General Anime/Manga Discussion: Where Are We Golgoing 13?

[Closet_Skeleton]

Accelerator's real weakness is he doesn't know how to fight at all. He could have easily killed Touma in their first encounter, but his general invincibility means he has no concept that he might have to just efficiently get rid of someone. It was really pretty contrived that Touma didn't just die of bad luck in that fight.

[HMS Invincible]

Spoiler: Not Touma Beating Accel

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No, I'm referring to the evil mentor type who hits accelerator and then at the last second, literally pulls his punches. Accelerator defends himself by reflecting the attack/vector. The reflection of a pulled punch is a punch to the face. I mean, yes accelerator not knowing how to fight sorta explains this, but if he can figure out the vectors of electrons in a computer, I'm sure he could figure out the physics of how that one dude was punching differently. And when accelerator goes unconscious crazy, which turns off his reflection vectors. The pull puncher dude can't figure a way around it, by you know, punching him normally. So he loses to accelerator.

I guess its consistent in the overall scheme of things, IIRC everyone with powers never works out or trains for muggle combat, but it still upsets me.

Accelerator's real weakness is he doesn't know how to fight at all. He could have easily killed Touma in their first encounter, but his general invincibility means he has no concept that he might have to just efficiently get rid of someone. It was really pretty contrived that Touma didn't just die of bad luck in that fight.

[Sith_Happens]

In the Index/Railgun setting, Teleportation is a matter of motion through higher dimensions (I believe the eleventh dimension is specifically mentioned). Given there's a direction (even if it's a direction along a dimension we don't normally perceive) and a magnitude (essentially, how fast Kuroko is performing said movement), there exists a vector for Accelerator to manipulate.

I suppose that works, but not long after asking the question I realized it's even simpler than that. The end result of teleporting is usually that you (or someone or something else) have gone from Point A to Point B. Even if you didn't cross the intervening space and therefore haven't moved in the traditional sense, that's still a displacement, which is a vector. Therefore, when you teleport around Accelerator, he gets to decide where you reappear.

[Rodin]

So, apparently there's only going to be two more episodes of Hunter X Hunter. I'm gonna miss it. I guess we've caught up to the manga, in terms of completed arcs at least.

Wonder if they'll pick up where they left off after a bit or go for a third iteration of the show?

[HamHam]

So, apparently there's only going to be two more episodes of Hunter X Hunter. I'm gonna miss it. I guess we've caught up to the manga, in terms of completed arcs at least.

Wonder if they'll pick up where they left off after a bit or go for a third iteration of the show?

Whaaaaat.

Also, Aldnoah ep 11 was pretty good. Slaine's use in this series so far has been really weird. He's done like... two things in the entire show so far that had any effect on the plot?

Spoiler: Aldnoah ep 11

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Also rofl at loli-maid driving a jeep.

[Poison_Fish]

I enjoyed episode 11. Though between 10 and 11, it felt like the show was coming to some sort of conclusion. Then I checked up and it's actually planned for 24 episodes. Which is good, because hopefully they'll have more time to develop Vers more. Right now the emperor just seems incompetent and uncaring.

As for Slaine, he doesn't feel much like a 2nd protagonist at all.

As for other shows I am having a lot of fun with, Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun has been a surprise joy for me that I picked up late.

[Rodin]

I enjoyed episode 11. Though between 10 and 11, it felt like the show was coming to some sort of conclusion. Then I checked up and it's actually planned for 24 episodes. Which is good, because hopefully they'll have more time to develop Vers more. Right now the emperor just seems incompetent and uncaring.

That's...rather surprising. Episode 10 made me think it was a 12 episode anime and episode 11 just confirmed it. How the heck are they getting another 12 episodes out when we're already in end-of-season climax mode?

[Poison_Fish]

That's...rather surprising. Episode 10 made me think it was a 12 episode anime and episode 11 just confirmed it. How the heck are they getting another 12 episodes out when we're already in end-of-season climax mode?

Maybe they'll go to Mars Vers?

[Closet_Skeleton]

I'm behind on Aldnoah but I'm really suspicious that Protagonist Guy is supposed to actually be the Hero (I can't remember anyone's name apart from Slaine, Inaho and Calm).

How the heck are they getting another 12 episodes out when we're already in end-of-season climax mode?

The could just say "lol, no, it's plot twist time again" like every other time it looked like one thing was going to happen.

As for other shows I am having a lot of fun with, Gekkan Shojo Nozaki-kun has been a surprise joy for me that I picked up late.

I also picked it up late and think its the best thing this season.

But I thought Love Lab (same studio, completely unrelated source material) was the best thing on in its season.

[HamHam]

It's split cour though, so this is really a "season" climax in practice, and it will be coming back the season after next.

And Nozaki-kun is hilarious, but I think of the two I like Sabagebu just a little bit more.

[Mx.Silver]

So my backlog of stuff to watch finally cycled around to Mushishi this week. It turns out everyone was right, it is really good. One of the best executions of the 'episodic anthology' model of series I've seen; even its weakest episodes are pretty damn good while its strongest are little short of beautiful. It's commitment to tone and atmosphere really shines through. The way the Mushi are presented as more or less forces of nature, either benign or dangerous rather than good or bad, creates a refreshingly subtle environmentalist theme, in addition to its wider thematic attitudes.
Yeah, it's definitely something special. Not a lot out there like it, that I've seen.


Oh, I also watched the first 5 epsiodes of RahXephon, the latter 2-3 of which gave me the impression that it probably isn't worth watching any more episodes of RahXephon.

[mallorean_thug]

Oh, I also watched the first 5 epsiodes of RahXephon, the latter 2-3 of which gave me the impression that it probably isn't worth watching any more episodes of RahXephon.

I watched 8 episodes of RahXephon with a couple friends and we got about the same impression. We never really said as a group "Hey, lets stop watching this" but its been about a year since we watched ep 8 so . . .

Spending last night watching the penultimate episode of all the series airing right now made me realize that its just about time to look forward to next season. Honestly, I'm not sure how its going to be better than Summer Season, which for me had 4 good shows and 4 ok shows to follow (and a couple bad shows I should have dropped) Seriously though, if you never picked up Haikyuu, Hanayamata, or Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun or like to wait for shows to finish before you watch, you should go ahead and give them a try. Either way, lets look at the new season:

Airdates and simulcast announcements

Fancy chart

Opinions + all the PVs in one handy place

IMO, this is how the new season ranks

GET HYPE tier:

• Fate/Stay Night: Its UBW as animated by ufotable. Either that excites you, or you haven't watched the PV yet. Or I guess it could not be your kind of thing.
• Parasyte Though I haven't actually read it, I've heard all kinds of good things about the manga. It looks like they're changing some stuff to update it to a more modern setting, but otherwise, great staff, great PV

Mite b cool tier

• Shigatsu wa Kimi no Utsu: Well, this is a noitaminA show that actually looks like a proper noitaminA show for once. Superficially reminds me of Nodame Cantabile. Exactly my cup of tea.
• Gundam: Reconguista in G: On one hand, its Gundam! Written by Tomino! On the other hand, its still Gundam written by Tomino. I want to be cautiously optimistic about this.
• Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons: Running alongside the Gundam they're known for, Sunrise is also making another one of those really anime silly mech shows they're also known for. I'll watch this one because 1. Nana Mizuki and 2. DRAGON is actually an in-universe acronym that stands for Dimensional Rift Alligned Gigantic Organic Neototype.
• Rage of Bahamut Genesis: Well, this is based on a generic mobile game. So the story will probably be bad. But hey, Tiger & Bunny Director, Mappa animating it, and that impressive PV. I'll be onboard for at least a little bit.

3 ep rule tier

• Shirobako: This would be down a tier, if it weren't being directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Will probably be better than the premise would lead you to believe.
• Garo: Honoo no Kokuin: I'm down for a medieval CG sentai show. Also Mappa again.

1 ep can't hurt so why not

• Amagi Brilliant ParkAfter Chu2 Ren this would be a skip, but Yasuhiro Takemoto is in the director chair again so I have to at least give it a chance. No expectations though.
• Denki-ga no Honya-san This is going to be mostly reference joke comedy. I'm not usually a fan
• Ore, Twintails ni Narimasu This should be bad, but could be hilarious. Currently filed in the Ore Wa Zombie Desu Ka drawer.
• Terra Formars: I think the proper descriptor is halfway between Gantz and Attack on Titan. I'll probably be watching an episode just to say I did, and then promptly dropping it.
• Sora no Method: Sometimes shows like this one strike a chord with me. Sometimes.
• Akatsuki no Yona: I always give shoujo adaptions a chance. Unless they're super rapey like the other one this season; Wolf Girl and Black Prince.
• Inou-Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de: I think jokes and series about chuunibyo are pretty dead. So this one can either prove me wrong, or put the last nail in the coffin.

Sequels tier

• Mushi-shi s2 Nothing to say here
• Psychopass s2: I hope they don't screw this up, the first season really didn't need a sequel. And Gen isn't involved at all, Tow Ubukata is writing it. Which could be good, like GitS Arise, or could be bad, like Mardock Scramble.

[Tengu_temp]

I know I'll watch G-Reco, Gundam Build Fighters S2, and (the Return of Son of) Mushishi S2 part 2. Call me plebe-kun.

[Mx.Silver]

I watched 8 episodes of RahXephon with a couple friends and we got about the same impression. We never really said as a group "Hey, lets stop watching this" but its been about a year since we watched ep 8 so . . .

Yeah. The problem isn't so much that the series is an Evangelion knock-off (although it is), more that it looks to be heading into territory where it settles in to focus on a bunch of characters who are not terribly interesting, nor terribly well written, with possibly the odd 'Dolem of the week', rather than any of the ways it might have gone from the first couple of episodes.

[HamHam]

Yay more Log Horizon!

And new Gundam I guess. We'll see how that goes.

[Poison_Fish]

Hrm... I don't exactly have a "for sure" "maybe" etc. list yet, but I can certainly list what I am interested in.

Log Horizion, both Gundams, Fate: Unlimited Blade Works (Because I like UFOTable), Mushishi, Sanzoku no Musume Ronja, and World Trigger.

[HamHam]

I want to say something about Aldnoah ep 12, but I am utterly speechless.

[Sith_Happens]

That moment when Brock is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch and your brain literally cannot process it (why yes, I am just now watching Pokemon Origins, why do you ask?).

On a completely separate note, I just stumbled across the fact that Rumiko Takahashi's current project has been ongoing since 2009, which makes me wonder why it hasn't been animated yet.

[Rodin]

I want to say something about Aldnoah ep 12, but I am utterly speechless.

All I can say is...





What.

[HamHam]

Okay, I've had some time to reflect.

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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My favorite part of this episode was very early on. Too many mecha shows get way too focused on and pretentious about things like the cycle of violence (I'm looking at you Gundam) so having Inaho just be like "War is merely the continuation of policy by other means." was super great.

I think Slaine and Inaho do end up working as opposite sides of the coin. The problem, if it is a problem, is that this leaves them not equally competent. Slaine is emotional and impulsive while Inaho is calm and calculating... and because of that Slaine looses track of what he's actually supposed to be fighting for and gets the princess killed. Mad props to the Count for rubbing it in with a "Thanks Slaine!" there at the end.

I thought it was pretty silly though how suddenly his robot became a Megazord and had exactly the powers of all the guys they had fought before.

I seriously have no idea where this series is going though at this point. I would love for Slaine to become the big bad, and the random side characters have to find a way to beat him without Inaho to save them.

[kamikasei]

I never got around to starting Aldnoah. Now that the season/cour is over, is it worth it? Or was the way it ended so bizarre it's impossible to say until the second season/cour?

I had less time than I expected to watch stuff this season, so I'll probably want to keep a lighter load next season. I'm pretty much certain to watch GBF Try for its entire run, and I'll check out G-Reco and UBW too. I've heard hype about Parasyte, so I'll give that a try. I doubt I'll bother with Log Horizon unless I hear surprisingly good things about it; the first season just didn't have enough good stuff per unit time, and annoyances increased as it went on (plus the reveal of what will presumably be the big bad for this season was actively discouraging).

Part of me hopes G-Reco will be good, but I think a larger part hopes it'll be bad in an entertainingly ridiculous way. Just don't disappoint, TOM-I-NO.

[Prime32]

I doubt I'll bother with Log Horizon unless I hear surprisingly good things about it; the first season just didn't have enough good stuff per unit time, and annoyances increased as it went on (plus the reveal of what will presumably be the big bad for this season was actively discouraging).

Spoiler

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She's not the Big Bad, nor is she even that villainous.

The first volume after the anime ends focuses on Akatsuki trying to open up to people and become stronger, while the second focuses on Shiroe negotiating a lot and trying to complete a raid in secret. They both happen at the same time, so the anime will probably alternate between scenes from the two.

[deuterio12]

I never got around to starting Aldnoah. Now that the season/cour is over, is it worth it? Or was the way it ended so bizarre it's impossible to say until the second season/cour?

Personally, I say yes, it is worth it. Pretty nice action scenes, and an original take on "splinter colonist space empire attacks Earth" story, and a main character who isn't either a whiny emo kid or mr.hotblooded neither has a super prototype mecha fall on his lap.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next episodes.

Also a bit late but

Spoiler: Aldnoah Zero 11

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LOLI MAID DRIVING MILITARY JEEP THROUGH PITCHED BATTLE WHILE PRINCESS CHILLS OUT AT THE BACK HELL YEAH!

Okay, I've had some time to reflect.

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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My favorite part of this episode was very early on. Too many mecha shows get way too focused on and pretentious about things like the cycle of violence (I'm looking at you Gundam) so having Inaho just be like "War is merely the continuation of policy by other means." was super great.

I think Slaine and Inaho do end up working as opposite sides of the coin. The problem, if it is a problem, is that this leaves them not equally competent. Slaine is emotional and impulsive while Inaho is calm and calculating... and because of that Slaine looses track of what he's actually supposed to be fighting for and gets the princess killed. Mad props to the Count for rubbing it in with a "Thanks Slaine!" there at the end.

I thought it was pretty silly though how suddenly his robot became a Megazord and had exactly the powers of all the guys they had fought before.

I seriously have no idea where this series is going though at this point. I would love for Slaine to become the big bad, and the random side characters have to find a way to beat him without Inaho to save them.

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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I think it makes sense the "last boss" was a combiner because the martian empire kinda runs on super robot rules. They already had Super Shield mecha, super sword mecha, rocket punch mecha, so it was only natural the big bad

I also have no idea where the series will be going from now on, but that's what's making me enjoy it. Most main characters "seem" to have died, so it's now up to the secondary characters to pick up the pieces.

[HamHam]

Personally, I say yes, it is worth it. Pretty nice action scenes, and an original take on "splinter colonist space empire attacks Earth" story, and a main character who isn't either a whiny emo kid or mr.hotblooded neither has a super prototype mecha fall on his lap.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next episodes.

Also a bit late but

Spoiler: Aldnoah Zero 11

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LOLI MAID DRIVING MILITARY JEEP THROUGH PITCHED BATTLE WHILE PRINCESS CHILLS OUT AT THE BACK HELL YEAH!

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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I think it makes sense the "last boss" was a combiner because the martian empire kinda runs on super robot rules. They already had Super Shield mecha, super sword mecha, rocket punch mecha, so it was only natural the big bad

I also have no idea where the series will be going from now on, but that's what's making me enjoy it. Most main characters "seem" to have died, so it's now up to the secondary characters to pick up the pieces.

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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If they had established that they had like, salvaged parts from the robots they had defeated or something, it would be one thing. But he just combines with like four random mooks and gets exactly those powers for no explained reason.

[Rodin]

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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If they had established that they had like, salvaged parts from the robots they had defeated or something, it would be one thing. But he just combines with like four random mooks and gets exactly those powers for no explained reason.

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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I rolled my eyes a bit at the combining mecha, but did like that it had all the weaknesses of the earlier robots. He overbuilt his mech and paid for it.

Two interesting things I noticed from this episode:

A) Count Cruhteo's mech activated, despite it supposedly being offline due to his death. Two possibilities - either he's alive somehow, or more likely Slaine has the royal ability to activate Aldnoah drives. Isn't he related to the Emperor somehow?

B) They said the Princess wasn't found in the aftermath. It's pretty clear that Slaine took her body, but for what purpose? Given the totally unknown properties of Aldnoah, it's possible (if unlikely) that she survived. Alternately, we could just see Slaine burying her at the top of next season, or bringing the body back to the Emperor or something. The fact that they went out of their way to mention her being missing makes me think there could be something more to this.

[deuterio12]

Spoiler: Aldnoah 12

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If they had established that they had like, salvaged parts from the robots they had defeated or something, it would be one thing. But he just combines with like four random mooks and gets exactly those powers for no explained reason.

Spoiler

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They all belonged to the same side and had over a decade to pimp out their machines. It makes perfect sense to me that the Count would've found a way to study the special tricks of his pals and incorporate them on his machine over the years as he planned the invasion of Earth.

Or heck, for all we know the Count's mecha is the one who first had all of those fancy abilities, and the mechas of the other nobles were specialized copies.

And like Rodin pointed out, by combining those four mechas the Count also ended up combining all of their weaknesses.

[Terraoblivion]

So Hanayamata has ended completely as people would predict. It was still executed well enough to give lots and lots of feels and readily made up for all the complains there have been over its run that there wasn't enough dancing. Once they actually had the money to show it, they made it look amazing. Smooth, with lots of quick, expensive cutting and Ichizuka Atsuko's sense of color being put to great effect.

Yes, the show is ultimately a somewhat sappy cute girls doing cute things show, but it's one that's executed amazingly well for both the drama and the comedy. It is one of only four shows in the genre I like, and two of them are only borderline in the genre, but it can stand proud among them. In general I've found that the genre really only works if it is either really funny or have really strong character writing. All four shows that I've really liked have also been treated with more directorial care, and in at least two of the cases more money, than the genre typically is, all being shows that aren't just trying to make a quick buck by appealing to cuteness.

If you care about strong character writing without truly heavy drama at all, I can highly recommend checking out Hanayamata.

[mallorean_thug]

It is one of only four shows in the genre I like, and two of them are only borderline in the genre, but it can stand proud among them. In general I've found that the genre really only works if it is either really funny or have really strong character writing. All four shows that I've really liked have also been treated with more directorial care, and in at least two of the cases more money, than the genre typically is, all being shows that aren't just trying to make a quick buck by appealing to cuteness.

Hmm, so I assume that the two borderline shows are Bodacious Space Pirates and Girls Und Panzer? What is the 4th? I'm curious because it is probably something I should watch.

Also, Shows have Finished! Thoughts:

Prisma Illya was lots of fun. It dragged a bit in the middle, but Bazette at the end was more than worth it. I'm looking forward the announced 3rd season already.

Tokyo Ghoul was pretty ok, with visual and sound direction being its strong points. Not sure I'd actually recommend it, and I probably won't ever read the manga, but it was enjoyable enough to watch while it was airing. The last episode definitely proved that the show as a whole needed more Rize though.

Jojo is on break till January. Its only been ok, so I'm rather curious about the next half which is apparently where part 3 gets good. I'll believe the hype because Dio single-handedly made Part 1 great, so claims of him doing a repeat performance here are rather credible.

Captain Earth was . . . ugh, completely awful. Stay away. Besides the show just being bad, the finale was a complete disappointment. I'll probably be avoiding original anime from Bones and Enokido just on principle for quite a while. Honestly, its pretty amazing that they managed to make a show that was inferior in every single way to Star Driver; a show which was fun but only mediocre at best.

And Haikyuu! was a great sports show. Nothing earth shattering or genre defining, just very, very competently executed. I would recommend it to anybody, especially anybody that thinks they have an aversion to sports shows.

Hanayamata, Aoi Haru Ride, and Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun are on my list to finish tomorrow.

[BWR]

So Hanayamata has ended completely as people would predict. It was still executed well enough to give lots and lots of feels and readily made up for all the complains there have been over its run that there wasn't enough dancing. Once they actually had the money to show it, they made it look amazing. Smooth, with lots of quick, expensive cutting and Ichizuka Atsuko's sense of color being put to great effect.

Yes, the show is ultimately a somewhat sappy cute girls doing cute things show, but it's one that's executed amazingly well for both the drama and the comedy. It is one of only four shows in the genre I like, and two of them are only borderline in the genre, but it can stand proud among them. In general I've found that the genre really only works if it is either really funny or have really strong character writing. All four shows that I've really liked have also been treated with more directorial care, and in at least two of the cases more money, than the genre typically is, all being shows that aren't just trying to make a quick buck by appealing to cuteness.

If you care about strong character writing without truly heavy drama at all, I can highly recommend checking out Hanayamata.

I tried it for 3 or 4 episodes but decided it wasn't for me. It was very pretty (almost worth watching for that alone) but it didn't do it for me. Maybe I would have liked it better in a different frame of mind, but it ended up being just not quite good enough to be worth spending time on. Maybe I'll give it a try at some later time.

More importantly, Gekkan shoujo Nozaki-kun is over. It ended pretty much exactly as I expected - no romantic resolution for anyone (worst: Yuzuki and Wakamatsu aren't an official item yet). I doubt we'll get any sort of real end down the line in animated form. Now I'll just have to hope that the manga gets a proper happy ending at some point. I'm a sucker for happy endings and feel rather cheated when a love story ends without people hooking up.

[Mx.Silver]

Captain Earth was . . . ugh, completely awful.

Based on the first few episodes I'd agree entirely. I'm honestly not sure why you stuck with it.