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Winter Anime 2017 |OT| John Wick cleaning up KyoAni's mess

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Tunoku

Member
The first two seasons cover the first 90 chapters of the manga, while the third season covers the other 85 or so chapters. But I remember dropping the manga because a certain plot line was dragging on for too long, maybe they cut that part short.
 
Why are people hating LWATV?
Akko and crew aren't experiencing deep character development or expressing complex motivations that the magical schoolgirl genre is known for six episodes in.

Ok I'm be factious, a bit, but that seems to be what most complaints boil down to.


Personally I'm enjoying it because I kept my expectations in check.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Akko and crew aren't experiencing deep character development or expressing complex motivations that the magical schoolgirl genre is known for six episodes in.

Ok I'm be factious, a bit, but that seems to be what most complaints boil down to.


Personally I'm enjoying it because I kept my expectations in check.

Right, how about the fact that Akko is like the worst student ever and has been acting like Eric Cartman at points. Her friends barely have any personality to speak of. Diana is pretty much the walking definition of a Mary Sue character. The terrible world building behind that major conflict that has no adequate explanation currently. I could go on but it boils down to the observation that even though LWA was never going to be a deep character study on the nature of witches, the series has had major flaws in it that can't really be ignored.
 
I'm having a hard time getting excited about following shows from the current season, so decided to give the Bakuman anime a watch. I read the manga back when it was new but stopped during the
a million monkeys on a million typewriters arc
.
Anyway, I ended up marathoning the first two seasons and was really impressed how well J.C. adapted it. But given how much I enjoyed shows like Toradora and Prison School, it shouldn't have surprised me.

Bakuman season 3 would be next thing on the list to watch, but from what I've heard it sort of rushes through the second half of the manga. Now I'm considering reading the rest of the manga first before watching the anime. Any advice?

I wouldnt calling it rushing through. It just skipped an entire volume, which is the second Tohru Nanamine arc, which I was sad about though it made sense why to cut it if they wanted to do the whole anime in 26 or so episodes.
 

Eklesp

Member
You are in for a ride...;) Lain has a pretty good atmosphere. Have you seen Texhnolyze and Haibane Renmei? You might want to check those out after you finished Lain. Might a well go through the whole ABe trilogy. Even though he's only directly involved with Haibane Renmei, that's how I always thought of the three.



Shame the first half of Season 2 was kinda...meh. ;) And then the real Season 2 starts. :O ;_(

I haven't seen seen either. Thanks, I'll check them out.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Little Witch Academia Episode 7:

Speaking of things lacking in clarity, why did they accept Akko at all into the academy and I am being serious about this. Akko's lack of affinity for, well, everything makes sense given that she is a neophyte in every regard as she is a literal outsider to all of this. Anyway, at the very least her attitude towards learning has improved as she has stopped acting like she is hot shit when she is getting barely passing grades. Still, I am in agreement with that one witch, Akko is pretty lacking in value and has screwed so much shit that it feels like the only actual reason she is being kept around is protagonist power.
 
Little Witch Academia Episode 7:

Speaking of things lacking in clarity, why did they accept Akko at all into the academy and I am being serious about this. Akko's lack of affinity for, well, everything makes sense given that she is a neophyte in every regard as she is a literal outsider to all of this. Anyway, at the very least her attitude towards learning has improved as she has stopped acting like she is hot shit when she is getting barely passing grades. Still, I am in agreement with that one witch, Akko is pretty lacking in value and has screwed so much shit that it feels like the only actual reason she is being kept around is protagonist power.
One of the first lines in the show is other students discussing how the school is now accepting non-magical students because the school is desperate for students which is why Akko was accepted.

I enjoyed how they showed why someone like Lotte isn't having hard time by referencing Lotte's family business and how she's been working with sprites since she was young. All the other girls have been exposed to and practicing magic since they were young. Akko has not.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
One of the first lines in the show is other students discussing how they are now accepting non-magical students because the school is desperate for students which is why Akko was accepted.

The veneer of that explanation is kind of lacking right now given we have yet to see anybody else from the muggle world attending. Maybe something they have in store in the future hopefully.
 

Ascheroth

Member
The veneer of that explanation is kind of lacking right now given we have yet to see anybody else from the muggle world attending. Maybe something they have in store in the future hopefully.
When you consider that the other angle they're apparently trying to push is magic being thought as useless in a modern society, very few muggles being crazy enough to enroll into a magic school has some believability to it.
 
When you consider that the other angle they're apparently trying to push is magic being thought as useless in a modern society, very few muggles being crazy enough to enroll into a magic school has some believability to it.

Has it made a convincing argument yet that magic is worth cultivating in this world?
 
Has it made a convincing argument yet that magic is worth cultivating in this world?
Actually, no. I sorta think this is Akko's role in the whole story is. She holds magic as a wondrous and great thing that she wants to share with the world. Whereas the story seems to keep reinforcing that magic is played out nowadays.

I'm waiting for that "See this is wait magic can do that technology can't do" moment that Akko is clearly going to be behind.
 

Theonik

Member
Little Witch Academia Episode 7:

Speaking of things lacking in clarity, why did they accept Akko at all into the academy and I am being serious about this. Akko's lack of affinity for, well, everything makes sense given that she is a neophyte in every regard as she is a literal outsider to all of this. Anyway, at the very least her attitude towards learning has improved as she has stopped acting like she is hot shit when she is getting barely passing grades. Still, I am in agreement with that one witch, Akko is pretty lacking in value and has screwed so much shit that it feels like the only actual reason she is being kept around is protagonist power.
Failed social programmes from the ministry of magic in an attempt to encourage stronger ties with muggles as the wizard birthrates were declining bringing a huge shortfall in funding to run services.
 

JulianImp

Member
So I finished Arakawa S1... it was an okay gag comedy chock full of Shaft-isms, but it never got all that interesting. Having only Riku and Nino's relationship change over time was nice, but the rest of the cast was way too static for me.

Then I almost caught up with Tanya, and I'd say that while the overpowered MC+isekai gig has already worn thin by now, I like how her OP-ness and fate actually end up shooting her in the foot, giving Tanya not the comfy executive position she's after but increasingly risky frontline assignments instead. Her Higurashi face game is top-notch as well, but the action scenes are still pretty boring with Tanya single-handedly defeating foes left and right without even breaking a sweat, which leads to an overall lack of tension IMO.
 

Line_HTX

Member
★  ★ ° ☾ ☆ ¸. ¸  ★  :.  . • ○ ° ★  .  * . 
.  ¸ .   °  ¸. * ● ¸ . ...somewhere   ° ☾ °  
¸. ● ¸ .  ★ ° :.  . • °   .  * :.   ★ °● ¸ .   
* ¸.  .in a parallel universe* ● ¸     ° ☾ °☆  .    
★ ★ °. .    . ☾ °☆  . * ● ¸ ..LWA...° ☾ 
★ °● ¸ .   ★ ° :.  . • ○ ° ★  .  * was good  

Damn, it's that bad huh?

I understood that pasta, DeKappa
 

Ascheroth

Member
Has it made a convincing argument yet that magic is worth cultivating in this world?
Episode 7 had a scene where Akko found out about what jobs some alumni from Luna Nova have. Quoting Ursula: "Some specialise in modification magic and become cosmetic surgeons. Others made use of white magic to join the force as forensic investigators."
Another one has become a fortune teller and Lottes family runs a repair shop.
So, uhm.. not really.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
When you consider that the other angle they're apparently trying to push is magic being thought as useless in a modern society, very few muggles being crazy enough to enroll into a magic school has some believability to it.

This is true but the point I am going for here is we are lacking a barometer here. I mean they have pounded the notion that Akko is lacking as a magical student compared to other magical students but we have no idea how another average person is faring under similar circumstances. Perhaps that is justified from a narrative perspective but it also is potentially robbing the program of some much needed contrast as well.
 
Damn. This was awesome. I binged the last eight episodes yesterday. My wife had apparently been watching this just as we'd begun dating. I really wish she'd recommended to me we watch this instead of SAO
To be fair she had no idea at the tie that this show was my kind of thing, or how bad SAO really was.

I think it's perhaps a little slow in the middle, but I really love how the
Monster Rats
exist as more of a subplot than anything for the first couple arcs, but then become the centerpiece/'big bad' of the series.

I think it generally handles its sexual/romantic themes fairly well, and while the ending is melancholic feel like that was the most appropriate way to bring the series to a close. There's a tint of hope that keeps the whole thing from feeling pointless.

I am really sad that Kiroumaru died though. That guy was a GOAT.
 
Episode 7 had a scene where Akko found out about what jobs some alumni from Luna Nova have. Quoting Ursula: "Some specialise in modification magic and become cosmetic surgeons. Others made use of white magic to join the force as forensic investigators."
Another one has become a fortune teller and Lottes family runs a repair shop.
So, uhm.. not really.

Plastic surgeons and forensic investigators are the best uses of magic they can think of? That's kind of lame. They should have come up with something more like Dragon Dentist, which comes up with a profession that's totally unique from any standard "real world" job.
 

Jarmel

Banned
Plastic surgeons and forensic investigators are the best uses of magic they can think of? That's kind of lame. They should have come up with something more like Dragon Dentist, which comes up with a profession that's totally unique from any standard "real world" job.

But then it wouldn't be considered useless.
 

DNAbro

Member
Damn. This was awesome. I binged the last eight episodes yesterday. My wife had apparently been watching this just as we'd begun dating. I really wish she'd recommended to me we watch this instead of SAO
To be fair she had no idea at the tie that this show was my kind of thing, or how bad SAO really was.

I think it's perhaps a little slow in the middle, but I really love how the
Monster Rats
exist as more of a subplot than anything for the first couple arcs, but then become the centerpiece/'big bad' of the series.

I think it generally handles its sexual/romantic themes fairly well, and while the ending is melancholic feel like that was the most appropriate way to bring the series to a close. There's a tint of hope that keeps the whole thing from feeling pointless.

I am really sad that Kiroumaru died though. That guy was a GOAT.

I thought the ending was pretty bleak once you realize things aren't going to change.
It's been a while since I watched it but Satoru(i think that's his name) was seen raising the baby cats(if I remember that's what they are, those things they use to kill kids) thus continuing the cycle that fucked them over as kids. The problem is that the way the dystopia is structured it's probably the best outcome.
 
I thought the ending was pretty bleak once you realize things aren't going to change.
It's been a while since I watched it but Satoru(i think that's his name) was seen raising the baby cats(if I remember that's what they are, those things they use to kill kids) thus continuing the cycle that fucked them over as kids. The problem is that the way the dystopia is structured it's probably the best outcome.

I don't think the ending is nearly so bleak.
Sure, their society isn't going to change overnight, but the fact that Saki has managed to uncover so much truth about their society, and she's written about it, coupled with the show's final message, gives a sense that things will, eventually get better. Change, as much as we want it to, doesn't happen over night, but as long as Saki and others keep fighting for it there's a bright future in the distance.

I think the hope the ending brings about is on a grander scale, rather than immediately and outright avoiding Saki and Satoru's initial childhood troubles. Hence with it's melancholic rather than outright happy or sad. There's this sense of eventual change. At least that's how I took it.
 

Theonik

Member
Plastic surgeons and forensic investigators are the best uses of magic they can think of? That's kind of lame. They should have come up with something more like Dragon Dentist, which comes up with a profession that's totally unique from any standard "real world" job.
The series has kind of made it obvious the Witches aren't terribly creative generally speaking which is kind of a thematic point from the original OVA as well. Also cooky magic only professions wouldn't make that much sense, what do regular folk have to gain from dragon dentistry for instance? The premise here is that witch society needed to work for regular humans to sustain itself. It makes sense, witches still need food and such.
 

blurr

Member
March Comes in like a Lion 12

It's amazing how this show manages to tear me up almost every episode.

I'm reminded of the episode Rei advises Hinata's crush on working hard for something. I have to rewatch the scene, I can't forget something like that.
 
The series has kind of made it obvious the Witches aren't terribly creative generally speaking which is kind of a thematic point from the original OVA as well. Also cooky magic only professions wouldn't make that much sense, what do regular folk have to gain from dragon dentistry for instance? The premise here is that witch society needed to work for regular humans to sustain itself. It makes sense, witches still need food and such.
Hell even big boss old dragon isn't sitting in a cave hoarding gold.

He's sitting in a REALLY nice cave hoarding lucrative stocks and bonds and trading them across his advanced computer set up. Fuck magic.
 
Damn, it's that bad huh?

I understood that pasta, DeKappa

I've been really enjoying it! Bearing in mind I'm not a conniseur or anything. The criticism that Akko is bad I don't think is valid, because we have seen her succeed, we just know she's crap at the academic elements. Then with Diana being too perfect, she's meant to be, don't you ever remember having someone like that around you back in school?

We're only just under a third of the way through, and I'm still excited for the rest of it!
 

Cornbread78

Member
Nana ep.1
sCUjcw9.jpg

And thus, a new journey has begun. I'm not sure where this journey will be taking me, but I can already tell that this "boyfriend" will be a douche after his actions from the first episode. I difference in personality between the two Nana's should be fun to watch though!
 
Akiba's Trip 5 eng dub

Either I wasn't it expecting it to be this funny, but that was one of my favourite comedic episode in a pretty big while. That SF representation tho! Tamatsu getting naked at the end to unleash all his power was perfect. Great episode.
 
But then it wouldn't be considered useless.

The series has kind of made it obvious the Witches aren't terribly creative generally speaking which is kind of a thematic point from the original OVA as well. Also cooky magic only professions wouldn't make that much sense, what do regular folk have to gain from dragon dentistry for instance? The premise here is that witch society needed to work for regular humans to sustain itself. It makes sense, witches still need food and such.

I'm just wondering what the intended endgame is, since I can't imagine the show will actually go with a "Magic is totally worthless; shut this school down" ending. It'd be interesting if they went with a "magic as artistic expression" angle, which the Shiny Chariot performance gives a basis for. Then they could take the show in the direction of a defense of the value of the arts in a world of science. I'd like to see that, since that's a topic I feel strongly about as an artist,
 

Cornbread78

Member
Absolute Duo ep.3
uMkQmoE.jpg

Still no plot at all, but things happened with no explanation why. At least the beginning of the episode was decent and the battles were pretty good. Love those double short blades.



There's enough material to adapt a second season. Manga is still ongoing with currently 126 chapters.
I really hope they adapt more down the road.
 
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