisfies me enough. Also really loved episode 5, spoiler[where Misaki was about to get attacked by some perverts and it seemed like Usui was going to rescue her, yet she got out of the problem all by herself and kicked the creeps' asses, that was pretty cool.] Now that I'm in vacation, if everything goes according to plan, I should be able to catch up with Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun this week, which I've been wanting to watch for a while with all the good things I've heard from it recently. |
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ssandulak
Posts: 128 Location: BC Canada |
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So...what I'm still watching:
Robotics;Notes - Characters are still entertaining and the story has started to show a bit of depth with some mystery showing through the cracks. Aki is still awesome and you can't help but be caught up in her pace. Chuunibyou - Still gorgeous to look at, and I laugh, hard, at least twice an episode. It had a bit of a stumble on one dramatic turn a couple episodes back but it has since used that fodder and provided some emotional punch too. Fukuyama Jun + middle school syndrome means I'll be watching this till it ends. Magi - The characters designs are still fairly simple, but when they move...eye exploding goodness. The initial set up arcs were hit or miss but I eagerly await this show every week and the time watching seems to pass in the blink of an eye. Watch if you're in the mood for some good Shonen and likeable characters. Zetsuen no Tempest - Still holding my interest and it genuinely surprises me in that it goes in directions different than you expect but still seems to make sense. Bones so of course when things do start to move, you get their trademark flair. Shinsekai Yori - Another show that you don't really know which direction it is going to take. Interesting characters and world they've built up. Some pretty crazy direction on a couple of the episodes too that I'm sure a lot of people either love or hate. Jormungand - Such a fun show. Every week it's a good watch and the only real downside is having to wait another week for that arc to continue/finish. Characters are interesting, and are being fleshed out more this season. But just going through it in my head, even the minor characters we don't know a lot about are interesting. We want to know more about them and see them more often (Chiquita please!). Psycho Pass - Well, perhaps expectations were a bit too high going into this one. As Urobuchi has written or had works adapted from two of my favourite series in the last couple years (Madoka and Fate/Zero) I was expecting better. So far it's not bad, but it doesn't grip you like those did. It starts off heavy in exposition and the characters making questionable decisions for plot or explanations sake. That being said, it's coming up to the half way point and I'm still watching. It has a genuinely interesting world I'd like to know more about and the characters COULD be interesting...if they are given half a chance and fleshed out some more. Art style throwing some people off, but I actually like the character designs so... Others include: Suki-tte Ii na yo - Good shoujo, more realistic than some and still fairly interesting. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun - Another good shoujo, but drastically different in tone from the above. More on the comedy side but still has those heart tugging moments and good characters. Btooom! - Didn't think I would still be watching it, but it's surprised me and I still am. Art is passable if not amazing, characters are actually growing/becoming likeable, and it's moving at a pretty brisk pace too. Shows that have been dropped/haven't caught up on: K - Nothing really wrong with it so far...stylish as all hell in the visual sense. Just a little behind on watching. Not really a show I'm considering dropping just yet. Little Busters - On the chopping block. First big arc didn't land for me. While some of the characters are interesting they're really more like anime stereotypes than characters. You have the shy loli, the strong dumb one, the quiet foil to the strong dumb one, the clumsy girl, the foreigner (who doesn't have blonde hair for once...), and I could go on. I'll give it a couple more to see where I stand...but it'll have to have an amazing turnaround for me to continue watching. Sword Art Online - Wow...just wow. I'm going to include the next bit in spoilers as I don't want to ruin anything for anybody. Keep in mind I don't really spell EVERYTHING out in detail, just some of the main plot points. spoiler[/start rant... Never again will I be so excited to see something so hyped as this. This author has now failed me twice and I can only surmise their stories just aren't for me. First Accel world with the crazy wish fulfillment story of the only perma chibi fat character building a harem and being surrounded by probably the largest population of bishounen/bishoujo outside of a Clamp manga/show (who I love, so don't press the hate button yet). Then comes SAO. The first arc started off okay, the premise, like Accel, sounded interesting on paper and in practice was coming across competently done and flat out gorgeous in some places. They were going along at a bit of a brisk pace, but there were some twists and turns that bucked my expectations...good, good start. It's still sort of bugging me with the all powerful main character being protected by plot armor, but I can forgive it because it's done pretty well. Then the first arc wraps up (with another pretty big twist that I actually enjoyed) and I'm anxious to see what happens next. Are they going to perhaps show some of the aftermath, maybe some of these people trying to reintegrate into the world or going about their daily lives again? No, they dive back into another game world almost immediately. Only this time, the threat of death isn't there so all tension is immediately gone. The MC goes about trying to rescue his wife from a villain who's motivations are so bad, so 1 dimensional that I liken him to those old school Mustache twirling villains that tied damsels to train tracks. The MC's wife? The previously strong willed, fairly competent woman who was powerful in her own right before? Well she's now stuck in a pretty dress, in a cage, sulking and crying at her hopeless situation. To be fair, her character took a downturn in the last half of the first arc as well, where she turned into more of a plot device who the MC had to protect...but at least they give some reason for that. And characterization as a whole just took a huge downturn. Tension disappeared and we're left with a decent looking show where the characters make ridiculous decisions and are protected by plot armor. Every woman is a crazy stereotype (loli, big breasted quiet one, tsundere) and the romance aspect gets dropped out the window. In exactly 0 cases do people think the MC is going to switch from his wife to his cousin(?) and just run off into the sunset. Oh but that doesn't stop him from seemingly tossing his goal of rescuing his wife out the window. Don't mind that there is a brief window to save her before mustachio the villain marries the girl in a coma (W...T...F...). No no, you have just a week to save her, by all MEANS, drop that semi important bit for what amounts to an in-game squabble... In any case, the rant has been going on for a while, so I'll end it with SAO's version of security: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6mN0MGhOqE /end rant ] To end things on a more positive note: I had finally received my LE set of Katanagatari from Rightstuf a while back and got around to rewatching them. Just as awesome as I remember it. Visuals are striking, characters are amazing and show actual growth and it actually ends really well. I'll just say that anyone not moved by "Cheerio" is made of stone, because Togame and Shichika...are glorious. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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It's a good show, one of the best this season. The characters are fresh takes on old archetypes, and though the story is fairly standard the way it is presented is really quirky and interesting. I'm delighted that you're giving the show a chance. |
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rheiders
 Posts: 1137 Location: Colorful Colorado :) |
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That was one of my favorite parts as well. As problematic as this series can be (Can you say All Amazons Want Hercules?), it was nice to see Misaki kick some ass. 
I'm also glad you're giving Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun a shot. It's really sweet and genuine, and I like how it explores a lot of different kinds of loneliness^^ |
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Crisha
Moderator
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Well, I might as well give my opinion of the Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies 1 and 2 that I just saw last night.
First of all, the theater I went to was better than what I was expecting. Being a very niche movie, I was worried about the quality after hearing complaints from other people about the theaters they went to. While this theater wasn't the biggest one I've been to, it was still decently sized with stadium seats. And I have no complaints about the sound system either - it was loud. Overall, I had no troubles immersing myself into the movies. And, luckily, the crowd was quite nice as well. There were a few chuckles here and there for certain scenes, but for the most part everyone was quiet and respectful of the other fans. I was worried about getting some jackasses in the crowd who didn't know when to shut up, but no issues there. Now, for the movies themselves. I'm not going to go into detail about the changes in the movie. For anyone who wants to know them, there are in depth analyses here and here. You even get picture comparisons. I'm just going to briefly touch upon some changes that left an impression on me, and then judge the overall product and how it did as a whole. Anyways, as anyone could guess, some new scenes were added, some scenes were removed, and some scenes were adjusted/moved around. For fans of transformation scenes, every girl except Madoka had an elaborate transformation scene. Mami even got two! I definitely appreciated that fanservice. As for the scenes that were cut out, none of them were really important and helped the pace move a bit quicker. There might be only one scene I disagree with being removed, spoiler[the dream sequence at the beginning], if only because of the foreshadowing (plus Madoka's scene with Sayaka and Hitomi where she talks about having a dream about Homura is still left within the move, which makes it a reference we don't visibly see anymore), but I don't feel strongly about it. Having it start with a normal day for Madoka, where everything is bright and chipper, really helps contrast well with the way the first movie ends. Overall, I commend the team for really doing a good job at making the movie flow and feel like a movie instead of just episodes spliced together. For the most part, all of the changes helped make it more streamlined. For example, spoiler[Kyuubey taking Sayaka's soul gem on the roof of the hospital was juxtaposed with Kyousuke playing on the roof to demonstrate what Sayaka sacrificed for him at the same location just earlier.] There was only one point in the movie where I thought the shift in scenes might have been a bit shaky, and that is the shift from episode 9 to episode 10. spoiler[After Kyouko and Sayaka's death, I think the scene eventually shifts to a graveyard filled with gravestones that look like crosses. The camera sloooowly pans across the graveyard, which is shades of black amongst a red sun backdrop, until we come across Homura talking with Kyuubey. Instead of Homura's room, this is where they have their conversation about Kyuubey's reasons for not telling Kyouko that it wasn't possible to bring Sayaka back. It ends with Homura telling Kyuubey that she won't allow Madoka to contract, and then the scene pans out of the graveyard before shifting again. It shows Homura walking in the distance across the screen that's bare except for one tree (and now that I think about it, I think this tree bears resemblance to the tree that shows up in the timeline where Madoka didn't know Homura until she came upon her fighting and made the wish that allowed her to beat Walpurgis in one shot). She's walking against a wind strong enough to blow her hair straight back in a nearly horizontal position. I vaguely remember a close-up of her when she finally comes up to the tree, touches it, and moves on - my memory's a bit fuzzy here, so this may not be entirely exact. Eventually, the scene changes so that she's walking amongst several trees, but this time her hair is in pigtails. Overall, I'd have to say that Homura walking alone takes up nearly an entire minute of the movie. Or at least it feels like it. Next, the scene changes again to Madoka, Sayaka, and Hitomi playing around and giggling during the walk to school, similar to the beginning of the first movie, until the bell rings. And then everything replays as it did at the beginning of the movie (teacher complaining about the proper way to fry an egg) except this time it's Homura's first timeline where she's shy and Madoka is confident. It's very artistic and stylistically done. The visuals really help bring out the mood (the red tones and graveyard for Kyuubey and Homura's confrontation, and then the bare, sparse look to really emphasize Homura's desolation and loneliness as she continues walking against the wind), but the very slow, languid pace that portion has contrasts very sharply with the rest of the movie. The very artsy style mixed with the symbolism and little action on screen might be enough to destroy the mood and take someone out of the move.] The new animation is gorgeous, however, and I think really helped make some parts even better. For example, episode 9, spoiler[the fight between Octavia and Kyouko. The battle felt even more dramatic to me. When Octavia picked up Madoka, additional animation was added where her hand slowly tightened after Madoka tried talking to her. Even in the bluray release for the series, the hand mostly stays static. For the movie, it actually looks like Octavia is trying to squeeze her to death.] Y'know, just little things like that which help set the mood. The music for the movies is gorgeous. I can't go into much analysis here since I don't have a strong musical background, but I was able to pick out some differences. Clearly, Magia isn't used as much since the entire story is only split up into two parts instead of twelve. And the ending of the first movie plays the entire Magia song with additional silhouettes of magical girls spoiler[(some I'm guessing are the magical girl forms for the witches we see).] The opening song, Connect, with the opening animation takes place during the transition between episodes 10 and 11. Some of the animation was changed for this portion as well, with scenes of Homura being lonely replacing scenes of Madoka up until the part where Madoka is hiding underneath the covers of the bed. Afterwards, I think all of the animation for the opening is the same as in the series. There is only one scene in the movie I remember where I disliked the modifications to the music, and it's when spoiler[Homura has lost hope and her soul gem starts to blacken before Madoka shows up]. I loved the original music in that scene, and the change is just, augh no. In regards to voice acting, a lot of the voice acting from the main characters, especially for some of the more emotional scenes, were re-recorded. Since I can't do a side-by-side comparison, I can't tell you if one was better or another. However, someone who re-watched all of the episodes and saw both movies twice when they were released in Japan did a very thorough blog of all of the changes in both movies, and in her opinion she felt that the voice acting had a lot more emotion behind it in the movies. The only scene that really stands out in my mind is when spoiler[Octavia is squeezing Madoka to death, and Kyouko screams Sayaka's name.] She sounded really angry there, more that I remembered, and it just made the scene even better. Overall, if I were to choose to watch either the series or the movies from now on, I would choose the movies. The additional animation really helps spruce the scenes up, the transformation scenes were great fanservice, and the efforts put forth to cutting/adjusting scenes really helped it move smoothly. I think that Madoka is better told and experienced with fewer interruptions (2 movies vs. 12 episodes), and having the first movie lead up to spoiler[Sayaka's demise] just feels natural and very dramatic. Now, of course, the best experience I ever had with Madoka Magica was my first one, where I watched fansubs of the episodes as they were being released in Japan. However, a large portion of my enjoyment was due to interacting with the fandom and analyzing each episode for clues and trying to predict what was going to happen next. Since I'm never going to be able to repeat that experience, I'll stick with the finished product that I feel is best. So for future re-watches, I'll mostly stick to the movies. Now, for those out there who have never seen Puella Magi Madoka Magica before and are wondering which version to see first (fansubs of the original broadcast, DVD/BD version of the 12 episodes, or the movies), all I can say is that there is no real wrong way to see the series. I hope that people out there would choose the legal option whenever available, but in terms of storytelling all three still leave a strong impact. The changes only help enhance (or occasionally detract) the experience, but all three are effective. For my personal preference, if I was ever introducing the series to a friend, I would probably choose the movies. Now, should you see it in theaters or wait to buy the DVD/BD release later? (I have a pretty good feeling that AoA will be giving it an R1/Region A release) Well, there's always the potential to save money if you see it now and determine it's not good enough to warrant a purchase later than if you blind bought it later on down the road. For those who are already fans of the series and are wondering if it's worthwhile to see the movies in theaters, I give it a recommendation with a caveat. One's enjoyment is probably directly correlated with the quality of the theater. If you're in a room no larger than your living room with tiny speakers that aren't surround sound, well, then the $20 might not be worth the experience. It would probably be better to just wait and see if you can get it on DVD/BD. It also depends upon the reasons you're going to see the series. Is it just to see Madoka on the big screen? Is it just because you love the series that much? Is it because you want to see first hand the differences in comparison with the series? Is it for the group fan experience? Is it to potentially see previews for the 3rd movie? Well, first of all, we didn't get the preview for the 3rd movie, which seems to be the general feedback from most people seeing the movies now. So go in with the expectation that you won't see it. Secondly, I went just because I love the series that much (pre-ordered all three AoA limited editions without a second thought) and I really wanted to see it on the big screen, and it was well worth it. My friend, who has only seen the series once just recently, came along with me and she enjoyed it as well. Overall, best tv series to movie adaptation I've seen yet, enough that I'll watch the movies for future re-watches of Madoka Magica. Grade: 10/10 Rating: Masterpiece EDIT: Added a bit more detail. |
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wanderlustking
 Posts: 449 Location: Bozeman, Montana |
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Oh em gee! Nichijou is basically condensed goodness. There is literally nothing bad I can say about it so far. If I could crush it into a fine powder and snort it, I bet the resulting clarity would allow me to resurrect my dead wife.
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shamisen the great
 Posts: 658 Location: Oregon, USA |
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Just finished No. 6. Wow. I see what people where talking about with it having wasted potential. Up until the last two episodes I was really enjoying the show. I think if it had been paced out a little better the ending would have been okay, but as it stands it's a rushed mess with plenty of wtf moments. I still cautiously give the show a decent rating because I liked the characters and the animation; but I can't in good conscience recommend buying the show.
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Tris8
 Posts: 2114 Location: Where the rain is. |
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Dang, that sucks that Pandora Hearts trips a bit on the ending. Finals just ended so I can finally get back to watching it! |
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Kyoyafangirl445
Posts: 11 |
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Yawara! A fashionable judo girl! Ep. 1-5: It’s about a young woman named Yawara Inokuma, who has been trained in Judo all her life by her grandfather, who was also a judo master. Yawara, however, just wants to be a normal girl, go to school, fall in love, and get a boyfriend. This isn’t her grandfather’s plan for her, though, and he will do everything he can to make sure that his dream for her comes true.
I decided to blind buy this on RS since it was only ten dollars, and I had heard that it was quite good. I’m quite glad I did and I ended up watching five episodes instead of just one, which is what I had originally planned. Would have watched more but I really needed to get back to studying for finals. When finals are over I’m definitely going to pick this one back up again. I just wish that the company would have been able to pick up all 124 episodes instead of just the first 40. This means I’m going to have to resort to fansubs for episodes 41-124. Oh well, This is a fun series so far, and I’m glad that I took the plunge and decided to buy it. Rose of Versaille Ep. 1-5: It’s about a young woman named Oscar who was raised as a man by her father in 18th century France. She eventually becomes head of the Palace Guard and is in charge of guarding the Dauphin’s bride, Marie Antoinette, future queen of France. I had been curious about this series since I heard that Noizomi had plans to release it on DVD and would be streaming it on Viki. Before I preordered it I wanted to see the first few episodes and, it is AMAZING. I really like the period before and during the French Revolution and I like how the anime seems to capture the feel of the French court and all the drama that goes on. I also like Oscar as a character and I think she may become one of my favorite female leads along with Utena from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Also, the roses in the opening remind me of Utena and of Ouran High School Host Club. I can’t wait to see more and I have put in my preorder for both boxsets.
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Watched Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still, after seeing a couple people list at as possibly the best giant robot show. I think I can see where they were coming from. While it starts off with a pretty standard forces of good vs. forces of evil story with the characters on both sides having a veritable menagerie of super powers, by the third episode, there has been enough character development to have a few protagonists struggling over their purpose and/or motivation. Then as the consequences grow increasingly dire spoiler[and the body count rises], the villains start questioning the plan when they're hit as hard with the collateral damage as everyone else.
At one point, a character points out to the protagonist that his motivation is the same as the primary antagonist (fulfilling their respective fathers' dying wish). It makes an effort to call into question which side is really right. For all the action, drama, and buckets of tears, there are a couple of flaws that, in retrospect, hold it back. First spoiler[with all the super-powered individuals, it's very tricky to figure out when someone is dead, or whether they'll merely need to be bandaged up for a while. Characters on both sides can turn out to be less dead than they initially appear, and it's not always even clear when we're supposed to think they're dead. One instance has two characters caught in the same explosion while grappling in combat. One ends up unequivocally dead, and the other comes out only slightly worse for wear. At times, it feels a little like an emotional betrayal to weep over a character's sacrifice, then a few scenes later learn that it was merely a flesh wound.] That is something of a minor point compared to the other, larger flaw. The entire plot relies on spoiler[the villain misunderstanding his father's dying wish and what gathering all 3 samples and activating them would do. There isn't really a good reason for this, especially since the father had made a recorded message explaining his exact intentions, but arranged for it to be played only after doing something EVERYONE else in the world believed would render the planet devoid of oxygen. Ironically, had the heroes simply surrendered the final sample to begin with, untold loss of life could easily have been prevented.] |
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CrowLia
Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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Recently marathoned Tsuritama, it was a load of quirky fun. I liked the original premise, and how the characters are so passionate about fishing, I could've never imagined there was so much technique to it. It was a very fun ride and I really liked the animation of Yuki "drowning" when he felt panicky.
Also started watching Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere S2. I'm up to episode 8 and while most of it doesn't make any sense at all, I'm just taking it as mindless fun at this point. I really enjoy the fights, they're pretty cool. I'm going to admit I'm enjoying it a lot more than I ever thought I would, thought the giga-balloonic boobs still give me some huge creeps
Yeah, I'm already around episode 13, and that part seems still to be the best of the lot. I don't mind your everyday shojo romance, with a handsome knight in shining armor, but I'm starting to get ticked off at Usui saving Misaki's ass everytime and being so condescending towards her. Something I like about this season's shojos (SukiNaYo and Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun which I just started) is that both parts seem to stand on equal grounding. In Kaichou wa Maid-sama, even with Misaki's huge independence and constant despondence towards men, she appears completely inferior and helpless when it comes to Usui
I'm glad too, even if I'm already packed with shows LOL. I just watched the first two episodes, and I like the series' energetic vibe and its general quirkiness. |
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RGaspar
 Posts: 236 |
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Finally got the chance to watch more anime.
RahXephon: What started as an Evangelion clone quickly grew some wings by its own. It's a nice tale of love disguised as a so-so mecha/end of the world story. I liked most characters and the overall sense of consistency and planification of the whole thing. That's something its relative NGE can't say. Final Score: Good (7/10) Blue Submarine Nº 6: What the hell?! It's been a while since I've seen something THIS bad. Stereotypes and ugly use of 3D animation abound here. I think they tried to send some sort of "message" about pacific coexistence of different races, but ended up as an epic fail in all fronts. Everyone either hated or loved the main character for no apparent reason. There's a shark-guy that looks like the lost character of Street Sharks, and the only good thing about the series (a cute fish-girl called "Mutio") was given very little screen time. Final Score: Bad (3/10) @ CrowLia: Glad to hear you enjoyed Tsuritama. I think it's one of the hidden gems of this year, because it didn't have the public awareness of other shows. Yuki's drowning animation was fantastic. |
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TootsieRoll
 Posts: 5 |
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Just started watching Elfen Lied. It's nothing like I have seen before. Within the first two minutes boobies were shown and heads were chopped off. It's awesome. Lucy is a real badass.
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Assuming you have only watched the first episode, there are two things you have to watch out for in the rest of the show. The first thing is that the Harem antics can get old, fast. The cousin (I think her name is Yuka) is an annoying shrew for a few episodes and Lucy acts all infantile for much of the series. The second thing is that the rest of the show is usually not as violent as you would think based on the opening minutes of the first episode. However, there's one scene in the middle of the series involving spoiler[a puppy and some children that is probably the most infamous scene in the entire series (even moreso than the opening seven minutes). The scene has been known to make even hardened souls avert their eyes. Since you loved the opening rampage I don't think you'll have much trouble with the puppy scene,] but nevertheless you have been warned. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23796 |
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Warned? Spoiled is more like it. Do you have [insult removed]? Do you realize some people don't like to know about upcoming things? I've seen the series, so this is no big deal for me but try thinking about those who haven't. |
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