What anime are you watching right now? 2H15 to 1H16

[robersora]

I've started to watch Death Note for the first time.

How deep are you in? How do you like it so far?
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Watched Kare Kano over the past couple weeks, and enjoyed it, though the whole "what could have been" thing kind of bums me out...and it started so wonderfully! (It's such a beautiful feeling to watch a series by Gainax for the first time. Like having a conversation with an old friend.) Miyazawa and her family were awesome and Arima was truly a good dude. Tsubasa(that seiyu, man) was great, too. I really had a lot of fun with most of the series, and really dug a lot of the cuter aspects of it though obviously the end was kinda like, "darn." I don't want to end on a down note, so I'll say that hearing the music from Ha in the series was a very nice experience.

I really love Anno's directing in Kare Kano... But I dislike the source material. I know it's quite uncommon for Anime standards to actually bring the leads together this early, and the characters are not one-dimensional husks... But, alas, I really, really disliked them, which makes it difficult to enjoy a romcom.
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Mayoiga's biggest reveal so far was the fact that Nyanta is a girl, up to the latest episode I thought she was a guy. The Lost parallels also keep coming up, now we're delving into the characters' tragic backstories.

Which only add to the menacing craziness of the cast.

SPOILER: Show

We still don't know, why exactly Lovepon wants to execute everything... I mean executing is a rather specific word. Also wtf were the adults thinking when they told a little child to take on another identity for the sake of a broken mother - that's hardly proper treatment for a delusional person. Also, the fact that the guy was part of a toy-train company was hilarious to me, same with the idea of implanting silicone into one's head, to make him bigger... Not to mention all the non-sequiturs whenever the cast is talking past each other (e.g. all the time).

I love the idea that it's equally thrilling and hilarious, two things a great trashy horror movie needs to provide. I haven't seen it in Anime to this extend before. Similar to the campy/serious business feel of Ikuhara, I really love when a show invokes conflicting feelings clashing inside of me.____________________________________________

(On Kabaneri)
The engrish guy on the train is too random, I laugh every time. And Mumei is saving anime right now as far as I'm concerned.

The Engrish guy is one of the most fascinating things emerging out of this show by far. He's fucking hilarious. I hope we don't see too much of him. I wouldn't like this joke to wear thin. Mumei is, IMHO, as frustrating as she is awesome. Yes she is a whole lot of fun to watch, but she could have defused all of the unnecessary, uninteresting drama with 3 lines - providing this show with an opportunity to have space to make us truly care for these awesomely designed people.

I started watching Kabaneri a couple weeks ago.
...
It still suffers from its usually genre cliches, but putting the show on a train has, so far, managed to help them stay true to those genre expectations while still maintaining a level of suspense and believability that the show seems to expect from its audience. It's a clever fix to the situation, and as a result you're not sitting there watching the show shouting "Just run, you moron! You can outrun these things like an olympian sprinter outruns a sloth!"

While this is true, I'm always thinking about Baccano!, which did so much more interesting things on the train, whereas Kabaneri's cast is making their lives artificially difficult due to extended stupidity of almost everyone involved. I know, it's about creating tension, but the whole "We cannot trust them debate" was getting ridiculous and boring after a while.

The art is great, the characters are so far interesting, and the quality of animation is rather stunning. I can't wait to see how the rest of the show pans out.

Yes, this is a series that needs fast and gorgeous execution to work. But I'd prefer it with writing that makes characters listen to each other sometimes - maybe then they could stop screaming at each other for more than 5 lines.
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Anybody else still watching Kiznaiver? After episode 6 I'm starting to feel pretty alright with the series, and I'm interested if anyone else feels the same way. I wasn't really feeling the character designs at first but I'm sort of into them now, and I like the idea of the seven of them getting fleshed out and getting to know one another. It seems like the series is going to be mostly driven by their interactions and I think they're a lot of potential here to make something pretty interesting. The whole "hearts being connected" thing is a bit corny, but I like it anyway, and I've seen much sappier things in anime before. But I'm mostly an optimist about every series, so I could see if others aren't feeling this one as much as me.

Kiznaiver is similar to Kill La Kill in one particular point: we didn't really know where it's supposed to be going.
I like how the series knows, how stupid the premise is, but uses its premise as a great foundation for some cool character communication. I especially liked the inclusion of a Masochist. Although his inclusion was an obvious choice, I never thought this show would have the balls to go this far. That being said, not all of the Episodes have been equally cool, but there have been some stand-out moments, which are on FLCL level of visual story telling. The Episode in which MC Katsuhira gets knocked down the stairs and the subsequent trippy hospital trip; the chasing of Maso-guy Hisomu, and some scenes of Maki's focused Episodes come to mind. Also, I find the concept of fake-eccentric to be hilarious. All those are not too outstanding in what they contain, but how they are executed. It's the sometimes perfect interplay of transcendental music, and the visual execution. And love those aesthetics, they are hands-down the biggest draw of this show for me. Very expressive, while also being distinct and stylish.
I really hope this series finishes off with an awesome finale and keeps up its strong handling on aesthetics. And this will remain to be my jam.
And OH MY GOD. THAT OPENING.

I am. I'm liking it alright, but it doesn't really feel like a Trigger production to me. The fact it's running alongside Luluco just makes its oddity even more clear (and I appreciate the irony of calling a mundane Trigger production odd, but for them it is!).

Well, if Trigger is Imaishi's style for you (which is fair enough, considering most of their output so far felt very Imaishi), then yes. I'm pretty glad, we get both Imaishi's antics and something other than Imaishi's antics this season. Trigger is giving other talents a go, which is great! I wouldn't go so far as to call Kiznaiver mundane... Yes, it's kinda tame compared to Imaishi, but the confidence of its weird premise makes it stand out, at least to me.

edit: whoopsie, got one of the quotes wrong...

[Joy Evangelion]

I really love Anno's directing in Kare Kano...

Ditto...but I would expect no less from a fellow evageek

Kiznaiver is similar to Kill La Kill in one particular point: we didn't really know where it's supposed to be going.

Yea, I like this; makes it seem like it'll be a good show to go back and rewatch over a few days once it ends.

And OH MY GOD. THAT OPENING.

It's great, and I especially love that shot at the end of Chidori running(for some reason), but Flying Witch is still my favorite OP of the season(the clapping).

[Mr. Tines]

So I took advantage of the short-cut

To skip the substandard and downright bad stuff, just go straight from ep22 to ep35. There are a couple of plot-relevant scenes which doing that cuts out, and you can find those here, in an English version of the form that Anno cut them in The Nautilus Story.

and have now watched episode 35. 22 certainly kicked up a couple of gears over the previous cartoony style, especially in that scene where I was waiting for Nemo to say "Electra, I honestly ...", so 15 minutes of the painfully flat dub with its cod-French and -British accents and "I am American and hear me emote" was a small price to pay for avoiding complete anti-climax.

The other seasonal anime carry on as double features on non-working mornings, but the current season B-features (Anne Happy and Hai Furi) are getting close to joining Luluco in the discard pile.

[A.T. Fish]

The 7th episode of Mayoiga is one of the most illogical things I've ever watched. The kids in Lord of the Flies were more reasonable than the characters in this show.

[Sicarius VI]

@Robersora - I'm 4 episodes in. I've been really busy with school, but like ever summer since freshman year, I plan to pick up on anime over the summer.

I like it so far though there have been some serious twists so I want to see where it goes from here.

[chazthesilencer]

Enjoying ep 28+ of Ruruoni Kenshin. It’s nice to revisit the off-model TV animation of painted cells every once in a while, and that ED is so 90s. Love it.
Ep 29- That atmosphere leading up to Kenshin and Saito’s confrontation was so well done, it felt like a natural disaster was coming.
Ep 31- Parting is such sweet sorrow. The sexual tension… love it.

Kiznaiver has passed the Tines test for me.
General animation is messy in that attractive sort of way. OP is pretty without being too flashy, I like that. The whole seven sins replaced with character types thing however… that’s dumb.

[Alaska Slim]

Kuromukuro Episode 7

The villains are revealed in full and... it's a council of stock Tokusatsu antagonists, crossed with some of the martian-esce politics of Aldnoah Zero.

The character drama continues to wander into the mundane; the only saving grace is how the fan service is underplayed (where more surreal anime convention would have characters screaming at each other with heart-filled eyes), and Ken and Yukina crossing swords.

Also, the revelation that Touji and Kensuke (like I can remember their real names, they had, like, all of 3 lines before last episode) may have died while spying on the robot fight. Bummer.

Overlord

This show joins in Log Horizon's subtype of "trapped within a game" genre by having the protag simply dropped into a alternate reality that appears modeled on the game. Similarities include the intrigue from having to figure out which game mechanics are still relevant (and having expectations dashed when it turns you were very, very wrong), and having the NPCs be their own characters, with their own subplots and motivations to sort through.

The best part to Overlord (for me), is it's surprisingly good pathos. There's a handful of moments, where the protag is made to reflect on the guild members who are now gone, with only tokens of their involvement left behind. The nostalgia mixed with loss of days gone by is palpable for anyone whose been in a game for years, and was there for its "sunset". There's more genuine heartache in the first 10 minutes of Overlord than SOA had in 2 seasons.

The show also manages to set itself apart by having the protag *not* be a hero (his avatar character was an outright villain in the game), but rather as someone whose clearly out for himself, yet, tries not to be a jerk about it. Part of this is due to the protag becoming an actual Litch, and how the nature of the latter is steadily overruling his humanity; it's almost like there's two versions of him competing over what to do in a given situation.

Now, two complaints I'd levy at the show is:

1. It's slowwww paced, which isn't the best place to be in a 13 episode series. Not much ground is covered beyond establishing the premise, and getting to know two of the larger factions.
2. It's kind of pandering with the set up... though given he's the former leader of guild in a game world, perhaps that's par the course.

Other than that, it's good. Just wish that there were plans to adapt more of the story, as I'd gladly watch it.

[FreakyFilmFan4ever]

While this is true, I'm always thinking about Baccano!, which did so much more interesting things on the train, whereas Kabaneri's cast is making their lives artificially difficult due to extended stupidity of almost everyone involved. I know, it's about creating tension, but the whole "We cannot trust them debate" was getting ridiculous and boring after a while.

I havne't seen Baccano in a long while, so I really can't thoroughly compare the two at the moment.

However, I do believe that the amount of stress and how quickly the scenarios are thrown at those on the train do make for a good reason why people were so quick to come to whichever decision they've come to. They've only been on the train for two days and have about 3 major attacks on them. So, under these circumstances, it feels natural that many of the train would have done what they did.

However, I do feel like the show might be rushing a bit too quickly from one action set piece to the next. If there was a moment where the characters could stop and think clearly about what to do, a lot of these things might have been avoided. Also, it would give us a chance to get to know a lot of these people more than we already do. I wrote my initial post when I was only 2 episodes in. Now that I'm all caught up, I feel as though I don't know the characters as well as I'd like to, and I feel as though the show sacrificed all that to make way for more giant actions scenes.

[xPearse]

Anyone else here currently watching Terra ForMars Revenge?

[Alaska Slim]

While this is true, I'm always thinking about Baccano!, which did so much more interesting things on the train, whereas Kabaneri's cast is making their lives artificially difficult due to extended stupidity of almost everyone involved. I know, it's about creating tension, but the whole "We cannot trust them debate" was getting ridiculous and boring after a while.

The bit where the Protag attack the girl-leader, added on to the lifespan of that for me. It was tired, sure, but it was equally justified given the lack of exposure most people had to Kabenari, and now, just having the one making the most appeals to his humanity, acting out just as if they were Kabane.

[Bagheera]

The most recent episode of Kabaneri was a confusing mess plotwise, but I'm glad Mumei's back to being herself rather than the stupid jerk she was last episode.

[robersora]

Death Note

@Robersora - I'm 4 episodes in. I've been really busy with school, but like ever summer since freshman year, I plan to pick up on anime over the summer.
I like it so far though there have been some serious twists so I want to see where it goes from here.

No probs, I've watched DN when it first came out, when I was a teenager. Needless to say, I found it pretty cool back then. I was thinking of rewatching it recently, when I remembered how much I like the OST... But then this season happened. I've never watched this much Anime before. There's just too much stuff on, that entertains me.
But yeah, keep me/us updated, I'm totally content in reexperiencing it vicariously.



A Track on TiTrain

The bit where the Protag attack the girl-leader, added on to the lifespan of that for me. It was tired, sure, but it was equally justified given the lack of exposure most people had to Kabenari, and now, just having the one making the most appeals to his humanity, acting out just as if they were Kabane.

However, I do believe that the amount of stress and how quickly the scenarios are thrown at those on the train do make for a good reason why people were so quick to come to whichever decision they've come to. They've only been on the train for two days and have about 3 major attacks on them. So, under these circumstances, it feels natural that many of the train would have done what they did.

It does make sense, in the context of the story, so it's not too big of a deal, but it has dampened my enjoyment nonetheless. The amount they spent on nonsensical arguments was just a little bit too much for me. Especially since Mumei's actions added fuel to the fire, instead of calming everyone down with one straight-forward explanation. I mean, yes - her actions make sense for the character, but considering half of the show is over and I still haven't really connected with any of the cast past their awesome designs, takes a lot of the tension away.
But I pretty much agree with

However, I do feel like the show might be rushing a bit too quickly from one action set piece to the next. If there was a moment where the characters could stop and think clearly about what to do, a lot of these things might have been avoided. Also, it would give us a chance to get to know a lot of these people more than we already do. I wrote my initial post when I was only 2 episodes in. Now that I'm all caught up, I feel as though I don't know the characters as well as I'd like to, and I feel as though the show sacrificed all that to make way for more giant actions scenes.

It's still fun, but a tighter script would have been nice, I guess.
Especially since the logic leaps have gotten a lot bigger since.

The most recent episode of Kabaneri was a confusing mess plotwise, but I'm glad Mumei's back to being herself rather than the stupid jerk she was last episode.

in this Episode not only the conversations and actions of the characters were non-sensical (which I can tolerate - given the premise), but the plot itself made my eye-brows raise multiple times. There were some huge leaps of logic to take them from point A to point B this time. Lots of "wait- but why?". The idea of the Episode was cool, though.



Which brings me directly to
Mayoiga

The 7th episode of Mayoiga is one of the most illogical things I've ever watched. The kids in Lord of the Flies were more reasonable than the characters in this show.

True, but Mayoiga's level of illogical is completely off the rails, compared to Kabaneri's. But in the end Mayoiga's that much more fun for it. Mayoiga knows its cast is crazy and has a field day with them - while Kabaneri takes itself a tad too seriously, while still throwing illogical stuff at you. Mayoiga makes me laugh while Kabaneri makes me raise my eyebrows.



Kiznaiver

...has passed the Tines test for me.
General animation is messy in that attractive sort of way. OP is pretty without being too flashy, I like that. The whole seven sins replaced with character types thing however… that’s dumb.

What's the Tines test, if I may ask? And yeah, it's kinda dumb - but it knows, it is. Also, if you think about it, Evangelion's premise is kinda dumb too - if you take it at face value. It's Anime, after all. And it's always about what they do with the premise. And while I don't think Kiznaiver is a masterpiece, there's some pretty cool moments, coupled with breathtaking audio-visual execution that elevate it far above average - if it holds up. I even feel like the most recent Episodes are the best so far.

It's great, and I especially love that shot at the end of Chidori running(for some reason), but Flying Witch is still my favorite OP of the season(the clapping).

I can't pick, all of the shots are way too slick, stylish and overall gorgeous! I can't believe there's still no date for the full version! And man, it's still a month until the full version of the best ED since, idk... Luluco's!
And Yeah, the Flying Witch opening's lots of fun, too! What a perfect fit for this nice show. I'm really interested, why they decided to go with those glaring, green outlines for the characters, though...

Ditto...but I would expect no less from a fellow evageek

Heh, Anno's a god, and everybody who thinks differently is wrong.

Yea, I like this; makes it seem like it'll be a good show to go back and rewatch over a few days once it ends.

Lol, I've already watched some Episodes twice... I really am a sucker for beautiful presentation. (I'm a superficial bitch, what can I say )

Kuromukuro Episode 7

The villains are revealed in full and... it's a council of stock Tokusatsu antagonists, crossed with some of the martian-esce politics of Aldnoah Zero.

The character drama continues to wander into the mundane; the only saving grace is how the fan service is underplayed (where more surreal anime convention would have characters screaming at each other with heart-filled eyes), and Ken and Yukina crossing swords.

Also, the revelation that Touji and Kensuke (like I can remember their real names, they had, like, all of 3 lines before last episode) may have died while spying on the robot fight. Bummer.

So it was a good to decision to jump ship, after all. I really liked the way the characters interacted, but this season was already filled to the brim with stuff I'm interested in, so in a weird way, I'm glad, there's not another show I need to watch. Thanks for the update, I was wondering, how this show'll pan out.



In other news, everyone who likes Sailor Moon and was disappointed in Crystal - Season three pretty much fixed everything. It's still Sailor Moon, so if you're not into it, this won't change you mind - especially all the plot beats are rather foreseeable. But for everyone who has some fond memories from their childhood - this show is a perfect nostalgia boos. I'm happy Toei decided to revamp production after the failure of the first two seasons. I'm really happy they decided to monetize on my childhood with Sailor Moon and Digimon - because now they do it right.

[Bagheera]

So it was a good to decision to jump ship, after all.

I wouldn't say that quite yet, and for one reason: it's doing a good job of dodging stock anime conventions in some important ways. Our Touji and Kensuke characters, for example, actually mattered -- they were livestreaming when they died, and everyone knows what they saw. That's a pretty big deal. Also, when our female lead found out who she was fighting she made it plain that she never wanted to pilot again. That in itself is not that unusual, but what is unusual is how the rest of the cast reacted: her fellow pilots ranged from indifferent to contemptuous, but our male lead said (paraphrased), "well, you're not samurai caste, so it wouldn't be right to pressure you" and her mom said, "if she doesn't wanna fight she's not gonna fight, and that's that." Contrast this with a similar situation closer to home and how everyone reacted there and you'll see why I'm finding this interesting. I don't know how, or if, they'll get her to pilot again, but I do know this: I'm actually interested in finding out.

[Mr. Tines]

What's the Tines test, if I may ask?

I'm guessing it's the "Who are these people, and why should I care?" standard I've talked about in the past, to express the dissatisfaction I've felt when a series has failed to engage me.

[BrikHaus]

I finished up The Seven Deadly Sins, which was pretty good, although a bit on the generic side for my tastes. Still watching Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, which has been cool. About to finish up the first season of Hunter X Hunter, which seem like the kind of boring shonen I would hate, but for some reason I really like it.

[robersora]

^
I really need to finally watch HunterxHunter. People of all tastes praise that show.

[Director Black]

I'm in the midst of watching:

Gurren Lagaan: Liking it a lot so far.
Serial Experiments Lain: Very weird, but still look forward to more.
Now and Then, Here and There: An underrated anime. Think of a dystopian Grave of the Fireflies with child soldiers.
Welcome to the NHK: My favorite one I'm watching at the moment. Great writing and humor, though it does hit close to home at times.
Panty and Stocking with Garnerbelt:...If I ever try weed, this is going to be the first thing I'll watch while high.
Monster: The closest thing I've seen where anime comes close to an HBO drama. It's a bit boring at times, but the story is too good to give up on.

[chazthesilencer]

What's the Tines test?

Heh, I wasn’t aware of the tuberculosis connection before typing this. It is as Mr. Tines answered:

I'm guessing it's the "Who are these people, and why should I care?" standard I've talked about in the past

If you’re unable to answer this question after the second episode, the show has officially failed the Tines test.

Hunter X Hunter, for some reason I really like it.

People of all tastes praise that show.

Does it have anything to do with the glowing crotches?
Rob, how long have you been a cannibal?

Monster: It's a bit boring at times, but the story is too good to give up on.

Well, I gave up on it. Probably time I gave it another go. When does the story get "omg best animu evar" good?

========

Gave Amagami SS a watch. As school-romance series go, this made for some pleasant, casual viewing.
This one had an interesting format- over the 26 episode run, six love interests are each given four episode story arcs. One arc ends, a new one begins.
Whilst the short arcs did keep things fresh and moving at a decent pace, it also left a few story elements feeling rushed and or undeveloped- Kaoru’s Mommy issues and Ayatsuji’s unexplained hatred of her sister being the worst.
As I said- it’s pleasant casual viewing, looking for something with deep character exploration? Look elsewhere.

Character designs are modest but attractive. For better or worse there’s no Pink or Green hair to be found. This may have been decided to keep things realistic, but I’m willing to bet it was really just because the art director was colour blind:



Obligatory best girl = Haruka Morishima.

Upon learning Photo Kano had a similar format, I gave that watch too. Wish I hadn’t. It’s bad. Don’t watch it.
Surprised to see this was a Madhouse production, it looks so average. There was some very dodgy-looking 3D character model integration at times, too.

[pwhodges]

When does the story get "omg best animu evar" good?

It doesn't, not in the sense of an OMG episode or arc. It's the sheer sweep of the whole thing, which maintains its steady pace throughout (and Dieter is one of my favourite anime kids of all).

[Dr. Nick]

When does the story get "omg best animu evar" good?

Much like The Avengers, when Hulk joins the team and starts smashing stuff.