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Summer 2014 Anime |OT3| where everyone watches doremi for hito

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Mothman91

Member
Man, the first question at beginning was almost philosophical. I think im gonna enjoy this series.

The first half is hit/miss. Lots of people dropped it after that, don't be one of those people.

Second season is superb, my aots/aoty(maybe). Only a couple of weak episodes so far, and I expect the finale to go out with a bang.
 

Kvik

Member
Its probably been asked earlier today, but how far into the current manga releases are we? AKA S2 wishful thinking.

Sakura's valentine choco/Nozaki first meet was chapter #48 in the manga. The latest chapter on Gangan Online is #54. But they skipped a number of chapters and/or characters.

If we ever got S2, then hopefully we'll see
the Onsen and Beach chapter
, or that chapter where
Sakura imitates Seo
:)
 
Durarara 12

Coming back to this after a few months haitus I can't exactly recall everything but I remember most of what happened. I remember there were a lot of mini-stories that didn't seem to be going anywhere. Then suddently they all conclude in a single episode. I have to say it was done well and that reveal of who is behind the dollars threw me off guard. Issac and Miria also made a cameo which made this episode even more awesome.
 

kinger256

Member
Aldnoah Zero - End

Best episode in the series. Not a great achievement considering all the other episodes were mediocre, but solid nonetheless.

Inaho had little or no character development during the series, but his end was strangely cathartic for me. For entire series, his actions were based on a purely logical and utilitarian standpoint. However, at the end he chooses to pull out a gun at the most illogical of circumstances and dies because of it. He sees the person he loves dead and finally acts out of emotion, and dies for it. I actually felt that this single moment made him the most developed character. Funny that the moment a character actually gets something proper for the audience to invest in, he dies. It's like the series it's afraid of developing its characters beyond paper-thin personalities.

I couldn't get invested in Slaine however. Majority of his time in the show is spent seeing how much shit luck he has. The few scenes attempting to grow Slaine's character, such as his flashbacks with the princess, comes up as weak. I felt like the only reason the show gave me to care about Slaine was that "He was tortured by some chunni Martians therefore you should feel sad. Also ntr". It's even worse for Marito. Like it's hard for me to come up with instances where his presence actually affected the plot.
Anyways, a solid show with some decent action scenes. This season was terrible for non-comedy series, so it looks like it might end up being the my second favorite in that regard.
 

Syrinx

Member
Servant x Service 3

Mmm...still not quite digging this. For one, Tokp sucks. Generic tsundere little sister just feels so out of place here, and I can't say that in a good way. And coming off of Working!!, this isn't as absurd and zany. I do feel like it's close to getting to what it's going for though, so I'll keep on.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Servant x Service 3

Mmm...still not quite digging this. For one, Tokp sucks. Generic tsundere little sister just feels so out of place here, and I can't say that in a good way. And coming off of Working!!, this isn't as absurd and zany. I do feel like it's close to getting to what it's going for though, so I'll keep on.

Just embrace Luuuuuuushyyyyyy and understand why SxS is the better workplace comedy!
 

Syrinx

Member
Servant x Service 4

The section manager is a talking stuffed rabbit who's enthusiastic about drinking. This show is officially awesome.
 

Link Man

Banned
Nozaki-kun END

I really enjoyed this series, had some great laughs and great characters. Chiyo Sakura may be the cutest anime character in existence. At the same time, it does feel like the characters didn't really step out of their assigned roles, and a lot of the humor felt a bit recycled. To use a phrase I've used before, this feels to me like a cotton-candy show: I enjoy it while I'm watching it, but feel unsatisfied after finishing.
 
Horizon in the middle of nowhere 1-5 - This really isn't very easy to follow. And so many bloody characters.

It's an issue with the first four episodes taking place at about the same time, and especially with all the different viewpoints. The setting and backstory itself is fairly convoluted as well. The plot becomes a bit more manageable after the first half though, as that was mostly the setup for the main conflict.

Still one of my favorite series, and patiently waiting for a season 3.
 
Looking through the 2014 lineup and man, aren't there any more Josei romance/drama shows?

There are only a few josei romance/drama anime adaptations in existence - Bunny Drop, Honey and Clover, Kids on the Slope, Nana (though this is technically shoujo), Natsuyuki Rendevous, Nodame Cantabile, Paradise Kiss, Princess Jellyfish, Uta Koi are what come to mind. These almost always aired on noitamina or NTV, and the former has strayed from its original purpose of appealing to women and such while the latter hasn't funded many josei adaptations lately - the last one was Chihayafuru, which isn't really a romance/drama show. This sort of manga is far more likely to get a live-action drama adaptation to begin with, since that's where the audience is. So yeah, no josei anime on the horizon right now.
 

FelixOrion

Poet Centuriate
Captain Earth 20

Some interesting visual cues here, even if they are quite overt.

The second half was pretty strong actually. The Teppei-Akari scene was really strong and well done. I've been waiting for that shit.

Attack on Titan 14

man this writing is garbage. straight up brain dead shit.

Terror in Resonance 7

Man this show is a fucking rush.

Amazing visuals, absolutely fantastic music, a edge of your seat story. Goddamn.

One Week Friends 8

Show's just as sweet as always. The conclusions is going to be so great, I can already taste it on my feels receptors.

Oh a new character huh?
Well then.

Space☆Dandy 22

Goddman this fucking episode

so many crazy faces and linework, so much booty, so much funny

honestly a lot of the art reminded me of Redline

wtf am i watching

seriously what in the flying fuck
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
There are only a few josei romance/drama anime adaptations in existence - Bunny Drop, Honey and Clover, Kids on the Slope, Nana (though this is technically shoujo), Natsuyuki Rendevous, Nodame Cantabile, Paradise Kiss, Princess Jellyfish, Uta Koi are what come to mind. These almost always aired on noitamina or NTV, and the former has strayed from its original purpose of appealing to women and such while the latter hasn't funded many josei adaptations lately - the last one was Chihayafuru, which isn't really a romance/drama show. This sort of manga is far more likely to get a live-action drama adaptation to begin with, since that's where the audience is. So yeah, no josei anime on the horizon right now.

Yeah, that is a shame, because of the anime mentioned I would probably put Nodame cantabile, honey and clover, and chihayafuru in my top 10 series of all time. Shame that noitamina strayed from its path.

Ah well, time to marathon barakamon anyway. Been waiting for it to finish before seeing it all.
 

cajunator

Banned
School Days 07



urs9jlg22swd.gif


Yes it was totally your fault your boyfriend cheated on you. Thankfully all it took to get his interest back was a transparent shirt. Makoto really grows ever more disgusting with each episode.

Hopefully after that ending Katsura stops being a pushover. Half of that demented school is in need of some serious stabbing to the chest.

Makoto is a real gentleman. He lives for the ladies.

I Couldn't Become a Hero, So I Reluctantly Decided to Get a Job: 3

What the? Tentacles monster with white, sticky substance when defeated? Slice of life indeed.

I definitely didnt like all the sex joke stuff but Fino is a sweetheart and I just fell in love with this show overall. The ending was messy but it was a fun experience.

I'm watching The Matrix for my English class and for some reason its making me want to go back and watch the Animatrix. I don't know why because I remember seeing like one or two of them and not liking them. I dunno, maybe my hatred for the sequels is clouding my judgement and it's actually good. Guess I'll find out.

Animatrix is hit or miss. several studios worked on segments, and I liked the Studio 4c segments the best. that could be bias though.
 
I'm watching The Matrix for my English class and for some reason its making me want to go back and watch the Animatrix. I don't know why because I remember seeing like one or two of them and not liking them. I dunno, maybe my hatred for the sequels is clouding my judgement and it's actually good. Guess I'll find out.

The Second Renaissance was worth watching at least.
 
Haikyuu 9-12
Yeah, I dropped this prematurely. The characterization steps up immensely in these episodes. The expansion of the cast has done wonders. I'm certainly not bored with it like I was a few months ago, I'm enjoying this much more than I was then.
 

fertygo

Member
Haikyuu 9-12
Yeah, I dropped this prematurely. The characterization steps up immensely in these episodes. The expansion of the cast has done wonders. I'm certainly not bored with it like I was a few months ago, I'm enjoying this much more than I was then.

I'm glad you leaving that lame :firehawk club.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon Episode 39

Yea, I don't have much to say about this one other then it sucked and was boring. In general I dislike this part of the arc as it just feels like padding until shit needs to get real again. This episode compounds those frustrations but utterly lacking in insight. Oh, okay, figure skating
was the official sport of The Moon Kingdom and the Princess was really good at it, whoopdie shit.
Also, I find Makoto's boy crazy attitude less endearing and more sad and alarming since she always bases it off guys looking like her ex, that can't be healthy. At any rate, strong recommendation to avoid.
 
Kill Me Baby 5-12 (finished series) - I forget exactly where I left this series off back in 2012 when it was first airing, but I watched maybe the second half of it within the last few months, and reviewed eps 1-4 back then, so I'll say 5-12, close enough. Kill Me Baby is a pointless and amusing comedy series about two girls, one an assassin and the other a stupid protagonist girl. It's got fairly basic art and weird, random comedy, and it's fun stuff. The ending's pretty decent too. Kill Me Baby is dumb, but funny. Worth watching for sure if you like anime comedy. I wish that the actual show had some segments with action, and animation, as good as the OP and ED, though! It's very basic-looking stuff. Fortunately, it's more than entertaining enough to make up for that. The characters are so weird and crazy, in funny ways... :) I'd definitely watch more if they made it! This is above average for anime comedy, I think. It's nothing great, but it's mostly-silly fun. And that ending bit... it was actually kind of serious, and it worked! I think she listened, MC girl. :)


Kill la Kill 9-10 - Yeah, despite liking the show, I stopped watching at ep. 8. I finally got around to starting it again since they're didn't seem to be much to watch, and yeah, this is a good show. I have some some issues with it, mostly regarding how there's this massive bodycount and 1) nobody cares and 2) either the random background students seeming to die in the various traps, attacks, etc. either a) come back despite seeming to die or b) all dead students are instantly replaced with new ones, because the student body doesn't seem to shrink in size one bit. Seriously... it's really messed up. Of course the show makes no attempt to explain this at all. I know that later in the series apparently
Satsuki becomes one of the goodguys basically, as the plot gets even crazier
but seriously... how could no one care about what's happened here?

I know, you're not supposed to think about this. This show is about absurd overdone action, crazy visuals, silly weird stuff, etc. in this over-the-top cartoon city. But I can't help but think about it, and it's part of why I stopped watching. But as for these episodes, they were good as usual, apart from a few moments which raised the concerns I discuss in the previous paragraph. Ryuko faces off against several of the 'big four' enemies, and figures out ways to beat them. The visuals are great as usual, I definitely like the very cartoony look of the series. I'll watch more.


As for stuff from this season.

Falcom School 12-13 - Seriously, this series needs to continue. Falcom poking fun at itself is good stuff. :)


Nozaki-kun 4-6 - No more of the stuff from ep. 3? That's good. Still damages the show that it was ever there to begin with, though. This is an okay, watchable, and sometimes amusing show. I mostly like it. It's light entertainment, sure, but decent enough. The characters are all very much shoujo-ey stereotypes, but of course the joke is that the genders in reality don't often match up with those of the shoujo characters in the manga -- so a guy is the model for Nozaki's manga's protagonist, that girl is the model for a guy, etc. Also the other 'joke' is about how hopelessly much the MC girl like Nozaki but will never manage to tell him this, so she just keeps helping out with his manga, meeting the various other people who also help out on it, etc. On that note... yeah, I don't know if that editor likes you very much, Nozaki. But that's probably a better situation than that last guy... even if Nozaki's reactions to him were just as bad as the guy's actions.

Nozaki-kun 7-8 - Ep 7 is amusing. This is a very simple and repetitive show; there is no character development here, each character is a stereotype and sticks to it. One part is when the guy who pretends to be a playboy type but actually is shy gets dragged into modeling for the art club. Entertaining stuff. Also, Nozaki and MC girl go on a 'date', which actually of course is just him looking for ideas for his manga, because as he says, he has no hobbies.

In ep. 8, one part is another hilarous segment about the guy who shows how much he likes the 'prince' girl by hurting her -- throwing things at her, etc. I know that in anime and manga the reverse of this, girls doing that to guys, is common, but this is NOT something where you can do that the other way and have an acceptable result; this is absolutely disgusting stuff thematically, and if I drop the series, it'll be for this. LOL, isn't it so funny that that girl misunderstands what he's thinking and thinks he wants to play the part of the princess in the play, but he gets mad because he doesn't get it and throws a bunch of stuff at her and she has some bandaids and stuff afterwards? I know Japan is a very behind-the-times place as far as gender rights go compared to the US, and that's saying something given how far we have to go as well (case in point, MRAs and their stupid woman-hating gamer allies), and sometimes, unfortunately, anime reminds you of that. This is one of those times. Nobody thinks that there's much wrong with his behavior, of course. Mostly criticize the victim, not the perpetrator! Classic sexist behavior. "But he actually likes her inside so it's all okay' is not in any way a defensible excuse. Nor would be 'it's just being done for comedy value'; it's not funny.


Mangaka-san to Assistant to Assistant to all (1-12 + OVAs 1-3) - This is a bad harem comedy anime. It's sometimes amusing, though, and episodes are somewhere around 12 minutes long (and 6 to `0 minutes for the OVAs), so it doesn't take long to get through. The main character is Aito, a panties-obsessed manga artist. He's got female assistants who are also his love interests. Fairly generic harem antics ensue, with a mangaka focus of course since that is the subject. Aito is one of those really pathetic leads, completely obsessed with panties to the exclusion of almost anything else. The main girl is tsundere, probably; either that or she really doesn't like him very much despite being unable to separate from him. Manga spoilers!
The manga actually finished recently, and this point was left unanswered -- she's still with him, but refuses a real relationship. Does she actually like him deep down, or is it really all just pity? The ending leaves that still somewhat unclear. Annoying! Answer the series' biggest question. Don't leave it unclear. Even for a super-rushed maybe-cancellation ending, it's quite annoying stuff and could be a lot better. As for the other girls... only main girl had a serious chance. The others aren't actually mentioned in the final chapter.
Anyway, the anime doesn't get to that point, but the total absence of any character development is the same. At least the characters are usually amusing as they are. I'll watch more of this if they make more of the anime. (Note: I have this in the 'this season' category because the OVAs are more recent, even though the show is from earlier this year.)
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
In ep. 8, one part is another hilarous segment about the guy who shows how much he likes the 'prince' girl by hurting her -- throwing things at her, etc. I know that in anime and manga the reverse of this, girls doing that to guys, is common, but this is NOT something where you can do that the other way and have an acceptable result; this is absolutely disgusting stuff thematically, and if I drop the series, it'll be for this. LOL, isn't it so funny that that girl misunderstands what he's thinking and thinks he wants to play the part of the princess in the play, but he gets mad because he doesn't get it and throws a bunch of stuff at her and she has some bandaids and stuff afterwards? I know Japan is a very behind-the-times place as far as gender rights go compared to the US, and that's saying something given how far we have to go as well (case in point, MRAs and their stupid woman-hating gamer allies), and sometimes, unfortunately, anime reminds you of that. This is one of those times. Nobody thinks that there's much wrong with his behavior, of course. Mostly criticize the victim, not the perpetrator! Classic sexist behavior. "But he actually likes her inside so it's all okay' is not in any way a defensible excuse. Nor would be 'it's just being done for comedy value'; it's not funny.

I think you're mistaking his intentions. He's hitting her not to hide that he likes her, but because she actually irks him quite a bit by skipping drama clubs, causing him trouble when she does attend, making fun of his small size and also the misunderstanding with wanting to be feminine which he takes as her trying to harrass him.

Don't really see what's thematically disgusting unless you don't like the concept of the comedic violent tsundere in general. It's just that this time the gender is flipped around. Nothing sexist about it.
 

duckroll

Member
Haikyuu 9-12
Yeah, I dropped this prematurely. The characterization steps up immensely in these episodes. The expansion of the cast has done wonders. I'm certainly not bored with it like I was a few months ago, I'm enjoying this much more than I was then.

Glad you're giving it another shot. The best thing I liked about the series was how they put effort into making the various characters feel like people, even if they don't have a huge role. Little mannerisms or insights into what made them tick really improves the dynamic of the show, especially when competitions and rivalries don't feel like like one-dimensional stuff but rather relationships which everyone can relate to in real life.
 

Shard

XBLAnnoyance
Sailor Moon Mondays: Sailor Moon Episode 40:

I almost feel like I owe the previous episode an apology, this is some fucking pointless filler. Indeed, this is the worst episode I have viewed since the infamous episode 20. This could have worked if they had just broken away from the god damned formula, given us a quiet and introspective episode of Usagi reflecting on shit away from the madness and the training and spending some time with her family. Instead they just had to crowbar in the Dark Kingdom with all the usual trappings. Episode 39 was at least on point with this goofy ferret out Sailor Moon plotline. This however was a Japanese folkore tale that was used to have Endimyion show up and attempt to play the role of the heel. Honestly, this shit isn't working since they having him act like a face in battle very effortlessly. Just an awful episode all around and highest recommendations to avoid.
 

wonzo

Banned
Barakamon 10-11

barakamon10.jpg


Really glad they didn't decide to ham things up a bit and just let it all happen naturally. I've got a feeling final episode'll make the perfect bookend to compliment the stunning opener and that does happen then this is easily AOTY (that isnt pupipo)
 
I think you're mistaking his intentions. He's hitting her not to hide that he likes her, but because she actually irks him quite a bit by skipping drama clubs, causing him trouble when she does attend, making fun of his small size and also the misunderstanding with wanting to be feminine which he takes as her trying to harrass him.
As if the excuses for why he does it really matter?

Anyway, the reason why he focuses on her so much is because he likes her deep down. If it was some other person he probably would not care if they didn't attend club.

Don't really see what's thematically disgusting unless you don't like the concept of the comedic violent tsundere in general. It's just that this time the gender is flipped around. Nothing sexist about it.
That is not true at all. Of course there's something more sexist about it when you flip the genders around! I don't like comic tsundere violence in general, because it's definitely bad messages, but it's definitely far worse with a male attacking a female. In the real world, male-on-female violence is a huge problem. The reverse exists, but is a much less frequent thing (more testosterone leads to more violence in general, after all). Of course that's a problem too, but not nearly on the same level. Also, making it even worse, the stuff he does to her in this is somewhat plausible, unlike, say, Love Hina's obviously absurd 'Naru hits Keitaro over the building because he saw her bathing again' stuff. There's a definite difference between that and him injuring her because she said something stupid he disliked, as happens in Nozaki-kun.

Basically, that kind of normal anime female-on-male violence is something I think of as a problem, but this is a far, far worse one.
 
Glad you're giving it another shot. The best thing I liked about the series was how they put effort into making the various characters feel like people, even if they don't have a huge role. Little mannerisms or insights into what made them tick really improves the dynamic of the show, especially when competitions and rivalries don't feel like like one-dimensional stuff but rather relationships which everyone can relate to in real life.

I just finished episode 16 (match against Tokonami) and yeah, they are doing a great job making you feel sympathy for minor characters and what is essentially a team of jobbers.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
As if the excuses for why he does it really matter?

Anyway, the reason why he focuses on her so much is because he likes her deep down. If it was some other person he probably would not care if they didn't attend club.


That is not true at all. Of course there's something more sexist about it when you flip the genders around! I don't like comic tsundere violence in general, because it's definitely bad messages, but it's definitely far worse with a male attacking a female. In the real world, male-on-female violence is a huge problem. The reverse exists, but is a much less frequent thing (more testosterone leads to more violence in general, after all). Of course that's a problem too, but not nearly on the same level. Also, making it even worse, the stuff he does to her in this is somewhat plausible, unlike, say, Love Hina's obviously absurd 'Naru hits Keitaro over the building because he saw her bathing again' stuff. There's a definite difference between that and him injuring her because she said something stupid he disliked, as happens in Nozaki-kun.

Do you know why domestic violence is considered a sexist crime? It's not just the violence, it's the exertion that women have no control over a relationship and must bow to what the man says and does, often through violence and sexual assaults. It does not boil down simply to "violence against women". It's a very complex issue involving the way our society has been largely patriarchal for centuries now, and still is today in a lot of ways.

So, let's examine when the violence actually happens.

Firstly, at the very beginning of their introductions. First, we are introduced with kashima as being the star of the drama club, the 'prince" of it. However, her introduction showed that instead of going to the drama club, she would much rather flirt with girls. She's not some no bit actor either. She is literally the main actor of the entire club as appointed by Hori, because as we learned he recognises her ability, even going as far as drawing backgrounds for nozaki just to get scripts that are appropriate for her. Thus hori came and knock her out in order to drag her back to the club she's supposed to attend. She says she will find a way to escape to flirt with the girls more, and she gets spun.

Then we cut back to the club. We see that they are supposed to be painting the sets. So what does she do? She and the hordes of girls she brings promptly caused even more mess for him to clean up.

In episode 8 we see another side to this. The bag thrown at her was still about her trying to escape from her club duties, but we see another side to it emerged. Kashima keeps getting the wrong idea that hori is secretly feminine, unable to express himself. We see her escalating antics at trying to bring hori "out of the closet" in a way, which he views as harassment, even if it's entirely unintentional. This culminates in Hori, already wary of what kashima would do, being infuriated that kashima inisist that he wants to be princess.

None of this is remotely like domestic violence at all. it's just a gender-flipped version of anime comedy where someone being a dumbass usually gets meted out with an over-exaggerated punishment. Kashima wasn't hit because she was a woman who hori is trying to dominate over. She is hit because she is literally a dumbass. In the grand tradition of winry throwing a wrench at edward for breaking his automail, kaname hitting sousuke for causing international incidents in her school, even as far back as akane hitting ranma because everybody are fucking jerks to each other in that show.

I mean, I agree that sort of comedic violence is not always my cup of tea, but slapstick violence can be funny if it's balanced right. You might not think gekkan shoujo got that balance correctly but I'd argue that it is in no way related to sexism at all, unless you think violence against women is considered sexism, which I do disagree with.

I mean if you want an example of violence with no basis or justification at all in this show you can just look at seo constantly hurting waka when they play basketball.
 
Horizon in the middle of nowhere 1-5 - This really isn't very easy to follow. And so many bloody characters.

If you've reached episode 5 then you should be fine , the rest they have to tell you will make more sense now ( that was the hard part )

BUt you'll have quite some backstory to accept because this world rules aren't the clearest.
 
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