What anime are you watching right now? Summer 2016 to now

[Gus Hanson]

Yesterday, as a bonus feature in my Robotech DVD Box Set, there was the pilot episode called Space Fortress Macross which retained much of the same voice actors and original Japanese music yet still managed to slip in some Harmony Gold tracks in there.

It was an interesting look at what could've been especially since Rick's last name in the pilot was not Hunter but rather Yamada. Also, since the series was yet to be called Robotech, not once is the name mentioned. Matter of fact, when Roy mentions to Rick the thrill of Robotech as it would later be called in the final form, he says it as once you get in a fighter plane it's different than the flying circus.

[Justacrazyguy]

Oregairu S3 Finale

Well that was a 5 year wait for... ok'ness...

Still for the confession in episode 11, and Haruno revealing herself in episode 10, it is worth the watch. Also, 90% of scenes with Sensei in it. Best girl, we all know it.

Well, guess I don't have to write my toughts anymore because this perfectly sums it up. A solid 7/10 conclusion

Now for the rest of the season:

Uzaki

You may know this anime and manga for the ridiculous controversies that spawned somehow from it, but if you ignore that and actually watch the damned thing you’d realize it’s an ok slice of life thing with some romance and fanservice sprinkled in it. The fanservice in particular is way tamer than I expected. Despite the fact that 90% of all women in this show are absolutely stacked, they rarely show skin or get into the typical situations you’d expect from ecchi anime. Not like there isn’t something to chew on: the obligatory beach episode is here, but if you go into it expecting cute girls getting cutely undressed you’ll be slightly disappointed.
6/10

SAO War of Underworld

Hating on SAO was a tired joke in 2012, but these days the web is quieter. With good reason, aside from a couple annoying issues Alicization was actually good!
Regrettably the continuation isn’t quite as strong. The cracks are particularly obvious on episodes with no sakuga, as the long conversations drag the (mildly interesting) story far too much. The conclusion itself is the weakest part, the final fight just isn’t flashy enough, it is the epilogue strangely enough that actually delivers some nice emotional bits.
6/10

The Great Pretender

A predictable ending for a good anime. Frankly, the too positive tone at the end kind of killed it for me. I’m not saying the rest of the anime became less enjoyable but…yeah I’m saying that. A pity. Could have been much better. Would still strongly recommend for the fun hijinks and solid animation.
7/10

Decadence

An anime blessed with fantastic animation, but cursed by a story and characters so by the numbers it kills any investment I could have felt in it’s short runtime.
Not like 24 episodes would have fixed the problem, but it would have at least spread out the cliched plot beats a little and maybe made them less glaringly obvious and tired. Also ugly CG and even uglier robots.
5/10

Appare Ranman

The surprise of the season, although considering it was delayed I’m not sure what season exactly. The start was rough, but it steadily improved every episode, with good animation and action and a big (too big, to be honest) cast of fun characters. The ending was just a bit rushed, I felt at least 2 more episodes would have helped, but all considered it was a good, solid anime.
7/10

Also I should note that the second season of Re Zero survived it's first boring 2 episodes and is better than the first one by a good distance. I suppose it could still fall into a weak arc, just like S1, but I'm optimistic.


An okay season at best, as usual I'm hoping the next one is better.

[Gus Hanson]

Well i finally risked my sanity and watched the first episode of Serial Experiments Lain.

Apparently, Lain is not the only one going crazy as her family is somewhat disconnected from reality as well in their own ways with her father devoted to computers, her mother ignoring her e mail encounter and probably everything in her life, and her sister leaving at night. Something tells me this and the suicide at the beginning is just the tip of this fucked up iceberg...

[chazthesilencer]

Uzaki
90% of all women in this show are absolutely stacked

There are.. what... 3 women on the show? And they're all stacked. You must have a 10% margin of error
I was pleasantly surprised by ep 12; the end of ep 11 suggested the show would end on a serious episode, something I dread whenever a comedy tries to do it- like the first season of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War.
But no. Crocodile tears. Well played, you got me.

Very average show. I might think of it again when I'm deciding which ice cream flavour I want, but in another 3 months this will only be a vague memory.

[Justacrazyguy]

There are.. what... 3 women on the show? And they're all stacked. You must have a 10% margin of error

I was thinking of the one off side characters, like the tourist girl and the one that massages the old man. All have huge tits, despite appearing only a few seconds or minutes.

I admit my calculations are not the best though

[Gus Hanson]

The reason I never watched Lain in the 90s or ever was that for some reason I had an unnatural fear of the 16 and up rating on the cover of the VHS or DVD of any anime I encountered at the local Sam Goody. But I got over it in a few years and immersed myself with other titles, just never on Lain. Should be an enlightening time ahead.

[Gus Hanson]

Uzaki

You may know this anime and manga for the ridiculous controversies that spawned somehow from it, but if you ignore that and actually watch the damned thing you’d realize it’s an ok slice of life thing with some romance and fanservice sprinkled in it. The fanservice in particular is way tamer than I expected. Despite the fact that 90% of all women in this show are absolutely stacked, they rarely show skin or get into the typical situations you’d expect from ecchi anime. Not like there isn’t something to chew on: the obligatory beach episode is here, but if you go into it expecting cute girls getting cutely undressed you’ll be slightly disappointed.
6/10

I finally gave in and went to see what all the fuss was about with Uzaki and I gotta say, Monica Rial playing a clingy girl who won't let go no matter what was a bit uncomfortable seeing given the ongoing court case but if I ever do meet her at a comic con, I do hope I can get her to shout out SAAAKKKUUURRRAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!!! That little running gag was my favorite.

[Alaska Slim]

Burn the Witch

Okay, so I read after watching that this is a Bleach in-universe show? I guess I sort of noticed that; they cast spells in a similar way to Soul Reapers and they're in "Western Soul Society".

But the witch gear doesn't appear to be a true analog to Zanpakutos, it's more like that role was split between those "guns" and their dragons.

Also, no flash step or walking on air. All means of "spirit power" has to be channeled through their kit; there's yet to be any spells they can cast independently.

And dragons are now such an OP existence that if you touch one you might get a bounty placed on your head.


Also... I don't think these characters are just souls or "dead" people. It's implied most of them are like Quincy; normal people who "awoke" to their power, then in someway migrated to the other world.

So it's fine, the presentation feels less like Bleach, and more a cross between Little Witch Academia and The Eccentric Family. Especially with how the ED is structured. Nothing Bleach-like there at all. No stylized, alternate-world take on the characters, or music video presentation about their relationships. It's just a collage of still-takes of moments from their in-universe lives not covered in the story. Which is not to say I don't like it, it's just different.

It'll be interesting to see in what other ways this show will assert its own identity.

But more importantly, it was fun hearing Saori Hayami scream . It's not Yukino, she in a softer, more "whimsical" register in her role here, but it's great to listen to all the same.

[Blockio]

A few days ago I watched the first Season of Knights of Sidonia on a whim; the first handful of episodes were very.... strange and inexplicably horny, at the time I described them as "feeling like porn without the porn" and was preparing for a hatewatch, but around the fourth or so episode, the show took a sharp turn upwards and I had quite a lot of fun; I didn't get around to watch the second season just yet, but I am rather looking forward to it

[pwhodges]

Although mostly inconsequential in terms of the whole story to come, the first episode of Yashahime was a decent link to the previous Inuyasha series, and I am hopeful for good things to come.

[Shamsiel-kun]

Recently watched:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I had somehow expected this to be psychologically darker and more gory (more akin to what Narutaru is to the mons genre), but it's still a fairly upbeat story with pretty visuals despite being a deconstruction of the magical girl genre. I'm not really a fan of the overall character design; the very wide faces sometimes give the girls a slightly 'dead fish' look because the eyes are too far apart (although maybe that was the intention...).
I've also watched the first movie, which doesn't add much to the first half of the series beyond a cutesy intro and the full version of the very awesome ending theme (and some minor plot holes due to deleted scenes).

Space Battleship Yamato 2199. Very nice update of the classic series that is full of mecha (the spaceship kind) porn, good characterisation, a gripping plot, and a very classic nostalgic intro and nice music overall. I appreciated the little details, like that it starts snowing when Kodai and friends are about to discover that the wreck they found is of the Yukikaze ("Snow wind"). This series will make you cry.

[robersora]

Made in Abyss Dawn of the Deep Soul
While it was nowhere near as intense as parts of season one (which reduced me to a sobbing mess and really thrilled me like rarely anything does), it was nevertheless very entertaining and delightedly swiftly paced. The whole production is just gorgeous, and while there were some slight "lolanime" moments like "this isn't even my final form" and "I scream attack names" it wasn't hokey enough to throw me off.
8/10

[Alaska Slim]

Digimon 2020 ep 13

The antagonist digimon this episode was something new; Cannonbeemon who looks like a living METEOR unit.

It's the most "inanimate", building-like Digimon I've seen, in that it doesn't react when the digidestined start blowing holes in it. In fact besides its eyes glowing red it doesn't seem to have much expression at all.

It has a giant gun mounted as a "stinger" that looks similar to a positron cannon, which it used to blow out the side of a mountain in a manner that also looks familiar.

It's different, I don't hate it. Sora's plan though was a bit wack (they're bees, they can fly, you don't need to carry them away), and I'm kind of scratching my head at all the times Birdramon rushes into danger while still carrying the other kids. Is she thinking "Don't worry, we can use the whiny one as a decoy if I get overwhelmed" ?

There's also this gem:



"Yeah, not every 10-year old is a Pokemon Trainer."

[Blockio]

The antagonist digimon this episode was something new; Cannonbeemon who looks like a living METEOR unit.

Reminds me more of a Dendrobium, but yeah you're not wrong

[Shamsiel-kun]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica movie #2: Again, not much new stuff compared to the second half of the TV series. It adds some new scenes and an epilogue/preview to connect it better to Rebellion (movie #3).

Canaan: The Les Yay is strong in this one (no outright nudity or too blatant fanservice). Also, it's a bit weird to see Arceuid and Saber interact with each other (same character designer). Finally, in real life synesthesia does not give people the ability to dodge bullets or "see" other people's moral alignment . Some of the comments made and more down to earth abilities shown do however show the writers did their research*.

* Although I do believe mapping out your whole environment in a nice 3D model in your head should be accessible to anyone with good orientation and visual reasoning. The difference comes when you intuitively "map" the whole thing, not necessarily using visualisation for that.

[silvermoonlight]

Beastars S1 Netflix

I really loved this like I recommend everyone watch it and go read the manga, I know a lot of people think this furry fetish or zootopia for adults I'd deeply disagree with that as it's much more about socialites subtle layers of racism classism and sexism and the leads really make this work. I'd also say this anime does not feel modern age it feels more 1920's with the black vs whites as you see that at the start everyone stays in their groups and no mingling but at it progresses you see characters learning and dropping their judgements.

The relationship between Hulu and Legoshi sweet and fascinating and that it goes to places Zootopia was afraid to go as well as bringing up the issue that carnivores can have meat/blood addiction problems also killing and eating someone is a huge taboo and is very serious in the sociality. I like that it does go to dark places but never to be edgy or for shock value as there is normally a point the story is making.

SPOILER: Show

The only character that I hate and who just didn't land for me was Louis, he comes over a privileged rich asshole and I find it very hard to root for him as he is such a bastard like I get the deal that he envies and hates carnivores as he will never be as strong as them, but he is dong constant put downs make him off-putting and there is a bad childhood event that has caused this but it does not condone his bullying actions.

The other character I was not big on was the Panda as he's a judgmental asshole and just assumes Legoshi feeling are fetish and gives him a herbivore porn mag and says oh well you just want to eat her without really talking to him and talking at him, he also didn't land for me in the manga but this is because as Legoshi get more scared and beaten he's constantly circling back to him, and he's not a positive character it feels like a toxic friendship as he never seems to fully cure Legoshi of the carnivore issue which he claims he can and make any carnivore go cold turkey (Though I still have some manga to finish)

It feels like a bad metaphor for conversion therapy the reasons I say this is the panda will constantly punish Legoshi by hanging meat up until he doesn't respond to it and if he does he's punished. None of the therapy has anything to do with any real form of psychology, counselling or mental triggers hence it becomes deeply problematic not to mention the Panda says I went cold turkey, but he is a Panda, Panda's changed due to evolution not by going cold turkey so it kind of makes him look like he's spouting bullshit and enjoys giving carnivorous a hard time.

I know also in S2 the murder plot will come full circle having read the manga though who the murder is I won't say as it spoil it. Thought I do wish the manga had focused more on Hulu's side and not Louise as I felt he just took up too much story telling time she should have had as she fades off in to the background and its kind of annoying when she's so big in the first part of the manga/anime.

[Shamsiel-kun]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Rebellion: Well, I now understand where all of the fanart painting Homura as being creepily obsessed with Madoka comes from. There are the regular yanderes in anime, that simply murder/bludgeon/otherwise violently take out the competition, and there is this: basically outright brainwashing everyone including the loved one to give them their ideal life (as Homura thinks it must be ). Akuma indeed. Wow. On the other hand, considering the crapsack world of Puella Magica magical girls, were there any other options?
In the TV series Homura's obsession can still be constructed as the result of repeating the same process infinitely until she encountered a timeline that did not end in a "kill them all", but in the movie she basically goes off the deep end and what is shown could just as well be her delusions instead of reality...

(Also, someone give Kyoko and Sayaka a pat on the head, please.)

[UrsusArctos]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica. I had somehow expected this to be psychologically darker and more gory (more akin to what Narutaru is to the mons genre), but it's still a fairly upbeat story with pretty visuals despite being a deconstruction of the magical girl genre.

A far better deconstruction of the magical girl genre, fairy tales and shoujo series in general is Revolutionary Girl Utena, I don't know if you've watched it. If you haven't, it's well worth a look, although it features some of the old 90's filler of reused animation in transformation sequences, and character design that can be a little weird. I always thought of Utena as being the shoujo "sister" to NGE, not the least because of the Ikuhara/Anno relationship and Anno being the Shinji to Ikuhara's Kaworu.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199. Very nice update of the classic series that is full of mecha (the spaceship kind) porn, good characterisation, a gripping plot, and a very classic nostalgic intro and nice music overall. I appreciated the little details, like that it starts snowing when Kodai and friends are about to discover that the wreck they found is of the Yukikaze ("Snow wind"). This series will make you cry.

I always found the name Yukikaze a touch ironic, since the actual Kagero-class destroyer was famous for having survived the war. Those served on her thought she was a lucky ship but most people in the IJN considered Yukikaze a death omen because it seemed to come back at the cost of all the vessels it was escorting/divisioned with being sunk. I guess the creators decided to rehabilitate Yukikaze's reputation by giving her a fitting sacrifice this time (as opposed to Mamoru dying due to a Ned/Robb Stark like case of honor before reason)

That being said, 2199 is indeed one of the best possible remakes of a classic series that anyone could hope for because of all the reasons you stated. Our very own Anno-sensei (an enormous Yamato fan) was involved with creating the opening for 2199. And that voice cast is stellar, as one would expect for a remake of such a legendary series.

[Gus Hanson]

Recently watched the fifth episode of Macross 7. Immediately noticed the Sharon Apple song playing on the car's radio as Basara and Mylene have their joyride interrupted by the biker gang. This episode sold me on finishing the main 7 tv series at least. When it comes down to it, you just can't beat the 90s. Also, Rex is so beautiful with her mask off!

[DA'AT]

Just finished season 1 of the excellent Raised by Wolves which, like Evangelion, combines sci-fi, social drama, and mysticism together in some insanely labyrinthine ways. Anyone else see it?