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WINTER 2011/2 anime chart
- Thread starter RODAN
- Start date
Looking at the list, only thing I'm excited for is the 4th episode of Gundam Unicorn. Gundam Unicorn has done barely anything, but there is a new gundam series coming out-- wtf?
Age's art looks like kiddy shit
Unicorn's art is awesome, because it reminds me of the original series. While watching old anime can be hard for someone born in this generation, I'm still a big fan of the art style that existed in the era of the original Gundam / SDF Macross series, and I love how Unicorn has taken a similar style into a modern anime format.
(though "Gundam Unicorn" is still the stupidest name for a Gundam series, ever)
Age's art looks like kiddy shit
Unicorn's art is awesome, because it reminds me of the original series. While watching old anime can be hard for someone born in this generation, I'm still a big fan of the art style that existed in the era of the original Gundam / SDF Macross series, and I love how Unicorn has taken a similar style into a modern anime format.
(though "Gundam Unicorn" is still the stupidest name for a Gundam series, ever)
I watched the dubbed version of Fate/Stay/Night, and felt the voice acting was sub par (Cue person lambasting me for watching dubbed, instead of subbed. I was and still am an anime novice). I thought the soundtrack was well done, but I was pretty disappointed in the series itself. I'll give Fate/Zero a shot. I parsed through the manga a slight bit which was in Japanese and it looked interesting.
The subbed version isn't much better dialogue-wise. It has an infamously terrible translation gaff... 99% of the horrible voice acting/dialogue is done by Shirou, and guess who isn't in Fate/Zero? :3
You mean with legends like Kate Higgins, Liam O'Brien, and Stephanie Sheh in leading roles? It also has a good supporting cast, and it's the first time I've seen Sam Riegal give a pretty good performance. I'll only grant you that relative unknown Mela Lee fluctuated accents quite a bit at first.
Still, if you haven't played the video game you should.
It's been about a year and a half since I watched it, and I can't seem to remember exactly why I disliked it, only that I didn't. So yeah, it's pretty much unwarranted criticism and you're probably right.
And I'm not a fan of visual novels, although everyone has told me that the VN was much better than the anime.
Fate/Stay Night only forced myself to set a new standard for how I tell stories. That's how good it is.
The anime is a pretty damn good adaption of A story from Fate/Stay Night, and while I love that story so dearly you only get a fraction of the overall story. It's a lot like Sandman in that its a greater story told through smaller ones.
The anime is a pretty damn good adaption of A story from Fate/Stay Night, and while I love that story so dearly you only get a fraction of the overall story. It's a lot like Sandman in that its a greater story told through smaller ones.
Also, of the 3 paths in the VN I'd say the one that's in the Fate/Stay Night anime is definitely the weakest.
Fate/Zero has the same setting and a couple of the same characters, but it's written by a different author and animated by a different studio so I wouldn't base your expectations of it on the first anime.
Fate/Zero has the same setting and a couple of the same characters, but it's written by a different author and animated by a different studio so I wouldn't base your expectations of it on the first anime.
I agree with the above poster in that the Fate storyline was probably the weakest, but I also thank the gods that it didn't turn out to be the Heaven's Feel ending. Not using UBW makes me a saaad panda. :(
I disagree entirely. Fate is the only story strong enough to stand on its own. Too much of UBW is set up by Fate, and without the background you get from Fate and UBW Heaven's Feel would just seem 4chan fucked up for the sake of shock value.
I try not to judge the stories individually anymore because I don't think they are individual stories, but if you had to take one that could stand on its own legs than that story was Fate.
I try not to judge the stories individually anymore because I don't think they are individual stories, but if you had to take one that could stand on its own legs than that story was Fate.
The Visual Novel may be good but the actual show was pretty medicore. I find it hard to find a reason to give the new series a look. My time is limited and there too much quality television out (although almost entirely from the west now) there to justify seeing something I associate with a pretty meh show.
When I first heard about it, I was originally looking forward to Fate/Zero more than any other anime for the fall. If the anime is like the book, it'll be like watching the world's prettiest train wreck - so much death and destruction, so much sadness, but you just can't look away. I think it does a great job fleshing out the backstories of characters that are a little lacking in the original work and is very good, though very, very dark. Keep in mind that the writer for the book was the same guy who wrote Madoka.
Also, remember that the first Fate anime and the movie were 90% awful as an adaptation of the Visual Novel. But that's largely the result of it originally being a VN. Fate/Zero doesn't need to worry about representing different routes or anything, it just needs to tell the story. The anime is being done by the same people who did the anime of the Kara no Kyoukai novels, and they were overall pretty excellent. Getting excited over Fate/Zero is entirely appropriate.
After checking the list, though, I'll be honest and say I'm most excited about a second Carnival Phantasm "season". Type-moon's less serious stuff is always a riot.
Beyond that, though, I'll just follow my two episode rule. I'll try to watch the first two episodes of any series that catches my eye, and if I don't run away screaming by that point I'll decide if it's good/bad/boring.
I'm a little apprehensive about Mirai Nikki. The manga started out ok, but then the incredibly high violence level got annoying and old, and then everything got weird, and then the ending wasn't entirely satisfying. Add to that the disappointing teaser trailer that was made for it, and it has potential to be a big letdown.
I'm definitely skipping Persona 4, though, since one of these days I'm going to finish the game, even if it kills me (and it might).
Also, remember that the first Fate anime and the movie were 90% awful as an adaptation of the Visual Novel. But that's largely the result of it originally being a VN. Fate/Zero doesn't need to worry about representing different routes or anything, it just needs to tell the story. The anime is being done by the same people who did the anime of the Kara no Kyoukai novels, and they were overall pretty excellent. Getting excited over Fate/Zero is entirely appropriate.
After checking the list, though, I'll be honest and say I'm most excited about a second Carnival Phantasm "season". Type-moon's less serious stuff is always a riot.
Beyond that, though, I'll just follow my two episode rule. I'll try to watch the first two episodes of any series that catches my eye, and if I don't run away screaming by that point I'll decide if it's good/bad/boring.
I'm a little apprehensive about Mirai Nikki. The manga started out ok, but then the incredibly high violence level got annoying and old, and then everything got weird, and then the ending wasn't entirely satisfying. Add to that the disappointing teaser trailer that was made for it, and it has potential to be a big letdown.
I'm definitely skipping Persona 4, though, since one of these days I'm going to finish the game, even if it kills me (and it might).
If by 90% awful you mean covered every single important bit of dialogue. The anime did a damn near perfect job of covering Fate except for adding bits of UBW.
Let's see here...
Persona 4 Animation
Lupin III
Bakumen
Shana final season
Gundam Unicorn episode 4 OVA.
It'll be a fun few months, that's for sure.
Persona 4 Animation
Lupin III
Bakumen
Shana final season
Gundam Unicorn episode 4 OVA.
It'll be a fun few months, that's for sure.
The problem was less the dialogue and more the often bad pacing, the loss of the first-person narration (Shirou without first-person narration doesn't work very well), the tacked-on and largely pointless spoilers from the UBW/HF routes, and the generally worse presentation. If your criteria of a "damn near perfect" job is hitting most of the important plot details, then yes, the Fate anime was an excellent adaptation.
To be honest, the first Fate anime was a questionable idea from the start, especially after the Tsukihime debacle. Trying to fit the story of roughly 100 hours worth of reading spread across three routes (with something like 45 different endings) into a single anime wasn't a great idea, and they only made it worse by attempting to add story details from other routes.
It wasn't terrible for an anime, but it just wasn't a good adaptation of the original story. It basically went from being a great Visual Novel to being a mediocre anime, which is a good indication that something went wrong in the process.
The UBW movie was better as far as presentation goes, but it suffered from an even worse case of being condensed due to its shorter length.
I don't know how you can talk about pacing and then say the UBW movie was better presented; as a movie it was fucking terrible and it didn't stand on its own at all if you hadn't seen the anime or played the game.
I also don't understand how you can complain about the loss of narration when Shirou monologues constantly, it's almost as if you'd rather it were a visual novel. Which is ok, because I'd always recommend someone play the game first. But as a guy who played the game three times and saw the anime twice, the anime always hit the right spots that made me love the game so much. Plus the music was better, even though I was biased at first, the music of the Fate/Stay Night anime is really some of the best ever.
And in fact, I'd go as far to say that this scene this scene (spoilers), already one of the most memorable in the game, was done better in the anime. Mind you, it's the only good use of "Emiya", but it almost makes up for not using it in the finale.
But I also want to track down the edited version where they edit the show and movie together and fix some things to make it closer to both Fate and UBW.
I also don't understand how you can complain about the loss of narration when Shirou monologues constantly, it's almost as if you'd rather it were a visual novel. Which is ok, because I'd always recommend someone play the game first. But as a guy who played the game three times and saw the anime twice, the anime always hit the right spots that made me love the game so much. Plus the music was better, even though I was biased at first, the music of the Fate/Stay Night anime is really some of the best ever.
And in fact, I'd go as far to say that this scene this scene (spoilers), already one of the most memorable in the game, was done better in the anime. Mind you, it's the only good use of "Emiya", but it almost makes up for not using it in the finale.
But I also want to track down the edited version where they edit the show and movie together and fix some things to make it closer to both Fate and UBW.
bumping this since fall season has started and pretty much everything has had a chance to air an episode or two. My thoughts:
Hunter x Hunter: I like it a little less than the original, it's moving a lot faster and the music/voice acting seems a tad worse. 16:9 is the main upside to watching imo.
Chihayafuru: A pleasant surprise, it hasn't gotten into the games much yet (I've only watched the first ep) but just the characters and their interactions are enough that I'm enjoying it.
Guilty Crown: Definitely has Code Geass vibes, but without a lot of the flair, though the art and animation are still good. Not all that impressed atm but hoping it improves.
UN-GO: First episode was okay, seems like just another mystery show except with weirdly elongated heads.
Horizon: The story is kind of a giant clusterfuck but the comedy is great and it so far it's not taking itself very seriously. One of my favorites.
Persona 4: Mixed feelings atm. The art varies in quality hugely, and the use of the game's art and music sometimes doesn't feel quite right. The voices are also overall slightly worse than the dub I'd say, though Chie is better.
Ika Musume: Simple and fun, just like the first season.
Fate/Zero: Excellent. It's still getting out of the introductory stages but everything so far has been done very well. Show of the season so far.
Boku wa Tomodachi: Generic-ish harem, but the comedy has had some decent moments so far.
C^3: trash
Majikoi: Horrible adaption (it jumps right into the climax of one of the stories, makes all the girls pine for the MC for no reason, and so far has almost completely ignored the main male characters) and generally not that great of a show.
Hunter x Hunter: I like it a little less than the original, it's moving a lot faster and the music/voice acting seems a tad worse. 16:9 is the main upside to watching imo.
Chihayafuru: A pleasant surprise, it hasn't gotten into the games much yet (I've only watched the first ep) but just the characters and their interactions are enough that I'm enjoying it.
Guilty Crown: Definitely has Code Geass vibes, but without a lot of the flair, though the art and animation are still good. Not all that impressed atm but hoping it improves.
UN-GO: First episode was okay, seems like just another mystery show except with weirdly elongated heads.
Horizon: The story is kind of a giant clusterfuck but the comedy is great and it so far it's not taking itself very seriously. One of my favorites.
Persona 4: Mixed feelings atm. The art varies in quality hugely, and the use of the game's art and music sometimes doesn't feel quite right. The voices are also overall slightly worse than the dub I'd say, though Chie is better.
Ika Musume: Simple and fun, just like the first season.
Fate/Zero: Excellent. It's still getting out of the introductory stages but everything so far has been done very well. Show of the season so far.
Boku wa Tomodachi: Generic-ish harem, but the comedy has had some decent moments so far.
C^3: trash
Majikoi: Horrible adaption (it jumps right into the climax of one of the stories, makes all the girls pine for the MC for no reason, and so far has almost completely ignored the main male characters) and generally not that great of a show.
Phi Brain is pretty interesting, it sort of has a yugioh feel to it, but I think it will be really good. I've never watched HunterxHunter, but certainly enjoying it now. (To be honest, I didn't think I would) The only other two anime I'm wanting to try is Horizon and C^3.
I tried watching Guilty Crown, but it reminds so much of Ghost in the Shell that I couldn't even watch it. I should try watching it though, even if my hatred of Ghost in the Shell gets in the way. >_>
I tried watching Guilty Crown, but it reminds so much of Ghost in the Shell that I couldn't even watch it. I should try watching it though, even if my hatred of Ghost in the Shell gets in the way. >_>
There's really only a couple more shows I'm going to try that I haven't seen the first episode for yet, so I'll go ahead and chime in (I'm going in order of the chart, btw):
Hunter x Hunter: Figured I'd give this a shot despite never having watched the first run. I actually had the second episode ready for watching before deciding that I could find better things to be doing. I realize that this is a remake of a classic, but at this point it seems pretty campy.
Chihayafuru: I was going to give this a shot despite the questionable premise, but realized about 2 minutes in that this was either Shoujo or Josei, paused the video to look it up, and then nuked it from orbit. NEVER AGAIN. No, seriously, I've tried to watch/read female targeted anime/manga several times before and have yet to find one where I didn't want toviolently murder the entire cast sit the cast down and tell them that most of their problems could be solved by proper communication and/or not being an idiot.
Horizon: I watched two episodes (as it is my policy to give most shows at least a second chance assuming the first episode was watchable), and this is terrible. The writing is just bad. The exposition goes beyond bluntly awkward, and worse, the whole presentation is just pretentious (throwing 50 generic terms at the viewer in the first half of an episode without ever explaining them is just shameful). Add to that a "hero" that seems to be suffering from brain damage and you have a show that's a lot of work to follow with unlikely payoff.
Fate/Zero: While there are some issues with terminology drops kinda like Horizon, this handles them much better overall. While I will need to watch the whole series to be sure, thus far it seems to be better than the first Fate anime as I suspected it might. I especially like how they are being somewhat reserved with how the violence is depicted (happening in dark areas and/or just off-screen, etc.), which has far more impact than if they had embraced their guro fetish and had to censor everything (*cough* Blood-C *cough).
Maken-Ki: The pacing for the first episode was pretty terrible (and let's face it, the story is kind of a generic harem action story), but I'll give it a second chance. Humorously, my biggest complaint for the show thus far is that the voice casting seems wrong; I can usually turn off my brain to get some enjoyment from these shows, but when the voices seem so... wrong... it's harder to do.
Mashiro-Iro Symphony: This is just... wow. I'm sticking to my policy and watching the second episode, but I have no expectations for this. The writing isn't great, and the pacing of the first episode is just atrocious.
Tamayura: I actually really like this one so far. The first episode was really slow, but this is the sort of show where going slow is desirable (and being slow doesn't automatically mean bad pacing, either). The problem with stories like these are that they often become unbearable if one of the main characters takes a sharp left turn into stupidville or they start to tackle "serious issues" halfheartedly. I have high expectations, though.
Phi Brain: I watched the first two episodes, and I'm probably passing on this one. This show suffers from an acute case of taking itself way too seriously, which is unfortunate since the premise is something that could easily be used to parody these sorts of shows. I have admit that the OP is stupidly catchy, though. Incidentally, I can't look at the heroine without thinking of the Muppets.
Haganai: I've tried to read the manga twice and never made it very far in, but the anime is a little easier to watch. I doubt I'm going to give this my "best anime of the season" award, but it seems watchable enough.
Majikoi: I really wish this started more at the beginning, but I can actually see how starting where they did might be preferable. Assuming that they go back and properly explain how they got to where they are, this is forgivable. Beyond that, I rarely complain about action-comedies (even harem ones) unless they get stale or especially stupid.
Mirai Nikki: I'm not watching this. Looking back, the manga was tiring to read with all the gratuitous violence, mind screws, and general prioritizing of style over substance. Yanderes aren't really my thing to begin with, and that's about all this has going for it.
C3: I'll give this at least a couple more episodes. I'm not sure yet if this is more Kore wa Zombie Desu ka (which I really enjoyed) or Hidan no Aria (which was more a guilty pleasure) yet. Thus far the action seems decent enough, but the comedy is hit or miss.
Ben-To: I'm not sure what to make of this. At all. It's definitely winner of the "what did I just watch" award of the season.
Chihayafuru: I was going to give this a shot despite the questionable premise, but realized about 2 minutes in that this was either Shoujo or Josei, paused the video to look it up, and then nuked it from orbit. NEVER AGAIN. No, seriously, I've tried to watch/read female targeted anime/manga several times before and have yet to find one where I didn't want to
Horizon: I watched two episodes (as it is my policy to give most shows at least a second chance assuming the first episode was watchable), and this is terrible. The writing is just bad. The exposition goes beyond bluntly awkward, and worse, the whole presentation is just pretentious (throwing 50 generic terms at the viewer in the first half of an episode without ever explaining them is just shameful). Add to that a "hero" that seems to be suffering from brain damage and you have a show that's a lot of work to follow with unlikely payoff.
Fate/Zero: While there are some issues with terminology drops kinda like Horizon, this handles them much better overall. While I will need to watch the whole series to be sure, thus far it seems to be better than the first Fate anime as I suspected it might. I especially like how they are being somewhat reserved with how the violence is depicted (happening in dark areas and/or just off-screen, etc.), which has far more impact than if they had embraced their guro fetish and had to censor everything (*cough* Blood-C *cough).
Maken-Ki: The pacing for the first episode was pretty terrible (and let's face it, the story is kind of a generic harem action story), but I'll give it a second chance. Humorously, my biggest complaint for the show thus far is that the voice casting seems wrong; I can usually turn off my brain to get some enjoyment from these shows, but when the voices seem so... wrong... it's harder to do.
Mashiro-Iro Symphony: This is just... wow. I'm sticking to my policy and watching the second episode, but I have no expectations for this. The writing isn't great, and the pacing of the first episode is just atrocious.
Tamayura: I actually really like this one so far. The first episode was really slow, but this is the sort of show where going slow is desirable (and being slow doesn't automatically mean bad pacing, either). The problem with stories like these are that they often become unbearable if one of the main characters takes a sharp left turn into stupidville or they start to tackle "serious issues" halfheartedly. I have high expectations, though.
Phi Brain: I watched the first two episodes, and I'm probably passing on this one. This show suffers from an acute case of taking itself way too seriously, which is unfortunate since the premise is something that could easily be used to parody these sorts of shows. I have admit that the OP is stupidly catchy, though. Incidentally, I can't look at the heroine without thinking of the Muppets.
Haganai: I've tried to read the manga twice and never made it very far in, but the anime is a little easier to watch. I doubt I'm going to give this my "best anime of the season" award, but it seems watchable enough.
Majikoi: I really wish this started more at the beginning, but I can actually see how starting where they did might be preferable. Assuming that they go back and properly explain how they got to where they are, this is forgivable. Beyond that, I rarely complain about action-comedies (even harem ones) unless they get stale or especially stupid.
Mirai Nikki: I'm not watching this. Looking back, the manga was tiring to read with all the gratuitous violence, mind screws, and general prioritizing of style over substance. Yanderes aren't really my thing to begin with, and that's about all this has going for it.
C3: I'll give this at least a couple more episodes. I'm not sure yet if this is more Kore wa Zombie Desu ka (which I really enjoyed) or Hidan no Aria (which was more a guilty pleasure) yet. Thus far the action seems decent enough, but the comedy is hit or miss.
Ben-To: I'm not sure what to make of this. At all. It's definitely winner of the "what did I just watch" award of the season.
I liked the first season of working so I'll probably watch that. And Shana3 too...
The show done by Bones looks good, I usually like bones animation, and I might check out that yaoi shit because I can always use good yaoi.
The show done by Bones looks good, I usually like bones animation, and I might check out that yaoi shit because I can always use good yaoi.