Zinged through "Eden" on 'flix over the weekend and it was really cute....and way to short.

It wasn't ground breaking or anything just really sweet...I must be going soft in my old age.

Watching Fena: Pirate Princess on Toonami. I’m kind of disappointed that Dr. Stone is off their lineup, but this series seems to be a worthy successor. With the obvious exception of One Piece, 18th-century pirates are a theme that doesn’t pop up much in anime, so this show looks interesting.

halfway through (ep7) of ID-0 (zero) an interesting collection of well used tropes, nothing special but I'll probably
finish it just to see the BIG SECRET at the end which I'm sure is coming.




Addendum: Finished up...very predictable and yawn inducing with irritating opening and closing music.

I've finished Persona 4 the animation and Persona 4 golden, in the middle of season 1 of Utena and planning to watch Persona 5 the animation

EvaChero wrote:Zinged through "Eden" on 'flix over the weekend and it was really cute....and way too short.

Whilst I understand that these “Netflix originals” are most likely being kept short for financial reasons, they are nonetheless nice reminders of a simpler time when a show was allowed to be short and sweet, like an old 4/6 episode OVA… but yes, another episode or two would have been better in Eden’s case. Ending felt rushed.
It had its moments of almost reaching brilliance, like but it felt like its punches were being pulled, presumably to keep things family-friendly and not upset the nippers too badly.
Sara should have had more beep-boops in her speech patterns, she was raised by robots after all...

Unrelated- but I watched the first ep of Edens Zero, which was good enough to convince me to watch another.
Has a main character raised by robots, too.
Who also doesn't beep-boop as much as he probably should...

===============

Permit me to gush a little, I’ve felt spoiled (in the good way) recently:

The Duck of Death and his Maid – Continues to be my clear highlight of this season.
Ep9 saw the cast assemble for a (tragically out of season) Christmas party; we get a bit of jolly group hijinks; and end with another painfully, bittersweet Duke x Alice moment.

It’s funny the way this show plays with your emotions, constantly yanking you between “Go on, connect!” and “NO! Don’t make contact!”

Nobody is talking about this... is this my new Encouragement of Climb? The show I must champion?
I'll take it.

My Next Life as a Villainess; season 2 – Eps 5+6 were essentially just treading water, which was disappointing, it seems likely the show will repeat the last season’s failure of building up a bunch of likeable characters only to do…nothing with them.
Ep7 was a sequel to Season one’s ep8; again- a little disappointing that the writers would return to the “look inside the characters’ minds” concept so soon, but at least this time they had more fun with the idea: we get to see characters as animals, gender-flipped and...buffed. Far more interesting than just “Everybody Loves Raym Katarina” like last time:


Then Ep8 drops, and blimey, easily the best episode of the entire show so far. Going far and beyond its silly, reverse-harem premise. We get a spotlight shone on the least explored character so far: Nicol, which gives us some good dialogue and gorgeous background art to accompany it:

Katarina has a reduced role, but her influence on the people around her is still felt in a way that doesn’t feel intrusive.

Rewatch- so this is a bit of a cheat, but revisiting the 90’s Battle Athletes productions has been a joy.
Simply watching the OVAs for Akari’s eyes alone is entertaining enough. They seem to change size and shape between scenes.


I remember the (Victory) TV series as being superior to the OVA, which felt more like a fun, proof-of-concept more than anything, but I had forgotten how well it gets you to empathise with the characters.
It’s a sci-fi sports comedy show, why feel sad?:

Not pictured: The heartbreaking audio.

chazthesilencer wrote:Rewatch- so this is a bit of a cheat, but revisiting the 90’s Battle Athletes productions has been a joy.
Simply watching the OVAs for Akari’s eyes alone is entertaining enough. They seem to change size and shape between scenes.


I remember the (Victory) TV series as being superior to the OVA, which felt more like a fun, proof-of-concept more than anything, but I had forgotten how well it gets you to empathise with the characters.
It’s a sci-fi sports comedy show, why feel sad?:

Not pictured: The heartbreaking audio.

Question: Is this Masami Obari's character design work? Reminds me a lot of his takes especially with the eyes. Matter of fact, the brown color makes me think back on a character called Erika from Virus Buster Serge.

Having dropped Aquatope after 5 or so episodes, when it was obviously going to become Hanasaku Iroha only without the bondage, I tried the first episode of the Crunchy/AS/Production IG series Fena, Pirate Princess. It's an odd mix of playing it serious, with occasional bursts of cartoonish wacky, set in some post-Renaissance era small Mediterranean island; and takes a pessimistic view of what a 10 year timeskip will do to adult characters.



It failed the usual test rather badly, so I don't think I'll be continuing.

Did an impromptu ghibli night to erase two of my arguably biggest anime sins from existence and finally sit down to watch Princess Mononoke and Grave of the Fireflies.
Princess Mononoke feels less like a movie and more like someone sat down to bring an ancient, long forgotten myth back into life; I'm not sure what to think of it as a movie, and I don't think I am in any position to judge it as such, but it positively excells at being the latter.

Then, Grave of the Fireflies. I went into this fully expecting that this would be what finally breaks me, the story that makes my jaded ass shed tears; I expected it to be watching a downwards spiral, as everything crumbles until nothing is left. Instead, I was met with what I can only describe as a piercing melancholy throughout the entire film, yet it is always contrasted by the warm, peaceful light of the ghosts, right up until the very end. This movie is a whole entity; there is nothing you could add or take away to improve it.

Mr. Tines wrote:dropped Aquatope when it was obviously going to become Hanasaku Iroha only without the bondage

Never leave us, Mr. Tines.
I like to think somebody read this and was sorely disappointed watching the latter title.

Blockio wrote:Grave of the Fireflies - This movie is a whole entity; there is nothing you could add or take away to improve it.

I don’t know, how about taking away the first 5 minutes? Maybe not spoil its own ending before any emotional connections are even made.
Probably about time I gave this a third watch, although FireFlies is conspicuously absent from the Netflix Ghibli library today.

Season wrap-up:

The Duck of Death and his Maid – Confirmed highlight of the season. Sad I can no longer look forward to a new episode each weekend, but happy to see a second season has been green-lit.

To Your Eternity – The last arc dragged a bit and Tonari wasn’t winning any fans according to the Crunchy comments. We get some animay zombie action before the end and… it didn’t suck.
The overall show was one of the more interesting and unpredictable titles I’ve enjoyed in a good while. Watching an immortal being grow-up from a rock to a human being with a sense of morality is something I don’t think I’ve seen before.

My Next Life as a Villainess X – just slightly better than the first season. It was mostly more of the same antics, but felt like there was relatively less waffle, and had an excellent episode 8 to justify the entire season.
Seems the writers’ go-to method of drumming up intrigue is to have a character get kidnapped, so it happened not once but twice this time around.
Let me guess- the upcoming movie will see three or more characters kidnapped as a group?

Higurashi Go! – On a scale of 1-10 how loudly did you groan when
I was about an 8.

Edens Zero eps 1-12 – A strong first episode, but little more than a disposable shonen adventure. One thing that got me thinking however was its treatment of robotic characters...
From the beginning it is established that the main, flesh and blood human characters see robots as alive and more than just machines; then we get the events of episode 4- wherein the cute, little robot “Pino” is subjected to bullying and torture by some baddies, resulting in her leg getting torn off:
The scene is understandably played out as something awful, but it’s the way that it’s shot that gets me: Why are we being spared the…gore shot?
It’s not like the robot bleeds and our eyes should be spared the horrific sight of her open leg “wound”.

I’m reminded of a scene from a childhood favourite of mine: Short Circuit 2. https://youtu.be/Z6cDbMLcxQI?t=37
It’s an upsetting sequence and the robo-violence being there on screen adds to the power and drama of the moment. Of course- even this film from the late 80s isn’t safe from daytime TV edits, as I remember the scene was significantly trimmed for a rerun on UK TV a few years ago, and that struck me as a ridiculous wool-wrapped, “think of the children!” act of foolishness.

So, is this a justified direction decision based on story subtext? Is it needless audience safeguarding? Or am I just lacking a certain degree of empathy?

Remake Our Life! – Was alright, but that ending is bound to be very polarising.
When episode 8 aired, the structure of the final four episodes was pretty obvious: The time-slipping main character would taste a bit of the new timeline he created, see its pros and cons, eventually stumble upon another opportunity to slip back in time, and decide whether to:
1) Do the mature thing and stay in the “new” present he has created.
2) Go back in time again, and pray another season gets made in a couple years because every show gets a second cour nowadays, right?

I’m not impressed by the decision that was made or how it was executed.

Gus Hanson wrote:Question: Is this Masami Obari's character design work? Reminds me a lot of his takes especially with the eyes.

Ryuichi Makino was responsible for the character designs of the Battle Athletes OVA, who also worked on the universally acclaimed Girls Bravo…

Maybe he has a talent for characters with odd forehead decorations?

I’ll stop gushing over Battle Athletes, as I’ve made my adoration for it painfully obvious. Still- it is nice to notice little things I missed from the last viewing, like the fact that Jim Carrey was hiding in the background the whole time:

Maybe if I’m allowed a third recommendation I’ll gush a little more.

I’ve made 1000 posts now, does that give me a pass?

Started watching Digimon Tamers with a friend a bit ago; some 10ish episodes in, very promising show so far

@Chaz ...my groan on Higurashi was probably about a 6.5.....great show until the pattycake ending......

Blockio wrote:New footage for the upcoming Bandai/Sunrise IP, Kyoukai Senki. Looks like the lovechild of Code Geass and Gundam IBO as far as the overall aesthetic and vibe of the world is concerned, to which I say inject it directly into my veins

First episode fucking rules. There are so many neat little touches in this, I don't know where I would even begin if I tried to list them all. the one that sticks out the most is the backstory for the country, an actual realistic decline of a country instead of "and then invasion happened and everything went to shit", but so many of the small things about how the workshops are set up, the details of the social structure, the Lockdown Mood™ of the main character just scream that this is as much a new IP as it is someone's passion project. I am no longer cautiously optimistic for this, I am hyped.

On an unrelated note; 86 Season 2 also started off very strong; any details I could give here would be massive spoilers for the first season, so all I will say is that everyone should see it, regardless if they usually like mecha or war dramas.

I'm currently watching Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card. I think it's really cute and adorable.

Not going to lie, the loilbait they've introduced in season 2 of 86 is seriously hampering my enjoyment of the show. Her voice alone is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Thank God for AMAIM so I can still get my 2000's era style mech fix, really curious how that show develops.

As a hockey fan, I felt obligated to watch the first episode of "Pride of Orange ". It's hot garbage, but it might be the kind of garbage I can have fun ripping on as I watch it. The idea that a bunch of girls who take up hockey as extracurricular, and then spend more time on idol dance moves, will rise up to beat the Canadian junior women's team is, well, I guess not that outlandish by anime standards. But it'll still be a tough pill to swallow for me lol.

So a friend and I picked up Megaton-kyuu Musashi the other week on a whim after we were done with our fill of 86, KKS and Sakugan; first episode was an absolute fever dream, and just now we expected the second episode to be that again, some weird ass garbage to laugh at for 20 minutes. But no, this is actually really good now. I have no idea why, but some fucking how, this real(ish) robot Getter show just... works

hui43210 wrote:Not going to lie, the loilbait they've introduced in season 2 of 86 is seriously hampering my enjoyment of the show. Her voice alone is like nails on a chalkboard for me.

She is, however, an important part of the story going forward. She is the sole survivor of her country's ruling family, and like Shinei she has some unique metaphysical abilities which have been mentioned, but so far only in a manner that could easily have passed you by. Of course, in the original novels we don't get more than an odd drawing of her, but the characterisation of her in the anime fits how she was written as an obnoxious brat pretty well.

Yeah, the big saving grace about her is thatShinei is just as annoyed by her as the viewer is, so I can at least appreciate what they're doing with her

I think I have avoided harem anime like Tenchi Muyo and Love Hina at my own peril because I usually thought they may have attractive anime females, it's more than obvious the first in line of the selection always wins. So I risked it with World's End Harem but it was definitely all right. Also, I think the main reason they waited till next year to go to the future episodes is because the producers definitely risked being fired due to the female nudity not being blocked like in other anime shows with nudes. Anyway, it did impress me overall and while the token male sperm donor and his purple haired supervisor will most likely be the final pair, I will enjoy it through and through.

A little known oldie: Super High Speed Galvion (1984). Someone uploaded all 22 episodes with subtitles on Youtube back in May, and I had wanted to watch it for a long time (just not in raw Japanese).

This is the last show sponsored by classic Japanese toy maker Takatoku (better known for Macross and Orguss) that was made before they went bankrupt (well, more accurately, while they went bankrupt ). Unlike the other two shows, it features transforming cars that hold the middle between real robots and super robots. That are stuck on Earth after an encounter with aliens led to World War III amongst various nations and the aliens got so scared they caught Earth in a energy barrier that prevents high altitude flight.

In it, unofficial elite police force Circus battles the secretive evil organisation Shadow, a cabal of all of the world's biggest billionaire manufacturers (the opening narration for that was slightly too accurate for current times, Jeff Bezos would fit right in ). Both the bad guys and the good guys have transforming cars, although the early bad guy versions tend to explode easily.

The series features character design by a guy who was very hot for his adult manga back in the day, but none of the sex (although it sure tries...)...which probably was one of the reasons for its ratings failure, because it leads to a series that was ahead of its time. The animation is really quite consistent in quality, with only subtle off-model shots. The music is great, too, varying between rock, classical, and the occasional subtle weird synthesizer noise. The series' plots are silly at times, but the series does not shy away from serious subjects, and in general handles them well. There are a lot of deaths, including graphic bloody violence, as various characters get assassinated over the course of the series, often camouflaged as accidents, and there are lots of civilian casualties. The good guys are not above unscrupulously gunning down bad guys. It has well-handled romance that gets developed over the course of the series (i.e. no sudden love interests). Although it has some of the usual cookie-cutter "lost friend" episodes, these actually have continuity with regards to the background history of the characters (a rare thing in 1980s series).
Oh, and it has an excellent example of a absolutely magnificent bastard in the character of Henry McMillan, the big bad of the series, who manipulates everyone into doing his bidding, eliminating his fellow Shadow members one-by-one through assassinations, accidents, or having Circus do the job, manipulates Circus in building itself into a worthy enemy (but not too powerful), the public into loving/hating Circus, obtaining the tech needed for his conquest, etc., all while not actually dirtying his hands himself in most cases and creating circumstances that absolve him if he has to do the job himself. Just wow.

Bad bits are a slight case of homophobia, the future city looking rather medieval European at times, helicopters being fine with flying but planes not, and the good guy robots never getting visually seriously damaged even when they get a massive beatdown. Details really.

But alas, Takatoku went bankrupt, the series stopped at episode 22 of the 30-something (which would have seen Henry become the ruler of Earth against a backdrop of alien invasion), and the studio that did it also went down some time later. I suspect that if they had released this a few years later when OVAs were more popular they could have had a major hit series on par with classics like Bubble Gum Crisis...

Komi Can’t Communicate – This show getting green-lit was apparently kind of a big deal to the internet a few months ago, and it recently dropped on Netflix, so I gave it a watch.
Bit of a weak first episode. Komi is introduced to the POV character Tadano and the audience as silent and slightly cold to everyone around her, making the eventual confession of her crippling shyness all the more powerful… that must have been the plan on paper, but 2.5 minutes into the episode we see this visual:



If you’re trying to present the illusion that a character is emotionally distant, don’t draw them in a cute, super-deformed style before the illusion is even established.
Fine premise, poor execution.

They decided to drop the OP/ED around the 18 minute mark. “That was a bit short” I thought; but then another couple minutes of the episode played before cutting to the credits. Then there was an omake after that too.
What is this, Macademi Wasshoi!?

Platinum End – I recently finished Squid Game so I’m hungry for another Battle Royale series.
The conspicuous CG on Metropoliman is disappointing, but Nasse floating around with her angel-bum hanging out makes up for it.
Something about supernatural beings having their posteriors on show just tickles me.
Don’t worry, UrsusArctos, I won’t post a screen cap. I already got away with that once, 4 years ago.

Mieruko-Chan – Speaking of rear-ends… imagine Haley Joel Osment, only as a Japanese school girl, and M.Night Shyamalan has a creepy fixation on framing her lower-half, up close and personal in most shots. I definitely won’t post screen caps of that.
While the ending of the second episode was unexpectedly very sweet, the attempts at comedy so far have been lacking, and the aforementioned ass-framing really is uncomfortable to watch.

Restaurant to Another World, Season 2 – More of the same, inconsequential fluff. Exactly all it needs to be.

It’s frustrating to see the Demon Slayer movie and latest episodes require a paid Crunchy subscription, to watch in Poland, at least.