What are you watching/or completed? (Anime)

[O.Supreme]

Just tried to watch Gatchaman Crowds. Coulnd't get past the first 5 minuets of the first episode. Sure I understand that new takes on old series will often have nothing to do with the original. But this has NOTHING, not even the spirit of the original series. I guess I'll have to check out the live action film for any semblance of the original series

[The Shadow]

I watched through Gatchaman Crowds back when it was running on the Anime Network. It's interesting, but honestly I was hoping it would have been Gatchaman series proper (even if focusing on a new or different team a la Star Trek TNG) rather than a completely disconnected series merely using the name.

To sum it up, I'd say it was interesting enough for me to watch but not enough to buy. I was only watching an episode a week as that's the rate AN sends them out, that probably had a lot to do with me deciding to stick with the show and see where it was going.

[EricDent]

So I finished The Get Backers, overall it was a fun show.
Sometimes it got serious, while others it was rather goofy.
The Dr. Jackal character was probably my favorite.
Pretty sure that I don't really want to buy the show, mostly cause I don't think it would hold up to watching more than once.

Then I finished season 1 of AKB0048.
That was pretty good as well.
Though still rather random that none of the songs (besides the opening/closing songs) got subtitles.
I decided to pick up season 2 at work for about $30.
Hopefully it stays good.

Now watching Psychic Squad (another anime from the library).
Watched the first disc, so far it's pretty fun.
The girls are cute (in a little girl way), and the characters are fun.
Aya Hirano is pretty fun in this role.
Still kinda wish Section 23 would dub more of their stuff, especially something like a 52 episode show.

Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I liked it from the first episode.
It's really cute, laid back, and fun.

Like I said, I wish somebody would rescue Magic Users Club (unless they have).
I liked that series, but never got around to buying it.

Also any thoughts on Kaleido Star?

BTW one of the libraries nearby has all 3 seasons of Aria.
So I will be borrowing season 3 soon.

Also you could use the internet to find out where the nearest library is...
Seems like lots of people tend to forget that they can use Google to search for stuff...

[Dr Kain]

[Destroysall]

Just started Ao No Exorcist (Blue Exorcist) and I am liking it so far, but I feel like the integrated fillers (while fun) can be replaced with a lot more thick story content.

[Dr Kain]

Dragonball Z Battle of Gods - We got to see this at the Alamo Drafthouse tonight and it was down right incredible. Akira Toriyama was definitely on his A game when he wrote this as it was well written, well paced, it focused more on character development than action, and Beers is probably his most original Dragonball villain ever. In face, Beers was just plain awesome because he was not your typical villain. He had a personality, he had humor, and when he did not get that pudding, you wanted to see him get his revenge. It was also nice to see the cast back after all this time, especially in something that erases that terrible GT from continuity. Of course, this movie also helped make me want Toei to just do an entirely brand new adaptation of the manga without any of the filler or the annoyingly long episodes of pointless banter (and by new adaptation I mean of the whole thing from when Goku and Bulma first met through the Buu saga. Overall, this movie gets a great big 8/10 from me. Not only is it the best Dragonball movie ever, but it is also one of the best Dragonball stories period.

[EricDent]

There's another DBZ movie in the works after that one.
It's going to be written by Toriyama as well.

Now up through episode 26 of Psychic Squad (Zettai Karen Children).
Looks like it might start getting serious now.

[Dr Kain]

So I watched the first 9 episodes of Dragonball Kai since watching Battle of Gods has put me in the first Dragonball mood I have been in since 2008. It has been pretty cool watching it again from the beginning, but man, I forgot how slow these episodes were. Thank the gods I'm not watching the full length version. Of course, one of these days I do eventually plan to finally sit down and watch the original series and then the Dragon Boxes of Z. Nevertheless, there are some really hysterical moments to be found here and episode 9 ends with Yamucha's death, so everything is really going to kick off on the next disc.

[sentaison]

I finished TIger and Bunny, a great series and I'm now working on Black Lagoon. Six episodes in and I'm liking it a lot.

[Hybrid Gojira]

Currently watching Hunter X Hunter (2011). I'm about 60 episodes in and enjoy it quite a bit.

I watched the new DBZ flick awhile back, and it's definitely an old school Dragonball story with the fighting elements from DBZ.

And yes, trying to rewatch the original DBZ is like pulling teeth for me now. I grew up on that show, but it's incredibly annoying to watch a guy power up for 20 minutes and yell as if he's about to drop the biggest deuce the universe has ever seen. Just frikkin attack someone already!

[EricDent]

LOL I know what you mean by them screaming often on DBZ.

On the last set (set 4) of Psychic Squad.
Still pretty fun, though it's starting to get a bit dark.

[Dr Kain]

I watched Volume 2 of DBKai today. Got to watch Vegeta kick some ass. And my god, I love Chris Ayres' voice for Freeza.

I also watched the Dead Zone movie today (subbed). It is an okay movie, but nothing really spectacular. There was also a major flaw in Garlic's plan though. I mean, he tries to kill Piccolo at the beginning of the movie to get rid of Kami, but then he needs to collect the dragonballs to be granted immortality. Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... if he killed Piccolo, the balls would have been gone. So why is he acting so surprised when Kami shows up? His plan was very dumb. Overall, I give it a 4/10 stars. It isn't anything insulting, but it isn't very good either. Watching Gohan drunk is probably the best part of it.

[EricDent]

Finished Psychic Squad.

Overall it was a fun show.
Though with 52 episodes it still doesn't really have an ending.

I also bought Heaven's Memo Pad on Blu-Ray at work for about $16.

Boy some of our anime prices are just odd.

Recently I got Girls Und Panzer TV Series on DVD for $17.99, but we still have the Blu-Ray of the same thing for about $42.
Heavens Memo Pad on DVD costs $36, while the Blu-Ray was $18.99 (I get a discount for working there)
AKB0048 Season 1 was also $18.99 on Blu-Ray, the DVD cost about $37 on our website.
Season 2 of that on DVD was also $35, and the Blu-Ray was around $45.

Yet we still also have rather old stuff like non-SAVE/non Anime Classic versions of shows that have those newer (and cheaper) versions for rather high prices.
So those old things just sit on the shelf collecting dust.

[EricDent]

Well I finished Heaven's Note Pad.

Kinda a mix of Welcome to the NHK with a bit of DRRR mixed in.
Overall it was a decent show, and seems like it would be rewatchable.

I borrowed Humanity Has Declined from the library.
It was rather odd.
First the episodes weren't in chronological order, then it was rather odd.
Those fairies they have in this show are really cute though.
Don't think I would buy the show.

I got rid of a few manga at HPB.
They still have no idea how much things are worth.
They gave me $10 for all the volumes of Lucky Star & Strawberry Marshmallow manga that were published in the US.
Plus a strategy guide for LEGO Marvel Superheros.
Both of those manga are OOP, and were in pretty good condition.
Mostly got rid of them cause neither manga will ever get re-released in the US.
If I felt like reading them again, I can probably find them on the internet (legally).

[Timz]

watching primarily Attack on Titan. I have on occasion caught Space Dandy.

[Dr Kain]

I finished the Freeza saga of Kai. My god this thing took forever even in its shortened form. UGH!!! I'm also at the point of Kai now where Toei changed the music back to the original series' music. Only problem is, it feels like they just put the tracks on random when they added them to the episodes instead of making sure they fully fit.

DBZ THe World's Strongest: This movie is one of the better DBZ movies as it is a lot of fun, has a decent plot to it, and outside of the characters being able to breath out in space, it feels like it could have belonged in the series. Uiro is a decent villain and the movie has a great deal of action to it. Overall, I give it a 7/10.

[The Shadow]

[Dr Kain]

DBZ Tree of Might - This movie is just so damn boring. Nothing really happens and none of the villains are even likable as they hardly do anything. It also makes no sense why Tullece looks exactly like Goku. Sure, he makes the comment that there are only a few warrior types among the Saiyans, but that still doesn't answer why he looks and sounds exactly like Goku. The whole concept of the Shinsei Tree could have been cool had it actually served some type of purpose rather than just being there to get a fight going. Overall, this movie kind of blows and gets a 4/10.

DBZ Lord Slugg - This movie sucks. It has no plot. It is just action scene after action scene after action scene. Even Tree of Might had somewhat of a reasoning behind it. Here, Slugg just wants Earth because the writers want him to want Earth. The thing never has any time for breathing room as it is just one giant fight sequence. I give it a 2/10 stars.

[Dr Kain]

So I watched Volume 5 of Dragonball Kai today and I have come to some saddening realization, I don't think I like Kai. Sure, it is great to have the fight scenes not drag out for 400 episodes, but at the same time, the show seems to have lost all of its character development. Now it seems like the show is nothing but action sequence after action sequence with little to no development, making it kind of boring. As I said, I hate it when a fight goes on for 10+ episodes, but inbetween those fights you would get backstory items like what Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were feeling while they were under Freeza's command, Gohan growing up after Piccolo left him during the year before Vegeta and Nappa would arrive, etc. Plus, the regular version did a good job of building up Freeza's return with his father whereas here, all of the suspense was gone. Not to mention the lack of using the original music when Trunks slices Freeza up really ruins that great moment from the original. Actually, this is the first time I am watching the Artificial Human and Cell stuff in Kai form, so it is interesting to watch without the filler, but like I said, I kind of miss some of the filler.

[EricDent]

Finished up AKB0048 (season 2).
It got better as it went, and will stay in my collection for now.
In a few months I will try to rewatch it, to see if it holds up.
Still rather random that a music based show has no subtitles for the songs.
At least during the show itself.
Not going to look up the songs on YouTube to get them.
Though I did watch an actual AKB48 video.
The song was something to do with fortune cookies.
The girls were rather cute.

Also finished Croisee in a Foreign Labyrinth.
It's such a fun, cute, and relaxing show.
Now it's in my personal favorite list, even if it's sub only.

Now watching Aria the Origination (season 3 of Aria) and through 2 discs.
It seems a bit less sad than the previous seasons (at least so far).
Alice just graduated from middle school, and also got promoted straight to Undine from her Pair status.
Usually they go Pair-Single-Undine, but she is exceptional and they did an unprecedented promotion.

Still a very relaxing, gorgeous looking, and fun show.
Though like I said, the other 2 seasons had some very sad parts.
Especially season 2 (The Natural) when Akari had to give up her old gondola.
Cause it was getting too old to be used by an Undine.
Pretty much the only time I remember crying over the loss of an inanimate object.

[klen7]

Tried watching "Wolf Children" with the Mrs... So when it gets to the sex scene where the guy stays in wolf form she says "Uhhh is this movie reviewed so highly because of the " furry" crowd?"... We got a bit further but weren't able to finish it. I'm sure the rest of the film is fine, but with that scene its not likely to get a rewatch

[Dr Kain]

I finished the Cell saga to Dragonball Kai today. Overall, it was as good as can be, but my god the music pissed me off. I love the music to DBZ, but for this entire arc it feels like they put the same 6 track on random whether they fit a scene or not. I think there were only three instances in the whole 46 episode lot where I was blown away because they used a song or BGM I was not familiar with. It also sucks because the Freeza saga had some great songs that played after his transformations. Here, there was only one song and it was while Super Bulky Trunks was battling Perfect Cell. Very annoying. I'm not really sure what to think of Kai as a whole. Well, the original Kai, not the Buu stuff (that I heard is full of bs green tint, cropped, and terrible music). I loved that the battles didn't drag on for 20 episodes, but at the same time, I felt a lot of the character development was lost in the process even though it was filler. It would have just been better if they had done an entirely new adaptation of the manga that was accurate because part of that has to do with the editing, and the lack of. There were fights that still drag on for longer than necessary when those should have been cut down as well. I don't care if a fight was like 15 manga chapters, it should not take more than 2 episodes for a fight that long, and even then that is pushing it. Overall, I'm disappointed in the quality of Kai. I love what Toei was going for, and I love having an option on how I want to watch the show, but in the long run, I think I prefer the original version of Z instead.

Another DBZ movie lot:

Cooler's Revenge - This movie has a good idea with making up a brother to relieve the Goku Freeza battle in a movie. Unfortunately, Goku hardly even does anything and even though the movie has only a little bit of action it, the plot is paper thin. Nonetheless, it is a pretty decent movie and one of the better Z movies, so I give it a 6/10.

The Return of Cooler - Oh man, what was Toei thinking? I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that this movie makes absolutely no sense or the fact that they decided to just copy Freeza's return as a cyborg and repeat it with Cooler. Sure, I just said the fifth movie was a nice little way of doing a Freeza and Goku battle in the movies, but this is just laziness on all sides of the coin. This movie blows chunks as it is also boring and stupid to boot. The action isn't even that good either. I give it a 3/10.

Super Android 13 - This movie has some pretty good action scenes in it and compared to the last movie, it is not bad. There is very little plot in it, but the animation looks great and the fights are not boring. Although, Goku going god mode with the Genki Dama while fighting alternate Blanka does kind of ruin it the fight, but it is entertaining nonetheless. I give it a 6/10 stars.

[EricDent]

Finished Aria the Origination & the OVA as well.

As predicted they saved the sad till the last episode.
I guess I had heard wrong on a certain character leaving (thought it was Alice).
Even the OVA was a bit sad.

Now watching season 2/OVA of Baka & Test.
It's pretty fun, though it seems a bit less "random" than the first season.

Starting to try to keep track of when I watched something last.

[EricDent]

Finished Baka & Test, might consider buying it when it gets re-released as a SAVE edition (both seasons).

Bought Watamote at work, after discount it was $29.10 (including tax)...

Heard it's pretty darn fun.

[Dr Kain]

Another DBZ movie duo:

Broly The Legendary Super Saiyan (aka LOOK!! More Saiyans Survived!): Just as my subtitle for it says, another movie where it turns out there are still more Saiyans in the universe. So much for there only being four, huh? The movie is not that bad actually, as it does try to tell a good story. The problem is, the plot is just so boring to sit through because Brolli and his father are just not that interesting. The animation is nice though. If the movie had been about 15 minute shorter though, featured better action scenes, it would have been a much better movie and the best of the movies at this point. Instead, the pacing is horrible and the fights are about as exciting as watching butter melt. Thankfully they don't do the Krillin getting owned joke again that all of the movies prior had been doing. Overall, I give this one a 6/10.

Bojack Unbound: Wait, can it be, a movie where Goku not only does NOT save the day, but it is all up to Gohan to do it? WOW!! Okay, Goku still has a little part in it, but the fact that Goku does not have to defeat the villain is what makes this one stand out. It has an interesting premise to it and it really isn't that bad of a movie. The only real downside to the movie is that Bojack and his crew are just generic villains. There is nothing that makes any of them remotely interesting and they do go down a little too easily. On the other hand, not having everyone having to give up their energy to defeat the villain was also a nice change of pace. Due to this, the movie might not be perfect, but thanks to its animation, music, and getting to watch Gohan kick ass, I also give this one a 6/10 stars.