Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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Dorcas_Aurelia
 Posts: 5344 Location: Philly |
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Just saw the first two episodes of Crying Freeman. Randomest nudity ever. For example: assassin in (electrofied) metal one-piece bathing suit chases an underling to the nuclear sub the Chinese mafia own that Freeman is on, then before they start to knife fight on top of the sub, he strips completely naked. That's not even the weirdest thing that happens. And it's not like people have super powers or anything. Unless having blood come out of unrelated orifices when you're killed is a super power. Well, and some people are really, really hard to kill. Pretty much everyone who isn't a nameless goon, really. And even some of them, but only when they're meant to die slowly.
Did I mention that the show has a tendency to ignore logic. You mostly just have to roll with it, but if you can manage that, it's pretty fun. Ya know, late 80s OVA: sex and violence just because. So, the premise is that this guy, codenamed Freeman, is a hitman for the Chinese mafia (And he cries whenever he kills someone; there's an explanation for it, but it still doesn't make sense). Then, by episode 2, he's essentially in charge of the Chinese mafia. Which happened because, let's see if I got this straight, instead of killing a witness whom he told his identity to, they fall in love and he decides to marry her. |
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ailblentyn
 Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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I'm halfway through Sailor Moon S, and loving it.
I enjoyed the second series, but there were things I wasn't so keen on. And I'm sure I'm branding myself as a particular kind of viewer when I say that what I wasn't so fond of in Sailor Moon R could be summarised with the name Chibi-Usa, whereas what I love about Sailor Moon S revolves generally around the character of Sailor Uranus. She is such a great character. Her very presence makes the show more dramatic and intense, and I love the way the voice actress delivers the line "World Shaking!" with such coolness and violence. I note with interest that the third series eases back on the racy kind of fan service. In the first series it seemed that each newly-introduced Sailor Soldier had a slightly more revealing transformation than the one before; and the second series seemed to ramp up the underwear shots. Interesting that the third has less of that stuff. Maybe they decided they didn't need it. |
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zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
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Hmm, been a while since I've watched an anime back like I would in college. Anyway, finished Shiki, which I checked out for several reasons, one was word of mouth, and another, the more important one, was being based on a Fuyumi Ono novel. Since she wrote Twelve Kingdoms, I clearly put my expectations up pretty high.
So did Shiki live up to them for me? Honestly no, but it was by no means a bad series, I just felt like I'd already seen Higurashi before and other vampire stories too. And compared to Twelve Kingdoms, Shiki lacked the awesome character development that I was expecting. But for what it was, Shiki was a clearly addicting and fun to watch vampire flick for me, I'd rate it 7 out of 10, I don't see why it's been considered one of the best anime in years, but it was a decent enough series. |
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Tony K.
 SubscriberModerator  Posts: 11293 Location: Frisco, TX |
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Sengoku Basara (9-13): Finally finished the series after watching 1-8 on Hulu some months ago. I know the series is based on those hack 'n slash Dynasty Warriors-esque games, but I'm one of the few that actually likes that genre. I have to say, though, I was really surprised at how over-the-top and kinetic this anime was. I've never played the games, but I'm sort of inclined to, now. I say "sort of" because I don't care too much for the dubbing, while a big part of its charm is in the overly rambunctious Japanese cast. Unfortunately, I don't believe the game has a Japanese voice option, so I may just go for Dynasty Warriors 7 at some point.
Casshern Sins (1-6): Don't know anything about the franchise other than the fact that it was created by Tatsunoko in the '70s. I've been wanting to see this for a while based on a number of factors: 1) that it has kind of a throwback, yet modernized feel to it in the character designs and concept, 2) that it's produced by Madhouse, 3) that it has music by Kaoru Wada, and 4) that it's available on Blu-ray and I want to check it out before I buy it. Gotta' say, though, it's a very dark and brooding series (aesthetically and thematically). I really like the art style and animation. I've actually found quite a bit of anime and am watching them all on 2x speed to play catch up after about 5 or 6 years not trying anything new (I think the last anime I saw was Code Geass R2 during it's Japanese broadcast). But I'm really diggin' this Casshern stuff. |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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I am halfway through Solty Rei, again purely because I want to finish all the started series before the new season starts. I have watched the first few episodes a few months back and somehow they never inspired me to go any further.... Plotwise, the series is quite good, but I found the characters of Rose and Solty a bit, well, irritating. I am glad I gave it another go, it gets better and better. I do not think it will ever end up in my top favourites, but good entertainment nevertheless.
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Bento-Box
 Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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It's been a while since I've posted the progress here, so this is long and I apologize. Been very busy with the wedding and what little time I have is spent watching anime instead of posting about it. Getting married next month and have like 13 new shows I'm juggling that get released over the next two weeks. This is going to make for a busy, exciting fall season!
Watching Get Backers, Gunslinger Girl, - yeah, I'm still inching through these at a rate of 1 - 2 episodes each a month. It's like a chore to finish them. for GSG it's the pacing; for GB, well... it's like everything. Considering selling GB once I finish it. Not sure I want to look at it ever again. Baka To Test 2 - Obviously, I enjoyed the first season, so of course I'm going to pick up the second one. Glad to see they're progressing the love theme this time around. Although, I would like to see more actual plot. After hitting ep. 8 it looks like my desires are going to be fulfilled. Can't wait to see how it ends. I really want him to end up with Minami, which probably won't happen. BUT... for some reason, I think he's going to "end up with" Hideyoshi... just seems like something they'd do to get out of him choosing a girl. Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi - Ugh. This show. I can't even tell what the F is happening. The love story sucks, the action sucks, and watching the main character do nothing but get the crap beaten out of him while all this crazy nonsensical stuff happens is just torture! I only have one episode left... and I'm just hoping I can sit through it. This is seriously one of the worst shows I have ever watched. I'm cursing myself for trying to finish it. Deadman Wonderland - I started watching it because I was bored. It seemed interesting enough. Might be a bit too shonen for me and I don't really care for any of the characters - they all feel very cliche. Watching this inbetween other things that I think are better. So far... very average. Fractale - I love reading about distopian and utopian societies, so I thought this would be a good fit. I love the animation style but I'm a bit overwhelmed by the number of characters. Not too crazy about the pacing either. I think that No. 6 did a better job with this genre. Will probably finish it by the end of October... kinda bored with it even though I'm on episode 8. Hanasaku Iroha - Picked this up because I enjoy slice of life titles and it looked pretty. Loving it! The supporting cast and unexpected life changes in this show keep the series very unpredictable. Something is always happening but nothing ever feels out of place. The pacing is nice and the characters are lovable. I've teared up quite a bit while watching it and I'm looking forward to the conclusion this week. Will probably rank it a masterpiece. Casshern Sins - I love this show. Have been watching it since fall of last year and still can't finish it. It's so terribly sad and borderline depressing. Going to finish it before Christmas. Hope I don't cry too much... Kamisama Dolls - I grabbed this because it seemed interesting. I really thought it was going to be more about the male lead and less about his sister. It's starting to remind me of Index in a bad way. Not really too interested in it anymore. All the random bad guys who don't really seem to have too much of a motive are starting to get on my nerves. I would just like to see the main plot progress. On episode 7 now and still bored. Will finish it but I'm not sure it's going to be anything great. Letter Bee - If I had known the main male lead was going to cry and whine the entire time, I would have never picked this up. Stereotypical shonen show. I watch it to kill time now. Mahou Soujo Madoka Magica - So, this was supposed to get good, right? I'm on episode 6. When does the good stuff happen? I'm still frustrated with the main character not doing anything and I think the little white fluffy creature is downright creepy (probably for a good reason - it's probably pure evil). I love magical girl shows, but I think I'm going to end up hating this one when I finish it. Maybe I just haven't gotten to the good stuff yet? Tiger and Bunny - love this show! I wasn't originally interested because I'm a bit burnt out on superheros (other than Thor *swoon*) but this is pretty awesome. Started watching it with the fiance and he's not in the "mood" for it now, so I had to put it on hold for a while. Can't wait until it gets a US release. 11 Eyes - Fiance and I love paranormal, creepy stuff so this is right up our alley. Have kinda stalled around episode 5 but we're about to get back into it. Love the dark, sinister undertones and the nice contrasts. Rurouni Kenshin - I stopped around episode 63 on my first viewing and now the fiance and I are watching this together to prepare for some of the newer releases. I love the show, always have but it's much more fun to share it with him. Almost done with the first season and all of its introductions... looking forward to season two when stuff gets good. 
Finished Happiness - So, I like magical girl shows... thought this would be good until stuff started happening that didn't make any sense. I felt like the main girl only loved the main guy because spoiler[he was the guy who first showed her magic]. Lame. Really poor animation quality. Odd turn of events randomly happened. Finished it, but not too happy about it. 1/5 Usagi Drop - Amazing show. Went into this one not expecting much, I was just watching it because it filled the Noitamina time block. Ended up cherishing it like a dear friend. Now there's this huge hole left by it after it ended. Very delicate and touching. 5/5 Ikoku Meiro no Croisee - Delightful watch. I wanted to watch this because I've been to Paris and it gives me this nice warm nostalgic feeling to see that city again - even if it's animated. I love the coloring of the series and the character designs. I thought they did a really amazing job with creating visual contrasts between the young Japanese girl and all the Parisians. Quite touching although a little bland at times. My biggest complaint is that she speaks French and Japanese. Another character speaks to her in Japanese and acts as a translator in the first two episodes. Then you find out she can speak both but there's no distinction in the audible language you hear while watching the series because they always speak Japanese. So... I could never really tell when she was speaking butchered French or when they were having a Japanese conversation. 4/5 Infinite Stratos - Maybe I just don't like harem shows anymore. They all feel so predictable. This one included. Grabbed it because it's mecha and harem. I like both of those things so I thought it would be good but it just became so cliche. 1/5 Rio Rainbow Gate - Think I said something about this before... either way, I wasn't expecting much. I started it because it seemed different and interesting. Glad I watched it because the show was actually pretty good at the end. Lots of fanservice and just good fun with a bit of plot thrown in there. 4/5 Sacred Seven - It was ok... I picked it up because it's a Sunrise/Bandai production. The ending was pretty good and I'm glad the secondary cast was actually useful and prominent in the main plot. Other than that, I was never really sold on the love theme. Some of the male characters were pretty sexy, so that was a plus. Good show, kinda predictable... 3/5 No. 6 - I felt like I was watching a porn and the girls never showed up. Nothing in the description or categorization on any site led me to think this was a boys love show. And, while, I'm not into that kind of thing, the show was pretty darn good. There were a few hitches here and there, but... I was pretty happy with the ending, pacing, and balance of the show. Thought provoking and sincere series. 4/5 Yumekui Merry - I liked Soul Eater and this looked kinda similar in style so I picked it up. Didn't like it at all but I finished it. The whole plot was just kinda blah. I didn't like the characters and I wasn't really attached to anything. It had some interesting elements and the chance to be something really amazing and it just didn't deliver for me... 2/5 Dropped Bakuman - Was really looking forward to it. Watched 1 1/2 episodes and had to stop. Just didn't interest me. Was really kinda boring. Dantalian no Shoka - Was looking forward to this, but it really fell short of my expectations. Maybe it's because I dove into it after finishing Gosick. The show seemed to have a lot going for it, but the dialogue was just overwhelming and downright boring. Watching him read attacks was equally boring. It took too long to get to the action and good stuff each episode. While Gosick wasn't like the greatest show in this genre, it did a much better job of whatever Dantalian is trying to do. Dropped after 3 episodes. Hidan no Aria - Thought this was going to be like SNS but with guns... got eye raped by unexpected fan service and another Rei Kugumiya tsundere performance... needless to say, it was not what I expected and I turned it off after 2 episodes. Not interested in continuing with another Tsundere show like that. Sket Dance - Meh. I thought this was going to be like Mezzo with less fan service and action. I was right. And, it's for that reason I stopped watching it. I guess I only like Mezzo for the fanservice and action and not the "helping" plot. Didn't care for the constant screaming either. I felt like my ear drums were constantly being raped. Dropped after 4 episodes. We Without Wings - I love harem, so I picked this up. Ugh. What's with all the disjointed story telling? I couldn't take more than one episode. Pretty art, but confused the hell outta me. |
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dtm42
Posts: 14084 Location: currently stalking my waifu |
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Never has it been so starkly illustrated to me that what you think is good and what I think is good wildly differ. Out of everything you wrote though, these two leapt out at me the most:
You got to the good stuff on episode two, but especially episode three. But I suspect your question was rhetorical anyway. If you haven't been hooked yet then you might as well drop it because episode ten - likely the single best episode of Anime to be released in the last few years - won't do anything for you if you aren't invested in the characters. Then there was this mind-boggling entry:
Why - and how - the heck do you equate a fanservice-laden action show where a cute girl blows the heck out of everything with a school-based show that features gag jokes and a club which helps out the student body with such wacky hi-jinks as confessing to a love interest or helping a friend with their voice-acting career? It's bizarre. I just cannot see how you would even make a faint connection. No wonder you hated the show, your expectations were completely mis-aimed. Oh, there was a third thing which I wanted to comment on:
Assuming you are being serious, then you might as well drop the show now. You have already watched the Kyoto Arc, which is the second season and the best that the animated Rurouni Kenshin has to offer. The rest is mostly filler that gets progressively worse. I'm surprised you haven't realised that already. |
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Tris8
 Posts: 2114 Location: Where the rain is. |
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Just finished watching Hand Maid May for the first time. I really liked it, dunno why I never watched it before. Actually I do, I tend not to like harem shows and the tasteless style of fanservice that usually goes with them, but this was really funny. Several different characters broke the 4th wall on different occasions and it was hilarous, and the fanservice was well done and complemented the rest of the show.
What impressed me the most was it took a character that was so desperately annoying (so much so that I almost dropped it after the 2nd ep) and turned him into one of the funniest parts of the show. I also just started watching Basilisk because of the Best Rivals Tournament. I've only seen 2 eps, but so far so good. This Romeo and Juliet style romance and rivalry have me hooked. |
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Zalis116
Moderator
 Posts: 6867 Location: Kazune City |
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Cam0
 Posts: 4888 |
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I don't think it gets any better. I actually thought the first 6 or so episodes were the most enjoyable, though that might be just me. |
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FaytLein
 Posts: 1260 Location: Williamsburg, VA |
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Since my third Fist of the North Star set arrived a few days ago, I decided to pick up where I left off, and am about 2/3 the way through Set 2, and Souther has just appeared. I am definately in shock right now.
....Yes, I went there... |
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Bento-Box
Posts: 1049 Location: Florida |
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LOL - I know, right? What was I expecting?  To be honest, I didn't know it was a Rie Kugumiya roll when I turned it on... It's not that I don't like her, it's just that I would like to see her do something different. It's kinda like watching Nicholas Cage and expecting him to do something different with his voice or exhibit some kind of facial expression.
That's comforting... 
@Tris8 - I love Hand Maid May and I'm glad you did too. There are so many great moments in that series. I've seen it about 8 times over the past 7 years and it still manages to entertain me. |
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Tris8
Posts: 2114 Location: Where the rain is. |
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the Rancorous
 Posts: 2248 Location: Hunting the Dragon in Gransys |
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My thoughts exactly. I read that part of his post and went... Baffling....
I can't in good conscious let this one go. It's the other way around; Dantalian is Gosick done right. The mysteries are creative instead of just pretending to be not obvious. The two leads in Dantalian are also several times more likeable; the male lead isn't some dense buffoon who's constantly being smacked around by the annoyingly over-the-top lolli tsundere, he's actually a competent man who is actually useful. And Dalian herself is an example of tsundere done right, while Victorique is just another pandering attempt. I got annoyed with Gosick after about ep 9 or 10. I don't know if Victorique ever becomes more than just another tsundere, but I certainly don't have the patience or tolerance to find out. |
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swienke
 Posts: 245 |
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Oh, Bento-Box, I don't want to make you feel like you're being ganged up on, but I definitely found some of your positions....interesting.
I think the root of your problem with the show may lie with the fact that you truly love the magical girl genre, as you mentioned above. Most magical girl shows are bright, cheery, energetic, and deal with such themes as the power of friendship and believing in yourself. Madoka Magica is none of those things. It's a show whose driving purpose is to take all of those bright and shiny magical girl tropes and rip their entrails out and drag them along the floor. Many of the things that annoy you, such as the fact that Madoka is so passive, are deliberate attempts to undercut both the viewers' expectations and the common themes of the genre. You have to truly appreciate the deconstructionist elements of the series in order to enjoy it, and if you want your magical girl shows to follow the genre's normal tropes than this is just not going to be the series for you.
When you say you're on episode 7, does that mean that you've already finished that episode, or that it's next on your list? I ask because episode 7 is definitely within my list of the top 10 anime episodes of the year and it reveals a level of depth and subtlety that I had no idea the series possessed. If you haven't seen it yet, than I strongly urge you to do so, since it may very well redeem many of the flaws you see in the series (for example, it has none of Utau's silly antics, which tend to annoy me too). The episodes following it are also generally more serious than some of the earlier, Utau-centric ones. |
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