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I finished Kyousougiga at the beginning of this month. It is, at this moment, my favorite series of 2013, beating out the likes of Eccentric Family and Gatchaman Crowds. I loved every second of it - the family, the characters, the twisted storyline, the art style, the build-up, the climax, the underlying sadness and melancholy beneath all the bright, vibrant action. It was all gorgeous. I really appreciated that the series and characters acknowledged each other's flaws, especially the original Myōe spoiler[who I thought was creepy and psychopathic. I was worried for a while that all of his actions would just be justified and that there wasn't any reasoning behind his behavior. The reasoning is a bit muddled, but basically he's selfish, childish, and hates himself, and is really dependent upon others to save him from his situation despite never being vocal about it.] The last several episodes had amazing build-up and resolution. Of the characters, Koto and Yakushimaru were my favorites and I liked their dynamic and contrast. spoiler[Koto is a bright, vibrant personality whose powers revolve around destruction. Yakushimaru is cynical and wants to die, yet his powers revolve around creation. The series did a great job expressing the pain and horror of his past, which grew into a budding love for his new makeshift family.] Overall, it was an amazing series. I'm hoping that at least Siren Visual picks it up. I'd be over the moon if NISA did, though I'm not expecting it. Kyousougiga is an overlooked gem that I would like to see get more recognition.

Rating: 9/10 (though I'm considering bumping it up to 10/10 the more I let it settle).

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Also recently watched were the director's cut of Gatchaman Crowds episode 12 (which I went into detail in the series thread if anyone is interested in reading).

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And I just finished Blue Seed last night. Completed in two days (9 episodes the 1st night and 17 episodes the 2nd night).

Blue Seed reminds me how much I love Yuzo Takada. I've been a big fan of 3x3 Eyes since I first started reading Dark Horse's release of the manga in the early-to-mid 2000s. I liked the romance, I liked the gore, I liked the mythology, I liked the action, and I liked how he drew the characters ugly when the situation called for it (and not just for humor). From the art style to the monsters to certain themes and situations, Blue Seed is clearly a work of his. Of course, the manga is only two volumes, so I imagine a lot was added to pad the series out to 26 episodes. And sometimes those episodes dragged - some scenes felt too long or were out of place. But when the series got the mood and timing right, it really got it right. The animation gets really spare and the characters are off model in some episodes, but it all adds to the charm for me. The CG used for the OP is bug-futting-uckly though.

Blue Seed is kind of like the rest of 3x3 Eyes that will never get animated (the two 3x3 Eyes OVAs only cover 5 volumes of 40 total). Having read the manga and seen how it ends, I can tell you that there are many similarities between the two. spoiler[A god rising up in power to transform the world, a global crisis (3x3 Eyes did have a bit more scope than Blue Seed, since BS still stays mainly within Japan with some outside influence from the US), a major attack that starts transforming people into something else, big monsters, a female sacrifice (Pai/Parvati IV vs. Momiji), a male protector transformed into something more than human who's sworn to protect the female (Yakumo vs. Kusanagi). Also, both series play upon the two halfs of the same soul. While Momiji and Kaede were twin sisters who grew up separate, they still had a connection and ended up falling for the same guy. In 3x3 Eyes, Pai and Parvati IV (the Sanjiyan) share the same body but have separate personalities, and they also fall for the same guy. Parvati IV and Kaede have similar personalities (being the more powerful and cold/withdrawn of the two) and Pai and Momiji have very similar personalities. Also, Pai and Momiji are voiced by Megumi Hayashibara.]

I enjoyed the budding romance between Momiji and Kusanagi. It was sweet and filled with the right amount of drama due to the circumstances. The series was filled with a lot of awesome female characters, as it also common with Takada series (and another reason I like him), which I really appreciate. Even Momiji, who is not a fighter, isn't afraid to take action and do what she can to help. Sometimes it's picking up a dropped weapon and firing, sometimes it's throwing herself in the way to take the attack, often it's locating the enemies with her mitama. Yes, there are a lot of scenes where she needs to get rescued by Kusanagi, but I'll let you in on a little secret - female viewers can enjoy those scenes just as much even if the character becomes a damsel in distress. Where it annoys us (or at least me) is if that's all the character is and that's all the role she plays. Yes, Momiji gets rescued a lot, but she contributes quite a bit to the cause. Also, she's a developed character (if a bit simple and trope-y) instead of a stereotype, reward, goal, or vehicle to demonstrate the heroics of the male MC. What I like about these scenes is seeing the love interest get all worried. It adds to the romance seeing Kusanagi panicking, crying out her name, and jumping into action.

Have I mentioned how much I like the character art style? Cause I really like the character art style. A majority of the shows I've watched of late have been more recent anime made within the last few years. So to watch something from the mid-90s is a nice change of pace. Also, I just tend to like Yuzo's style (at least his earlier style... 3x3 Eyes really changed over time, and I can't say that I prefer his later style to his earlier one).

Another treat was the omake episodes, which were 13 3-min extras that were mostly gag mini-episodes. One made cracks about certain parts of a scene being drawn on cells or not such that the characters had to interract with the scene differently (a door that normally swings open slides to the side, the drawer than gets opened is the one that's more simply drawn so that the animators can easily redraw it). Another jokes about Megumi Hayashibara voicing Momiji. Some make cracks about how characters act or look (the great mysteries of life... why does Kusanagi have TWO eyebrows?). A few are wacky or experimental. And then there are two serious/sentimental ones - one where Momiji hums a song on a rainy day and one going a bit into the past of one of the characters. I love the omakes. I wish we could get more omakes like these like ones from Welcome to Lodoss! that came after every episode for the Record of Lodoss Wars TV series.

Overall, an entertaining series that I can definitely see myself rewatching.

Rating: 8/10

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Also, I watched the first 5 episodes of Martian Successor Nadesico. It has its great moments, but I'm just not feeling it like I did for Blue Seed. The juxtaposition of humor and drama just hasn't been mixing too well for me at times. Since this is taking place during a war, the serious moments can get pretty serious since a lot of character deaths (and survivors dealing with those deaths) are involved. I'd rather watch something that's mainly dramatic or action-packed filled with some humor here and there in a war story. The characters' personalities are often forsaken for the humor, which makes it harder to accept when things get dramatic and serious again. I know that the movie completely changes the tone of the series by going all dramatic, but I am skeptical that I'll like it more simply because of the big tonal shift (sucking out all of the fun of the original, which can be just as daunting and makes it hard to tie the two together and consider it from the same universe) and the fact that it is part of an incomplete story.

Having said all of that, I'm still enjoying the series (Yurika is cool if annoying at times, and the wide range of personalities is fun to watch). I'm just not as compelled to continue watching like I was with Blue Seed. Unless if something changes, I predict that Nadesico is going to be one of those one and done sort of series for me. Watch it and then sell it because I don't see myself rewatching it.

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And Petite Princess Yucie is still holding at 5 episodes for me. I started watching the series about a year ago and haven't budged. It's cute, but too much so and it is often times boring. But since I bought it, I'm gonna get through it somehow. I've been considering watching it from the last episode to where I stopped at, just to switch things up.

I'm almost done watching Divergence Eve. The first few episodes were a bit slow-moving, but the battle scenes were intense enough to keep myself interested. Overall, I enjoyed the show. I just wish the ending part of the episodes wasn't so fanservice-excessive.

My Rating: 4/5 stars.

Watched The Dog of Flanders (1997).

So depressing and sad, and yet because of that - because the tragedy is done so well and is so moving - it is so good too. I knew it was more than just a sweet family film when spoiler[the dog showed unmistakable signs of PTSD,] but I didn't realise that the story was going to go where it did. Although the original novel was written in 1872, there isn't a Victorian-style cop-out ending, oh no. You have been warned. I mean, how many movies spoiler[kill of the sweet little boy and his gentle dog, especially by having them freeze to death?]

The pacing is rather slow, and the visuals and audio comes across as fairly old-fashioned despite being made in '97. However if you want something with quite a bit of pathos then this is possibly the movie for you. Not quite on the level of Grave of the Fireflies but it's still very, very good.

Rating: Excellent

I'm halfway through watching Jormungand. Aside from Cowboy Bebop, I've never seen an anime show that was darker and so full of merciless action. The deadly gunfights were thrilling [and scary] to watch, particularly when they're occurring in the midst of a highway run.

My Rating: 5/5 stars.

Chiibi wrote:

Marathoning Attack On Titan now which was bound to happen. Just finished the scene where Levi spoiler[ beats the crap out of poor Eren ] which I enjoyed very much in a twisted way.
There's obviously something so wrong with me. :'D

THIS ANIME THOUGH.
No wonder everybody's going nuts for it. I wish it wasn't half-over. Sad

..........why did you change the OP song, anime staff? THAT OP WAS FINE THE WAY IT WAS. I WAS NOT TIRED OF IT.

It was so hard to watch just a few episodes at a time. My boyfriend and I kept saying, just one more episode... just one more. This was even when we needed to leave to meet people for dinner. Yes, we were a little late.

willag wrote:

Have I mentioned how much I like the character art style? Cause I really like the character art style. A majority of the shows I've watched of late have been more recent anime made within the last few years. So to watch something from the mid-90s is a nice change of pace.

I feel the same way. Blue Seed has a bunch of pluses to it... and the change from today's typical art style to the 90s is refreshing at times. The characters are endearing and the story holds your interest. Fine choice.

I watched Harmonie by Yasuhiro Yoshiura and as I expected it was really good.It shared some thematic similarities with his masterpiece Time of Eve.Like the entire idea behind Time of Eve and Harmonie were the social outcasts.However while the Time of Eve's story served as a metaphor for racial discrimination,Harmonie's was a fairly straightforward high school drama.Yoshiura captured all of the social cliques and atmosphere of classroom quite well.Unlike Seiji Kishi,he never exaggerated the social awkwardness of main character nor were there a moments in which the popular kid turned into a caricature.It was well written,I think the story flew naturally.
Unlike Time of Eve which was restrained in it's direction,Harmonie was heavily stylized.This approach hurt the story more then it helped it.It provided a weird contrast with the story,and let's not mention the unnecessary and confusing shaky cam that plagued the beginning of this OVA.There were times when it elevated emotional reactions though,such as the scene spoiler[when Makina slaps that dude or when she realizes that someone else shared her dream.]A lot of time it also felt like the voice actors were rushing through their act.It seemed as if some animator cut the corners with lips, and now voice actors have to speak really fact in order to synch with the animation.I don't know,it was so bizarre.
There is certainly more to the story that couldn't have been told in 20 minuted.I can only hope this goes Little Witch Academia route and we get a sequel.

5th episode of Anohana today. Why? Because I am working through the list of Noitamina shows I haven't seen yet. I really like it. Yukiatsu's spoiler[crossdressing breakdown] was a highlight, emotion and acting wise. I also love the OP, I find it wonderfully simple and powerful, very melancholic and fitting.

I also got my partner to watch Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen with me yesterday which I have already seen and adored a couple of weeks ago. I already wallowed in praise a few pages back, but these 2 hours really have to be among the best pieces of audiovisual storytelling I have ever had the pleasure to enjoy in my life, anime or other. It's just so freaking brilliant. We're going to watch the live action movie today, just for fun.

I decided to roll with Desert Punk, seemed like it would be easy to finish and it was. The world was interesting, the story was ok, the characters? Not so much. For a similar setting, I liked The Third much better. When the main character switched at the end, I thought it an improvement, still the overall ending felt odd? Like there should have been another 6 to 12 to really finish it out.
No rewatch will be forthcoming.

I received Rio: Rainbow Gate and it moved to the top of my list. My dvd player on the treadmill setup does not do subtitles at speeds above 1x, so while not on the treadmill, it was Rio.
It is a trifle, but I have watched a lot worse. I loved Rio's character design, and the show seemed designed to put her in one flattering (to my eyes) costume after another. Still her basic dealer's outfit was tops in my eyes. The story was disposable, but again, I have sat through worse. A rewatch is very unlikely.

Gun X Sword: this show had all the makings of something that would really appeal to us in the States. It felt a great deal like Trigun. Van can summon a mech from orbit, that slices down as a sword. He is chasing across the desert looking for a man with a claw on his arm, who slaughtered everyone at his wedding a la Kill Bill. Joining him is Wendy who is also looking for the claw who kidnapped her brother.
The incredible weak point for me was the claw's overall reason. Stop me if you have heard this one before: Humanity is so rotten that I must..... I made it through and it went up on the shelf, no rewatch planned.

I then received:
Nyaruko Crawling with Love: NIS releases go to the front of my backlog, so I dove in. I had caught the first episode on CR back in the day, and thought it ok. As a series, there is some really funny dialog and parodies. Just when it gets serious, it quickly gets ridiculous. I could not stand Mahiro, I kind of wish the last episode had ended around the 10 minute mark, It would have raised my opinion of the series 4X. Still I can see a rewatch at some point.

I will now be back to Witch Hunter Robin, which I am looking forward to after watching the 1st disc a couple weeks back and thinking about it.

Several hours earlier, I finished watching Big Windup. A timid high-school boy named Ren Mihashi was shamed into prematurely retiring from baseball after being ridiculed by his team players for his "not-so-great" pitching. It isn't until that he moved to a new school that he finds himself carrying the baseball glove yet again.
I enjoyed watching Big Windup. The encouragement of using team spirit really brought out this show's potential. It never had to be just one person that had to contend with the workload.
Despite a few errors that I noticed in certain episodes (the mixing up of Takaya's entire name and the mispronunciation of Lupin), I had fun with this show.

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars.

I finished Gungrave. I loved it. A video game adaptation has no business being this excellent. I was not expecting it to have such nuanced and developed characters. If I had one complaint, the jump in the last third to the more sci-fi elements was a little jarring (even though it was introduced in the first episode). I knew it was coming but the transition could have been smoother. I will say though, that this show had one of the most satisfying endings I've seen lately. I highly recommend Gungrave.

I think it's time for an update on what I'm watching!

Soul Eater: To be honest, I've only watched two episodes since I last posted. But they were good episodes! The first one was actually pretty funny, especially with the running gag about the fairies celebrating Excalibur's holiday. Troy Baker actually brings a lot of charm and hilarity to his performance as anime's most funny-annoying character (SOOOO ANNOYING~), while Hiro's voice, I found...lacking. Moving on! The next episode, which was about Maka not getting along with the team, was also good. Laura Bailey was fantastic in this one, as she always is. There were also some heartwarming moments, especially in one scene where Maka and Tsubaki talk about their friendships with Black Star. Can't wait to see where this is going!

Azumanga Daioh: I watched THREE episodes this time! Yay! Anyhoo, they were all really cute and fuzzy and ADORABLE DAW. There was one gag during the Second Year Vacation episode that I really liked, which involved a creative use of censoring and Relax-o-Vision all at once. I should also mention I stopped during the Second Year Culture Fest episode. Chiyo-penguin was just as cute as I was promised. Kimura was also really funny in this episode. Really love this show! A true classic...

Michiko and Hatchin: I last finished at Episode Six, which was the second half of a two-parter! Regarding characters, I think this is one of the only times where I've seen fanservice used as a character device. Michiko is drawn with unusually big eyes and given sexy outfits to wear, both used to emphasize her immaturity and impulsiveness. At the same time, she has occasional moments of responsibility where she tries to protect her charge, Hana "Hatchin" Morenos, from enemies of her past. Both of our heroines are actually really interesting! I've already described prison convict Michiko above, but what about Hatchin? Hatchin is Michiko's foil, a mature little girl, wise beyond her years, but has moments where she lapses back into childishness. (Drunk on juice, anyone?) I can't wait to see how these two develop as people!

Code Geass Season One: I only have four episodes left, guys! When we last left off, Suzaku and Euphemia have all but officially became lovebirds! Speaking of Suzaku, I find him and Lelouch to actually be really interesting on some level. Both are young men running away from their pasts by joining the other country's side with the end goal of peace for all. Lelouch fights for vengeance and his selfish love for Nunnally (Now I see where Urobuchi-sensei got his inspiration for Homura!), while Suzaku fights to atone for his mistakes while being forced to confront them. Both are very likable and interesting to follow, and I'm so excited to finish this series! Though given I had all of it spoiled to me, and knowing fully well what happens in the next episode...yelp.

Cowboy Bebop: This show is awesome. I last stopped on "Ballad of Fallen Angels", which was also awesome. We're starting to get hints of our heroes' pasts, along with the introduction of Vicious. I got to see the "Green Bird/Spike Falls from Church" sequence, and it was just as awesome as I thought it would be. I'm off to watch more! I'm really starting to like this! Can't talk, gotta watch!

Now, there's been a slight change of plans regarding my anime watching. I was originally going to re-watch Princess Tutu after I finished up with Code Geass. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I'm moving Princess Tutu to after I finish up with Azumanga Daioh. What will I watch instead, you may ask? Well, I haven't seen it, but it's supposed to be one of the most anticipated shows of the year.

Seid ihr das Essen? Nein, wir sind der Jäger!

I've also decided to post what I will be watching after the other shows.

Soul Eater: A re-watch of Baccano, followed by the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime.

Cowboy Bebop: Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Michiko and Hatchin: Either Wolf's Rain or Trigun.

Finished Rosen Maiden (2013) and watching Honey and Clover and Nobunagun. All 3 appear to range from quite good (Rosen maiden and Honey and Clover) to bad.

Akane the Catgirl wrote:

I've also decided to post what I will be watching after the other shows.

Soul Eater: A re-watch of Baccano, followed by the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime.

Cowboy Bebop: Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Michiko and Hatchin: Either Wolf's Rain or Trigun.

Evangelion, FMA and Trigun? Talk about serious great stuff here (though I have only watched the whole of the second FMA).

I'm close to finishing up Misaki Chronicles, the sequel of Divergence Eve. Overall, it's a good show. There were some moments in which there wasn't much going on, but I was kept interested with the time traveling through differing eras.
While I can't say Season 2 of Divergence Eve was super exciting, I did have a swell time watching it.

Last edited by SethMosrite on Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:47 am; edited 1 time in total

One month into the new season, so here is what I'm watching:

Ping Pong - very unusual animation style, I have a feeling this will be a love it or hate it show for most. I, for one, am loving it, more psychology than your average sports anime.

Knights of Sidonia - full CG, somewhat jarring at first but it works for this type of show. Post Earth super serious mech action, this will be the next big thing. The manga is also solid.

The Kawai Complex... - horrible title but a really cute rom com about a bunch of misfits in a boarding house. So much blushing.

Devil's Riddle - all female class of assassins are out to kill one innocent girl. This one is schlocky, and takes itself too seriously but goddamn if it isn't entertaining. Lots of cute lesbo killers with dark pasts.

Mushishi and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure - both being continued from previous seasons, and both highly recommended.

Nisekoi - continued from last season, rom com about a high school kid trying to figure out which classmate he made a childhood love promise to. This one is cute, I've started picking up the manga.

Mekakucity Actors - I wish I could tell you what this show is about but I don't really understand it. These weird kids have super powers, I like super powers so I'm sticking with this.

Irregular at Magic Highschool - Can I really get excited by another show about magic users in highschool? It turns out I can, this show is actually really solid. I like the dynamic of the upper and lower class system of the school. The girls are cute too.

Haikyu!! and Baby Steps - sports shows about volleyball and tennis respectively. These shows contrast each other well. One is a team, the other individual. One main character has natural athletic gifts the other improves by intense study. One is pursuing a life long dream, the other just happens upon his sport.

One Week Friends - quiet, slice of life type show. Everything looks very soft, if you liked Bunny Drop you would probably enjoy this.

edit: I ended up dropping Devil's Riddle (too formulaic) and Mekakucity Actors (too incomprehensible).

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