Any anime fans?

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@Unit00 : Thanks for taking the time out to write that post.

Very much glad you enjoyed Tatami Galaxy and thanks for understanding what I meant by my post. You pretty much illustrated my point exactly with your experience.

Anyway, to address what you said in order.

Mononoke: Funny you mention that, Mononoke was actually one of the first then-ongoing anime I saw when I stayed in Japan seven years ago (though I had to finish it much later because I left before the series finished). It was my ‘gateway anime’, if you will, to the much wider world of Japanese animation that wasn’t exclusively marketed at teenage boys or little kids. I really enjoyed the old-fashioned story-telling and stylised ukiyo-e-inspired art. Definitely one I’d also recommend to anyone looking for something that wants intelligent suspense-driven anime that you won’t be embarrassed to be caught watching.

Alien Nine: It was a crying shame this one was a victim of early 00s J.C. Staff. What I mean by that, is that unless a project was specifically moe/harem/romance/slice-of-life/ecchi material (ala Azumanga Daioh, Ikki Tousen, etc) an anime project in J.C. Staff’s hands was likely doomed to fail or remain fairly obscure due to little funding (see what happened to Shakugan no Shana). Staying on subject, I was really getting into the story and the animation was fantastic for an OAV. But alas, it wasn’t picked up again so the rest of the story I had to read in the manga. I quite liked where it was going too...

Higurashi (When the Cicadas Cry): This one is.... well, it was one of the first projects of its type to be dubbed and aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the US way back when. So it had a lot of exposure and got that ‘revered status’ I was talking about in my earlier post. However, I went in cold turkey and what I saw was a heart-breakingly broken project. To be positive, I take my hat off to Chiaki Kon because adapting a visual novel game like Higurashi must’ve been extremely difficult. And it was her very first television project on top of that. And working with Studio DEEN of all people... brave woman.

Sadly though, I just couldn’t get into this one at all. I tried very hard with the first series but the constant reset button after each mini-arc drove me to despair. My final straw was the sudden introduction of Xion (I couldn’t stand that character), and the wildly inconsistent character writing. I understand it was trying to do the multi-verse theorem and apparently, there was a reason behind the gratuitous violence. But to me, it sadly failed on all levels, especially on the screenplay and series structure. Steins;Gate, even Dr Who, have handled the multi-verse theorem much more clearly and didn’t rely on people watching a whole 26 episodes of an almost schizophrenic focus on cute little girls doing cute things before randomly being killed or turning into violent killers with little to no provocation. It’s purely because of that broken storytelling and uneven focus, I’ve learned to treat anything Studio DEEN handles very cautiously. I heard they’re still pumping out OVAs based on the franchise with Toshifumi “Beyblade” Kawase on the helm. Maybe he’s improved things?

In any event, I’m going to try and watch the live-action movie this year because the premise is very interesting; it’s just the execution I didn’t like. Nevertheless, I can understand why it’s popular amongst certain people - it was definitely a unique project to say at the very least.

Nekojiru-Sou: Big Masaaki Yuasa fan so no worries, I know what you mean. He’s a brilliant arthouse director.

Paranoia Agent: I’m holding off on this one for a while because again, Satoshi Kon was one of those ‘revered things’ that was huge in the US as the very first of his type to make it there. And to be honest, I didn’t enjoy Tokyo Godfathers at all. The story was okay but something about Kon’s movie didn’t sit right with me, even after the 3rd viewing...

Flower of Evil: Watched it as it aired last year. It’s rather difficult to explain its appeal as a lot of “normal” anime fans were put off by the rotoscoping animation and “the wimpy protagonist”. I actually really enjoyed this as a psychoanalytical drama, but it demanded pre-requisite knowledge of Japanese societal culture and furthermore, some understanding of Charles Baudelaire. The anime was heavily borrowing elements from Les Fleurs du Mal (which the main character was reading), a harsh criticism against conformity and traditionalist principles of love but it required some mulling over. I actually don’t blame you for thinking Flower of Evil was boring or stupid. It was a very challenging project and a lot of it wouldn’t translate very well because despite the high school setting, it was aimed specifically at Japanese adults. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who doesn’t enjoy foreign arthouse cinema (“weird stuff” to the average Joe).

.hack//sign: The final example of “it was the first of its type in the US and was therefore revered”. Going in cold turkey about two years ago now, I couldn’t get into this at all, not least because I’m totally unfamiliar with online gaming as a whole (so the slang and terminology left me very confused), but also because it suffered “Trigun/Steven Moffat’s Dr Who Syndrome” -- in other words, it was taking far too long to establish exactly what its main plot was supposed to be and the constant red herrings drained my interest. I can see why the .hack series is popular, especially amongst young men. But I’m afraid it’s not for me -- if an anime can’t get its story straight within four-to-six episodes, especially if it’s a 26-episode series, then it’s not worth my time. I expected far better from Kazunori Itō (Ghost in the Shell) and Kōichi Mashimo (El Cazador de la Bruja).

And there we are --- thank you again for your recommendations. It’s just sheer coincidence that I’ve either seen what you recommended or just plain didn’t like it. I appreciate your efforts. And thanks again for understanding what I meant. Indeed, this spring’s release of anime depressed me because there’s an overabundance of cutesy little girls/school-centric shows. Not that I’m saying those who are into that stuff shouldn’t get what they want. But it’d be nice if there was at least a little more variety as well. If not for Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro and Mushi-shi, I’d not be watching anything this season. Ah well. Each to their own.

Except I don't think they are actually trying to show the products as much as sacrifice time with them to show the characters with their issues. It is not a walkthrough of how the game is played, it is much more about characterization.

Six episodes in and they have barely decided to explain the rules, they only choose animate each of the player's specific card rather than their extra cards that would probably be pretty attractive.

Well, we'll see. Actually to counter your argument Cardfight Vanguard started out on a very similar path, where it was actually far more about protagonist Aichi trying to get closer to Kai by using Vanguard as a common point of interest. Kai had been Aichi's friend as a child but moved away and for reasons unexplained (no idea if the show's addressed this beyond the third season), changed into a cold distant person. Added onto that was the gradual warming up of the Vanguard card store clerk, Mikasa (who was very aloof in the beginning), and the calming down of the Naruto-esque (loud braggard) Kamui. So it really was about character development and interaction with the game merely providing a backdrop to the settings. Kind of like more down-to-earth version of Yu-Gi-Oh (which I never liked anyway).

However, as Vanguard's second season, Asia Circuit Hen, rolled around, the plot suddenly jumped into alternate-universe territory (mostly for the sake of altering the character's decks very quickly to showcase the new cards coming out) and the writing took a sharp nose-dive in terms of coherency. The show's focus seemed to jump from straight-up shounen (tournament) to suddenly slice-of-life (beach episodes) to an attempt to market at girls (introducing pop idols) to... I don't know what. Believe me, there's a character who literally pops in and out of existance (in the anime, they address it as dimension-hopping) to merely flaunt his new deck (changes everytime he appears) with one of the protagonists. I held on for as long as I could, and sighed in relief as season three Link Joker Hen decided to bring the show back down to earth with Aichi starting high school and trying to start up a Vanguard Club as an extra-cirricular activity. But again, the same problems popped up with inconsistent directing, characters suddenly being retconned in order to fit in the school-age set-up, and amateur "and then this happened, and then that happened"-style of writing that drove me mad before. So I gave up.

I thought Bushiroad's second attempt with Future Card Buddyfight was better (especially with a lot of sponsorship money coming in from Singapore to afford a near-simultaneaous Canadian-English dub) but lately, it's suffered the same problems as Vanguard (including a very rushed exit of a certain character in order to make room for someone else with a new deck; that certain someone else apparently being allowed to shoehorn his way into finals of a school tournament but whatever...).

So the above is why I'm very apprehensive about starting a new card-game driven anime. Granted, WIXOSS is being handled by Tomy and Warner Japan, so hopefully they won't be amateur as Bushiroad when it comes to incorporating the merchandise into the anime. And from what I've seen and heard, WIXOSS is being marketed more at teenage girls (which leads me again to question why Funimation acquisitioned streaming rights so fast; they mostly market their stuff at boys/men - Date a Live being the most recent example). So perhaps that's why there's more focus on the characters?

In any event, we'll see what happens when I try it out. I'm going to wait another two weeks so I can watch the first 5 episodes in one go and arrive at a decision to commit to it (and even if I don't, at least I'll be able to understand why Funimation wanted it). Maybe the weight of Kanji Wakabayashi meant something (Steins;Gate movie director; also partially behind Nana, Jorgamund and the anime adaptation of the American series Supernatural)? Or WIXOSS could be the next Puella Magi Madoka Magica - so misleadingly cutesy but very very dark? (I hope so!)

Regardless of the outcome, I appreciate your input; it's rather interesting (in a non-patronising way) to hear what other people think about these things.

Last edited by BlankCanvas on 10 May 2014, 9:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

Thanks very much for clarifying why it is you like school/slice-of-life anime - it was actually something I'd been wanting to ask for a while since nearly everything you mentioned watching has that sort of setting. But I couldn't think of how to put it across to you without it sounding like I was spoiling for a fight/insulting your interests. Nevertheless, I understand perfectly now. Well, I still don't understand the appeal of yuri to be perfectly honest with you, but, as you said, each to their own. And I'll leave at that.

Well I would not say it is as good as Madoka, but I will say it has a Chomp episode. Despite its cutesy appearance it does have some creepiness, in fact thinking it is cutesy is wrong.

I hope Senpai will notice me.

Not sure if it is relevant, but there are 6 episodes out? I just thought that you were worried that there was not much out this season to your tastes this season.

Other stuff out;
Brynhildr in the Darkness is apparently quite a bit like Elfen Lied, although I have not watched that one, I am pretty sure it has less ecchi in it. The OP is a standout for kind of showing the creepy, and one of the only times I have seen dubstep put into an anime song, although it might work.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=_99dAoGaZ1M[/youtube]

And there is Knights of Sidonia, which has had some terrible CG (the whole things is CG), it has made the characters quite difficult to differentiate, although it has done very well for the mechs. It has actually really redeemed itself a couple of weeks ago and could be quite good.

Well, I applaud your trying --- also, please bear in mind I'm in the UK, so I don't neccessarily have the same access you do to projects already handled by an American licensor. That said, I'll still reserve judgement on WIXOSS when the time comes.

Alas, I apologise but I'm avoiding Brynhlder in the Darkness entirely as:

a) a Studio Arms production (Ikki Tousen amongst other ecchi/harem/fetishy projects)
b) it's directed by Kenichi Imaizumi (infamous for very fetishy projects ie. Strike Witches; And Yet the Town Moves;The Student Council's Discretion)
c) it's yet another high-school setting with an overpowered/over-the-top fanservicey girl (I don't know how much of this was kept in the anime but the manga was pretty explicit).

I've also been hearing a lot of bad things about gratutious gore (albiet censored Pupa-style) and I'm really not into violence or gore unless it's a justifiable part of the plot. Whilst I can understand the appeal of guro to some people, it doesn't even come close to registering any interest on my part. I'm way more interested in character writing and a grown-up plot, than a "let's obsess over this girl" type of thing (which is one of the reasons why I dropped xxxHolic, Sankarea and The Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere).

On the other hand, I've not heard anything about Knights of Sidonia so I'll investigate that. I know Polygon Pictures are partially responsible (The American Transformers: Prime series, the short-lived Disney Tron series) but beyond that, I know nothing. So thanks for the heads up; I guess I overlooked it since I was afraid it'd turn out like Bones' Captain Earth or that one anime last year about a mecha space academy (fell into the old cliche of unneccessary fanservice with a beach episode within the first three episodes).

Still, I appreciate your efforts very much.

I wonder what others are thinking and watching?

Lol, I am Australian and thus can have a pretty hard time getting things, so I watch unlicensed streams so I can watch everything,

Ah, my ex- lives in Sydney, so I understand the situation. I try to stick with official outlets myself but if there isn't one forthcoming, then I have my sources. I usually prefer to wait though, because there's nothing worse than terrible subtitles; either because they're rushed (Funi's Inari Koi Kon Kon Iroha, Crunchyroll's Letter Bee) or full of lazily-written/terribly misplaced slang (Log Horizon, Utawaremono).

@BlankCanvas - no problem! it was interesting to see what you thought of each series. i'm very interested in actually discussing anime with you guys in the future, instead of just recommending stuff. sorry for small reply, i wanted to add more but feels like my brain is actively fighting against me today.

Have any of you seen Danganronpa yet? http://www.anime44.com/category/danganr ... -animation

Pupupu! It was alright, This season's Riddle Story of Devil kind of reminds me of it, except with yuri, and not as ridiculous, or a detective show.

A lot of people in the West went on about that last year, most likely because of Project Zanboku (a large-scale fan-translation project). Popularity (based on the video game and then the anime that followed) was such that all of a sudden NIS America officially translated and dubbed the two games this year.

Anyway, I'd say... judge Dangan on own your merits. If you enjoy video game adaptations (the studio, Lerche, also worked on Persona 4: The Animation), a very unique art-style and character design, more... abstract storytelling, and Gurren Laagan-esque personalities, then I think you'll enjoy it. Short one at 13 episodes, but see what you think.

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Disclaimer: I don't speak as a fan but I know a lot of people who did like it

watched the first two episodes of bokurano. holy crap! was expecting the twist at the end of epi. 2 but not...executed like that. anyway i'm very excited to see what the next few episodes have in store.

also, has anyone seen any of these before? Fantastic Children, Zegapain, Shinreigari: Ghost Hound, Freedom, or Gankutsuou? just wondering, trying to line up what i'm going to watch after i finish this series.

I recently watched all of the available episodes of Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin). It is incredibly brutal. Every episode after the first few is like watching the Normandy beach scene in Saving Private Ryan. I just re-watched Terminator Salvation, and Skynet and Terminators are only slightly more terrifying than living in the world of Attack on Titan.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEjMoH1UNwA[/youtube]

I've seen Fantastic Children. It's... an interesting, old school-style (so, expect the pacing to be a little slow compared to most modern-day anime) project you have to be fairly open-minded for (it doesn't explain everything straight away but there aren't any red herrings). A modestly budget 2004 anime by Nippon Animation *, Fantastic Children follows several mysterious white-haired children who seemingly never age and have been sighted on and off since the 1800s, seemingly searching for something... or someone...

The majority of the story takes place in a fictional country tucked away somewhere in the Phillipines in 2012, when two unrelated children, Helga and Chitto run away from an orphanage and bump into local native boy Touma. However, the mysterious white-haired children arrive shortly afterwards and events take very unexpected dramatic turns, especially concerning the quiet Helga...

Two dubs were produced, though the one most prevelant I've seen is the one recorded by Animax in Singapore (so naturally, the actors would be a little wooden considering English is their second language, though surprisingly, they're amazing in the second half of the series).

The animation isn't great, but the plot, once it gets going, I found to be rather engrossing and fairly atmospheric. No fanservice, pre-moe era art-style, a little violence and fairly intellectually-stimulating -- sort of like a milder Bokurano. But I guess I've a soft spot for this project as Fantastic Children was Takashi Nakamura's final project (Animation director behind Akira, Nausicaä and Catnapped). And I watched this off the back of Shadow Star Narutaru.

Anyway, see what you think. And in regards to Bokurano, heh, prepare yourself -- it gets darker. The anime only lightly brushes what the manga went into, but what they did keep... well, you'll see.

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* Nippon Animation are a very old school team; I knew them mostly for Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds as a young child in the late 80s but some Americans would be more familiar with Corrector Yui back in the 90s; they've not done much beyond '99, though I heard they provided support for the recent Ghibli movie The Tale of Princess Kaguya)

The series of the spring season that I have WRLLed at least one episode are


Soul Eater Not
Ping Pong The Animation
Daimidaler: Prince VS Penguin Empire
Randy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro
Kanojo Ga Flag Wo Oreretara
No Game No Life
Haikuu
Bokura WA Minna Kawaisou
Is The Order A Rabbit