Anime Thread of Doom

[SlyReaper]

Re: Zero

Spoiler:

So anything the whale kills is forgotten? Why do I have this sinking feeling that Rem is permanently dead now even if Subaru uses his return-by-death ability?

It's good to be wrong.

[PeteP]

His limitation is that he has no control over his spawn point so the most likely point for him to lose someone is probably at the end of an arc where he succeeded but missed the loss of an ally. Well I guess it could happen before a arc really gets going.

[ConMan]

Re: Zero

Spoiler:

So anything the whale kills is forgotten? Why do I have this sinking feeling that Rem is permanently dead now even if Subaru uses his return-by-death ability?

It's good to be wrong.

We suspected that might be the case too, we're also glad to be wrong. Last episode was such a weird one, and it revealed so much. Also, given the title drop, is there another episode next week? Also, given what we've learned in the last couple of loops,

Spoiler:

Is Emilia the daughter of Puck and Satella? It would explain a lot of things.

[kiniget]

honestly the only thing I'm really enjoying this season aside from Re:Zero is Amanchu

there's a few others that are ...interesting, like Taboo Tattoo, but nothing else that I'd call actually good

[SecondTalon]

Same thing I say about B movies, really. If you can't be good, at least be interesting.

[Grop]

Lately I watched (or rewatched) quite a few things from the eighties and early nineties (Macross SDF, Laputa, Nadia, Porco Rosso, Roujin Z, Bubblegum Crisis, and more).

All the names I have said are great things to watch. But sometimes the action is not very well animated (yes, even in the Myiazaki movies I think some scenes are not well animated especially when objects are moving in the sky). So at some point I wondered about Akira: were some of the action scenes not good?

The thing is, Akira is flawless (except maybe for its story, I am thinking of the conclusion). Every scene is nicely animated, except maybe for the one where a wave in water happens.

[SlyReaper]

Is that why everyone loses their minds over Akira, the animation quality? I never did understand why it got such a cult following.

[Grop]

There may also be a matter of timing; it is the first Japanese animated movie that I watched in a theater (almost ten years after it was made) and it made a big impression at that time. Along with GITS and Princess Mononoke, it was one of the few movies that made anime and manga popular and taken seriously (in France at least, I wouldn't know about other countries).

Also I can't watch Evangelion; but I understand it impressed people who were teenagers when it was aired.

...

In other news I am watching Mob Psycho 100. The manga is a bit weird and someone might say it is poorly drawn. I really like the way they animated these pictures in spite of their style. The coloring is a bit schtick when it comes to showing spirits, but that doesn't happen too often.

[SlyReaper]

So one of those "you had to be there" things. I can understand that.

So Re Zero only has one more episode. It better not end on another bloody cliffhanger.

Spoiler:

[PeteP]

Sao abridged is so much better than sao.

[Grop]

I just watched Steamboy, a 2004 movie. It was very good.

Also I am looking forward to watching Drifters (the manga is quite fun) and Uchouten Kazoku 2.

...

And sao abridged isn't much abridged; it is quite long and verbose. Well after re-watching some abridged stuff from Saint Seya, it wasn't exacly abridged either, only awesomer.

[Mambrino]

Saw The Boy and the Beast by Mamoru Hosda / Studio Chizu in a theatre.

It could have been great with a stronger story, now it's merely good (at least if you don't think too much), and gorgeous to watch.

[KnightExemplar]

Began Re:Zero. I'm only on episode 11 (and I can see the thread is way ahead of me). I'll say I'm enjoying it but the childish behavior of Subaru is a bit annoying.

Then again, in general, I find that immature and incompetent main characters (like Subaru) generally leads to far more interesting setups. Because when the main character is a dumbass, then the other characters generally have to explain themselves to the lead character all the time. Which leads to natural expositions and better setups.

Its kinda odd: he's genre-savvy: he knows how these fights generally go and is probably a good analogue for my thoughts. Maybe it goes with that rule of thumb of detective / mystery stories: make the point-of-view character slightly dumber than the audience. (Watson exists so that Sherlock Holmes can explain to him the mysteries, which reveals to the audience what is going on. Similarly, Subaru exists so that we the audience can explore the world from his perspective). They erred on the side of "too dumb" here IMO however.

In any case, its a great anime. Definitely enjoying it so far.

[sardia]

Began Re:Zero. I'm only on episode 11 (and I can see the thread is way ahead of me). I'll say I'm enjoying it but the childish behavior of Subaru is a bit annoying.

Then again, in general, I find that immature and incompetent main characters (like Subaru) generally leads to far more interesting setups. Because when the main character is a dumbass, then the other characters generally have to explain themselves to the lead character all the time. Which leads to natural expositions and better setups.

Its kinda odd: he's genre-savvy: he knows how these fights generally go and is probably a good analogue for my thoughts. Maybe it goes with that rule of thumb of detective / mystery stories: make the point-of-view character slightly dumber than the audience. (Watson exists so that Sherlock Holmes can explain to him the mysteries, which reveals to the audience what is going on. Similarly, Subaru exists so that we the audience can explore the world from his perspective). They erred on the side of "too dumb" here IMO however.

In any case, its a great anime. Definitely enjoying it so far.

Ugh the episodes in the teens are the worst. It gets better after that, sorta. Overall, a good show.

[SlyReaper]

There are a few more Dumb Subaru episodes to go. He does eventually get his shit together though.

[Grop]

One could say Subaru becomes more or less dumb as it serves the story; however this show wasn't too bad.

[ConMan]

I think there's a decent stretch of episodes where Subaru isn't dumb, per se, but is feeling the blowback from the hubris of being able to fix everything with his ability. Then Rem makes a speech that makes 50% of people vote for her in a Crunchyroll poll of favourite character, then you get the last episodes of the season that have very little in the way of filler in them.

Meanwhile, I am so glad that I stuck with Mob Psycho 100 even after I realised it wasn't Saitama-the-psychic. Less (but not zero) haha, more plot than I expected, and some really good treatment of how to show the relative strengths of various characters and not just making it "He's the strongest, he always wins, every other fight is essentially meaningless". And then the previous episode had a twist at the end that made no sense, and then this week that twist was twisted in a way that made perfect sense, and then

Spoiler:

they showed how cool Reigen really is and killed him (probably).

[Grop]

Things are never easy in Mob Psycho 100. This is quite unlike One Punch Man in that regard.

[KnightExemplar]

Dumbass Subaru is dumbass.

~ After Episode 13ish Re:Zero

Spoiler:

Although I'd have to say that I'm glad that the anime-trope of "say whatever the fuck you want, when you want to" finally gets a character in trouble. Usually, speaking your mind helps the Naruto-types with everyone inexplicably just fine with your social insults and boneheaded speeches. In this case, Subaru simply embarrasses himself and Emilia in front of everybody.

Really socially awkward, but in a way that Subaru is incapable of understanding. And thus, he's kicked out of the meeting and Emilia is starting to have trust issues with his character.

-------------

The last "socially awkward mistake" was solved by respawn: Subaru calls Emilia "Satella" in like episode 1, but dies right afterwards, so his mistake was fixed up. I have no idea where the "new save point" is, but there's probably a good chance that they're gonna solve this drama by respawn too. I'll be pleasantly surprised if they don't however.

[Grop]

I just watched Whisper of the Heart; then I looked up that country roads song.

Very nice movie; however it is about teenagers, but I don't know if many teenagers would enjoy it.

[KnightExemplar]

I just watched Whisper of the Heart; then I looked up that country roads song.

Very nice movie; however it is about teenagers, but I don't know if many teenagers would enjoy it.

I didn't like it too much personally. It was really pleasant though, mostly about childhood drama and such.

IMO, the "Country Roads" song is an American classic. It was just super-weird hearing it in Japanese (plus the lyrics were crossed, since the female lead changed the words to "Concrete Roads", because she never left the city)

[Grop]

IMO, the "Country Roads" song is an American classic. It was just super-weird hearing it in Japanese (plus the lyrics were crossed, since the female lead changed the words to "Concrete Roads", because she never left the city)

It was, of course, not weird to me as I didn't know this song. But I think it was interesting to point that translating songs isn't an easy task. I also think the scene in which the protagonist sings that song is very good.

Also if my subs were right, "Concrete Roads" was only a sort of first attempt (which isinteresting as well), and later she went with something that means "Country Roads".

It is generally weird to hear adaptations of songs. Likewise it is weird to watch the remake of a movie from your country. This happens all the time with American culture.

Oh, for the lulz : J'ai encore ma maison, Mon pays est ici ~ I like the Japanese better.

[Mambrino]

BBC continues to surprise: now they are doing anime reporting (with annoyingly click-baity titles and numbered paragraphs)?

Why the story of body-swapping teenagers has gripped Japan

A Japanese film has made history by becoming the first animation not made by the legendary Studio Ghibli to rake in more than 10bn yen (£76m; $98m) in a month. But what exactly is it that has been drawing in the crowds?

edit. Oh yeas I had a question, too.

Anybody here know anything about this film or director?

[ConMan]

BBC continues to surprise: now they are doing anime reporting (with annoyingly click-baity titles and numbered paragraphs)?

Why the story of body-swapping teenagers has gripped Japan

A Japanese film has made history by becoming the first animation not made by the legendary Studio Ghibli to rake in more than 10bn yen (£76m; $98m) in a month. But what exactly is it that has been drawing in the crowds?

edit. Oh yeas I had a question, too.

Anybody here know anything about this film or director?

Makoto Shinkai is an incredibly talented animator, and I am looking forward to watching Kimi No Na Wa. Some of his work, especially the earlier stuff, can sometimes be a bit more style than substance, but generally he's really good at setting a mood with stunning visuals. If you haven't heard of his work before, The Garden of Words (Koto no Ha no Niwa) is one of my favourites, although it does touch on a tricky subject, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo) is also really good.

[Flumble]

So should I watch Children Who Chase Lost Voices before the other two, lest I be unimpressed if I watch it after the others? They're all on the "to watch" list anyway.

[tastelikecoke]

I just watched Whisper of the Heart; then I looked up that country roads song.

Very nice movie; however it is about teenagers, but I don't know if many teenagers would enjoy it.

I watched it as a teenager and was very pleased by it. It's fun in a way that you're seeing her life in a gorgeous Studio Ghibli animated world. I watched it a very very long time ago and I still remember the places vividly.

To anyone watching Re:Zero, you're in for a wild ride

[Grop]

Is Mob Psycho 100 already over? I expected it would go further, especially as some of what can be seen in the opening happens later.

[KnightExemplar]

I probably should have seen this coming from the perspective of "Re:Zero is a 26-episode anime adaptation of a light novel"... but none of the major questions were answered at all.

Spoiler:

Re:Zero is basically set up in three arcs, more or less split up by the four "save points" that Subaru has.

Arc1: Beginning loop in the capital where he meets the major characters. "Save Point" is the Appa stand.

Arc2: Mansion Arc. "Save point" is the 2nd time Subaru wakes up at the mansion, while he meets the maids Rem and Ram.

Arc3: Capital arc mk. 2. This had two "save points", one at the Appa stand, and one right after the white-whale fight.

------------

Arc1 sets up the major question that is never addressed: who is Subaru, who sent him here, and what is their goal? The fight between everybody and the "Bowel Slasher" Elsa ends in a virtual stalemate: with the villain escaping (injured, but she has a safe retreat). Who hired Elsa? Was it one of the other candidate princesses, someone related to the witch cult, or another unnamed character?

Arc2 sets up some other major questions: Puck seems to have some degree of knowledge of Subaru and is oddly trusting of the stranger (remember that the final version of Arc1, Subaru barely met Emilia... and yet Puck and him are very close come the start of Arc2). Roswaal is set up to be a relatively sketchy character: Roswaal x Ram clearly has some unspoken creepy history that's never elaborated on. True, the characters of the mansion are fleshed out, but there are still mysteries left unexplored in the mansion.

The shaman who attacks everyone and sets off the events of Arc2 was never discovered: it is hinted that the mastermind of Arc2 was a master of mabeasts (probably the blue haired girl who disappeared from the village after the events of Arc2).

Arc3 fleshes out the witch cultists: the White Whale is Gluttony IIRC, and Sloth is the final boss. You learn that Pride is missing among the cultist's archbishops, but that leaves four major villains left. Puck once again hints that he met Subaru in his ultimate form (suggesting again that Puck might have some memory between the time-loops). The selection process is left out completely, as Subaru is thrown out of the meeting (giving no point of view character to tell the audience what the selection process even is)

The Arc leaves many questions about Subaru's relation with the Witch: only Subaru can see the unseen-hands of Sloth (Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, BEETLEJUICE!!). There are implications that Subaru is getting too used to summoning the Witch's power by almost speaking about the respawn ability (each time the Witch has gotten closer to Subaru).

The Arc also introduces each of the candidate princesses, and while we learn a lot about Crusch (and Arc1 taught us a lot about Felt). But that leaves Anastasia (the merchant) and Priscilla (the jackass) without much development.

So yeah, basically nothing but questions have been brought forward, and very few answers. Unless another few seasons of Re:Zero comes around, it looks like Re:Zero the anime is basically going to be much like the other light-novel adaptations without any ending of note. Lots of interesting concepts, but ultimately no way to draw it all together.

--------------

My "satisfaction" of the ending is quite low. Its a very non-event. It barely wraps up the arc, especially after spending so much time with the drama.

Spoiler:

Rem x Subaru vs Emilia x Subaru. Also the argument between Emilia and Subaru is basically resolved by Subaru winning the final fight. Between the FULL Rem x Subaru episode and full episode of Subaru making himself a dumbass in court (explicitly disobeying Emilia and all that)... it seemed like a very shallow resolution.

What was Emilia's plans for keeping Subaru back? She did issue a direct command to Subaru and Subaru disobeyed it: but a real resolution needs to address Emilia's side of the story. What was Emilia thinking when she asked him to say back with Rem?

It does finish the major fights with the major villains of the arc, so that's definitely some sort of resolution. But... compared to the other light novel adaptations: Log Horizon or even Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers had a cleaner ending than Re:Zero.

Otherwise, Re:Zero is a relatively good anime with a flawed main character. (Flawed main characters are good for stories in my experience, but the amount of times I shouted at Subaru through the TV is... too high to count).

[Derek]

Makoto Shinkai is an incredibly talented animator, and I am looking forward to watching Kimi No Na Wa. Some of his work, especially the earlier stuff, can sometimes be a bit more style than substance, but generally he's really good at setting a mood with stunning visuals. If you haven't heard of his work before, The Garden of Words (Koto no Ha no Niwa) is one of my favourites, although it does touch on a tricky subject, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo) is also really good.

Five Centimeters per Second is probably his most famous work, and personally my favorite is Voices of a Distant Star.

Though as current anime directors go, I'm partial to Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, etc.).

[ConMan]

Makoto Shinkai is an incredibly talented animator, and I am looking forward to watching Kimi No Na Wa. Some of his work, especially the earlier stuff, can sometimes be a bit more style than substance, but generally he's really good at setting a mood with stunning visuals. If you haven't heard of his work before, The Garden of Words (Koto no Ha no Niwa) is one of my favourites, although it does touch on a tricky subject, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo) is also really good.

Five Centimeters per Second is probably his most famous work, and personally my favorite is Voices of a Distant Star.

Though as current anime directors go, I'm partial to Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, etc.).

Yes, his work is great. Also responsible for the fantastic Digimon movie, titled "Summer Wars".

[Flumble]

Five Centimeters per Second is probably his most famous work, and personally my favorite is Voices of a Distant Star.

I watched the former years ago with a roommate and we couldn't stop making condescending remarks about the cheeziness and whining in that film. And multiple times it had a rocket flying to space, making us hope there would finally be a scene with a sense of wonder and without the hopeless romance (it was only a slightly better love story than twilight), but every single time that hope was crushed and no amount of beautiful visuals could make up for it.
Maybe I went in with wrong expectations (namely sci-fi, based on the rockets), maybe it was my mood, but it's left a strong sensation of mediocrity to this day.

On the other hand, just watched Garden of Words and enjoyed it. Gorgeous art, refreshing theme, excellent pacing/progression for all I know; alas, they lost me on the last scene with all the crying rather than communicating before. Then again, I'm behind 7 layers of defensive personality.

the fantastic Digimon movie, titled "Summer Wars".

Hmm, that description makes me reconsider watching it. (don't elaborate!)

[ConMan]

the fantastic Digimon movie, titled "Summer Wars".

Hmm, that description makes me reconsider watching it. (don't elaborate!)

I kind of feel I have to, but I'll do so behind a spoiler so you can check it out *after* you watch the film:

Spoiler:

Hosoda made the two Digimon Adventure films, which were later spliced into a single film for the American release, and IMO it was about thre different kinds of terrible. Years later, he made Summer Wars, which borrows enough elements from the former for me to consider it a remake, and despite its kind-of source material, it's a darn good film, and one of these days I will try to learn hanafuda.

[Derek]

which were later spliced into a single film for the American release, and IMO it was about thre different kinds of terrible.

The dub is legitimately good and has an amazing soundtrack.

[ConMan]

which were later spliced into a single film for the American release, and IMO it was about thre different kinds of terrible.

The dub is legitimate good and has an amazing soundtrack.

As a kid's film made in the 90s, I shouldn't have had to even look up what was on the soundtrack, given the legal requirement for all such films to include "All Star".

[Derek]

It was also my first exposure to ska punk and had some other great bands as well. It really was a very 90's soundtrack.

[PeteP]

http://www.webtoons.com has some nice comics. I think I will like http://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/ghosts-over-wild-flowers/list?title_no=718, http://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/always-human/list?title_no=557 is i nice sol romance in a scifi setting, I like http://www.webtoons.com/en/fantasy/hooky/list?title_no=425 too although the target dem is probably relatively young.

Edit: Btw the mascot thingy in Mahou Shoujo Ikusei Keikaku has nothing on kyubei, I only have seen the first few episodes but at the moment I don't think it is very good.

[Grop]

I almost missed 3-gatsu no Lion (aka March Comes in like a Lion). Anyone watching this show? It's produced by Shaft and is quite nice I think (only seen 6 episodes so far).

Apart from that, this season was quite disappointing, and I mostly watched sequels.

[sardia]

I almost missed 3-gatsu no Lion (aka March Comes in like a Lion). Anyone watching this show? It's produced by Shaft and is quite nice I think (only seen 6 episodes so far).

Apart from that, this season was quite disappointing, and I mostly watched sequels.

Speaking of sequels, Kona Suba 2 came out, and the movie/OVA for a Fate Grand order came out. It's whets your appetite for paying for the game's store items. That said, the movie is full of fan service.

[PeteP]

Anybody watched Yuri on Ice? I am currently watching it after not really following anything during the season and it is good.

[Grop]

I didn't notice it, but it seems good indeed.