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nobahn's Anime

take a look at nobahn's Manga
Last edit: 2024-6-10
Edit: 2024-6-10
It looks like I've triggered an algorithm that has identified me as someone who consistently tries to manipulate the percentages either up or down. Oh, well.....

I try to add enlightening commentary, but let's face it:
I'm far from perfect.
For cartoons that are not listed in the encyclopedia please click here.

    EDIT: 2020-12-31
    I have seen two three videos that examine the concept of "classics" from distinctly different perspectives:
  1. Gigguk | Garnt Maneetapho

  2. Mother's Basement | Geoff Thew

  3. Bonsai Pop | Mike ?
EDIT: 2020-04-11
In this video YouTube user Gigguk (Garnt Maneetapho) talks about SAO in the context of gateway anime.
    2 Videos That Share a Common Theme:
  1. "The Greatest Thing Anime Has Done"|Gigguk (Garnt Maneetapho)
  2. "A Love Letter to a Place Further than the Universe" | Isla McTear (Line/link added 2020-06-24)
EDIT: 2020-06-10
3 Different Perspectives On the Importance of The Ending EDIT: 2021-05-10
Geoff Thew ("Mother's Basement") has a fascinating video essay on the concept of "sakuga".
EDIT: 2021-12-27
10 Anime That Are Fantastic But Hard To Recommend
Anime only continues to get more and more mainstream, but these are 10 anime we wouldn't want to recommend even though they're great.
By Jacob Buchalter (posted on cbr.com on 2020, Mar 30)
Seen/Read All (public list)▲▼ Rating▲▼
Magical Girl Raising Project (TV) Excellent (dub), Masterpiece (sub)
↓
  1. If ep.#1 has a twisty ending, then ep.#2 has a dark one!
  2. And with the ending of ep.#3, a battle royale becomes eminent.
  3. And with the conclusion of ep.#4 what surprises me are the adults.
Rise of the Dark Magical Girls
  1. The adults continue to surprise me in ep.#5 with both their numbers and motivations.
  2. I will not deny that that these cliff hangers are effective.....
↔
Magnetic Rose (movie) Excellent
Part of the Memories anthology. I thought that that this was the best of the three. I think that that it is fair to describe it as a horror flick.
Mahōtsukai Sally (movie) Excellent
↓
  • OK, so I've rated this at 10/11; but there are 2 huge caveats here.....
  1. This is aimed at young children ─ but! There is no English dub.
    None─Nada─Zip.
  2. The only other group that might possibly be interested in this would be people who have been exposed to cultural anthropology.
  • It's a 26 minute movie.
↔
Mai Mai Miracle (movie) Very good (dub & sub)
  • 5:00 | A slice of life?
  • The girl has a lively imagination!
  • Interesting OST
  • 25:00 | Bonding over chocolate liqueur.
  • There's no denying it: the cinematography is quite interesting!
  • At first, I thought that this was aimed at children; but by the last ⅓ I changed my mind and I now believe that this is aimed at both children and adults.
Maid Sama! (TV) Excellent (dub), Masterpiece (sub)
↓
“The Class President is a Maid!” Kaichō wa Meido-sama!
Ep.#6: "Men & the Ayuzawa Cram School"
Even though the humor is moronic, I still found myself curious about how the situation would resolve itself. Remarkable, really. [PRO] It looks like keeping her part-time job a secret will be a central premise of the series and it looks like the romance will slowly develop. Although the boy has now confessed to the girl…. [PRO]
On a different note: The animation is sub-par. I can tolerate it, I guess….
Ep.#7: "Enter the Student Council President of Miyabigaoka"
06:55| OK, that humor is surprisingly effective.
14:00| The chess game does not end with check, check mate (when that’s how chess actually does end); and there is no school security for physical incursions. [CON] & [CON]
20:00| “Misaki-kun has awakened.” OK, that’s funny! [PRO]
Ep.#8: "Misaki Goes to Miyabigaoka"
OK, so we how this will end; but we don’t know how this particular drama will end…. [PRO]
A hint is offered as to the meaning of Usui’s background as referenced in the ED sequence.
Ep.#11: "The Secret of Takumi Usui Approaches!"
We find out just a little bit more of Usui. Paradoxically, he seems to be a bit lonely.
Ep.#12: "Maid Sama & the Sports Festival"
Logical inconsistency: The last 3 in a race break the finish tape. [CON]
Ep.#13: "Idiots & Juveniles & Heroes &..."
Absurd humor mixed with a dollop of “Fight Club”.
Ep.#14: "Soutarou Kano of Class 1-7"
A first-year student maliciously hypnotized the student council members.
Ep.#14: "Bespectacled Rabbit at the Open Campus"
Misaki forgives Kano; turns out he has family issues.
Ep.#16: "Maid Latte at the Beach House"
Beach ep.#1
Ep.#17: “Usui, turning into an enemy”
Beach ep.#2. Usui is actually pretty cool….(16:00)
19:00 – 22:00| Those are some cool scenes! [PRO]
Ep.#18: “Maid Sama is a Footman”
~11:00| Spotlights highlight Maki the speaker (physically impossible) and what are Cafe Latte employees doing there in feminine clothing?! [CON]
Ep.#19: “Footmen Through a Change of Pairs”
Nice tension at the midpoint.
13:45| The violin is a nice touch, but where did it come from? [PRO & CON]
16:50| Nice touch to have Hirofumi Kaganei modestly critique Maki. [PRO]
Misaki is conflicted about her feelings regarding Usui. [PRO]
Ep.#20: “The Vice President is a Prince?! / Aoi & Her Fun Companions”
The 2nd ½ is absurdist humor – it’s pretty good, too.
The fact that the boy confesses his romantic love so early on so that the series is mostly about about the girl’s feelings towards him and the ED visuals makes this a 10/11 baseline.
Ep.#21: “Usui's Rival?! Hinata Shintani”
An elementary-school acquaintance of Misaki’s transfers to the high school to follow her around; puppy-like.
Ep.#22: “Tag at the Forest School”
The humor just isn’t very good…. It falls flat.
Ep.#23: “Maid Latte & a Whole Bunch of Sweets”
Hinata finds out that Misaki works at Maid-Latte.
Ep.#24: “Lovey-Dovey Through Latte Magic ♥”
I must confess that I am now finding the character Hinata Shintani to be irritating; and I do not like myself for feeling that he is irritating. Is it because I find myself somewhat reflected in him when I was that age?
There are a couple of things that I’ve been forgetting to make a note of….
  • When the title card is shown, Aoi Hyoudou walks in front of the card and is then forcibly escorted off by Sakura Hanazono and Shizuko Kaga. The message is clear: This show in not about Aoi Hyoudou – it’s about their friend, Misaki Ayuzawa. As they are escorting Aoi off of the screen, we see the different personalities Sakura and Shizuko – if only for maybe a second or two.
  • Different flowers are associated with Misaki Ayuzawa and Takumi Usui.
Ep.#25: “Hinata & Misaki & Usui”
Hinata’s backstory with Misaki is explicated. The staff at Maid-Latte blows Usui off, telling him – basically – that Misaki will never return his feelings for her. Things come to a head at the Yumesaki High School Cultural Festival.
Ep.#26: "You’re really sly, Ayuzawa; Usui, you idiot!"
Misaki is conflicted; and Usui’s confessed love is still as vibrant as ever. Their ending kiss is awesome! The hints provided in the ED animation are never elaborated upon by the series; so, in that regard, the series is a commercial for the manga.
↔
MAOYU (TV) Excellent
Märchen Mädchen (TV) Very good
See Rebecca Silverman's Episode Reviews.
  1. CON: Death of parent is cliche.
    Ending an episode in the nude; that's different.....
  2. The facial designs are somewhat generic.....
  3. I have to wonder if the nudity at the end of the episode is some sort of fetish.....
  4. Things are coming to a head before the competition even starts!
  5. Cliffhanger!
  6. The Russian team is acting silly; is this humor deliberate?
  7. Hazuki connects with Tatiana's heart and helps Tatiana realize her wish.
  8. So the Russian and Japanese teams battle it out.....
  9. Uh, oh..... This series seems to be seriously running on fumes here.....
  10. American vs. Japanese Schools. Backstories are provided.There had better be a follow-up to this series.....
  • I keep on forgetting: This is a magical girls show.....
Both ep.s 11 & 12 are on Crunchyroll.
Ep.#11: Twilight of the Magic Bullet
The father of the Daves' sisters seems to have been manipulating the rules from behind the scenes; but was he, himself, also being manipulated?
Ep.#12: The Magic of a Happy Ending
What it sounds like; also, we learn that Hazuki's mother was also a magical girl.

I'm rating this at 9/11 ("Very Good") because I cannot help but suspect that a lot of the source material (in this case light novels) was omitted.
Maria Holic (TV) Good
Maria the Virgin Witch (TV) Excellent (dub & sub)
Maria Watches Over Us (TV) Excellent
Those who need action in their entertainment will be severely turned off. If you like drama, then this is for you.

The "KO" scene in ep.#7 ("The Surprising Chocolates Part I") is quite humorous!
Yumi being chased in ep.#8 ("The Surprising Chocolates Part I") is also quite humorous!

The depiction of kindergarten in ep.#9 ("Red Card") is unrealistic.
Maria Watches Over Us 3rd Season (OAV) Masterpiece
The cast continues to grow and evolve.

On a re-watch I was grinning from ear to ear.
Maria Watches Over Us 4th Season (TV) Masterpiece
Same as before -- more character development and evolution
Maria Watches Over Us Season 2: Printemps (TV) Masterpiece
Same as the first season -- also, as one set of characters graduates, we see the other characters grow and evolve. Nice OST, too!

Ep.#1 ("During the Long Night") has a humorous scene with Sei driving Yumi.
The episode preview for ep.#8 ("The Cherry in the Ginkgos") is actually quite humorous!
Marmalade Boy (movie) Decent (dub), Good (sub)
↓
  • If you can wrap your head around the idea of 2 sets of parents divorcing and remarrying each other, then you can accept anything!
  • That being said, the parents talking with joy about their impending divorce sounds very creepy to my ears!
  • Animation is off-kilter at times.....

  • Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when the localization directors were directing the English VAs!
↔
Mary and The Witch's Flower (movie) Excellent (dub & sub)
↓
  • Pro: Unexpected betrayal.
  • Seems to have influences of Studio Ghibli ─ nice animation, too!
    A cathode ray tube television ─ how quaint!
  • Pro: Girl overcoming adversity ─ gotta love it!
  • Pro: Unexpected plot twist: Mary willingly throws away her last connection to magic!
  • Con: The house, however, is NOT explained; even if it is an homage to a scene from Spirited Away.
Director: Giles New

Adaptation: Lynda & David Freedman

Additional Voice Direction: Toby Davies
↔

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