What are you watching/or completed? (Anime)

[Rody]

Crowds' protagonist Hajime is the most emphatic polar opposite of the angsty teen hero/heroine you could get; if anything, she might come across as a mary sue.
Crowds kind of subverts the traditional "heroes vs invaders" theme within the first couple of episodes, letting the story redirect into the real main plot, with themes about, I think, the value of community and pursuing the best nature of humanity. Not much is as it seems in Crowds, as most drastically illustrated by the eccentric Gatchamen themselves; but the show overall is extremely positive in tone.

I haven't watched Insight yet.

[O.Supreme]

Just finished a 2nd viewing of Turn A Gundam...man I don't know why, but I don't recall the ending being to anti-climactic as before, everything building up for the finale is great then it just sort of, like a soufflé deflates into nothing at the end. I mean literally of the 50 episodes everything is a good story until the last 5 minuets of the last episode...and your left feeling like...ok...that's it?...

[EricDent]

Yeah I still work at Fry's.
Our store also seriously reduced the number of DVD/Blu-Ray aisles as well (though we have 2).
When I first moved to the area places like Best Buy had at least 2 full aisles of JUST anime.
Now most of them have maybe a 4-8' section.

Fry's still has a decent selection with 2 8' sections (split into DVD/Blu).

We recently had the buy one get one 50% off sale on Section 23 stuff.
Which hasn't happened in at least 2 years.

Anyhow I finally got internet at my apartment so I checked out the free trial of Hulu.

Probably gonna cancel, just cause the selections aren't that interesting.
Plus with streaming I kinda prefer dubs, and even though some shows say they have a dub (like Sword Art Online 2) they don't.
I watched the first 4 episodes of Kamisama Kiss 2 (which does have a dub).
So far it doesn't seem as fun or cute as the first season was.
Though they do love to have lots of pretty boys to potentially join the main characters reverse harem.

I tried to watch an episode of Attack on Titan Junior High. I just couldn't get into it with subs.
Plus the show is a bit too silly.

Went to see the live action Ghost in the Shell movie today, and thought it was pretty good.
I really hate that people are so darn dependent on what the Internet says about a movie that they can't make up their own minds on if to see it or not.
Plus I hate how they are already saying its a flop despite only being out for a week so far.

This seems to be a growing trend in that people expect movies to make back their budgets in the first week it's out, or it's considered a flop.
If it doesn't they don't give it a chance to have any sort of "legs" and stay in theaters long enough to make good $.

The whole thing with the "whitewashing" issue isn't even that important.
The character has been drawn as a generally Caucasian looking woman.
Though since she's not even a human, it shouldn't matter what "race" she is.

I thought Scarlett was fine as the Major.

[Rody]

I saw Your Name. last night, and it was AMAZING. I don't remember the last time a movie got me that worked up!!
I definitely recommend seeing it in theaters.

[EricDent]

Well I decided to not bother with the rest of Kamisama Kiss Season 2.
Borrowing a bit too much from Kamichu, and everybody seemed so darn mean to the main girl.

Decided to try Log Horizon and so far it's pretty good.
A bit different than Sword Art Online since they didn't have to worry about perma-death.
The main guy does seem to attract the "waifus" often.
Though the cat-guy is pretty smooth with the ladies as well.

[Garasharp K7]

Haven't posted hare for ages, but here goes...
Watched some gameplay footage of Super Robot Wars V recently – well, mainly the bits related to Nadesico. Especially the part where (hiding this bit in case anyone hasn't played the game yet) I swear, I almost teared up during that scene. It left me grinning like an idiot for most of the day too. Really wish the actual movie ended like that.

Anyway, seeing all that got me to dig out the series and watch it again. I often go back to it every few years, and I have a blast with it every time. I always did like how the show jumps between comedy and drama and then back again without missing a beat. Love how it handles its' references to other shows too, especially the Gekiganger 3 segments. The OVA is great too – really feels like one of the old Mazinger movies.
I'm halfway through the series so far, but I reckon I need to pace myself a bit. Don't want to plough through the show too fast...

I'm also watching Yamato 2199 as well. Reaction's pretty much the same as with Nadesico; I love this show. It's left me grinning like an idiot too, Watching it along with the original Star Blazers, I'm getting the same giddy thrill as I do watching the original. Fantastic series.

Other stuff I'm watching: Kyousougiga, Xabungle Graffiti and Dominion Tank Police. Those should keep me busy for a good while.

[O.Supreme]

[Dr Kain]

Good god, there is a lot of anime coming out on BD or just recently came out that I need to get.

Wolf's Rain
Outlaw Star
Code Geass Akito Exiled
Gundam 08th MS Team
Gundam Trilogy
One Piece Film Gold
One Piece Heart of Gold
Big O
Dragon Ball Kai Final Chapters 1-3
Sailor Moon S Part 2

[Dr Kain]

We finished Cowboy Bebop today. I know I'm repeating myself, but I really need to get back into watching this show more often. It is amazing. The ending is so perfect and badass. One of the best anime endings ever. There's only one episode that I don't really care for, but even that one isn't bad, it's just not that interesting to me (Wild Horses). With that said, my top favorite episodes are Toys in the Attic, Pierre Le Fou, Mushroom Samba, Cowboy Funk, and Speak Like a Child. Good god is Spike and Jet's search for a Betamax hilarious, especially when they end up retrieving a VHS player instead. I give this show a perfect 10/10 stars and if you are an anime fan who has never seen this show, you are doing yourself a complete disservice.

[O.Supreme]

Well after playing SRW V for a while, my son is starting to show interest in some of the characters, which is good. So he wants to know more about Getter Robo, this particular game however features the 4th series, the 13 episode OVA from 1997 -Getter Robo Armageddon known in Japan as Change!! Getter Robo: The Last Day of the World. I *ahem* forgot how violent this was, (well not appropriate for an 11 year old IMHO) we watched a couple episodes but I think I'm going to take the safe route and introduce him to the original Getter Robo first.

Speaking of which...I just looked up Go Nagai and he is 71 now! -I'm not saying his creations wont live beyond him, but before he retires, I'd love to see an honest to goodness full-on Super Robot series crossing over all of his properties, those 2 minute teases we got back in 2000 were spectacular, would love to see a full series.

[lhb412]

^ With the Devilman series for Netflix and the Mazinger Z movie inbound it seems everything's coming up Go Nagai. Cool that he can still see his characters thrive in his old age.

It's not technically anime, but it's close: this morning I watched the first episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy on Crunchyroll and I was enthralled!

[sentaison]

You're in for a real treat. I'm showing it to a friend, usually an episode at a time. It's worth a second watch.

[Dr Kain]

We watched episodes 11-19 of Space Dandy today. They were pretty good, especially episodes 14 and 15, which were fantastic. I loved seeing a multiverse of the trio and done in different art styles. Although, the emo Dandy was hysterical. I wish they had shown us how the show reverted back to that version, but that would require there being continuity.

Episode 15 was friggin phenomenal. Probably my favorite episode of the entire series thus far. That Skull Kid was creepily badass. I loved the music that was playing when Dandy went into his backyard to discover the victims.

Getting to learn a bit about Honey was great too. I could have done without the annoying laugh track though. Regardless, the fact that she made Gel's machine break down when they tried to scan her brain and that she came up with her own capture plot was great.

Lastly, is it just me, or does the animation seem different from the first season? I get the different animation for the multiverse episode, but even the ones with the talking fish and the fishing episodes were different.

On the other hand, I could have done with the pointless musical episode.

Well next Saturday we plan to finish the show. I hope the ending is worth it.

[Dr Kain]

We watched the first 7 episodes to a series called Last Exile. I've had this DVD set for at least two years now so I felt it was a good time to finally watch it. So far it's all right. I didn't find them to be so great I needed to watch the next disc immediately after, but I'm intrigued enough to watch the next disc. The soundtrack is outstanding, the animation is pretty good, while the characters are there. I can't say any one of them has really stood out to me.

[lhb412]

[Dr Kain]

So we watched the next disc to Last Exile (8-14) and I'm starting to get bored. Except for this white hair kid named Dio, none of the characters are even remotely interesting and it feels like the plot has just completely stalled. The last four episodes were exceptionally uninspiring. Also, for being 14 episodes into it, they still haven't explained anything about how this world works. Who is at war? Why is there a war? What caused this war to occur? Who is The Guild? Why are people afraid of The Guild? Why do they make the rules of the kingdom? What exactly makes up a kingdom? How is the emperor chosen? None of these have been answered at all. So far the best episode was the one with the Chocobo Racing (as I call it). I've invested in it this far, so I'm going to finish the series, but at this point I know this is a series I will never bother to revisit.

[lhb412]

Thunderbolt Fantasy does that cliché anime thing in the second episode where a horde of villains ambush a hero and then newly introduced heroes show up for the rescue but instead of teaming up they bicker with each other and the confident villains gradually realize they're the ones who are outmatched. I mention this because I'm finding it hard to remember other times when this trope is executed as well.

[Dr Kain]

Well we finished the last 7 episodes to Space Dandy tonight. The episode that took place on Planet Limbo was down right awesome. I loved the death song. The one with the disco one was not bad as the disco music did not suck as badly as it could have. Still find it weird the planet was called Grease though when it dealt with disco. The others were kind of good, but the ending annoyed me to now end. Such a god damned copout. I'm so glad I did not continue to watch this show once a week when it initially aired. I feel bad for those that did.

Now don't get me wrong, there were interesting aspects to the reveal about Dandy and why it seems like continuity does not matter, but I've seen the ending itself done many times beforehand, and done better.

In the end, I'm going to give the show a 7/10. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it did keep me entertained. My top favorite episodes are the Limbo one, the one with the Skull Kid, the racing one, the zombie one, and the multiverse of Dandy's one.

[klen7]

^ i loved the zombie episode and the scorched planet episodes

[sentaison]

I guess I haven't posted here on the finale for Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans. Man the last 10 episodes of this show were tough to watch, as Tekkadan's situation became more and more dire. Allies are cut off or prevented from giving aid, and the enemy they are fighting has no mercy or any intention of accepting surrender. The ending is bittersweet, and it will make you feel for the characters in this show.

Other anime I'm watching right now. I confess to enjoying Dragonball Super, it is just a crazy superhero show in my eyes, and the story hasn't been bad at all.

I'm also watching Tiger Mask W. I used to be a big pro wrestling fan years ago, and this series reminds me of the best of it.

Finally I've started on My Hero Acadamia. I'm four episodes in, and I'm finding a good superhero origin story so far. I like that in a world where 80% of the population are born with "quirks" (powers) the primary character worked to earn his.

[klen7]

I watched the Blame! movie - as a huge Blame! fan I have mixed feelings. I see what they tried to do, but i think it missed what makes Blame! unique and ended up with something a bit generic. I guess they felt a movie with a largely silent protagonist and sweeping surreal landscapes would be lost on general audiences so they shifted the focus to the Fishers and expanded their role significantly. The film finally feels somewhat more like Blame! when Cibo shows up, and then again when Sana shows up - but they also decided to make a lot MORE Safe Guards, but less effective Safe Guards (smaller, easier to kill). The Fishers arc wraps up but its hard to picture a sequel because they spent so little time on the main characters of Killy and Cibo. I also felt they didnt do justice to the Megastructure - granted it would probably be harder to animate - but it could also be because the manga orientation vs the TV screen. So in the manga you'd get full pages showing how massive everything is, but on the screen its all a bit squished vertically and the sense of scale seems lost.

[EricDent]

Got Elf Princess Rane at a local HPB.
Watched it, and while it was kinda fun, it also was pretty darn weird.
Bonus points for having several ladies in the buff.

Consolidating my collection a bit, and selling off stuff I might/might not re-purchase at a later date.
Makes it slightly easier to move.

Did that with Cat Planet Cuties (sold the older box set & repurchased the SAVE).

[Dr Kain]

So I watched the first 3 episodes to Yu-Gi-Oh! VRains and I'm pretty much done. It was boring. There was way too much exposition going on, too many new rules introduced, some of which made no sense, and nothing is really at stake given it's all part of a virtual world. It's pretty much Yu-Gi-Oh! meets Tron, but it feels like they also forgot the card game aspect of the show with all of the virtual world talk. Not that that would be an issue if the thing was at least entertaining to watch. Oh well, at least I have Dark Dimensions to look forward to next month.

[EricDent]

I finally got around to finishing Sorcerer Hunters.
It starts off slow, but gets decent in the second half.

Also picked up Panty & Stocking (the classic release) which is actually an upgrade, since the older set I had was just DVD.

Speaking of that, the place I sold to often just up & closed suddenly.
In less than a week it's baren & empty.
Kinda wonder if they are moving to a bigger place, or if Buybacks just went under?

[EricDent]

Watched the Netflix exclusive Cyborg 009 Call of Justice series. It was a totally CGI show with cell-shaded type animation.
It was pretty decent, had lots of cool action, a decent dub (Wendy Lee was involved), and an interesting story.
The characters looked a bit more "human" than the past versions, so Jet didn't have that huge "hawk beak" nose or the swept back hair.
At 12 episodes I watched it in a day.