General Anime Discussion: Area 11

[Nerd-o-rama]

I'll probably watch Gargantia as it comes out. It seems like the most interesting of the mecha parade, and I have a theory that Urobuchi works better when he's handling original characters.

(I did start Fate/Zero, and parts of it are fun if you don't think about them too hard/at all, but...)

Oh joy, the one effing post I make here is demeaning something with a gigantic fanbase and at the top of the page. E-rank Luck.

[HamHam]

So, an Indecisive Parody then?

Not really... I can't entirely explain why I feel this way, but the thing Ixion Saga DT most reminds me of is Venture Brothers, for some reason. Which is not something I have ever said about another anime.

I guess it's how things are treated as both the joke, and actual dramatic plot at the same time? It's not that it ever stops being silly, but rather that there is an undercurrent of sincerity to things?

-------------------

Someone talked me into watching Fate/Zero. Eh? I don't think it's something I would watch on my own, it's a bit too... deliberately depressing?

[Mercenary Pen]

Just started on the remake of Space Battleship Yamato, and I'm generally enjoying it. Really liking the way they've expanded the cast aboard ship by comparison with the original...

[Metahuman1]

So, after quite some time I'm actually getting to start sitting down and watching Anime again.

Ive started with Sword Art Online.

Is this as good as it looks to be shaping up to be at 4 eps in?


Also, are we gonna have people dieing left right and center in this one or did they make there bloody point early on that death is a potential consequence and now the killing will become less common?

[Kato]

Ive started with Sword Art Online.

Is this as good as it looks to be shaping up to be at 4 eps in?

I'm at the 15th episode but I kind of left the drive to keep watching... Looking back I'm not sure why I even watched that much... Not that it is "bad" but it didn't feel really great to me either. I'm not sure if the second half would get any better. Then again, I guess maybe my expectations were a little high because I think it was pretty highly praised.

[HamHam]

I'm really really liking Magi. The whole Arabian Nights theme is really fresh, imho, and in principle I like shounen battle shows, it's just that a lot of them are really really dumb, but here I actually like the characters a lot. Quite possibly the best of this kind of show I've seen since Soul Eater.

[Prime32]

I guess we should start talking about a name for the next thread.

I... can't think of many /m/-type anime with 12 in the name though, to keep up the tradition. What about making fun of Banpresto instead, with "General Anime Discussion XII: The 2nd Thread XI"?

Should probably make it "General Anime/Manga Discussion" though, to prevent confusion.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Well, I've heard there's a show called "Twelve Kingdoms", but I know naught of it.

[AlterForm]

Katanagatari's 12-episode rerun is close to starting. Bit of a stretch to make a title, though.

[Sith_Happens]

After quickly going over the previous thread names...

Super Tengen Toppa General Anime/Manga Discussion: This one goes to TWELVE

General Anime/Manga Discussion XII: Thread XI 2nd Gig

[D_Man_7733]

How about General Anime/Manga Discussion: I swear it only looks 12?
or
General Anime/Manga Discussion: 12 litres of blood in your average character (It may need shortening though)

[Sith_Happens]

How about General Anime/Manga Discussion: I swear it only looks 12?

More like

General Anime/Manga Discussion XII: Don't worry, it's actually MLIV

[Prime32]

How about General Anime/Manga Discussion: I swear it only looks 12?
or
General Anime/Manga Discussion: 12 litres of blood in your average character (It may need shortening though)

The second applies to a pretty small percentage of the stuff discussed here, and the first really isn't a good idea.

[Terraoblivion]

Why not just make some joke about Twelve Kingdoms as has already been suggested? It's far simpler, shorter and more straightforward than most of what has been suggested.

[mallorean_thug]

The first anime related things I think of connected to the number 12 are number of episodes in a 1 cour show, the number of Seleção from Eden of the East, the number of diary holders in Mirai Nikki, and the fact that the translation for 12Riven only just started.

[kamikasei]

Certainly, I can't think of any conspicuous twelve-member set in anime that might tie in to the theme used for past thread titles.

We're not counting Ginga.

[Sith_Happens]

On an unrelated note, what would most of you say is the best order to watch the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in?

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Start by watching the last episode five times in a row.

[HamHam]

On an unrelated note, what would most of you say is the best order to watch the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in?

I liked broadcast order, personally.

[D_Man_7733]

While we are on the subject of Haruhi: does anyone know what issue does the manga/novel pick up after the series and how much of the novel/manga skip, is it worth it to start reading from the beginning?

(and does anyone know where I can find Chapter 62 of Rosario+Vampire 2? or is it just not out/translated yet?)

And is it worth watching the extra chapters of CLANNAD (episode 23,24) or should I go straight to the OVA's and afterstory.

[Kato]

To start yet another discussion... I finished Elfen Lied yesterday and was.. pretty underwhelmed considering how praised and loved it is. It was only the anime, though, but from what I understand the differences aren't as grating as with other shows (?)...
It wasn't bad but... most of the characters were not that likeable, nothing was especially well done and overall the whole "humans are bastards" thing was much too shallow for my taste...



on another note: While I've not had any contact with the show, I think Twelve Kingdoms is popular enough to warrant a title for the next thread.

[NeonBlack]

While we are on the subject of Haruhi: does anyone know what issue does the manga/novel pick up after the series and how much of the novel/manga skip, is it worth it to start reading from the beginning?

Not sure about the manga, but about the Haruhi novels: the first four (Melancholy, Sigh, Boredom, Disappearance) have been completely adapted into the anime, and rereading them is optional since you don't miss that much by skipping them.

The fifth novel (Rampage) has Endless Eight and The Day of Sagittarius, both adapted, and Snowy Mountain Syndrome, which is the first "new" chapter and is actually quite important. Rereading the original version of Endless Eight (only one loop this time) would be nice, too.

The sixth (Wavering) has two already animated chapters (Live Alive and The Adventures of Mikuru Asahina Ep 00), both worth a reread, and from then on it's all new. The remaining novels are fully new.

And is it worth watching the extra chapters of CLANNAD (episode 23,24) or should I go straight to the OVA's and afterstory.

They're worth it. In fact episode 24 should be the OVA, unless I miscounted. Neither is essential before heading into After Story (The OVA is actually an alternate ending following the Tomoyo route), but they're both worth a watch, especially if you like Tomoyo and/or Mei messing around with Tomoya and Nagisa.

[kamikasei]

On an unrelated note, what would most of you say is the best order to watch the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya in?

I strongly recommend the original broadcast order. It means that you'll learn things in one episode that the characters won't yet know in a later episode, but it also means you get the pacing originally intended by the studio, rather than the weird "here's the plot in one five-episode chunk, then a bunch of random side stories padding out the season" effect of the DVD order.

That applies to the first season, mind, not to the second or the combined first and second.

[mallorean_thug]

On Haruhi, I've always preferred original broadcast order for watching just season 1. However, if you're watching all of Haruhi, that is S1+S2+Movie, chronological order is actually really well paced. I mean sure its not nearly as zany, and you kind of have plot bookends, but it works out well. Kind of like how I didn't used to like the episode Someday in the Rain but now think its works perfectly as the end of season 1+2 and the leadup to Disappearance.

On Clannad, episodes 23 and 24 of the first season are more worth watching than the first 8 episodes of Afterstory. So yes, watch them.

On Elfen Lied, I think you've been talking to the wrong people. The only good thing to come out of the anime is Lilium. Its only "praised and loved" by edgy 14 year olds that have just gotten into anime and like the tits and gore (I should know because that used to be me). And the reason people don't mind the changes and anime original ending is because the manga gets exponentially worse past that point. There's a reason its the worst rated show I've ever finished. Seriously it has awful characters with unbelievable motives, a hamfisted premise used to force a hamfisted and simplistic theme, comic relief that isn't, dated animation with below subpar direction, an OST that may have a good sense of timing but only one track, and a presentation that focuses on fetishic titillation and shock value. Its everything that people unfamiliar with anime use to lambaste the medium, and if all anime were like it, they would be right for doing so.

[Nerd-o-rama]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's (seriously, that's the title) is now available as a BDrip, with official subs.

I watched it.

I'm just going to go snuggle with a hardcover book and tell it everything will be okay now.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

They're worth it. In fact episode 24 should be the OVA, unless I miscounted. Neither is essential before heading into After Story (The OVA is actually an alternate ending following the Tomoyo route), but they're both worth a watch, especially if you like Tomoyo and/or Mei messing around with Tomoya and Nagisa.

Seconded. The Tomoyo alternate ending was actually one of the things that moved me the most for a while. And Mei's date setup was hilarious.

And is the Kyou ending an OVA for After Story, then? I've been slowly coming around to that one, too.

[HamHam]

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The Movie 2nd A's (seriously, that's the title) is now available as a BDrip, with official subs.

I watched it.

I'm just going to go snuggle with a hardcover book and tell it everything will be okay now.

What's the relationship of the movies to the series?

[Nerd-o-rama]

What's the relationship of the movies to the series?

Alternate continuity/compilation/if you read the manga they're supposedly in-universe fictionalizations of what happened in the TV shows. Same plots with some differences, one movie per season.

Macross: Do You Remember Love, basically. Only closer to the original plot because the first two seasons were only 13 episodes each.

[Kato]

On Elfen Lied, I think you've been talking to the wrong people.

Ah, okay. It wasn't anyone in particular it just seemed to me the show was considered good and... well, it really wasn't. But I'm satisfied if my tastes don't clash with everyone else's again on this.


On the topic of Haruhi Suzumiya, I finally got myself to watch Disappearance (a year late... or two by now?)

Spoiler

Show

It was pretty good. Maybe not the masterpiece some people make it out to be but pretty damn good.
I guess my main two complains I could make are 1) you really can't watch it unless you know the show (I think) because you'd hardly be able to follow anything... It's pretty common with movies that are part of a genre but it's still kind of a downside. 2) A bit more troubling... most of the cast is really little involved in the plot. Yeah, Kyon obviously is the main character and luckily he's damn enjoyable to watch but he and Nagato take up what feels like 80% of the screen time and attanetion. It's not terribly but it somehow makes it feels more like an arc for the show (like, instead of half of THAT OTHER ARC n the last season) than a movie involving the whole brigade.

Anyway, I did enjoy it... even though... am I a bad person because I started laughing at the climax when Asakura showed up and stabbed Kyon... again?

[Matthias2207]

Ah, okay. It wasn't anyone in particular it just seemed to me the show was considered good and... well, it really wasn't. But I'm satisfied if my tastes don't clash with everyone else's again on this.


On the topic of Haruhi Suzumiya, I finally got myself to watch Disappearance (a year late... or two by now?)

Spoiler

Show

It was pretty good. Maybe not the masterpiece some people make it out to be but pretty damn good.
I guess my main two complains I could make are 1) you really can't watch it unless you know the show (I think) because you'd hardly be able to follow anything... It's pretty common with movies that are part of a genre but it's still kind of a downside. 2) A bit more troubling... most of the cast is really little involved in the plot. Yeah, Kyon obviously is the main character and luckily he's damn enjoyable to watch but he and Nagato take up what feels like 80% of the screen time and attanetion. It's not terribly but it somehow makes it feels more like an arc for the show (like, instead of half of THAT OTHER ARC n the last season) than a movie involving the whole brigade.

Anyway, I did enjoy it... even though... am I a bad person because I started laughing at the climax when Asakura showed up and stabbed Kyon... again?

I don't think you're supposed to watch it without having seen the series. That would be like watching Harry Potter 5 without watching 1-4 first.