Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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ailblentyn
 Posts: 1688 Location: body in Ohio, heart in Sydney |
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I really like the Black Jack OVA series. It's so silly (with each episode virtually beginning "It was a dark and stormy night...") and just good fun. In a medically unlikely sort of way.
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zawa113
 Posts: 7358 |
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@Gewurtz
Yeah, I'll admit, that info dump in ep 4ish was pretty poorly done, because it was such a clear info dump. At least the info was interesting I guess? That's kind of the only thing letting me excuse that, it had lots of interesting info, and it came pretty early on in the arc. But part of what I found interesting about the first two parts (where they were under 18) was spoiler[I don't think they could've done much to stop it. They weren't powerful enough psychics yet, they didn't really know what the cat things were and other things about how their society really works, etc], I think their lack of real information was a hinderance to them and part of what kept the society going as well. Also in arc 1, part of what kept it interesting was spoiler[the kids lost their powers for a good while there], so watching them was interesting. If the novel does it better, I'd probably be interested enough to check it out because I did like the first two arcs. Now if only someone would be willing to get it, it's an actual novel, not light novels, and I think only Vertical and Haika Soru (aka Viz) really publish Japanese novel novels (Yen does light novels). But I think Vertical got the manga for this, maybe they'd be interested enough to go for the actual novel for cross over advertising purposes? @ailblentyn Yeah, I'm expecting things to not necessarily be medically possible at times. But I do like that Tezuka did study to become a doctor, so he's not generally making up whatever sounds cool all the time. Though the manga chapter where Black Jack operates on himself in the Australian outback while surrounded by dingoes to remove a deadly parasite from his intestine would suggest otherwise. Also, my friend's fiance found Pinoko to be absolutely adorable. Clearly Tezuka couldn't resist having a cute mascot in many of his series (Good Sharaku was in Buddha actually). I think I saw Pukko make a cameo in the newer series too actually (if I had paused, I bet Nokko and Bokko were there too, but it's hard not to focus in on a duck with a bowl cut) Anyway, I've watched some other things too. I'm halfway through Linebarrels of Iron and realize how much I hopelessly do like mecha series. I'm attracted to them like bees to liquor. But I'm finding the cast fairly fun actually, so it's not hard to watch or anything. Then episode 12 was the beach episode, and while I think the series has done a decent job not being overly fanservicey (just normal fanservicey), episode 12 clearly tossed that out the window. It wasn't just it being a beach episode, it was that the beach they were on was being attacked by a giant squid thingy. And several characters seemed to make as many innuendos as humanly possible (or maybe not, maybe that one guy really did have sex). Yeeaaaahhh.... I guess I could give them credit for keeping it out of the mecha fights at least. But I still plan to watch more because I still find the cast pretty fun. And of course, we all know that I have a thing for the character designer's character designs, and I will admit that I know it's because they look as generic anime as possible, but that's what I love about them! And I got around to another disc of Rose of Versailles, yay! Ep 25 kind of was a good stop point to not put in another disc, so it's been a while, but I jumped right back in pretty easily because it is awesome. Eps 26-30 were another good batch, pretty much entirely focused on Oscar (Marie-Antoinette was barely a blip this disc, but I'm ok with it). I felt a little like I was watching a soap opera or something, or maybe Japan just animates theirs and makes the badass, I dunno. But I totally predicted the one sound effect they'd use. I always can't wait to see more though because RoV is damn awesome and Rightstuf is beyond awesome for bringing it over! I'm eagerly awaiting the French Revolution to occur though, but it can take its time getting here. I hope I'm not reading too much into this, but it's rather reminding me of the 99% thing here in America at times. It doesn't help that I live in a state that wants to tax rain runoff and call it a "pollutant", so seeing how awful the French nobles are kind of makes me sad and not want to marathon the show to some degree. Though on this disc, since Marie-Antoinette barely showed up, there wasn't too too much of that this time. |
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CrowLia
 Posts: 5505 Location: Mexico |
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I haven't advanced a single episode of Ryvius half because I'm bored shitless by it and half because I'm too busy with college, but I did watch a handful of movies and OVA the past weekend
Kotonoha no Niwa. I'm not a great fan of Makoto Shinkai, but the visuals here are stunning. The story was very sweet although it felt underdevelopped -especially on the guy's side-. It had a great melancholic atmosphere and what I appreciated most was the beautiful colors of the garden. Overall a nice, simple movie, there's not much I can say about it, it didn't make much impact on me. People commented on the theme of "bad mothers make bad children", but I could never see how the guy's mother could be considered a "bad" mother. So she was dating younger guys, more power to her. People and their prejudices can be so asinine sometimes. Tiger and Bunny: Beginnings. Rated it Excellent. I'm a huge fan of T&B and had thought the movie would be -similarly to the PMMM movies- a summarization of the series, and was glad to find otherwise. The first part almost mimicks the series to a tee, although I felt they exaggerated Bunny's asshole-ness -he was already a bratty prick in the first half of the series, but they seemed to multiply it by 20 for this movie- and that most of his mean and stubborn attitudes were uncalled for. Still, the original part of the movie was pretty neat. I especially liked the extra scenes that gave insight to the characters and their relationships, especially the scene where they all meet to "greet" Bunny and talk about how they rarely meet outside work; or how Sky High explains that he can't fly without his jetpack (he's so adorkable when he floats) or how Rock Bison shows off his power (I'd been wondering about it all the time). The transformation sequences were fantastic, I loved them. The series only showcases the title pair transforming into their suits, so I really enjoyed watching the rest of the heroes doing it, it was great fanservice. The new villain was fun too. A bit silly and over the top, and at some point I started getting frustrated when they didn't seem to be doing anything to catch him. I really liked the ruse Bunny used to catch him, it was cool and pretty clever. It's a fun movie and it sets a good foundation for the progression in the relationship and trust-building between Kotetsu and Barnaby, so I really enjoyed it. Can't wait for the second one. Superdimensional Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?. I'm a big fan of Macross Frontier so I wanted to check out the original series. My brothers had the movie based on it, so I decided to watch it. The first half of the movie is utter trash. Hikaru and Lin Minnmay fooling around in the sewer or wherever was boring and silly. It had some fun moments here and there but that was all. Also, Roy Focker was an insufferable asshole with his "You have to have the strength to take a woman even if she doesn't want it" crap. I couldn't like him after that. I'm told he's a lot cooler in the series, though, and I hope to watch it in the near future. Then Hikaru thinking with his cock and taking Minnmay on a trip to the dangerous outerspace on a weaponless training spaceship... smart (not). In spite of this horrible first half, the second half makes up for it entirely. I really enjoyed everything that happens after Hikaru and... the other girl land on the devastated Earth, while the Zentraedi gradually start learning and embracing Protoculture. The final battle was superb, with Minmay singing the title song and the Anti-culture AI's get blown into pieces. It was exciting and great, exactly the kind of action I loved from Frontier. Finally, I watched the Death Billiards OVA. Not much to say about it, it had a very promising and cool first half with all the mistery and stuff, but then it tries to be too deep while telling nothing to the audience. It's like the creators want the audience to make up the ending for themselves and the misteries were never quite solved so... it was okay. It looked pretty neat and I really liked the girl going "Hitooootsu... Futaaaatsu... Miiitsu" in the beginning, and the Ginko lookalike bartender but it just made no sense once it was over. |
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zawa113
Posts: 7358 |
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@CrowLia
Yeah, Roy is definitely not a "women, what are they good for, raping, am I right?" kind of jerk in the series in the least. He's kind of the cool big brother character in the series. I don't think he ever so much as leaves a tie on the door. I rather tried to strike the existence of that movie out of mind, honestly. But it definitely looked a lot better than the series and had better action, because it had actual budget most clearly. I'd go into the actual series expecting good character and plot, but not good action, just decent (by 80s standards, by today's? Ha!) But if you want to check out more Macross in less time, go with the Macross Plus OVA. That has awesome action scenes and a lot of what made the original series great, too. And Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno while we're at it. Can't blame you on Infinite Ryvius, it's kind of hard to get into. I think it was worth it in the end, but I definitely understand when people say it's a useful sleep aid. If you'd want to see a movie that does teens trapped on a space ship, watch the 1980s movie They Were 11 (though they were on the spaceship because it was a test, so they had the choice), but the presence of the mystery 11th member in their group of 10 does lead to some tension (as does the accidental course towards the local sun). And it's a movie, so it does it in a lot less time, obviously (it was based on a 60 page manga, so this works well actually). So I'd suggest adding that and Macross Plus to your next movie/OVA spree. |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3889 |
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Hey, don't call Misa Hayase that "other" girl in Macross!
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RGaspar
 Posts: 236 |
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After some six months of anime dry spell I'm back to business!
Currently in the middle of 3 series. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion - Season 1 (Eps 1 to 16) : First time watching this and I'm still not sure what to think of. I'm not even halfway with the whole series (two seasons, from what I've been told) but there are a few worrying signs, for instance, pointless fanservice and a very annoying protagonist (that reminds me of Light from Death Note, who I hated). These last 3 eps forgot all about the "rebellion" aspect of the story and made C.C. the spotlight, but that didn't work in its favor. I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for now, because there's still a big cast with interesting motivations. Saint Seiya (Eps 1 to 38): A childhood's classic. I was surprised to find out SS wasn't really beloved in the US, because here in Latin America it's as huge as Dragon Ball. I'm really enjoying it so far. I remember when I was a kid how edgy, violent and complex this show was. Now, it really feels simple and straightforward but that's the charm of it. Good guys are good to a fault, and the evil folks would, quite literally, attempt to kill babies in their sleep. I'm in for 114 eps of predictable fun. And the Gold Saints arc that I was looking for is just getting started. Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya (Eps 1 to 4): Cute, random, magical girl fun. Animation is better than expected and you don't need to be a fan of Type Moon to enjoy it. Of course, that's always a plus. Not really expecting big things from this, but at least, it makes me laugh 20 minutes at a time and that's all that matters. THANKS Agent355 for the free Crunchyroll pass! Last edited by RGaspar on Mon Sep 09, 2013 1:59 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Shadowrun20XX
 Posts: 1935 Location: Vegas |
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Watamote ep 1-7: Been hella good so far. I've come to the conclusion that Kiroko-chan need to smoke a joint and just relax. Her anxiety around others makes the show, but IRL she would have been treated with modern medicine. She is still going to school so she isnt a hikkomori. It's damn impossible for her to be friendless the way she is. The otaku super fangirl modes she goes into is why I'll finish this out. Im attracted to the dark comedy this show brings. The Song that Hatsune Miku sings at the end of ep 6 is especially haunting.
Hayate the combat butler S 1 : ep 1-18 Wow I really should have supported this when it was new. It has all the comedy that i would have went crazy for. Instead I was watching Zero no tsukaima thinking that was the shit. I like how bad everyone picks on how poor Hayate is. I was cracking up. Super hot Maria san is why Im staying with this through 3 seasons. There are otaku references everywhere in this including Moetan, Akagi, Metal Gear and Street fighter. I played the Tekken looking game back when this series was hot. (The one Nagi plays) I'm only 18 episodes in, I cant wait to watch the rest. |
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jl07045
 Posts: 1527 Location: Riga, Latvia |
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What is annoying about him? A lot of people don't like him because he's a bastard half the time (there are redeeming qualities to him that give him a Byronic quality), but I don't know what would make him annoying, especially next to Lloyd or even Suzaku. |
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Animegomaniac
Posts: 4084 |
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By the comparison, it would seem like part "villain as hero" syndrome but it's more likely, considering the situation in Code Geass, "I'm super smart so I know that you know I know but I knew you'd think that so I'm going to do something else that'll seem really brilliant unless you really think about how fiction works." which is Light Yagami personified but at least Lelouch has interests. So, yeah, "annoying" and it only gets worse in season 2. "...especially next to Suzuka or even Lloyd." I'm sure you meant to say it that way. Just finished watching Gad Guard, AKA as "Let's get metaphorical! With robots! or How I ripped off Contact and 2001 and learned to love abusing physics!" They had no clue as to how to end this series, how to explain the premise and what to do with the characters afterwards and it shows. Good jazz score though. How do you go from gritty robot noir with gang violence and cops who sideline as prostitutes {with and for kids some how} to "clap if you believe" science fiction? Better question, why would you want to? |
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Ignatz
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[edit]
Last edited by Ignatz on Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:22 am; edited 1 time in total |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15466 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I watched the Ah! My Goddess 2011 OVA number 3. And I feel a little confused, I thought the series was all set in the 90s or something, but this OVA clearly showed more modern technology with laptops and mobile phones. Honestly it was not really that interesting, the new kid sounded way to much like the character from Flower of Evil, that made it a little hard to care for. And the main cast just felt a little hollow, maybe it was just too long since I saw the series because I found it hard to really care for any of them.
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RGaspar
Posts: 236 |
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Yay! This thread lives again!
I thought I had killed it
Animegomaniac is on the right track. I don't have a problem with the "Villains as hero" concept. But there are a lot of those ridiculous lines of thought at play(I know that you know, etc) for Lelouch to become a bit "annoying" as I said. Well, I'm not pleased to hear it only gets worse in S2, but the trend is there. Still, saving my final thoughts until I'm done with Code Geass. |
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Mr. Oshawott
 Posts: 6773 |
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Well, I'm close to finishing up Burst Angel and past the midst of watching Shadow Star Narutaru.
In Burst Angel, in future Japan, crime has become rampant. A mellow student named Kyōhei Tachibana has the desire of becoming a patissier, or pastry chef. To raise money to travel to France, he accepts a part-time occupation as a private cook for three mysterious women: Jo, Meg, Sei, and Amy. After realizing that they're actually mercenaries, Kyōhei finds himself in the midst of a crossfire... In Shadow Star Narutaru, Shiina Tamai, a peppy schoolgirl, encounters a peculiar star-shaped creature, whom she befriends and names it "Hoshimaru." It isn't too long before Shiina starts seeing other people with peculiar-looking creatures in their care, and she eventually finds out that not all of them is as friendly as Hoshimaru..." I found both these shows to be great. The gunfighting and mech-battles in Burst Angel provides a sense of thrill, while the dark scenes in SSN keeps me in high alert. My Rating for Burst Angel: 4.5/5 stars My Rating for Shadow Star Narutaru: 4/5 stars |
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nightjuan
 Posts: 1473 |
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Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail wasn't as good as either season of the TV series, in my opinion, but it was still entertaining as an extension and as a way to wrap up everything concerning Roberta. Spoilers aside, there's really nothing else that could be done with her character after this. Of course, the action was definitely great and the production values were clearly a bit higher overall.
Kick-Heart was a nice little diversion. To be frank, until the DVD arrived I had almost forgotten about its existence, let alone the fact that I somehow ended up backing the Kickstarter project at one point or another. But I'm happy enough with the results. Nothing extraordinary, just something unusual and entertaining that doesn't look like the rest of anime out there. Irresponsible Captain Tylor still holds up pretty well. I didn't remember too much about the show, specifically the TV series, but I was glad to revisit it once again. Admittedly, the character designs are a little dated though. Nevertheless, the characters are enjoyable, there is a degree of development for the main players, and the jokes are amusing even if they're not uniformly funny. I'm not sure if I'll finally bother with the OVAs after this, since the last episode was simultaneously open-ended yet completely appropriate as a final note.
Well, there's always room for different opinions about these things. Death Note had a surrounding setting that was considerably closer to the real world, in both style and content, but they played up all the ridiculous plans and stunts which Light or even L could pull off. I never had much of a problem with this. Similarly, Code Geass has an even less realistic setting, starting from the design front but certainly not stopping there, and they also played up all the exaggerated tricks Lelouch or a couple of his enemies used. Sometimes things got way too crazy but, if anything, I felt it was mostly fitting for the sort of larger-than-life approach the series was going for. And then you have a newer example like Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, which is even more removed from any pretense of realism despite also taking place on Earth, and particularly in the recent animated adaptation of Part 2 we see the protagonist or his enemies pull off all sorts of surprising moves and predictions that wouldn't stand up to any serious critical analysis. Needless to say, I was absolutely fine with that too. In other words, it's a valid criticism but also a subjective one when it comes to how much this actually matters to the viewer in context. |
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zawa113
Posts: 7358 |
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@nightjuan
Yeah, I've seen like 4 eps of the OVA, and I find it comparatively boring and kinda "eh". I think the ones that are character specific are ok, but it really shouldn't try to continue the story. But of the four eps I've seen, they're way more serious than the TV series, which is kind of a tone killer. But I must agree the TV series ending was pretty much perfect. It's one of the most perfect endings I've ever seen in my life, it's what made me hesitant to continue on to the OVA myself. |
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