What anime are you watching right now? Summer 2014

[pwhodges]

I watched Kanon (2006); by the end I wished I hadn't - what a train wreck! I was actually angry! A stunning example of how dramatically the whole can be less than the sum of its parts. There was so much that was great about it, and yet in the end it all added up to less than nothing.

The only good thing I can see that came out of it was that having made all the mistakes they did with Kanon, they went on to get Clannad almost perfectly right.

[Bagheera]

Those examples are at least entertaining. Gore and fap material shouldn't mix. Ever.

I call BS, but whatever.

Also, HotD was entertaining, at least for many of us.

[pwhodges]

Just caught up with Plastic Memories 11. No real plot movement, simply undiluted WAFF. Waff, waff! Getting ready for a heart-breaking finale, perhaps...

[Guy Nacks]

I watched Kanon (2006); by the end I wished I hadn't - what a train wreck! I was actually angry! A stunning example of how dramatically the whole can be less than the sum of its parts. There was so much that was great about it, and yet in the end it all added up to less than nothing.

The only good thing I can see that came out of it was that having made all the mistakes they did with Kanon, they went on to get Clannad almost perfectly right.

I dropped Kanon about 8 or 9 eps in. The moeblobbery was just too overwhelming and manipulative.

[pwhodges]

(Kanon) The start was slow, but actually the story-telling got considerably more compelling just about at the point you stopped. For a while; but then the last four episodes threw everything away big-time.

Apart from the same-face moe-blobs, the design and animation were actually quite exceptional. Yuichi in particular was exquisitely expressive and realistic, and some of the backgrounds and lighting effects were stunning. And the story was keeping my interest, though with the limitations of the way they had adapted the visual novel by choosing to tell each of the different characters' paths in turn. And then at the end, the mixing up of memories, dreams, fantasies, supernatural elements, and realities just made no sense at all, with the reintroduction of characters whose arcs had finished causing even greater confusion.

If there had been any way in which a moral point could have been made of Yuichi's forgetting of the past, or more consideration of the trauma of seeing his friend (as he thought) killed and how that had affected him, maybe it could have been salvaged, but in the end there was no underlying message to be discerned. And if in the last episode everyone was miraculously cured, why did they miss the chance to show that with the main girl (Ayu)? She's been in a coma for years; he finds her headband (where it's been lying for years); he's pushing her in a wheelchair with no transition. The opportunity to use it as the key to waking her was ignored, for instance.

Clannad improved on this by taking a single path from its visual novel and going with it to the end; also severely limiting the supernatural element. The other characters were simply used as side characters, and the only hints of alternative romantic outcomes were in two OVAs that didn't form part of the main continuity.

[Giji Shinka]

Summer wars was alright, probably my least favorite Hosoda film.

[Alaska Slim]

Robotics; Notes

This series did a lot of what I felt were... unnecessary things. When the Airi girl showed up with Kou Reports hinting towards an Assassin's Creed doom scenario, I was all like "No no, get that Seinen BS out of my hot blooded, High school-scoped Dai Guard. "

I mean c'mon, wasn't the OP and ED both implying this to be a show lampooning that over-wrought crap?


I've read how this series receives a lot of flak in comparing it to Steins; Gate, but that wasn't a problem for me, because I've never watched the latter. And I can barely remember Choas; Head, other than it being exploitive crap.

I figured out eventually the JAXA girl was a crossover character, just because of her input and efficiency without any real focus or characterization. Her presence though, and the contribution of other Gate characters was minor enough for me to follow along with the story.


The problem is that it kept invoking crap that didn't seem possible, simply abridging the science involved with Transhumanism and Cryo-chambers. This despite being on-target enough with robotics to mention the cubed-square rule, and designing its bots around it.

... The "fight" to end control of the service robots, which were suddenly a thing, the cops being "powerless" to stop their mob (where did their guns go?), the MC figuring out he's in a sci-show and divining that Brainwashing is not only a thing, but was used on the person he saw before him...

...that Parrot and the gun...

*sigh*, it's just, okay...

[Tankred]

Just at this moment finished viewing all major Macross series releases, finishing with Sayonara no Tsubasa. I'll have to write some in-depth review of it all eventually I guess, but in short, it was excellent.

[Justacrazyguy]

Just at this moment finished viewing all major Macross series releases, finishing with Sayonara no Tsubasa. I'll have to write some in-depth review of it all eventually I guess, but in short, it was excellent.

Who's the best girl?

[Gus Hanson]

Blue Gender episodes 8-11

For me, these episodes felt like a hard test to get through because it has the two main leads, Yuji and Marlene, at their most generic. Yuji has the typical fish out of water coming to terms with the world and Marlene being stone cold soldier who starts to come out of her shell due to lingering feelings for Yuji. I feel like i'm watching Macross all over again with the comparisons I could make between these two and Hikaru and Misa. But seeing as how they finally reached Second Earth and the story is starting to shift for a while from Yuji to Marlene, it might make the rest of the experience more bearable.

[Ray]

Speed Grapher


I love film noir, so a seies like this, about a photographer trying his best to fight back against a corrupt society that's only obsessed with personal gain and physical pleasure more than actually improving society or the lives of the people.

If David Cronenberg directed Blade Runner, you would get something like Speed Grapher.

This is without a doubt, one of the most effed up things I have EVER watched. This thing is a middle finger to everyone who's ever indulged in fetish or S&M. The whole thing is a deconstruction of sexual liberation, fetishism, depravity, hypocrisy, and society and the media's obsession with the interplay of sex and violence.

Our main characters are Kagura a traumatized, mentally, and sexually abused girl who harbors a dark secret connected to a secret society of fetishists. (I kid you not)

Saiga, a Vietnam war veteran and photo journalist who gets tied up in Kagura's fate after he contracts a superpowered STD from Kagura when he infiltrates the club to try to expose it to the outside world. Who devotes himself to trying to save Kagura from the corrupt world he finds himself fighting against.

and Suitengu, and to talk about him would be to incite spoilers.

A good hearted, if unstable cast of people to build a solid story about corruption, sex, and politics around.

While I do give the anime my recommendation for it's compelling story, it's lacking for the most part in compelling visuals. It's a Gonzo production so the animation isn't always up to par with the story, while I am grateful the studio used CGI sparingly, the fight scenes are nothing to write home about.

Also, the hedonistic, bondage monster of the week thing could have been handled with a single monster hunting them down. Not to mention I feel that it would have been a lot more compelling as a story if the supernatural X-men Elements had been toned down

[Rosenakahara]

Hibike! Euphonium episode 11:

SPOILER: Show

this show is kinda bland for me mostly, i just watch it for the very obvious yuri bait but THIS, if this turns out to be yet more bait that goes beyond yuri bait and into just straight up trolling/borderline offensive.

[Tankred]

Who's the best girl?

For me it's a toss between Mylene and Millia.

[Shinoyami65]

Robotics; Notes

This series did a lot of what I felt were... unnecessary things. When the Airi girl showed up with Kou Reports hinting towards an Assassin's Creed doom scenario, I was all like "No no, get that Seinen BS out of my hot blooded, High school-scoped Dai Guard. "

I mean c'mon, wasn't the OP and ED both implying this to be a show lampooning that over-wrought crap?


I've read how this series receives a lot of flak in comparing it to Steins; Gate, but that wasn't a problem for me, because I've never watched the latter. And I can barely remember Choas; Head, other than it being exploitive crap.

I figured out eventually the JAXA girl was a crossover character, just because of her input and efficiency without any real focus or characterization. Her presence though, and the contribution of other Gate characters was minor enough for me to follow along with the story.


The problem is that it kept invoking crap that didn't seem possible, simply abridging the science involved with Transhumanism and Cryo-chambers. This despite being on-target enough with robotics to mention the cubed-square rule, and designing its bots around it.

... The "fight" to end control of the service robots, which were suddenly a thing, the cops being "powerless" to stop their mob (where did their guns go?), the MC figuring out he's in a sci-show and divining that Brainwashing is not only a thing, but was used on the person he saw before him...

...that Parrot and the gun...

*sigh*, it's just, okay...

I think Steins;Gate was a one-off success. I struggled through Chaos;Head's VN and I can't imagine the anime was any better, either.

Perhaps it's because Steins;Gate's characters were at the very least endearing, had likeable personalities and were relatable, whereas I can't even remember the names of the cast of Chaos;Head and Robotics;Notes.

[Alaska Slim]

Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru (Oregairu) Zoku Ep. 12



Got Haruno's scene on Yukino shown & done before the OP. Impressive. After that, we got yet another season 1 scene reanimated, excellent.

Btw, doesn't Haruno look sort of like a black-haired Iroha?


Post-OP was forging into new territory for me since the LN chapters covering this haven't been translated. I was not disappointed. I busted a gut when Mirai showed up in the club room outta' nowhere. Then again when the Kaihin High School gang appeared.

I think this is the first time that we got open acknowledgement for Kawasaki being *into* Hachiman. It also reminds me... I kind of don't like it. Oregairu made itself special by bucking Slice of Life/Harem anime conventions. By having Hachiman have now up to... 4 love interests among his High School peers alone, it's becoming less satire, and more the fact itself.

Revelation in this episode: open acknowledgement that Yukino (in the past) liked Hayamo. Never seen that anywhere till now.

Yuigahama feeling isolated during the "bowl" scene. Haruno is... unhappy about it? I'm not following her thoughts at all. But a chill went down my spine when she said "So *this* is what you call 'genuine'"? Ooooohh.


Mother Yukinoshita turns up...

Man, just so much happens in this episode that I didn't think it would do, and all of it likely just the set up for whatever episode 13 has in store. Yuigahama; about to make a play to re-level the playing field.

[Final Messenger]

JoJo's episode 48:

SPOILER: Show

good night sweet prince you will be missed Dio you magnificent bastard wryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I really hope they'll get around to animating part 4 I need to see Kira animated

[Alaska Slim]

I think Steins;Gate was a one-off success. I struggled through Chaos;Head's VN and I can't imagine the anime was any better, either.

Perhaps it's because Steins;Gate's characters were at the very least endearing, had likeable personalities and were relatable, whereas I can't even remember the names of the cast of Chaos;Head and Robotics;Notes.

I can't forget Kona, aka, *Frau Bow*, she reminds me too much of someone I know at work.

[cyharding]

^ Isn't Kona the girl with the collective personality of 4chan imbedded within her?

[robersora]

Steins Gate was ok, but endearing characters outside of Okabe it had certainly not. That tuturuuu~~ sound this sex doll of a girl made still gives me the nightmares. Then again, this made the moment, when she finally was shot in the face and in succession died multiple times the enjoying ride this show was.

[Bagheera]

Steins Gate was ok, but endearing characters outside of Okabe it had certainly not. That tuturuuu~~ sound this sex doll of a girl made still gives me the nightmares. Then again, this made the moment, when she finally was shot in the face and in succession died multiple times the enjoying ride this show was.

That is a very bizarre reaction to the show.