General Anime/Manga Discussion 14: Second Cour

[Sith_Happens]

I saw the first few episodes at a con years ago and it was really good.

[mallorean_thug]

Dennou Coil is one of my favorite things and I'm still reeling from the shock of the news that it got licensed. Everybody should watch it. Maybe I'll be able to explain why in length at some other time.

[Closet_Skeleton]

It got licensed?

Gasp, I might actually have to buy some DVDs.

[hyperbole]If Dennou Coil is not the best anime ever made then it is the second best anime ever made and the first best one does not exist.[/hyperbole]

[Mx.Silver]

Have any of you folks seen Dennou Coil?

I've seen a few gif sets/descriptions of it, and have wanted to check it out eventually (it got licensed and is supposedly due out in the US in June). It looks really neat and I'm thinking of getting it when it comes out.

Dennou Coil's very good, if somewhat let down by some very ill-advised filler content in the middle and a couple of minor cop-outs towards the end (both of which I'd attribute to nerves about it being 'for children'). It has some incredibly high-quality animation work and was generally seen as being 'the best series never licensed outside of Japan', although that moniker doesn't seem to fit any more*.
If you liked Erin then it's definitely worth checking out.


*an event I think everyone had assumed was never going to happen. Up there with 'the Serial Experiments Lain and Fullmetal Alchemist blu-ray re-releases coming out in the PAL regions' it terms of impossible dreams

[Nerd-o-rama]

i finally got around to watching neon genesis evangelion + EoE this weekend, and it was pretty good. shinji is a stellar antihero and misato/asuka are great characters of their own. there are a couple other characters that i probably wanted to enjoy, most notably rei, that didn't feel like they received sufficient development or exposition. anyways, it was a good experience, albeit not the best anime i've ever seen.

Glad you enjoyed it. Eva is among my favorite shows of all time, and I am glad to see someone appreciating Shinji's character writing right off for once. He's not a HERO, but he's a hell of a good character.

And while I think character writing is Eva's strongest suit, I agree that they didn't really know what to do with Rei after about episode 6. I think they were expecting to run out of money sooner...or this was just Gainax's first full length TV show.

[Mx.Silver]

So, have now finished Shiki. Despite having a few more characters than it really knows what to do, and losing a bit of focus as a result, it stay pretty darn effective and comes together very well. It's a shame about the character designs though, because they just don't work for what it's going for. Not even remotely, and to be honest some other aspects of the art direction don't help. It's so obviously wrong for the tone that I can't for the life of me understand why they went with it, but that's what they did. As a result, it's sort of stuck in the same boat as Gilgamesh and Flowers of Evil.

I've also reached the series ending of Eden of the East. Well, I say 'ending' - in reality it most just sort of stops, with an implicit footnote that maybe it'll be continued in the films. Kind of a shame really, as there was a lot of good stuff in there (some rather silly stuff as well, but mostly good) and some pretty interesting ideas, a fair amount of which fall a bit too far into politics to really be discussed here.
Its closing credits are still great though


Now, in lieu of just doing the sensible thing and telling people what series I've on to now, I have instead opted to post visual references to their production companies and opening songs to see if anyone can infer the series in question. Because that is apparently the sort of person I have become.

Spoiler: Series A

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Spoiler: Series B

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or this was just Gainax's first full length TV show.

Aside from those 39 episodes of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water they did five years beforehand, anyway

[Felyndiira]

Dennou Coil is my 10th favorite anime of all time. The anime series actually came out before Google Glass was even conceived, and was phenomenal in portraying the dynamic between children and new technology - how children tend to be the first to pick up new things and form their own games and subcultures around them. The quaint (rather than dystopic) portrayal of augmented reality was a really innovative touch as well. It just seems so peaceful and real for an ultimately futuristic setting.

It was a shame that it ended the way it did, though. Still, I'm glad that it's finally licensed - it's one of the best examples of the diverse things that anime can portray.

[Ossian77]

Just finished watching Souten No Ken (Fist of the Blue Sky), the Hokuto no Ken story set in 1930s Shanghai.

ADHD version: don't watch it. You are basically throwing away 13 hours of your lives (the anime series is much shorter than the actual story-arc of the manga, and for a good reason)

So.....

I read the first batch of manga tankobons, but the glacial pace of publication made me lose interest. It had some merit, the art was stuff already seen a million times already, with ludicrous anatomy etc etc, but the plot, with a pinch of extra effort, had potential.

Now take ALL of that and animate it (the word is a stretch...) using MS Paint, do 90% of the movements in stock animation and the other 10% by sliding up and down a static piece of paper in front of the camera (I swear some scenes look like they have maybe 2 FPS.....), dilute the basically already in-existent martial arts business with endless stares, glowering scenes, exposition, and soppy dialogue. Flatten all secondary characters.

Then leave to rot in the carcass of a stitched up dead seal (like an icelanding haggis, but more evil) and force it down everyone's throat.

Stay the hell away from it...

[BWR]

I enjoyed SnK, though I've only not seen the anime (which I did not know existed until now). Yeah, it meandered a bit and could and should have been trimmed down a bit, but on the whole it was good.
I will probably not bother to track the anime down.

[DoctorFaust]

KonoSuba really is far better than it has any right to be, especially it's being animated by Deen. Good dark comedy that hits more than it misses, good (if not necessarily likeable) characters, a fantastic ED, and it convinced me to walk the path of Explosions.

[HMS Invincible]

KonoSuba really is far better than it has any right to be, especially it's being animated by Deen. Good dark comedy that hits more than it misses, good (if not necessarily likeable) characters, a fantastic ED, and it convinced me to walk the path of Explosions.

Episode 9 was weaker than the others, but I like the series overall. For some reason, I burst out laughing watching 8.

[endoperez]

KonoSuba is slow and meandering, and spends at least twice as long on a joke than it should, and all the jokes are handled in an embarrassingly immature way to boot. The end result is that every single episode-specific joke overstays its welcome. The character-based jokes almost work - I'm guessing there's some language-specific jokes in there that get lost in translation. The explosion joke keeps on giving, though. The contrast between it actually being awesome, but at the same time totally useless, might be what makes it work.

[Morph Bark]

Just watched episode 18 of Sakurasou na Pet no Kanojo, one of the characters mentions he has a flight to "go to San Francisco to have a talk at a game developer's conference".

Instantly got sad, because next week is GDC 2016 in San Francisco and I didn't get selected for their international ambassadors program. :(

[Spacewolf]

So Boku Dake actually managed to surprise me

Spoiler

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I thought the teacher was too obvious to be the killer.

[DoctorFaust]

Okay, I realize I gush on here about romance anime and manga a disproportionately large amount based on how much I actually consume, but seriously, if you like romance and/or magic and/or surprisingly accurate representations of mythological figures, The Ancient Magus' Bride is a freaking awesome series. Though I do have a soft-spot for characters like Chise, and Elias reminds me more than a little of Howl Jenkins Pendragon, who is fantastic. So I might be biased.

[Fri]

Well, don't worry abotu it. Ancient Magus Bride really is that good.

Also I think it got going to be adapted into... something in the near future. Cant' remember if it's live action or drama cd or ova, but not anime series. but it might mean it's going to be adapted into anime series soon.

Talking about something people should gush about, Dungeon Meshi. That's the best manga me and my friends recently found. Might be one of the best fantasy manga around.

[DoctorFaust]

Well, don't worry abotu it. Ancient Magus Bride really is that good.

Also I think it got going to be adapted into... something in the near future. Cant' remember if it's live action or drama cd or ova, but not anime series. but it might mean it's going to be adapted into anime series soon.

Yeah, the prequel announcement was how I found out about it in the first place. Which, of course, led to me staying up until 2 a.m. binging it.

And, um, what Meshi about? Wikipedia makes it aound like it's a cooking show set in a dungeon.

[Fri]

And, um, what Meshi about? Wikipedia makes it aound like it's a cooking show set in a dungeon.

Why don't you check it out ?

(But yes, it's a classic fantasy story with dungeons and elves and dwarves and thieves and mages that revolves around cooking. Think of it as the gundam of Toriko's gurren lagann.)

[Alent]

Well, don't worry abotu it. Ancient Magus Bride really is that good.

See also Futari no Renai Shoka. Same author, same heartwarming awesome. (It even has a Necronomicon in it!)

Talking about something people should gush about, Dungeon Meshi. That's the best manga me and my friends recently found. Might be one of the best fantasy manga around.

Seconding the awesome of Dungeon Meshi. That manga needs to be made into an RPG. I also want a Dungeon Meshi crossover with Helck.

[Rodin]

So Boku Dake actually managed to surprise me

Spoiler

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I thought the teacher was too obvious to be the killer.

I was the same way.

Spoiler

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I pretty much concluded it was him in episode 2 or 3, then moved away from him as too obvious a suspect. He started seeming like a really nice guy...until they made him guilty as sin again with the pile of lollipops and obviously BS explanation for them.

Plus, the fact that he's the only guy in the story who remotely looks like the killer in the present made it hard not to suspect him.

I suppose it's better than the alternative - with no other reasonable suspect, it had to be either him, somebody we'd never seen in the show at all, or some totally ridiculous asspull of a villain like we got in Rokka no Yuusha.

I still kinda wish they'd hidden it a bit better.

The show remains engaging - there's something about the presentation that gives a very nice feel to the whole story. Definitely looking forward to the final few episodes.

[Zalabim]

Spoiler: Rokka no Yuusha

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I just finished watching it last night. I correctly guessed the fake around episode 6/7, but I totally did not guess right how it was done, nor have any clue as to the motive. To be sure, the clues as to how it was done were around, and the evidence to prove who was the fake were only brought out at the end. I can't explain it.

[Doorhandle]

Seconding the awesome of Dungeon Meshi. That manga needs to be made into an RPG. :

Thirding that. I'd be happy if it was just a supplement.

On a similar note, I just finished Tokyo Ghoul and I want an RPG made from that as well. Possibly world of darkness style, like "Ghoul: The Metamorphosis" or something like that.
So long as it emphasized the moral ambiguity of both ghouls and investigators, i'd be pretty happy.

[Ibrinar]

Spoiler: Rokka no Yuusha

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I just finished watching it last night. I correctly guessed the fake around episode 6/7, but I totally did not guess right how it was done, nor have any clue as to the motive. To be sure, the clues as to how it was done were around, and the evidence to prove who was the fake were only brought out at the end. I can't explain it.

Hmm yeah I think the motive wasn't explained in the anime yet. If you want to know:

Spoiler: Rokka no Yuusha-book spoiler

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Motive: Well she basically allied with a third faction with another demon who is/was one of the leaders but developed other goals. IIRC the leaders have a bet that thewill obey the one who takes out 3(?) heroes.

[Yuki Akuma]

Spoiler: Digimon Adventure tri

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Oh for God's sake Leomon died again. Come on, dude!

[Eldariel]

I know I'm a bit behind the times on this one, but I finally got around to watching Death Parade. I have to say, I found it a beautiful show, and rather interesting too. It certainly touched upon some very complex matters (albeit on a rather superficial level), painted a rather intriguing settings and some rather colorful characters as well. Certainly right up my alley; something I could endorse to anyone interested in some philosophical consideration presented through mostly successful characters in a beautiful world.

[cobaltstarfire]

Spoiler: Digimon Adventure tri

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Oh for God's sake Leomon died again. Come on, dude!

Oh the next one is up, cool gotta get back to that when it becomes available to free users. (also lol at the spoiler) Is part two leaning less on nolstagia/ect? I know it's being made kind of for the fans, but the first movie sat a little poorly with me because it was more "here's a giant recap, cool remember these guys and oh here's a tiny bit of story at the very very end.

Spoiler: digimon spoileryness I guess

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Also I'm a little foggy on it, but didn't Agumon and Gabumon give up their ability to digivolve up into omnimon? It bothers me that we were able to get that evolution...

We finished Durarara!! and will now watch season 2.

The show definitely has something to it that most others lack. I'm not quite sure what, I'll just call it panache? Yes. *nods*. But really it was very fun, and weirdly down to earth but not at the same time, and I liked that.

And it did that thing I usually hate, but I didn't hate it this time. (characters who are or should be friends/allies turning on each other and then dragging it out in one big long annoying misunderstanding/waste of time).

[Yuki Akuma]

Oh the next one is up, cool gotta get back to that when it becomes available to free users. (also lol at the spoiler) Is part two leaning less on nolstagia/ect? I know it's being made kind of for the fans, but the first movie sat a little poorly with me because it was more "here's a giant recap, cool remember these guys and oh here's a tiny bit of story at the very very end.

Spoiler: digimon spoileryness I guess

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Also I'm a little foggy on it, but didn't Agumon and Gabumon give up their ability to digivolve up into omnimon? It bothers me that we were able to get that evolution...

It seems less "nostalgia only" to me, but I must admit I am a total sucker for nostalgia where Digimon is concerned.

Spoiler: Omegamon

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I'm pretty sure the characters got their Crests back after 02 when Oikawa made a new barrier? They used Omegamon in the fourth movie anyway so it's not entirely out of the blue.

[cobaltstarfire]

It seems less "nostalgia only" to me, but I must admit I am a total sucker for nostalgia where Digimon is concerned.

Spoiler: Omegamon

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I'm pretty sure the characters got their Crests back after 02 when Oikawa made a new barrier? They used Omegamon in the fourth movie anyway so it's not entirely out of the blue.

Ahh I see, I have only watched most of the movies once, and a looooong time ago. I am satisfied with this information, thankyou.

[Doorhandle]

Anyone else watching KonoSuba, (AKA Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, AKA God's blessing on this wounderful world? That's a lot of AKA.) I just finished the last season 1 episode.

It's a fantasy parody(Although more hewing to the console rpg/MMO crowd) so I thought it would be right up this forum's alley.

[endoperez]

Anyone else watching KonoSuba, (AKA Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, AKA God's blessing on this wounderful world? That's a lot of AKA.) I just finished the last season 1 episode.

It's a fantasy parody(Although more hewing to the console rpg/MMO crowd) so I thought it would be right up this forum's alley.

I did. I thought it'd fit more on the "Works of Fiction With Good Premises And Bad Execution" thread.

The fantasy parody part was nice. Like Overlord, the over-the-top spell effects were nice when the show actually got into that. The inversions of actual fantasy things were nice. But half the time, the show wasn't about fantasy tropes, and it wasn't a parody.

I was let down by the part of the show that insisted on being the same, boring type of fanservice that exists in so many other shows already. The immaturity of the writing was embarrassingly bad. I wish this would've been more like Slayers, which also was funny, subversive and over-the-top at times, but which played fantasy stories straight the rest of the time.

I mean, there hasn't been a single adventure played straight in Konosuba!

Spoiler

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I liked the quests they did, the lake quest, and the "honorable" duel.

"There's scary ghosts, but people need to pee!" sums up like half of one episode. "Men want to have dirty dreams" sums up half of another. "The main character steals women's underwear" half of a third. There was so much more they could've used that time for!

We've never seen the party try to tackle a normal quest. I mean, it shouldn't be too hard to do something like The Party trying to fight some goblins, getting outwitted by the goblins (they e.g. walk out of the EXPLOSION!!! spell's area during the casting animation), and having to run away. Cue jokes about them losing to weak monsters, protagonist crying about how unfair it is, etc etc.