Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11452 |
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Oh lord, episode 11 of Stand My Heroes just went totally off the rails.
The various groups all now seem to be working together, which is good, since they've never clarified why they haven't always been. But then spoiler[they learn of a meeting to happen in some warehouse where they think drugs will be exchanged and they can get the goods on their target (who was inexplicably one of the candidates the heroine was supposed to recruit for the anti-drug group that she's not working for).] spoiler[So the warehouse is now stacked to the rafters with all eleventy-seven of our heroes, and instead of waiting for the target's contact to arrive, they all swoop in and try to bust him! They search his car, find nothing, have a long convo with him about what he's really doing...and then, they open the trunk and find omg drugs! Now a) wouldn't you wait for the other guy to show up and then arrest people when the deal went down, and b) wouldn't the trunk be one of the first places you'd search?] This show, I swear... 
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I was caught off guard a few episodes ago where a guy that looked like a standard bishie guy, apparently had some falling out on a high profile case that happened 15 years ago, which prompted to shout how old this man was meant to be, since nothing about his character seemed to hint that he was in his 40s.
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Just finished Null & Peta, a kind of random short series that episodes usually run between 5 to 6 minutes, finishing on its 12th. There is not a huge amount to say about the show, it is mostly random, but I will say that I was surprised by narrative hints it set up through and finishing off on something pretty big as a last arc. Won't really say what the turn/twist was, I kind of think it more worthwhile to spend an hour going through the show if your are mildly curious. The concept is of a young genius girl who lost her older sister in an accident, and so rebuilt her as a robot (a big dorky looking one), which I know sounds like it is a bit heavy of a concept for a comedy. It does feel a little bit of a mood whiplash with its setting, but I regardless think that it has charm, I am especially fond of the opening. Not a big fan of the bad food running joke, but it otherwise seemed able to have something that would make up for it.
All the same, my rating would be So-so (5/10). Nothing bad, I think how it tied everything up and moved when the plot kicked in was okay. It just feels a bit segmented and not always had the right impact, that I would say watching it as a weekly thing kind of gave problems that I was kind of surprised when its status quo started to crack in episode 6. I would still kind of recommend it to those who might have a mild curiosity of how it looks. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Next show I have finished is Africa Salaryman, finishing itself off on its 12th episode. This was actually a pretty curious show in its own right, being a bunch of amorphic animals by design you might imagine would be shorts, but were full length episodes. Will start off the bat by saying that a catchier name might have been something like Salaryman Safari, especially since Africa does not need to mean animals, and although I think the majority of animals are supposed to be African it does have a very Japanese
It is a comedy, but I don't think all the jokes land, some I groaned when they came back as running gags, but I do think that some could be the sort of things that might jump into your head and make you chuckle at some random time. I kind of ended up finding one of the most humorous elements being a sort of unintentional element of how the CG models can look kind of funny with what I assume is mocap. Being actors told to act natural with different things, as things like heads and stuff added on to try and look complete, which I think does not sell itself completely. At least I would that it would be unintentional, but I think the creators realized it can look silly and started to have fun in places for that reason. And then later on they seemed to have even more fun by what I think was purposely making their CG models bug out, such as making it melt, which kind of made me laugh. I would say that it was kind of at its best when it was unapologetic and just went weird, because god damn it was an anime about a bunch of furry salarymen, and if you want this don't expect something like any other anime. Probably the parts I did not like the most were the Africa JK segments, featuring Lion's daughter (also a lion) and her friend (a gorilla). What I did not like about these segments is it kind of felt like it was making fun of high school girls, by having these two chase after boys and they think they are cute, while the show wants to point about them not being cute as one is rather intimidating and oblivious as a lion, while the other is literally a gorilla. To me at least it felt a little mean. Rating the show, I will go with So-so (5/10), a little trouble in keeping me interested. If it could have been a little more consistent with certain elements, I think that I might have rated it higher, or maybe some other spice to shake things up, I might have rated it higher. The Honey badger character was a good addition. Who knows, maybe I will actually look back at this better, I would not rule that out. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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So, Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth finished after 12 episodes. You can go back a few weeks to get some discussion that those of us watching were not having an easy time what had happened, so don't expect a huge amount from me. I actually did try to pay close attention for the last episode, push past looking at anything else while watching. Maybe blame myself for not trying harder with other episodes to still feel kind of confused, but I don't want to let it all off the hook.
This show us awful at keeping attention. I could put in some ways down to the characters, they are just boring. Watching the first episode it is kind of easy to take note that the heroine is not as strong as she could be, that she is supposed to be police or something and just kind of comes across as helpless. You think that maybe is going to have a wakeup and work hard to be a strong character, and I don't she is not very interesting. With few choices to compare, I could think of Psycho Pass' heroine, but she is no Akane. The dudes are also incredibly boring, sure some might have an interesting design, but they all feel like something I have seen in something else. I don't think I even bothered trying to remember them all, because just feels like a blur. And I also feel confident that it is not just the characters, but the rest of the plot. Stuff happened, but whether you feel invested in the plot is another thing. The thing is that as much as I think these sorts of problems can be a problem in this sort of reverse harem genre, it does not have to be. You can keep a selection of guys interesting if you do not overflood with designs that are not different enough from each other. There was a line in the last episode that had a character in the subs saying they will "handle blondie", and I was like saying there several blonde guys, I think most of the ones being questioned were blonde. A heroine can be interesting without being a Mary Sue or perpetual damsel in distress, just don't make her a piece of cardboard that only has one trait (immune to drugs), which I don't think really means anything. And another thing, I don't think the show did a good hob selling how this anti-drug taskforce that it is about is really important, unless I missed it there was not a lot of showing people in a fallout of illegal drugs. Kind of felt like it could have been changed to anything. For a rating, I give Not really good (4/10), worse than not being able to grab my attention, I thought I was paying attention and still end up confused. But I could maybe see how some people might be able to enjoy it if they had the enthusiasm, but I say there is much better just moderately okay reverse harem anime. Kind of sad that this is what we had to end the decade in that regard. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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And now for something completely different, Bananya and the Curious Bunch, a sort of sequel (maybe sort of something else) of another Bananya series, it is only about a couple minutes long each episode, finishing off on its 13th. Had to actually kind of check, because it is not like this series is the most narrative, following the kind of alien fusions of a banana and a cat, doing random hijinks. I actually kind of like this series, and I rate this second season above the first. I tie this to how Bananya (normal) was with a kind of more interesting cast of bananya, especially Droopy-eared Bananya, who kind of plays the part of Bananya little sister. It just works out cuter than the first season. There really is not much to say as you could probably watch the whole thing rather easily.
My rating would be Good (7/10), up from a 5 from the first season, which I think could be annoying in places. Bananya and the Curious Bunch, it is just cute and charming. And you would think that would actually be hard when most of the dialogue are "nya", and one character made to look especially cute. It would be in my recommendations for anyone who wants to check out something cute, with a minimal investment of time. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11452 |
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I'm not sure I understood much of any of the finale of Stand My Bishies, but it was hilarious. The gun-pointing scene at the park just kept escalating. "I'll point my gun at you for no apparent reason! Now me! Now at Kujo! Now at everybody who just popped out of the bushes! Now back to me in the classic Blazing Saddles hostage maneuver! Then Kujo! Aaand, back to you, since you're the heroine, and you haven't been kidnapped for a few episodes!"
I was also really sure the old guy had hidden stuff in the one guy's teddy bear, but they never followed up on that, did they? The tag scene ended so abruptly I can only think they're hoping for another season. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Okay, another show finished that I don't think hugely positively of, Z/X Code Reunion, another show finished after 12 episodes. I have seen a lot of these sorts of mecha musume like shows, kind of the edge of what is a magical girl show mixed with the sort of battle girl anime. This being about an academy of girls that are linked with the Z/X people that I am pretty sure is part of a real card game, and they are all trained and being prepared to save the world. I actually can be a big fan of these sorts of shows, where the sort of thing that gets almost no large attention can be something I can praise if done well. Symphogear just recently got some pretty mainstream attention of being something beloved. Z/X Reunion somehow managed to be incredibly forgettable and boring despite that.
I will defend shows like Katana Maidens, Ange Vierge and Schoolgirl Strikers on its characters alone, but somehow this show managed to even make a bunch of characters that were made to be varied and interesting, just come across as incredibly boring. Like I know that it should be the case, that they gave these characters have emotional arcs and quirks, but somehow it just bored me so much. Baring my patience with these shows changing a whole lot, it just failed, even for someone who can be into these sorts of things. For one I would point to it kind of being weak in the relationship between the girls and their otherworld beings: A serious military girl, a living doll, a catgirl, gentleman cat thing, and a possessed sword. It felt like the majority of the show was wanting to pay off on these relationships, without putting the work in. As something of contrast I think of Ange Vierge, which managed to have its cast of girls as magical beings be interesting through flashback interactions with the single girl, combined with their relationships with other characters. I kind of feel like there was not a huge amount of insight into many of the characters of Code Reunion, not much of funny, but just a whole lot of drill sergeant coach yelling at them. Never really felt like it addressed the very start of the show, which saw the main character, Azumi, being sick for some reason for years and having to make a contract to live like a normal person, and for some reason she had to fight. I am not saying the whole show is a total wash, I could say it has things, but just that I have seen those so many times before, and it does not feel like it is capitalizing on its more interesting elements. I give a rating of So-so (5/10), indeed it did not really grab my attention. Merry Christmas. |
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Fleurrose
Posts: 2 |
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Hey, i looking for anime awesome like the death note what can you advise me to watch? |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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You want something like Death Note? I don't know, maybe if you want a villain like protagonist with things like mind games there is Saga of Tanya the Evil. This topic really is not space for looking for recommendations. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11452 |
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Finally got around to watching the 2nd season of Mo Dao Zu Shi. Honestly, I have almost no idea what's going on (long wait between seasons, a lot of confusing same-face, Chinese names are harder for me to sort since I'm not used to them, and a timeline that keeps jumping around - plus reincarnation to confuse things even more!), but it still manages to be interesting, and it's gorgeous to look at. The reincarnated guy, who's also good at making zombies, at one point says, "The dead cannot return to life," which I thought was kind of funny coming from him.
But in one episode the main character was playing with a lonely little refugee girl, "burying" her lower half in dirt like you do with kids on the beach. "Be good, don't move" ::sprinkles dirt in her lap:: "Right now I'm planting you in the soil. Next year, many little Wen Yuan will sprout to play with you." She giggles and waves her arms happily. It was both cute as all get out and heartbreaking, since she'd probably be buried for real by next year. Looking forward to season 3. Maybe I'll figure out what's going on by then. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Finished Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life season 2, and realized that I never marked off that I finished the first season, so not even sure what I might have rated the first season. I think that I do like the second season much for than the first, it had less stupid drama delinquents, destruction of property, acting proper and clashes that did add complexity to a character, but more likable when she was an ally. One could argue that the professional koto player that was in this season might have a bit of that, but she was also a generally good character that despite anything did not do anything real underhanded.
Generally, while the first season felt like an introduction into the koto club with a bunch of boys while apparently it is a mostly female musician piece, it was kind of how hopeless they all would be as just beginners. The second season had things like them get good and putting apart their ego to get good, a much more positive experience, that felt like it helped fix the broken characters, rather than wallowing in how awful things are. I give the first season a So-so (5/10), not really grabbing my attention, and the second season a Decent (6/10), being something that at least did not feel like a waste of time. |
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Haterater
 Posts: 1727 |
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Loved all the anime of Steins;Gate, Steins;Gate 0, and the movie. Just binged watch it all whenever I can, lol! Felt like the pacing was tight and felt like it deserved my attention. Enjoyed alot of "aha!" moments with how the time travel and the unraveling going ons, just so good!
The dub cast was perfect to me, just good chemistry and delivery all round. Just bless them for doing so many tearful and emotional going ons. Did a good job of just me feeling so bad for the main lead to suffer like that. Many times I felt like I shouldn't be seeing someone suffer effects of something like PTSD. Rare times I would just say, "Just stop going for the best route, your suffering too much". One of the best media for me to really feel like this. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15523 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Finished a little late, but Kandagawa Jet Girls finished at its 12th episode. Generally watched uncensored version, the occasional bare breast making it at least a little more interesting for me. Finishing the show, I am not really sure what the point was, in general the setting of this show has felt like some sort of game, an only hypothetical of mechanics that would justify the ridiculous sport.
Maybe give some credit for a few of its characters, although the weeaboo girls, foreigners that have odd traits like wearing a Naruto headband have a small touch of authentic awareness that kind of hurts. The interesting pair being the gyaru girl, that could get certain ideas of. But really nothing super impressive, I do think that it was best when it let itself be the silliest, such as the episode they go looking for a monster. I still do not understand what the point was that they would shoot and make each others swimsuits come off, really only fanservice. Generally it felt kind of pointless, but will also say that it was kind of easy to watch that at least watching uncensored you get to see a bit of nipples. My rating is Not really good (4/10), but not a total waste of time if you want something mostly inoffensive with a bit of fanservice. |
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Haterater
Posts: 1727 |
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Watch Erased, and oh my, I just LOVE this one. I'm such a sucker for the antagonist type and the plotting that went with things. Just love this one all the way through. VAs for the protagonist and antagonist was great, and I love rewatching certain scenes over and over.
Also watch Anohana, and nearly cried at the last episode. Just that raw emotion and realization on things. I felt like this anime was very real with its process of loss and how to deal and cope with it. Props to the VAs as well, along with the writing and direction. Really taken to heart with it. |
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