<~> General Anime Discussion Thread V2: The Quest for New Favorites <~>

[Stardust262]

Solo Leveling - it’s fine, but not the most interesting power fantasy in the sea.

Shangri-La Frontier - I regret not dropping this show. It never got bad necessarily, but the longer it went on the more bored I felt. And it really didn’t help that a good chunk of episodes clock in at 26-27 minutes long. Plus you have the Mini Theater segments tacked-on to every episode that account to 2-3 minutes as well. The one thing I’ll compliment is that Eric Vale seemed to be having a lot of fun voicing Sunraku. I imagine it was a great experience to voice and script for him, given he’s a guy with nearly no lip flaps due to the bird mask

 

[woody938]

Jin-woo was leveling up so ridiculously much that whatever level he's on is basically irrelevant, on top of that he's the only one playing that game. The manga is apparently complete and there's a high demand for the anime to complete.

//has almost always had to earn every level up when he played games

 

[CCMASTERMIND]

i got through LOVE FLOPS. the plot twist doesnt work as well as it should. at 12 episodes in length, the series is simply too short. there isnt enough character development, plot development, or world development to make it have the impact that it wants to have. i appreciate its uniqueness and its resolution, but a 2nd season or sequel film would do LOVE FLOPS wonders.

 

[woody938]

Finished Wasteful Days of High School Girls

Best girl was easily loli, she's so lacking in maturity that she can't even begin to fathom the perspectives of other people. Second best girl is Mimami Yamamoto's mum, I think they drew inspiration from Big Bang Theory there. It's charming that the main odd bunch gave everyone nicknames and everyone else in class just embraced them. The OP sounds like it might've been written by Baka if she had the motivation to, I've been listening to it since Stardust posted it in the Playlist thread though, 8/10.

 

[Stardust262]

One of the couple good things Passione ever made

 

[gsilver]

Sentai sale:

Sentai Anime Sale! A-May-zing Deals, Shop Now! | Sentai Filmworks

Sentai Filmworks Anime | A-MAY-zing Anime Deals!

www.sentaifilmworks.com

Some good stuff there.

 

[woody938]

Is Human Crossing anything like Animal Crossing?

//nice to know they keep titles going for a looooonnnggg time, like well over 10 years and some are surprisinly keeping their value there

 

[gsilver]

Is Human Crossing anything like Animal Crossing?

//nice to know they keep titles going for a looooonnnggg time, like well over 10 years and some are surprisinly keeping their value there

LOL.
No. Human Crossing is a drama.

//Vaguely remembers watching a few episodes of Human Crossing back in the day.

 

[woody938]

Finished Tiger & Bunny (TV, pilot, 2x movies) (not S2)

Glad to see Bruce Lee references still alive, mainly in the yellow and black suit (Dragon Kid). Got a few laughs out of it, I don't like the commercialisation of hero work though, Stain would be disgusted. Something weird about it is early on there's dialogue of the characters annoyed at each other for stealing credit but this gets completely forgotten about later and they not only work intentionally as a team but are actually friends. I skipped the first half of movie 1 'cos it's the same as the TV series. While it's good, it could've been a lot better, 7/10.

 

[CCMASTERMIND]

ive been going at anime quite hard lately, including restarting several series that have been lingering in my backlog for years.

1. INTERSPECIES REVIEWERS
2. MAZE THE MEGABURST SPACE 1997
3. MOMO KYUN SWORD
4. VENUS VERSUS VIRUS

i just learned that there is an uncensored japanese laser disc version of maze the megaburst space 1997. this version was not even used for the DVD releases. from attempting to sync this version with the english dub audio of the DVD version, i learned that the differences between the 2 versions are massive. maze the megaburst space 1997 is a series that i attempted to complete twice but never made it beyond the midway point for various reasons. however, now, not only am i motivated to rewatch the beginning, i am tolerating subtitles and attacking the series more aggressively than ever. i am finishing this shit this time.

interspecies reviewers is even better than i expected. i wish funimation didnt chicken out on completing the english dub. the series is pretty ambitious, but its really no raunchier than what can be found in some R rated and unrated hollywood movies. im currently halfway through. conncidentally, im also in the process of watching monster musume everyday life with monster girls, which has a similar theme.

 

[Stardust262]

Undead Unluck has an interesting world, but I feel like it kinda jumps around too much in the second half. Like it has a cool idea, explores it for a little bit, then decided to cut it off and move onto the next thing. It just had a weird sense of pacing, which isn’t helped out by the sizable recap segments that begin nearly every episode (and the flashback segments in certain episodes that go on for way longer than they naturally should).

There’s a “reliable” leaker saying it has a second season coming, which would be nice given it has no semblance of an ending currently.

 

[woody938]

interspecies reviewers is even better than i expected. i wish funimation didnt chicken out on completing the english dub. the series is pretty ambitious, but its really no raunchier than what can be found in some R rated and unrated hollywood movies. im currently halfway through. conncidentally, im also in the process of watching monster musume everyday life with monster girls, which has a similar theme.

Think I've seen ~8 eps of Interspecies Reviewers so far and I thought the world and species were really well researched and thought out, whereas, having completed Monster Musume I thought the author went to Wikipedia on some of the species and made it up on shallow ideas.

//also wishes Funi didn't chicken out on the dub, he's hoping Sentai will pick up the license when it runs out

 

[Stardust262]

Tried watching Haikyu on Netflix. I’ve seen the first 7 episodes, but I think I’m just gonna drop it. It’s not unbearable to watch, but I can already feel my boredom setting in.

 

[woody938]

I guess shounen style sports anime are not for you.

 

[woody938]

Damn my icon's cute!

Finished Accel World TV, ex, OVA & rewatched Infinite Burst movie

Best lines were "Have a nice day! Wait, what the fuck is wrong with me?!" and anything that Ash said, he's the Kamina of Accel World. That said, I'm not the kind of guy that can related to Haru... yuki? Yeah, snow, just like Kuroyukihime, so haru means... springtime or sunshine, makes sense, I see yuki can also mean happiness, hmm... don't think that applies here. Haruyuki looks like he was taken out of an episode of South Park, Kuroyukihime has the same pride as Rin Tohsaka, but rather than tsundere her other weakness is envy, partway to being yandere there. The TV series and attachments were fun and interesting to watch, the movie was pure action-type fanservice, definitely missed a second season between the TV and movie. 8/10 for the TV and such, 7/10 for the movie.

//that's 2 shows that are hard to come across but been blatantly on his backlog forever... spoiler, they're all gonna be ones currently licensed by Sentai for now

 

[Stardust262]

You definitely have nicer things to say about the movie than I do lol. I remember how frustrating it was to see Infinite Burst go from (at least with respect to how it was reported on here in the West) “an anime original season 2” to “an anime original movie” to finally “an anime original movie set after where the Light Novel currently was”.

I’m glad you got some enjoyment out of it, and were able to appreciate the supporting cast.

 

[woody938]

I wish there were more characters like Aqua Current, she acts aloof/cold but is actually very warm. She's the motherly big sis of Accel World.

//red "under frame" glasses seem ridiculously common in that time, Aqua Current, Homura, Chiaki Kurihara, that random girl from Heaven's Lost Property

 

[Stardust262]

The Boy and the Heron might be a contender for Ghibli’s worst movie. Literally a “stuff happens” for 2 hours experience, with a protagonist that has no semblance of a personality and a world that is trying to do way too much with little connective tissue.

 

[Stardust262]

Finished watching Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan. I appreciate that it managed to be a kind of middle-ground shonen; not silly or confining cringy fanservice, but also not unnecessarily dark like some modern examples.


It also managed to hold my interest fairly consistently, even when a story arc may have been a bit lacking. One of the bigger issues is the antagonists, because all of them sans Gyuki have really generic “I want to do evil things/remake the world the way I want” motivations. Seimei is certainly the worst example, but there are other issues with him given

Spoiler

he just pops up toward the end as the “real villain all along”, takes one hit, and decides to go back to hell to wait for his body to fully form. And when that’s how the show ends, with his return looming in the distance, you’re gonna feel cheated.

The human friends are fairly annoying, but it’s intriguing how much they fade into the background in season 2 compared to how prominent they are in season 1. I don’t mind it, but it makes the handful of times they do pop up in season 2 feel all the more distracting. It’s also weird how much Kana falls off, with how much season 1 seems to push her as a major love interest. I never cared for her so I don’t mind, it’s just really strange to watch happen. Anyway, Tsurara best girl no contest.


I like how much Rikuo grows over the course of the series. They drop his reluctance to accept his yokai heritage at just the right time, where most shows would’ve dragged it out far too long. He’s definitely not the same guy by the end that you start with.


The lack of a real ending and so much being left unanswered does suck. It looks like about a third of the source material hasn’t been adapted, though I’ve gathered most people don’t like the ending or think it’s too rushed? So, maybe it’s better this way, who knows.


Ultimately, I’m glad I finally watched it after having it in the back of my mind for years at this point.

 

[AnimeKing2009]

Tried watching Haikyu on Netflix. I’ve seen the first 7 episodes, but I think I’m just gonna drop it. It’s not unbearable to watch, but I can already feel my boredom setting in.

i liked season 2 better than season 1.

 

[Stardust262]

i liked season 2 better than season 1.

I don’t doubt the show has higher points that what I watched, I just don’t know if it’s worth it for me to trudge through it all

 

[AnimeKing2009]

I don’t doubt the show has higher points that what I watched, I just don’t know if it’s worth it for me to trudge through it all

if you don't like sports anime you wont like it. its pretty much team drama and adversity in the form of shounen. The new team manager they get in season 2 is what made me like it more as i liked her as a character more than the girl in season 1.

 

[woody938]

I have no idea why it took me so long to connect Teppelin with Zeppelin.

 

[Stardust262]

I have no idea why it took me so long to connect Teppelin with Zeppelin.

But is she filled with helium or lead?

 

[woody938]

Led. Led Teppelin.

//the hair doesn't simply jus' swing around, it becomes a tornado, yep, that's why Teppelin city is shaped like that

 

[Stardust262]

In hindsight I should’ve dropped Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, but it was okay enough that I kept with it. I’m sure there will be people who watch this show and fall in love with it, but I for one kept getting annoyed with the characters and their melodrama. It felt like every little thing that happened had to explode into a major problem (that of course usually isn’t really as major as made out to be), and sometimes it’s just due to a character being a little too stupid. Kano is the biggest example of this.

Anyway, if I had a nickel for every not-so-great anime with “jellyfish” in its name, I’d have 2 nickels, which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird it happened twice.

 

[Stardust262]

The Imaginary is Ponac’s first movie since Mary and the Witch’s Flower, and it’s certainly a step-up. It surprisingly takes advantage of “imagination” and how it can be utilized, and tells a solid (and fairly emotional) adventure with it. There are also some absolutely stunning background and pieces of animation scattered throughout.

I do question

Spoiler

why exactly Bunting’s imaginary allowed herself to be eaten, as though she suddenly had some sort of emotional desire to end their centuries-long efforts. Given she never spoke or had much of a chance to reveal how she felt about things, it all comes off as a rather rushed way to deal with the villain.

It’s also not entirely clear why Rudger starts to disappear again even once Amanda remembers him. I guess that once the disappearing begins, you can’t prevent it even if you remember your imaginary? At least that’s kind of an explanation.

I can say for sure that Ponoc’s two films are leagues ahead of Ghibli’s last two miserable outings.

 

[Stardust262]

Dropping Girls Band Cry, and no it’s not just because of the CGI. It’s also because the characters are already pissing me off after only two episodes.

 

[chibkey]

https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/latest/2024/6/28/sakuna-of-rice-and-ruin-anime-ministry-of-agriculture-forestry-and-fisheries-collaboration

Some heartwarming story. Sakuna-hime became the poster girl for the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Foresty and Fisheries this summer. I remember back when the game was released, it made a lot of people realize they're out of depth with how rice farming works. It's such a unique game, it was programmed to simulate real rice farming, with recommendations how to improve the yield and quality of rice. The were called up by the Ministry for an interview. Naturally, the anime is due for a collaboration again with the government to spread the knowledge.

I never had the chance to finish the game so I'll be watching the show to see how the story goes. First episode was cute. Sakuna-hime is such an entitled spoiled brat lol.

 

[Stardust262]

Kaiju No. 8 is a pretty easy and inoffensive watch, but it also doesn’t leave much of an impression. Kafka can be endearing, but also at times annoying. If you’re a fan of kaiju then that’s something to appeal to you, but know that the show doesn’t try to explain where they come from. It’s not a bad watch if you’ve got nothing better to do, and we’ll see how the upcoming second season possibly improves things, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

 

[Stardust262]

Probably should’ve dropped Wind Breaker too. A very weirdly-paced show, with most of its run being a pseudo-tournament that just pops up pretty shortly after the initial introduction. The show tries to give some meaning to these fights with flashbacks while they happen, but that’s not gonna suddenly make me care about characters I didn’t know anything about prior to the fight beginning.

The fights at least have some alright choreography (when they’re not having the characters do something ridiculous). What’s also strange is the decision to even have the characters be high schoolers, when the “schools” they attend are seemingly run entirely by the gangs with no adults present whatsoever. Why not….just have them be in actual gangs? I guess you gotta hit that shonen demo though.

 

[woody938]

The title seems more fitting for a cycling anime.

//was slightly disappointed that it's not

 

[woody938]

Finished Kill Me Baby!

It's hit and miss, ep 1 was completely off-target, but there were a few headshots, one time in particular it got my sides split. Sometimes in stitches, sometime convulsing, sometimes shrieking or fractured. Maybe you'll die laughing? 8/10

Spoiler: If for nothing else, the ED is a charming way to go

 

[Stardust262]

I remember unused character being my favorite. It might’ve just been because Brittney Karbowski voiced her

 

[woody938]

Luci Christian actually played an unlikable character, ie. Sonya the Assassin. Hilary Haag did a brilliant job of voicing the dimwit, Yasuna, when she barked it reminded me of her role as May Wong in Kaleido Star, who would literally bark when she's bitching at Sora. Kill Me Baby got me feeling like rewatching KS season 2.

//is so good that someone in Japan knows both meanings of bitch to use that pun in an implied way