What anime are you watching right now? Dec10-Apr11

[Xard]

How the hell does Wikipedia not mention this?

ANN says that Kawamori storyboarded ep 9

[Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion]

Speaking of the new Macross Frontier movie I need to see False Songtress since I found it a few days ago.

Anyway, I found the vast majority of Daitarn 3 in english subs! Currently at episode 6 and it is super robot camp at it's finest.

I also started Linebarrels of Iron and am up to episode 6.... This series really doesn't have much going for it. Sure, the fights and mechs are neat and it has good pacing, but that's kind of it. The music is rather bleh and the characters, story, art style, and humor are sort of average. I've encountered similar series that have gotten off to VERY rocky starts that did get better with time, maybe it is one of those "wait and see" series.

Oh and it goes a tad over board with boob humor.

[Oz]

How the hell does Wikipedia not mention this?

Wikipedia is not the resource of truth and complete knowledge since it is edited by users. Small details like that escape the site quite easily.

[symbv]

I just finished ep 10 of Bakemonogatari and what the hell, I'm enjoying this A LOT more than I expected. I like it a lot more than back when I was first watching it.

I guess it might have something to do with the fact when I first watched BMG I had many recently seen Shinbo shows under my belt. Now it's been a while since I saw lolShinbo show (excl. Madoka and SHAFT's Maid show from fall) and the directing and style feels rather fresh and quirky instead of depressingly predictable and thus rather unimpressive like last time around.

I don't know. But I do know I really like this.

So was I. As I said I'm surprised I like it as much as I do. And it's not really any different - things that used to irk me I now like or let go for the most part. Huh.
Senjougahara is the best character, of course.

BAKEMONOGATARI RULES !!!

More and more people now realize how great this anime is -- entertaining, artistically pleasing, well-integrated use of characteristic animation, music and direction. And I would state again I am so pleased this and K-ON! dominated 2009 anime scene so much (I can add Railgun but it went on to 2010..) Anyway, as I said, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that Bakemonogatari is a real classic in anime history. It deserves all the praises and big sales in Japan...

Yes, Bakemonogatari will eventually convert you ALL !! Let go of your unreasonable prejudices and resistance, and enjoy this MASTERPIECE !!

^ Or maybe it's because after the painful Mayoi Snail arc everything feels incredibly fun

I really found Mayoi Snail arc to be fun stuff, particularly after the more barbed and charged Hitagi Crab arc (which I also enjoyed - immensely). And the story really did not go all the way you expected. It is interesting to discover how Araragi and Mayoi treated each other (Araragi taking pride in defeating and molesting Mayoi? Mayoi biting Araragi? And we are talking about pre-Index days) The revelation of the real identity of Mayoi is also a surprise -- even more surprising is the reaction of Hitagi as she chose not to say anything about it until near the end. The scenery when they wandered around half-developed suburb area left a strong impression with me (as with the park just in front of a massive public housing project) -- there are many times I walked past similar scenery in Japan and the anime always came up in my head...

Overall I think Katanagatari is better though, as far as NisiOisin adaptations go.

I just think that Katanagatari is easier to adapt, although I agree that the animation and art design in the anime is truly great.

Onni-chan blah blah blah was hilarious. This is my third favorite show this season behind GoSick and Madoka. This show just makes me laugh out loud, it's funny, cute, sexy, but it has those damn animals censoring every 5 minutes. Makes me want to punch something.

"Oniichan no koto nanka zenzen Suki janain-dakara-ne!!" (Ok, I am learning to memorize the full title) or OniSuki as it is called in Japan is FUN FUN FUN !!! I was a fan of the manga but the anime went beyond the manga to make it hilarious. However, the worry is that by Ep.6 it has exhausted all manga material, which has only three volumes published so far, and the concern is what the original story will compare with the adapted stuff. For me, the added original story with Oniichan's fantasizing in the beach story is the weaker part of that episode, so the concern is real....

For me this season the best is PMMM (Puella Magi Madoka Magika) and the second is IS (Infinite Stratos). I would probably put OniSuki as third too (assuming the last half is as great as the first half)...

Kore wa Zombie Desu ka 06 - woah, this episode had one of the goriest scenes I've seen in anime in a while. Girl having her skin ripped off and then getting cut in half, ouch.

The cut-in-half scene does not look that bad -- the anime is nice enough to cover the body in her black cape... Her ability to regenerate like a zombie is supposed to be a surprise in the novel as she actually combines all the abilities of Haruna, Sera and Ayumu...

I love that episode handling of the story better than the manga because in the manga after the defeat of Yuu it soon went on to the Dai-Sensei coming to take Kyouko out of the battle. In the anime, it gave a lot of coverage about how Ayumu would go to protect Yuu and others. And he actually defeated Kyouko and chose not to kill her before Dai-Sensei made her appearance. This makes that episode one of the best episodes for KoreZombie.

I gotta say this show is surprising me a lot. Even if it's a harem and all it's definitely much better than other ones I've seen in terms of comedy and just plain entertainment. Finally a harem MC that is not only not a complete moron but actually a great self aware character. huh. Also the occasional srs bsns scene makes sure to keep it interesting throughout the episode. If they keep it up this will probably be my favorite harem anime, lolz. except Bakemonogatari and NGE

I think you take Harem genre in a liberal way. For me, and for most of the fandom in Japan, Harem only refers to the situation when many female characters fell in love with one male character (with other male characters being mostly "mob character"). Just the fact there are many female protagonists and only one male protagonist does not a Harem make. In NGE, at most it is just a triangle relationship and it is an ambiguous one, so that does not count as Harem (at least in Japan). In KoreZombie, it is also not clear how many girls fell for Ayumu so it is not counted as Harem in Japan (at least not yet). On the other hand, it is acceptable to call Bakemonogatari as Harem....

After Kyouko arc, the story will now switch back to school and I believe it should be the start of Tomonori arc. Tomonori is another important character in KoreZombie, being the rival of Sera and finally one that declares Ayumu being her love interest !! Looking forward to it....

Isn't that a bit depressive for Valentine's Day? :(

That's why I watched Motto ToLoveRu Valentine episode to balance the mood. ToLoveRu is fun fun fun -- as I said, it is the pinnacle of Harem anime!! As for Kimi ni Todoke, it is really not that depressing -- at least given that I know it will all turn out well for Sawako and Kazehaya :)

How the hell does Wikipedia not mention this?

Not sure about English Wiki but in Japanese Wiki it is stated that Kawamori drew the storyboard for Ep.9 of RahXephon. But he only drew only one episode, so it is not "episodes"...

**************************************************

Finally some information gleaned from Japanese sites.

First, one of the biggest anime/manga specialized bookstore chain TORA NO ANA held a poll regarding 2011 Winter Anime, and here is the result. Not sure whether P means one person or more...

*1 1235p PMMM (Puella Magi Madoka Magika)
*2 *370p IS (Infinite Stratos)
*3 *350p GoSick
*4 *345p Hourou Musuko
*5 *315p Level E
*6 *260p Mitsudomoe zouryouchuu
*7 *250p Kimi ni Todoke 2
*8 *245p Yumekui Merry
*9 *205p Beelzebub
10 *200p Koreha Zombie Desuka
11 *180p Freezing
12 *150p Fractale
12 *150p Dragon Crisis
12 *150p Haiyoru! Nyaruani
15 *145p Oniichan no koto nanak zenzen Suki-janain-dakarane!
16 *125p Rio RainbowGate

BIG LEAD for PMMM !!!

By the way, Index II and Star Driver do not count because it is a continuation of the last quarter. On the other hand, Kimi ni Todoke counts because it is officially the second season, even though little changed from the first season...



And second, here is the Anime Blue-Ray sales ranking from Amazon JP on the last weekend (top 40):

01 PMMM#3 (PMMM = Puella Magi Madoka Magika)
02 PMMM#2
03 PMMM#1
04 IS #1 (IS = Infinite Stratos)
05 K-On!! #8
06 MS Gundam UC #3
07 IS #2
08 OreImo #3
09 IS #3
10 IndexII #2
11 IS #4
12 IS #5
13 IS #6
14 K-On!! #9
15 Star Driver #2
16 Strike Witches BD Box
17 Movie Break Blade Chapter 5 Shisen no Hate (Broken Blade #5 - "Edge of the Line of Death")
18 Strike Witches2 #6
19 Katte ni Kaizo #1 of 3
20 Milky Holmes #2
21 Kara no Kyoukai BD Box
22 Katte ni Kaizo #2 of 3
23 Lucky Star BD Complete Box
24 Katte ni Kaizo #3 of 3
25 Yumekui Merry #1
26 OreImo #4
27 Ika-Musume #3
28 AmagamiSS #8 - Nanasaki-Ai #2 of 2
29 Star Driver #7
30 Star Driver #1
31 Uchuu Shou he Youkoso (Welcome to the Space Show )
32 Movie Break Blade Chapter 4 Sanga no Chi (Broken Blade #4 - “The Land of Disaster”)
33 .hack//Quantum #2
34 AmagamiSS #9 – Sakurai Rieko #1 of 2
35 OreImo #2
36 IndexII #3
37 MS Gundam UC #2
38 Star Driver #3
39 K-On!! #7
40 OreImo #6

Again, PMMM RULES !!!

[Oz]

Yes, Bakemonogatari will eventually convert you ALL !! Let go of your unreasonable prejudices and resistance, and enjoy this MASTERPIECE !!

No. You are only blinded by moe, fetishes and flashy dialogue. Merri's (and my) criticism of Bakemonogatari is reasonable.

[Synapsid]

Why aren't you watching Star Driver, you Utena fanboy you? So much fabulousness and GINGA BISHOUNEN in it, you'd probably dig it

Okay, that's good enough for me. Especially if Akira Ishida comes out anything like his usual roles.

[Merridian]

I feel like I've been away from this thread for too long...

I gotta say this show is surprising me a lot. Even if it's a harem and all it's definitely much better than other ones I've seen in terms of comedy and just plain entertainment. Finally a harem MC that is not only not a complete moron but actually a great self aware character. huh.

Yeah, that’s surprising me a bit as well. Though as far as the other airing shows I’ve been keeping tabs on, it’s pretty far down the list. I thought some of its srs bits were pretty poorly handled in a few episodes, especially the third or fourth ep where the MC goes off to slay the giant whale. The pacing in that particular episode was all over the place and very clunky, to the point that it made the development of Hellscythe-whateverherfaceis seem ridiculous. Rest of it’s been funny, though.

I was pretty surprised by the skin thing as well, but it wasn’t terribly graphic anyway. Madoka’s been worse than this has. So has Fractale, actually.

I was watching RahXephon but made it to episode 5 before giving up. If you have a reson I should finish the series by all means please say.

Some of the episodes are awesome, the animation alternates between great and fantastic, and the soundtrack is good as well. Ending sucks, but… Bones is good at doing that.

Same could be said for Eureka 7, actually, though I’ll take RahXephon’s cast over the bucketload of crybabies present in E7.

Wolf’s Rain is pretty good, but again, Bones drops the ball on the ending. Instead of going for some kind of appropriate resolution, they throw the whole thing into a poorly-done and predictable grimdark fiasco that ends with one of the most overly melodramatic fights the studio has produced. But apart from that (and the four recap episodes) the show is great. Mostly interesting characters, an engaging plot, enjoyable sense of adventure, intriguing post-apocalyptic setting, Yoko Kanno, good animation, etc.

Now it's been a while since I saw lolShinbo show (excl. Madoka and SHAFT's Maid show from fall) and the directing and style feels rather fresh and quirky instead of depressingly predictable and thus rather unimpressive like last time around.

for what it’s worth, Shinbo’s directing on Madoka hasn’t been as ridiculously predictable as it was on BGM or Sore Machi (or Zan SZS, for that matter). It’s still obviously lolShinbo, but he’s eased back on the more blatant and at this point tired Annoisms, like punctuating dialogue with still frames & written text. It’s nice to see him scale that back in favor of really really impressive imagery. What irks me is that Madoka demonstrates that he could have made BGM into something really good, since it HAS good imagery and great shot compositions already, but it’s bogged down by all the editing tactics that have defined Shinbo to the point of a cliché. It even had a great soundtrack and a decent cast, so it feels like even more of a let-down.

You seem more forgiving on it than I was, but it’d been awhile since I’d seen SZS when I watched Bake, so apart from Sore Machi, lolShinbo wasn’t really fresh in my mind either. Yet it still felt predictable as anything. And not in any way that benefited it.

How’d you like dem Nadeko gym shorts, btw? :)

Guess I know what I watch after Bakemonogatari

yeah shit man. I’ll watch it with you. I got four episodes in and it’s one I should finish just so I know what the fuss is all about anyway. Apparently the first arc is lowest point in the show.

In the same arc, we get some wondrous milf cosplay:

…Xard, I’m definitely picking this up again soon

And I would state again I am so pleased this and K-ON! dominated 2009 anime scene so much

;___;

In KoreZombie, it is also not clear how many girls fell for Ayumu so it is not counted as Harem in Japan (at least not yet). On the other hand, it is acceptable to call Bakemonogatari as Harem....

Well, all the girls in BMG fell for the main character, so it makes sense. Except for maybe the token loli, but even that I’m unsure of.

No. You are only blinded by moe, fetishes and flashy dialogue. Merri's (and my) criticism of Bakemonogatari is reasonable.

aww, as much as I agree, I have to admit that as moe & fetishes went, BGM was perfect. The character models were one of the best things that show had going for it, and so was the fanservice. That said, I’ve had difficulty with my ‘rating’ since I viewed it; it keeps teetering between a 6 and a 7, mainly because I do have fond memories of watching it and the last arc was really good despite most of the rest of the show failing to live up to any hype whatsoever.

But on the other hand, where Shinbo impressed the hell out of me with SZS, BMG felt like he stumbled for most of the show before getting back into the groove of things in the last segment. I felt like a chump. Though now I understand that a lot of my disappointment stemmed from the source material as well. All I can say is, damn, I’m more than happy Madoka came along. He went from good director to hack director to HOLY SHIT tier.

[Azathoth]

Okay, that's good enough for me. Especially if Akira Ishida comes out anything like his usual roles.

He's like a rapey Kaworu who paints.

[Oz]

@Merri: It's not like I hate BGM either (currently my rating is 7 although sometimes I feel it's closer to 6), but I find it repulsive whenever someone calls it a masterpiece.

[kuwisdelu]

I thought Bakemonogatari was great, but it also was the first of Shinbo's stuff I'd seen, so I wonder how much of an effect that had. I'm working through his older stuff now. I'm hesitant to get too far into SZS, since it looks like the second season is really inconsistently subbed.

[symbv]

No. You are only blinded by moe, fetishes and flashy dialogue. Merri's (and my) criticism of Bakemonogatari is reasonable.

Perhaps you can show me your "reasonable" criticism of Bakemonogatari and I can see how it compares with reviews in Japan and Far East region. (I have just seen Merri's from above and it hinges on the view of Shinbo's direction which is indeed reasonable but still that does not dent its claim to be a masterpiece) Granted, all the dialogues are not invented in the anime. The original novels have all of them -- basically it is a precondition that you must love (or at least, not hate) the moe (which is actually another way of expressing fetishism) and pointy dialogues before you should go into BMG world.

And I am sure people have different criteria of "masterpiece" but to me the term is not an absolute one. It never should be judged purely on technical merits, but should be on the overall achievement it attained. An anime can be a defining masterpiece in the time it was created and it does not need to be compared well in all aspects against whatever "past masterpieces" or "all-time greats" there are. BMG is the defining anime for the period when light novel and its MOE culture dominated and took precedence over other media (anime included). It shows how a light novel can be done right and make it an enhanced experience that can also be enjoyed on its own, even for a light novel that is clearly not suitable for anime adaptation. It added much besides the story line and the dialogues, and the different elements are integrated very well.

Long time ago I also liked to sit on my high horse and could prone to nitpicking just because in my opinion the anime was far too popular than I thought it technically deserved. But I always tell myself if it is just to be judged by the technical aspects alone then NGE is so full of flaws and awkwardness -- why then so many people, western or Japanese, are ready to proclaim it is an all-time great masterpiece? This is where I started to change how I evaluate anime. It still has to do with personal preference and technical achievements, but more factors should be considered regarding whether an anime deserves an exalted status.

As for SZS, I always think it is just another anime that western fans go for brand names and animation quirkiness instead of judging the anime in a more all-rounded manner. But it cannot be helped because like Bakemonogatari (actually even more than BMG) much of the enjoyment of the anime weighs heavily on the dialogues and particularly word play. I suspect if SZS is not done by that famous Shinbo and Shaft, it will just become another obscure anime that may be well known in Japan but much less known in the west...

And I am ready to fight the battle for BMG as much as I fight for K-ON Yes, I will also call K-ON a masterpiece, so sue me (ok, I would deem K-ON a lesser masterpiece than BMG ;-)

[Oz]

You seem to be forgetting that we did already argue about BGM's writing in the past. That's my biggest problem with the show. It's so obvious the characters were designed only to cater to every single popular sexual fetish - and BGM never takes that idea further than that. The only bit of self-awareness given to that aspect is via Senjougahara and it never really goes nowhere (limited to one-off jokes that aren't particularly funny). Since it spends a great deal of its time establishing these fetishes with forced drama (that only feels like an after-thought) and silly supernatural metaphors (which are only there for the "wow" factor). Shinbo's direction is the reason I still like the show. It might not be on Zetsubou's or Madoka's level, but it is certainly something. Art direction, editing and the composition of the shots were stunning enough to keep me watching in the end.

Initially I was pulled into the "Bakemonogatari boom" by the Suruga Monkey arc because Kanbaru was too outrageous to be an actual character (I still like her), but while I was waiting for the last episodes I had time to think the show over again and reconsider its strengths - and didn't find much to appreciate.

I lean more towards the "subjective" rather than "objective" so naturally I agree with you that each one has a different definition of "masterpiece". You assume that I'm only interested in technical merits, but that's not true. First and foremost every show leaves its own impression on me and then look for reasons why that happened in the first place. I don't compare shows and films to each other unless I'm making top lists. Yes, I might consciously think about how every aspect works while watching, but that has never killed my entertainment (anime or film).

I don't mind moe since I loved Sora no Woto and found K-ON!! nearly as good (although the first season was only enjoyable at best). The dialogue was very solid on its own and I appreciate the risks taken with it, but to get a successful screenplay you need more than just good dialogue. BGM hides its weaknesses by just putting out more and more flashy dialogue.

As for SZS, I think it is the show that introduced most Western viewers to SHAFT's antics. I admire how vast is the amount of its targets of colorful criticism and parody. It's a marvellous explosion of Japanese (pop) culture that would be interesting even without the Shinbo treatment (that makes it genuinely work in anime form - although he imitates the manga like a slave).

PS: Technically NGE's only "weakness" is the quality of animation that only seems bad in comparison to more recent series. Analyzing NGE's form is full of brilliant surprises and new strokes of genius can be found even after repeated rewatches.

[Xard]

Speaking of the new Macross Frontier movie I need to see False Songtress since I found it a few days ago.

Awesome. I can't wait for all the hatan', film after all has only two (huge tho') action set pieces and way too much focus on, like, characters and the triangle.

I just think that Katanagatari is easier to adapt, although I agree that the animation and art design in the anime is truly great.

That might be. In any case Katanagatari's artistry and animation impressed me enormously. The narrative is also more substantial and I didn't get attached to any character in Bakemonogatari to the extent I got attached to Shichika and esp. Togame. I think Katanagatari's finale beats BMG on its own. Endings that elevate work to 'nother level are rare especially in anime which is not exactly medium known for brilliant endings in general. Katanagatari is one of the best of the best exceptions.

Whatever his faults may be NisiOisin surely knows how to write helluva finales: endings to both Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari were damn great and best parts of both series.

CHEERIO!!!!!!

Okay, that's good enough for me. Especially if Akira Ishida comes out anything like his usual roles.

Head. Is. Awesome. Fuck yes you are the best villain (well, closest to such thing) in ages! It might be my favourite role of his already. I already rank it higher than Kaworu.

Think of Head as some sort of mix of Kaworu and Akio and you get close. Of course SD has much, much more going for it than just Akira Ishida. Honestly, Takuto is nearly my favourite mecha protagonist ever and character of rarest kind - awesome male lead.



yup, that pretty much sums it up.

How’d you like dem Nadeko gym shorts, btw?

yeah shit man. I’ll watch it with you. I got four episodes in and it’s one I should finish just so I know what the fuss is all about anyway. Apparently the first arc is lowest point in the show.

It's all about After Story anyway...

…Xard, I’m definitely picking this up again soon

The character models were one of the best things that show had going for it, and so was the fanservice.

Actually the in-show character models were occasionally very unappealing due to SHAFT's general art direction. The surface of the "skin" often comes off very plastic and, uhh, shiny. I gives off very artificial vibe I find somewhat offputting. It's not something one notices most of the time but now and then...yeah

Same thing bothered me in SoreMachi occasionally.

But I always tell myself if it is just to be judged by the technical aspects alone then NGE is so full of flaws and awkwardness -- why then so many people, western or Japanese, are ready to proclaim it is an all-time great masterpiece?

Unless we count minor bloobers and some "off-model characters" (as Eva was animated by many different studios some eps jump out like ep 12 which was done by Ghibli) I don't think there are any, really. Which is all thanks to Anno's direction and GAINAX's top level main crew. Masayuki nearly did whole ep 24 on his own through course of three weeks but you'd never believe that when you look at the final result. But this isn't relevant to BMG anyway...

***************

Finished Bakemonogatari

It was damn good, perhaps great even. Final arc was so good I nearly raised the final score by 'nother number just because of it. Fantastic job.


It's not masterpiece like Patlabor 2 or Eva is (though I can understand symbv's standard) and of course the fact I watched BD episodes instead of SHAFT's substandard fumbling around with tv broadcast ver. helped (SHAFT fucked up fall 2009 so bad. Damnit SHAFT, learn to schedule. You're worse than 90s GAINAX) a lot. Overall it was very satisfying and interesting from divine sense of art direction courtesy of Team Shinbo to Inu Curry bits to the NisiOisin writing in particular.

In particular I'd like to appraise Bakemonogatari being pretty much perfect adaptation of postmodern pop novel writing into visual medium. The good and the bad inherent in such jumbled pop art are both present in the final work but there's no inherent flaws in the way this said narrative was "translated" to the screen. If we view postmodern novel as something characterized by emphasis on "flatness" - a language of surfaces and movement - and fascinated with immanence and structured by pastiche without uniting centre, well, what we have with Bakemonogatari is exactly this in anime format.

I'm not saying Bakemonogatari is "deep" - which would be counterintuitive to the above characterization. I'm just saying qualities of NisiOisin's original text are conveyed astonishingly well and as such BMG is great piece of "pop cinema" (or whatever pretentious term you want to use) and top notch adaptation.

Best episodes were the two "finales" - ep 12 and ep 15 with final star gazing scene of ep 12 being by far my favourite scene in the whole show. Great stuff. Ep 12 actually reminded me of Godard most of all and I'm saying this with straight face

All in all I give Bakemonogatari

8/10

if rest of the show was on par with Tsubasa arc it would be very strong 9.

[Defectron]

Whatever his faults may be NisiOisin surely knows how to write helluva finales: endings to both Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari were damn great and best parts of both series.

Still havent watched the last ep of bake, back when I DL'd it the codec wasn't working right and I didn't feel like delaing with it so I've been putting it off. I ought to try watching that again later.

[toe mash]

Painful? Whaaaaaat

Hmmm, well... I remember liking that arc the least out of the ones in the series, but I really need to watch BMG again because it probably isn't as bad as I remembered and /a/ just poisoned me with threads hating on snail arc. Also I've yet to watch it with the BD version (except a few glorious scenes) which should be quite an improvement.

Senjougahara is the best character, of course.

Hell yeah. Personally I understand the whole buzz over Hitagi, I liked her so much it got to the point that in any scene she was in I'd just be looking forward to see what unexpected thing she'll do and how she's gonna curbstomp Araragi this time, lol. That car scene in episode 12 was especially memorable.

NO ONE EVER TOLD ME CLANNAD WAS THIS AWESOME

Even though I'm not a fan of Clannad to say the least, I can't deny that the comedy and the light hearted scenes (in the 1st season at least) were just really damn good and the jokes usually hit the mark. But I'm interested to see what you'll say about it, especially AS :)

think you take Harem genre in a liberal way...

Ah man, don't take what I said seriously. It's just sort of a common joke to jab at BMG fans by casting it off as "another harem anime". And I just mentioned NGE because it's always fun to make fun of it around fans of the show.

I was pretty surprised by the skin thing as well, but it wasn’t terribly graphic anyway. Madoka’s been worse than this has. So has Fractale, actually.

Really? imo Zombie's scene was more, uh, "cringe-worthy", something that I judge how gory a scene is

[derpy explanation] What I mean is scenes like the one in Fractale were more LOLWUT than "ah man that looks painful". And PMMM's was more shocking than gory (cant say same thing for the manga equivalent, though). Zombie's looked painful as hell. [/derpy explanation]

Best episodes were the two "finales" - ep 12 and ep 15
if rest of the show was on par with Tsubasa arc it would be very strong 9.

I totally agree on 12, but I thought episode 15 felt a bit like they just tried to end the arc without actually having a satisfying closure... I still don't know from where they pulled that resolution with Shinobu, although the previous 2 episodes were definitely some of the best.

Then again, you had it good and watched it from the BD release and in ONE piece, while those of us that watched the last arc while it was "aired" had to watch the crappy stream. Oh, and of course the worst part is that the group that was subbing episode 15 RELEASED IT IN 5 SEPERATE PARTS. Holy shit, that was annoying as fuck.

[symbv]

You seem to be forgetting that we did already argue about BGM's writing in the past. That's my biggest problem with the show. It's so obvious the characters were designed only to cater to every single popular sexual fetish - and BGM never takes that idea further than that. The only bit of self-awareness given to that aspect is via Senjougahara and it never really goes nowhere (limited to one-off jokes that aren't particularly funny). Since it spends a great deal of its time establishing these fetishes with forced drama (that only feels like an after-thought) and silly supernatural metaphors (which are only there for the "wow" factor). Shinbo's direction is the reason I still like the show. It might not be on Zetsubou's or Madoka's level, but it is certainly something. Art direction, editing and the composition of the shots were stunning enough to keep me watching in the end.

I do remember and based on our discussion I know that you would not like the source material and the dislike would extend to the anime. So what is left to keep you going is mostly the visual parts. This is not enough to keep interests going. I do believe the dialogues and the interactions between the characters convey certain depth to the characters but they are presented in an unconventional way which you put as "flashy" and "fetish".

PS: Technically NGE's only "weakness" is the quality of animation that only seems bad in comparison to more recent series. Analyzing NGE's form is full of brilliant surprises and new strokes of genius can be found even after repeated rewatches.

I agree that NGE can be analyzed endlessly and it can stand repeated rewatch very well. Though I also see some of the "brilliance" are more like an attempt to hide weakness, lack of budget, pressing schedule or whims of Anno but as it now attains "divine" status I think people are now more likely to praise and see them as strength instead. Even the lack of good elaboration of mysteries and questions keep popping up without resolutions are now called "brilliant" "genius". However, I still call NGE as a once-in-a-decade type of masterpiece despite all its flaws (admittedly they corrected some when they released it later in dvd).

The narrative is also more substantial and I didn't get attached to any character in Bakemonogatari to the extent I got attached to Shichika and esp. Togame. I think Katanagatari's finale beats BMG on its own.

I see the two novels as being different: KG is a full narrative and it has an ending that befits the quest that the couple went through, while BMG is a snapshot of stories that focus on short adventure from the introduction of a new character. Ishin Nishio meant BMG as a series so never planned a grand finale for BMG. I can see how it is easier to get attached to characters in KG as they went through really harsh life-and-death situation in a long quest; by comparison BMG is more like a thriller that provides a background for the interaction of the characters.

In particular I'd like to appraise Bakemonogatari being pretty much perfect adaptation of postmodern pop novel writing into visual medium. The good and the bad inherent in such jumbled pop art are both present in the final work but there's no inherent flaws in the way this said narrative was "translated" to the screen. If we view postmodern novel as something characterized by emphasis on "flatness" - a language of surfaces and movement - and fascinated with immanence and structured by pastiche without uniting centre, well, what we have with Bakemonogatari is exactly this in anime format.

Wow... Xard you said it better than I could. I just want to add that BMG basically provides a window to see what the cutting edge of current pop Japanese literature is like and how it can be presented entertainingly in anime. It is different from anime in the past and this also means that it defines rather than follows.

[schismatics]

Best episodes were the two "finales" - ep 12 and ep 15 with final star gazing scene of ep 12 being by far my favourite scene in the whole show. Great stuff. Ep 12 actually reminded me of Godard most of all and I'm saying this with straight face

Hell yeah dude. Episode 15 had me going "OH SHI-"

I agree with ya on some of the arcs being kinda weak (Snail and Snake mainly) but overall I still think it's pretty solid. I think I may have overrated it a bit on MAL but I think that might be because of the awesomeness of the end of the show.

No mention about the OST? I thought it was pretty solid and one of the stronger points of the show.

[symbv]

No mention about the OST? I thought it was pretty solid and one of the stronger points of the show.

It is not just the OST, but the OP/ED as well. It is not just Ren'ai Circulation (which many EGF members seem to like so much) or Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (which I went crazy over with) but all the musical aspects of this anime are very strong.

[Oz]

So what is left to keep you going is mostly the visual parts. This is not enough to keep interests going.

You underestimate my appreciation for great execution. I'm a sucker for great imagery and rhythm.

I do believe the dialogues and the interactions between the characters convey certain depth to the characters but they are presented in an unconventional way which you put as "flashy" and "fetish".

Erm, I think you are misunderstanding what I was trying to say. Since the presentation (the form, the direction) is what I like about BGM it would make no sense if I criticized the way they were presented. Rather, it's the abundance of dialogue that is "flashy". Abusing it over visual storytelling and more relaxed/quiet scenes keeps the audience's attention off the other elements of the writing that I believe to be too flawed. The depth of the characters is pretty much limited to the self-aware exaggeration of certain archetypes.

However, I still call NGE as a once-in-a-decade type of masterpiece despite all its flaws (admittedly they corrected some when they released it later in dvd).

Now I seriously have no clue of what you are talking about.

[InstrumentalityOne]

Kawamori did do the E7 mech design though

But E7 only has like... 4 different types of mecha.
TheEnd, Nirvash, them Gekkou LFOs and those blue military LFOs.
I wouldn´t really have minded 2 different types of mechas in total but with different color schemes, but having the overly unique Nirvash and TheEnd kinda ruined it.