The Anime / Manga Thread (MK2) | Beware Spoilers

Status
Not open for further replies.

brightobject

there like moonlight
is a Top Artistis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
just finished punch line! it was good, but not great, and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone out of hand. It just collapses under the sheer weight of all the different ideas it tries to carry

however, it had a fantastic as fuck op


and here are some other ops i like out of the shit i've watched

[the legends] - NGE, Bebop, Tatami Galaxy

[others] -Kill la Kill (seasons 1 & 2 were both fucking great), Baccano, Panty & Stocking w/ Garterbelt (amazing ost), Diebuster (short but beautiful like the life of a newly fallen cherry blossom during the height of spring), OPM

best ed's - KLK, Bebop, NGE, Tatami

yea these might be the obv choices but im an anime noob dont judge me doods

e: WHO ELSE IS HYPED FOR ASSCLASS MANGA FINALE fuck YEAH
 
Last edited:
Assassination Classroom ending does at least show that Shounen Jump won't just milk the hell out of their popular franchises, which I always like to see. But seriously its like the 3rd manga that has an anime adaptation this season that's ending soon. (The other 2 being Rakugo and ERASED)

On another note, I actually really liked last week's batch of episodes. Most shows either staid where they are or got better/got back on track, which is always a good thing. (No shows notably got worse to boot) One thing I do like about watching anime seasonally is that you don't really know how it will turn out to be in the end, for better or worse. (Being someone who doesn't drop anime, watching a new show with potential get worse over the course of its run (IE: Comet Lucifer from last season) is actually kind of sad, in a more or less disappointed way)
 

tcr

sage of six tabs
is a Tutor Alumnusis a Team Rater Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
when does hunter x hunter get good? like I've heard it described as the shonen that saves anime and as one of the best things that people have seen, but just from the first couple episodes it seems kinda generic. when does shti get exciting, aor does it just stay like that for the entire anime?
 

soulgazer

I FEEL INFINITE
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Tiering Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnusis a Past SPL Champion
it starts becoming good at the second half of the first arc, but for some people it only starts being good at the Auction Arc
 
when does hunter x hunter get good? like I've heard it described as the shonen that saves anime and as one of the best things that people have seen, but just from the first couple episodes it seems kinda generic. when does shti get exciting, aor does it just stay like that for the entire anime?
I'm just short of 100 episodes through on my first watch. It stays pretty generic through the end of the Greed Island arc, in my opinion (around episode 75), though "generic" and "bad" are not always the same thing. In particular, the final episodes of the Hunter Exam arc and most of the episodes focusing on the Phantom Troupe in the Yorknew City arc (AKA the auction arc) are very good, as well as any episode where Hisoka fights someone. I was also a fan of the training montages in Greed Island, mainly because I fucking love training montages.

So far - at least in my opinion - HxH falls flat compared to many other shounens (I drew comparisons to Shokugeki no Souma, One Piece, and Fullmetal Alchemist a few posts ago) in terms of character development and emotional heft. That all changes with the Chimera Ant arc, which starts at around episode 76. Most of the praise I've read for HxH also usually points out moments from episodes 100 and up.

Of course, everyone has their own opinion on the series. Many people love the first half of the show and hate the Chimera Ant arc, for example. Personally, I feel that the first half of the show is quite weak and generic, but still enjoyable.
 

Acklow

I am always tired. Don't bother me.
Yeah, Chimera Ant arc is my favorite in the entire show. There's just so much to it that makes it that good. From the political parts to the flat out denial of allowing the villain to be viewed as a villain (post-structuralist maybe?) to just the straight up character development that happens during the arc is leaps and bounds more enjoyable than the other parts of the show. However, I will contend that in order to truly enjoy the arc, you need to watch everything up until that point because all previous information and plot development is fundamental to the character development and that you see in the Chimera Ant arc. The ending of HxH leaves everything on a cliffhanger and gives some closure, but in the end we can only wish for more volumes to be drawn up/seasons to be animated. HxH is still one of my all time favorite anime ever made.


Also that fucking last scene where Meruem dies always makes me cry like a giant baby. It's just that good.
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Just finished watching Little Witch Academia and its hour-long sequel.

The best way I can describe my experience is "cute".
 
So far - at least in my opinion - HxH falls flat compared to many other shounens (I drew comparisons to Shokugeki no Souma, One Piece, and Fullmetal Alchemist a few posts ago) in terms of character development and emotional heft. That all changes with the Chimera Ant arc, which starts at around episode 76. Most of the praise I've read for HxH also usually points out moments from episodes 100 and up.
What I don't like about the really long shows it that they're a big investment when you can get a lot more from smaller shows. I mean, I still need to finish Bebop and I have shows like Ergo Proxy, GitS SAC and Planetes on my queue for ages. Spending that time on a show like HxH is a problem when most people only really like the latter part and the manga is on habitual hiatus.

Just finished watching Little Witch Academia and its hour-long sequel.

The best way I can describe my experience is "cute".
I love LWA. It didn't fill me with excitement or drown me in tears but it's one of my favorite anime from top to bottom in recent history. From the vibrant post-Ganiax animation style to the solid family movie plots and all the way to the music cues and pacing, it sets a benchmark for other creative works that want to be mainstream, instead of going the hipster route like the obscure comedies or anything by Yuasa, Ikuhara and pals. It's great.
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
OK so apparently this is a thing:


Thought I'd post it here cause its kinda anime related, and it is kinda cool.
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
This week's episode of Boku Dake ga Inai Machi was absolutely incredible. Large amounts of character development and really showing how genuine a character Kayo is. I'm mostly an apathetic person, but it managed to both get me to uncontrollably smile and uncontrollably tear up.

IMO its the best episode yet.
 
Last edited:

Asek

Banned deucer.
Semi rant below

You can tell theres something seriously wrong with how a site lets users score shows when an anime 8 episodes in is sitting at the 6th best anime of all time. The trend seems to be that the 'best' show of each season gets bumped up extremely high on the chart due to retards giving the 'best' show of each season an extremely inflated score due to their perception that its better than everything else in that season without considering how good it is relative to everything else that has been released. This seems to be hyper inflated in this case due to most perceiving it as a weak season aside from erased. Other recent examples of this occuring are OPM and your lie in april (or shigatsu kimi no uso), all sitting in the top 15 best of all time (yes I know erased is not finished yet so I cant judge a full picture (neither should MAL be allowed to but fsr they are), but atm its around a 7 - maybe 8 if its big reveal is not who i suspect, theres been a few scenes in the adult return episdoes in particular that have been sub par). Not trying to say these are bad shows, but if I was to guess I'd say that they're extremely unlikely to be influential or be remembered as being a 'must watch' as shows like (at the risk of sounding pretentious) NGE or even Bebop have proven over time (which both sit below the shows listed). Looking back this all sounds really damm shitty but I think my message gets across somewhat.

Or maybe this is just me venting at how MAL doesnt restrict rating to completed shows /endrant


To make this post not all shitty, Kyoma and Mira from Dimension W have got to be one of the more memorable anime duo leads in recent times, they synergize well and both are intriguing enough as standalone characters to get me to enjoy their individual scenes, and more so when they are in scenes together, enjoying the show a lot from them alone, hoping the kinda all over the show plot points scattered around combine to make an awesome ending thats being hinted at for the last few eps
 

vonFiedler

I Like Chopin
is a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnus
(at the risk of sounding pretentious) NGE or even Bebop have proven over time
Listing shows that everyone has watched, and possibly as their first anime, does not come across as pretentious, it come across as pedestrian

I mean in America some shows run for 20 god damn years, is calling South Park one of the best shows premature?

There's gonna be great art all the time, not just when you were 10

And like, those shows? Not Code Geass R2, the second half of Death Note of Code Geass? Or the monument to the almighty yen, FMB, somehow at #1? I guess Attack on Titan is only #58 though
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
I really liked this week's Dagashi Kashi. It was the first time the show's taken itself seriously for as long a stretch as it did, and the result was a solid amount of character development for Kokonotsu, Saya and, to a lesser extent, Hotaru.
 
more thoughts on anime that nobody asked for (spoilers for airing anime, no spoilers for the finished ones):

Erased - episode 8 was great and is definitely one of the more cheerful episodes of the show. definitely a good decision to not have the show be week after week of gut-punches and suffering; this way it'll just hurt THAT MUCH MORE when tragedy strikes. i also love the cinematography here, especially the shot of Kayo seeing her breakfast and then the flashes to the typical "breakfasts" she gets from her mom in between blinks - that was not only a really powerful moment, but was also shown very well. shots like that and the scene where the duct tape is slowly rolling toward Satoru are some of the little things that make me appreciate the show a little more

Dimension W - we FINALLY get more backstory on Kyoma; it's definitely cliched but does a good job of explaining why he's so cold and refuses to use coils, and also heavily teases a connection between Miyabi and Mira (they have the same VA). i personally think they could have done a much better job giving us bits and pieces of his past OR dumped the whole thing on us a few episodes ago, though

Dagashi Kashi - saya best, actual romantic "progression", mostly uplifting scenes. plus we get a subtle suggestion that hotaru's life is actually kinda sad, so there may be some actual substance coming up

Hunter x Hunter - finished the Chimera Ant arc today. briefly, i'll just say that episodes 131 and 136 were fucking fantastic but about 80% of the episodes so far are actually pretty mediocre overall. the palace raid portion of the Chimera Ant arc was good but was bogged down by a lot of unnecessary narration and exposition. i'll probably post more in-depth thoughts on every HxH arc when i finish the whole show

Kekkai Sensen - the single most stylish show i've ever watched in my life. this thing oozes personality with every episode and feels like someone mashed up the setting of Baccano! with the fight scenes from Kill la Kill and the breakneck, sometimes-incoherent storytelling of FLCL. it's episodic but i enjoyed it because it's so damn fast and every episode is a ton of fun. also the OST is god-tier and it's got a really good OP and ED, which isn't something that i can say for a lot of shows
 

brightobject

there like moonlight
is a Top Artistis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnus
i like every episode of kekkai sensen except for mushroom ntr, also try out the manga if you loved the show since the manga does the all-over-the-place-crazy-episodic style quite well (although in a completely different way than the anime, mostly due to medium)
 

Acklow

I am always tired. Don't bother me.
more thoughts on anime that nobody asked for (spoilers for airing anime, no spoilers for the finished ones):

Erased - episode 8 was great and is definitely one of the more cheerful episodes of the show. definitely a good decision to not have the show be week after week of gut-punches and suffering; this way it'll just hurt THAT MUCH MORE when tragedy strikes. i also love the cinematography here, especially the shot of Kayo seeing her breakfast and then the flashes to the typical "breakfasts" she gets from her mom in between blinks - that was not only a really powerful moment, but was also shown very well. shots like that and the scene where the duct tape is slowly rolling toward Satoru are some of the little things that make me appreciate the show a little more

Dimension W - we FINALLY get more backstory on Kyoma; it's definitely cliched but does a good job of explaining why he's so cold and refuses to use coils, and also heavily teases a connection between Miyabi and Mira (they have the same VA). i personally think they could have done a much better job giving us bits and pieces of his past OR dumped the whole thing on us a few episodes ago, though

Dagashi Kashi - saya best, actual romantic "progression", mostly uplifting scenes. plus we get a subtle suggestion that hotaru's life is actually kinda sad, so there may be some actual substance coming up

Hunter x Hunter - finished the Chimera Ant arc today. briefly, i'll just say that episodes 131 and 136 were fucking fantastic but about 80% of the episodes so far are actually pretty mediocre overall. the palace raid portion of the Chimera Ant arc was good but was bogged down by a lot of unnecessary narration and exposition. i'll probably post more in-depth thoughts on every HxH arc when i finish the whole show

Kekkai Sensen - the single most stylish show i've ever watched in my life. this thing oozes personality with every episode and feels like someone mashed up the setting of Baccano! with the fight scenes from Kill la Kill and the breakneck, sometimes-incoherent storytelling of FLCL. it's episodic but i enjoyed it because it's so damn fast and every episode is a ton of fun. also the OST is god-tier and it's got a really good OP and ED, which isn't something that i can say for a lot of shows
i like every episode of kekkai sensen except for mushroom ntr, also try out the manga if you loved the show since the manga does the all-over-the-place-crazy-episodic style quite well (although in a completely different way than the anime, mostly due to medium)

Go watch Kyousougiga you Oompa Loompas.
 

Martin

A monoid in the category of endofunctors
is a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Forum Moderator Alumnusis a Community Contributor Alumnusis a Contributor Alumnus
I just watched Clannad and it was pretty good. The main gripe I had with it was that it was kinda inconsistent in the second and third arcs (there were a number of irritating scenes such as the one in the PE storeroom) and the Fuko cameos were kinda stupid (I'd have preferred it if we'd gotten either permanent closure without the cameos or if we'd had some kind of significant interaction with the MCs remembering her or something along those lines before the series ended), but other than that I enjoyed it. I'm prolly gonna watch Afterstory either now or over the next week, but I want to know whether I should watch Kanon (the 2006 version) afterwards because it sounds really similar to Clannad. Should I watch it?
 

Acklow

I am always tired. Don't bother me.
I just watched Clannad and it was pretty good. The main gripe I had with it was that it was kinda inconsistent in the second and third arcs (there were a number of irritating scenes such as the one in the PE storeroom) and the Fuko cameos were kinda stupid (I'd have preferred it if we'd gotten either permanent closure without the cameos or if we'd had some kind of significant interaction with the MCs remembering her or something along those lines before the series ended), but other than that I enjoyed it. I'm prolly gonna watch Afterstory either now or over the next week, but I want to know whether I should watch Kanon (the 2006 version) afterwards because it sounds really similar to Clannad. Should I watch it?

Ya. Kanon is decent, but most of its story and characters was recycled in Clannad. I really like the OP for Kanon and the story isn't that bad, but there are clear areas where the plot is just spotty. The animation isn't as up to par as Clannad and Clannad AS, but you definitely know it's a Key title. I won't dive into details, since it would spoil certain plot points, so that's all I can really say.

As for Clannad After Story, get ready to get wrecked bruh. Everything in the first season was foundational to everything in After Story, and that shit always gets me emotionally unstable whenever I hear the music. Fucking Dango Daikazoku is a song I cannot bear to listen to anymore because too many feels associated with that shit, get me? I don't give a fuck what the haters say, After Story was the shit and it gives you the fulfilling ending you always wanted in a Slice of Life anime (which many, like Toradora! tend to have trouble with).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 1)

Top