Anime Thigh Thread II

[Schirmy]

Kuzu no Honkai: 7/10.

I think as a story about love, lust, unrequited emotions, and desire, the show was pretty good. Animation, sound, and that fucking soundtrack all really well done. Up until about episode 8, I was completely smitten by the show (no pun intended); however, the arc/focus on Ms. Akane really put me off. It is probably due to the contrasting ages of the characters. As an adolescent, you’re grasping what sexuality is: who you are attracted to, what you want out of a relationship in general. But as an adult, your needs and wants are a lot more refined and ideal. Ms. Akane is just a fuck machine presumably with an intense Electra complex and it was so silly after a while. Unfortunately for Narumi, he will become a literal cuck. The melodrama wasn’t enacted on well enough for me.

As for the ending, I can see different perspectives. On one hand, they’re right. They won’t necessarily find true love in each other. Both of them were just leeching off of each other to fill the voids in their lives; as evidenced by the need for warmth and feel. However, maybe there was potential. Hanabi admitted earlier on in the show to having real feelings for Mugi. Ending was a bit too safe. I can’t think of a word or phrase but, it was kind of corny and to the effect of, “we’ll wait and see what the future holds!”

Edit: feels weird to give this the same rating as Orange, lol

[Enjeh]

Not posting news about a new Meme anime airing soon?

"Pop Team Epic" anime announced for October 2017:

http://hoshiiro.jp/

saw It, did not think it was worth posting. :p

[Zatheyll]

Kuzu no Honkai - 9/10

I have a large soft spot for this series. I started the manga a while back, well before an anime was announced, and I own the first two translated volumes already. The manga is easily one of the best I've read, and the anime was a perfect adaption. Both the manga and anime get a 9 out of me.

On the ending that was actually not what I expected. I didn't read the manga chapter before the episode came out, since I don't think there's a translation out yet. Seeing new content animated was strange, but nice at the same time. I really like how they ended it though. I was fully expecting Mugi and Hanabi to get back together, but this ending felt far more real, and a much more solid ending, and speaks a lot about how love really should be handled. Forcing back a failing relationship that was hardly even a relationship isn't a satisfying ending, and just shows that the main characters learned nothing through all the heartbreak the two of them went through. If they had found true love with each other in the last two or so episodes, I would have accepted it, but how it ended neither of them really had any feelings for each other, and putting them back together would have been wrong. In the end I don't even know if I would call this a romance story, but more of a coming of age one. It ending without any relationship between the main characters furthered that point pretty strongly, and gave it that perfect bittersweet ending that I always love to see.

[Sj]

Chihayafuru 178 - Seems like the new arc will be focusing on Shinobu maybe? I'm okay with this.

[Artorius]

Chihayafuru 178 - Seems like the new arc will be focusing on Shinobu maybe? I'm okay with this.

I...I n-need t-to c-ca-cath up!!

- - - Updated - - -

What am I going to do now until 179 is translated... Both 177 and 178 were absolutely great.

[Iamanerd]

So this is a thing:
http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/det...=FIGURE-028871
http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/det...=FIGURE-029036

No darkness tho.

I'd pre-order those but honestly the poses/faces feel off to me, I'll probably wait for a different company to make some (Please Alter!). Plus it doesn't help having 18 figures pre-ordered from not till September for this year : /

[Neichus]

I must also say I really liked the portrayal of god in this anime. While many changes made in the process of adapting the novel were detrimental - the overall story suffered somewhat due to omissions and simplifications made - what they did to god's appearance was great. Alien, weird, disturbing. Using dead bodies, dolls, bystanders, or simply hallucinations as proxies to communicate with Tanya left me with that otherworldly, creepy feeling. In contrast the novel - and manga adaptation - made use of traditional western God, and old bearded man, talking to Tanya directly. While I get what was the author going for there, to use the most standard image of "God" readers have for his Existence X, I felt it was... lacking?

I haven't seen/read the source material, but that does sound like a very positive change. As you said, it makes him feel more menacing and less a direct insult to a specifically Western view.

[Yunru]

That scene was satisfiying:
http://shrani.si/f/25/z0/1nRLDdq0/wa...uit-gundam.png

Glad that guy died at end.

[Sesto]

Gundam IBO End - Rustal is an antagonist who not only wins (quite cleanly, at that) but even manages to achieve the goals of the people who fought against him. You've got to be kidding me.

I wish Ride would have shot Rustal instead of Nobliss. At least Iok got what he deserved.

I don't really feel like writing anything big but this show ended up being one of the best mechas I've seen. While the first season was good in its own right, this season managed to achieve all the potential I saw from the show. I do have some misgivings about how some things were handled but all in all it was an amazing ride.

9/10.

[Yunru]

Gin no Guardian = BAD

[Schirmy]

Gin no Guardian = BAD

Care to explain why?

[Yunru]

Care to explain why?

It has quite a few bad parts that usualy bad anime has. And the usual overpowered hero and random people with powers.
The pool scene made no sense at all. (the usual girl saves a guy)

Alice to Zouroku however ep one was 9/10. And this is only due to animation error in car chase scene. But its pretty much alice in wonderland, being a lab experiment anime.

[Jester Joe]

So like JoJo

How dare you

[Sesto]

Alice to Zuroku - I came in with zero expectations, and I really liked this. I honestly didn't realize it was double length until around the 30 minute mark where I double checked because I thought it seemed rather long.

I can't say the plot is anything unique, but the way it is presented is certainly special. It looks like the director also worked on Flying Witch (and the Tsukihime adaptation... but let's ignore that), and I can definitely see the similarities. There's a certain appeal in the way he frames shots that really mold the show's atmosphere.

And then there's the two main characters. I can already tell their relationship will be the main attraction of the show. I loved every moment they were on screen, the Usagi Drop-esque dynamic is something that's always nice to see, and the old man is actually kind of great.

The only negative I can see is the animation, which seemed a bit rough at times. Even ignoring the CG there's even a shot where someone is talking and there mouth isn't moving... I hope there isn't too much of this. At the very least, I hope the rest of the show is as good as the opening episode.

[Zatheyll]

So like JoJo

Except Gin no Guardian is probably better.

[Neichus]

Gundam IBO End - Rustal is an antagonist who not only wins (quite cleanly, at that) but even manages to achieve the goals of the people who fought against him. You've got to be kidding me.

I wish Ride would have shot Rustal instead of Nobliss. At least Iok got what he deserved.

I don't really feel like writing anything big but this show ended up being one of the best mechas I've seen. While the first season was good in its own right, this season managed to achieve all the potential I saw from the show. I do have some misgivings about how some things were handled but all in all it was an amazing ride.

9/10.

I'm still in the process of writing my review, and while I rate it significantly lower I do agree that it's one of the best mechas out there. The final fight scene today where Mikazuki is just tearing everything up despite being half dead was just satisfying to watch, even in light of everything else that was happening.

Question, though: Why was Akihiro so happy to kill Iok? Did he recognize him from the Mobile Armor incident? I've forgotten.

[Deleted]

So I'm fresh done with live action GitS and it's... OK? A completely different, very much simplified, story employing the original's cast of characters and recreating pretty much all iconic scenes - some better, some worse. The biggest problem is definitely the story - generic, predictable, run-of-the-mill cyberpunk spiel about an evuuuuuuuuul corporation. Not a single time was I surprised, not a single twist was unexpected or interesting. Aramaki is badass, Motoko is completely different(and I do not mean having a white actress play her), Batou is OK, everyone else is forgettable. 2/10 as adaptation, 6/10 as a separate movie.

[Zatheyll]

v3 of the anime chart. (And the last one ever)

[Shinzai]

Fuck shit is real yo.

Gin No Guardian Episode 1 - 3/10: This is one of those shows, where as soon as it started, I realised I hated it. I can't put my finger on what about the OP bothered me so much, but it screamed generic garbage the moment it began. The song is a generic, action anime song, the animations are basically stand-ins for character introductions, with random abilities being shown and poses being made. Then the show starts, with some dumb bitches talking about dumb bitch stuff. The main girl is introduced: Riku-Rei-nee-sama. At the first glance, I know she's a Bin-Queen, level 50. She's like Moka Akashiya for even more plebby plebs. She gives some vaguely edgy sounding speech. Anyway, enough of that shit. Let us segue into GRAVELORDMASTEREDGY DANTE FROM DMC WANNABE 81234. Our MC. Has a cute cat. Acts superior to bad-guys, fights an army of undead solo. So edgy. Much Edge. More EDGE. Turns into Sonic Colours as he charges into the army of zombies. What the fuck am I watching?

Anyway, enough of that scene, now for a scene of him as a lifeguard at a pool, even though he can't swim, but has a PC setup at the pool side. He's suddenly bullied by some guys, who throw his cat into the pool. He dives in after it and passes out on impact with the water. I start to wonder if he's actually an alien from Signs in disguise. Instead of drowning, apparently he's rescued off screen by Riku-Rei-nee-sama-llama-bo-bama. He's told this by some cunt. Then that guy disappears and our MC cleans the pool. Apparently Riku-Rei is the daughter of the VP of.... (yes this is real) "GOD GRAVE TECH COMPANY". Anyway, enough of that shit, back to fighting the zombies. MC yells and I quote, "THOUSAND GRAVE-U!". Fucking crucifix shaped gravestones explode out of the ground, wiping out the giant zombies and normal zombies, made of Berserk 2016's leftover CGI. Anyway, enough of that shit, time for the ED. Apparently this show has a 13 minute long opening episode. That was 13 minutes of wasted time.

...Fuck this show. The ED isn't terrible though.

Granblue Fantasy Episode 1+2 - 6/10: I'd mentioned in one of my previous posts that I'd checked this out, I assume the first two episodes had early-airing previews and are now airing normally, or something. It's pretty much your standard fare fantasy-action show for the season, with Ufotable's B-team on the job. This leads to an odd mash-up of art and animation quality levels, where the backgrounds feel severely detached from the show, distractingly so at times, but the show is also littered with very nicely animated flurries of animation, mostly during combat. However, whenever the characters are running towards the 'camera', it looks as though they're using 50's movies style treadmills, running in place, while the background cycles past.

The story is as atypical as everything else in the show, with a girl literally falling from the sky and into the MC's life, discovering she has special powers and forms a pact/bond with him to unleash her super-duper powers. Yadda yadda. It'll be passable when bored.

Shingeki No Kyojin Episode 26 - 7/10: It's like it never left in the first place. I've actually got very little to say about this, if you liked the original series, you'll like this. It's solid B grade work from Production IG as usual, picking up from where the story left off and... I think accurately to the manga... though it's been so long since I read this section, I can't exactly remember any more. I still think the show is decent enough, though not amazing, I'd probably watch it over Granblue Fantasy. New OP is similar sounding to the original, but good in its own way. Love it or hate it, it's back.

Alice to Zouroku Episode 1 - 7/10: This is the first genuinely interesting show of the new season. The first 15 minutes or so feels like a throwback to the likes of Elfen Lied and similar such, but without the blood and gore. Little girls with psychic powers being used for their abilities in secret, one of them trying to break free. The interesting twist is that the main girl "Sana" latches on to an old-geezer who's street-wise, straight laced and extremely down to earth. He takes being drawn into a psychic battle in the middle of a city quite casually and seems more concerned about the manners of the girls and in ensuring they act properly in public, than anything else. Zouroku is probably the most interesting character in the show and I kind of like the dynamic of his relationship with Sana, though I guess it could become cloying or dull if handled poorly. I'll keep an eye on this one, as I found the 45 minute opening episode interesting enough.

The animation and art is a mixed bag, as usual, these days. The CG varies back and forth between acceptable and trash, especially one distracting moment in a parked car, where the background continues to move as if they're in motion still. The character art for the most part is 'meh', with a comedy anime plainness to the characters facial detailing. The backgrounds and vistas are very impressive however and the traditional animation is good. The direction is pretty solid, with JC Staff putting out a solid performance overall.

Throughout the show, but in particular during the opening 15 minutes, the music is pretty great. It's a haunting, but fantastical symphonic score that adds an air of mystique to the episode that it probably doesn't deserve. This is mostly down to the music being played by the same group that did the Flip-Flappers OST - TO-MAS.

[Shinzai]

Are you not watching Boku no Hero Academia?

Most of the shows that I'm looking forward to/interested in this season haven't started yet, so I haven't really watched much aside from Hero Academia. I actually downloaded Alice to Zouroku but I wasn't feeling it all so it went unwatched.

I watched the first two episodes of Granblue Fantasy but as you said it's pretty average. I liked some of the voice acting but the art was so distractingly all over the place. I think the points you mentioned definitely play a part in that impression but for me it felt like the very thin and inconsistent character outlines were the most jarring thing about the artstyle. They don't translate well into an animated format.

There are a few interesting shows coming up, so we'll see how those turn out.

Oh, by the way, have you watched the GitS live action yet?

I'm not really into Boku No Academia. The first season was fine and all, just not really my type of show. One of the better shounen shows, but otherwise I haven't really got any opinion on it.

Probably won't bother with GitS live action until it's on a stream, or I buy it cheap on DVD. Looks like shit story-wise, so I'm not really interested in it.