Forum - View topicWhat are you watching right now? Why? (please read 1st post)
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Errinundra
Moderator
 Posts: 6590 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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Kyousogiga had a strange release history. It started out as a 1 episode ONA in December 2011; was expanded to a 5 episode ONA beginning in August 2012; and ended up as 10 episode TV series from October 2013. Each new release was an expansion of the previous release, covering the same characters and story. In fact, much of the TV series re-uses scenes from the previous ONA. The story of an artist/priest whose pictures come to life, the god who falls in love with him, their withdrawal into a world of the artist's creation, and the burden this creates for his children and grandchildren is arcane and chaotic, but saved by its wonderful visuals and the various characters, especially the granddaughter protagonist. The original ONA is incomprehensible but gobs of fun (rating: good), the extended ONA still requires some thought to understand (very good), while the TV series, which is all you need to watch, wraps it up nicely (excellent). I must admit to being surprised Toei could put out something like this.
A Lull in the Sea. Another beautiful PA Works anime, whose fantasy Japan might have a modern setting but it's one where people also live in the sea - they can move, breathe and talk under water as if the water were nothing but air. The visuals and the epic scenario are weighed down by dull characters and, until the last few episodes, a narrative that failed to get me engaged. Rating: good - worth watching for what it does well. Free! Eternal Summer. Swimming anime notable for the characters' unconvincing and overwrought emotions and for the, admittedly refreshing for anime, fanservice homage to the male body. The highlight for me is the penultimate episode when Rin takes Haru to Australia to re-kindle his competitive spirit. KyoAni employed an American, William Winkler, to find Australian voice actors for the Japanese dub. I can't understate what a joy it is to hear Australian voices in an anime. My favourite is the hotel concierge who give the two boys a hard time. I've met and worked with so many young Australian women like her - tough as nails, good at her job but, perhaps, could do with a bit more empathy. Winkler himself appears as an Australian swimmer and, unsurprisingly, makes a total hack of the Australian accent. Equally unsurprisingly, I can't bring myself to watch the American dub. Rating: decent. Akame Ga Kill. Dreadfully boring, even if tongue-in-cheek, shounen fight anime. Not funny, not clever and not a single interesting character. Rating: weak. 
The Sydney hotel in Free! became a tourist mecca for Japanese fans; and the key rings collectors' items. |
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Flash33
 Posts: 78 Location: Florida |
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Recently watched Farming Life in Another World. I tried watching it last year but got bored after the first episode so I didn't bother watching the next. Fast forward to a week or so ago I decided to give it another chance and it honestly turned out better than I thought it'd be. While I do think some plot points move a bit too fast for my liking it's an overall solid show and one I could see myself coming back to in the future, especially if it gets a second season.
I also recently watched Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill. I felt it was a pretty good show, and Sui is cute and adorable (shoutout to VA Bryn Apprill for her performance as them), though I did find Mukoda's constant cowardice annoying (it reminded me of Zenitsu from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba though not nearly as bad). I have read that he apparently gets better as the series goes on but as of a 12 episode season 1 that can definitely be a turnoff for some people. Overall it was decent. Another show I watched was Grimgar: Ashes and Illusions. While I wouldn't call it one of my favorites I did feel it was solid all around with characters that felt human and a solid dub cast as well. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing a season 2 should one ever be produced. |
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Ggultra2764
 Subscriber Posts: 3976 Location: New York state. |
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Over the past couple weeks, been watching the first TV anime of Chie the Brat. Had pre-ordered it from Discotek's May slate and been a solid early 80s comedy series involving the antics of Chie, her father, the cats, and a number of the other occupants of the small city they live in. The show has some standard gags it follows with Chie putting up with her father's gambling habits, father Tetsu being a hapless gambler and roughing up local thugs, and the two main cats of focus, Kotetsu and Antonio, observing the behavior of their human owners and usually getting into their fair share of fights with other animals and humans. But the show knows to keep things engaging with its humor offering some gradual developments and progression with its characters to keep things from getting stagnant with the show's premise. Will admit it's been a little rough for me lately to get into any early 1980s anime of interest due to any offerings I come across either feeling too formulaic or overdramatized for my taste. But Chie the Brat offers enough to keep me engaged and currently up to episode 55 of it. Looking to finish it up sometime in the next few days.
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6590 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I watched a trio of 2016 series.
Flying Witch. Iyashikei (not to be confused with isekai) is becoming one of my favourite anime genres & this is a very good example. A trainee witch moves in with her farming relatives and that's about the sum total of the narrative. There's some magic and day to day activities and a wholesome, relaxing atmosphere. I was so comprehensively drawn in, the episodes flew by (yuk yuk). Shout out to the hosts' young daughter who frequently steals the show. Rating: very good. Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars. Gorgeous visuals and dynamic fight scenes cannot lift this giant mecha show beyond its poor characterisation and creaky plot. The mecha pilots are uber-moe, which may have been fashionable at the time but it just doesn't fit the narrative or the combat tonally. It simply creates a barrier between the characters and the viewer. I didn't care about the characters, so the whole thing dragged. And, whenever an anime villain does this, I cringe. Frieren got away with it, but it was special. 
Rating: weak. Sound! Euphonium 2
Beautifully animated and directed but, unlike Regalia, the characters and the relationships between them were examined in detail. I love how director Naoko Yamada uses body language - especially feet - as much as dialogue or facial expressions to provide a sort of commentary on the emotional state of the characters. As suggested by SpasticMinnow I watched the first arc and then re-watched Liz and the Bluebird. The result was I upgraded my rating of Liz and the Bluebird to masterpiece. Season 2 rating: very good. 
Friendship: Flying Witch (left); Sound! Euphonium (right). @Ggultra2764 I also ordered Chie the Brat from the US but I haven't got around to watching it yet. The film - also directed by Isao Takahata - is terrific. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 24205 |
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I'm 9 episodes into watching Patlabor the TV series and loving it. The story telling chops of this 35 year old show have not aged one bit. As a lover of cel animation, what anime viewers brought up on CGI would no doubt consider a "retro" look is also very appealing to me. You do get reminded of the age of the show when they, for example, have a storyline about a Soviet defector. I watched the original Patlabor OVAs years ago and have a memory of liking them, but not really remembering what happened. I suspect after watching the TV series, the New Files, rewatching movies 1 & 2 and watching 3 for the first time, I'll probably go back and "rewatch" the original OVAs. I notice that the first three episodes have directory commentaries from Mamoru Oshii which I may not have listened to the first time around. Will definitely check those out.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar  Posts: 16967 |
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This makes me get a bit of a hankering to whip out my old dvd's. I always felt it deserved more praise then it seemed to get. |
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Beltane70
 Posts: 3979 |
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I absolutely adore Flying Witch! The one and only complaint that I have about the show is the fact that it only has one season. I've been reading the manga ever since I saw the TV series back in 2016 and there's plenty of material for another season. My personal favorite character is the main character's older sister who is also a witch. I also love the fact that the older sister share's the same birthday as me, the first of May!
I'm currently watching the series, too! As of yesterday, I've finished up to episode 18. The funny thing about watching the series now is the fact that it takes place 24 years ago, meaning that Noa Izumi would now be almost 46 years old! |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24205 |
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@ Beltane - I chuckle at the ED where it says, "Right now this is fiction, but in 10 years... who knows?" Sorry, folks, it's still fiction way more than 10 years later. Oh and put me down as another big fan of The Flying Witch.
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6590 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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If we got another season I wouldn't wait 8 years this time. There's so much good anime out there I feel I'm endlessly trying to catch up. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 24205 |
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I'm now 17 episodes into my Patlabor the TV series watch and continuing to love it. I'd be further along except the Patlabor volumes offer "Sneak Peeks" at other titles and one of those was for a movie called Harmagedon. The title sounded familiar, so I checked my collection and lo and behold I do indeed have a DVD copy. It's CPM's second version of its 20th Anniversary release. I'm committed to whittling down my unwatched physical backlog so I thought, "eh, what's 2 hours and 13 minutes out of my life?"
Turns out that way back in the day when Justin Sevakis had his "Buried Garbage" column, he featured Harmagedon as a topic, which probably gives you a clue to its quality. animenewsnetwork.com/buried-treasure/2009-01-08/buried-garbage-harmagedon Justin does a much better job of encapsulating the movie's many weakness and few strengths so I won't belabour the point. While the movie doesn't stand up as a piece of enjoyable entertainment, I do derive a certain academic interest in viewing it as an artifact, so I didn't find it a waste of time. And I'm sure I have far worse waiting for me in my collection of OVAs and movies... |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3976 Location: New York state. |
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Watching Season 2 of Yuruyuri right now. I bought the first two seasons of the series earlier in the year due to curiosity for the most part since it had been years since I last bought anything coming from NIS America. For the most part, underwhelmed with the series in general since it has the typical humor you'd expect from a "cute girls doing cute things" style comedy involving the chemistry and personality quirks of its female cast, with yuri undertones sprinkled throughout with some of the character pairings.
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Flash33
Posts: 78 Location: Florida |
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Mission: Yozakura Family. For a spy show I like how all the family members bring their own skill sets to the table and truly love each other as a family despite their odd quirks. Taiyou and Mutsumi are also a nice couple, both supportive, protective and encouraging each other while also not being total pushovers. The twist in if memory serves E10 was also surprising and I'm curious how long it'll take before that's addressed.
Wistoria: Wand and Sword. It's interesting how it starts with Will already in his sixth year rather than his first like many other shows would do, shows how he's able to succeed and stay in school despite being magicless and that despite most of the school hating him for being magicless he still has people who support him such as Colette, Elfaria and Workner. I recently watched E6 and look forward to seeing how the Will/Julius fight plays out. Beast Tamer: I've seen this show multiple times and really enjoy it. I do think E1 would've benefitted from showing Rain and the Hero's Party together more prior to him being kicked out (a flaw the manga also shares) like how Ningen Fushin did but overall it's a solid show with each of the main cast being equally important. While Rain does get stronger with each contracted ultimate species it's shown he trains to master his new powers with help from the girls. If a second season was ever made (with an English dub of course which btw the Eng voice cast is solid all around) I'd definitely watch it for sure. Last edited by Flash33 on Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:48 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11616 |
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Just finished Terminator Zero. If you like the franchise, this is a fine addition to it, certainly better than the last few movies. Production I.G. pulled out the stops and with character designs by some of the Psycho Pass crew, it looks great. It's also got a pretty great soundtrack. Not quite as dynamic as the Cameron films, but heavily borrows the same gloom-and-doom ambiance for nostalgia points.
I thought they did a pretty good job of meshing this with existing franchise lore, and handled the time travel foundation very well. There are quite a few scenes that are just echoes of iconic images as well (like stealing clothes, or Terminator raiding the police station, disguised as motorcycle cop). You'll know 'em when you see 'em. That was fun, and felt like honest homage rather than cribbing. And I lol'ed at the wink to spoiler[The Thing With Two Heads]. 
If I have one criticism, it's that the Terminators in this are all kinda fugly. They ain't no Arnold or Robert Patrick.  I mean, I'm glad they didn't look like either, and they don't need to be GQ cover boys, but there are no shortage of facial types to draw from that don't look downright homely.
Yeah, go watch it. Very bingeable. |
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Ggultra2764
Subscriber Posts: 3976 Location: New York state. |
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Currently watching Delicious in Dungeon. Must admit I've been a bit hooked on this since starting it up a few days ago with the unique premise it offers up for a fantasy-adventure series with Laios' party dabbling into feasting on the remains of slain monsters. This offers up both moments of humor from the shock and disgust that Laios' companions have toward his casual desire to eat monsters and a unique focus on exploring the physiology of the various monsters encountered. Also doesn't hurt that the series takes time to offer up world building with the dungeon that the party treks through and providing some focus on each member of the the group. As of right now, halfway through the series at episode 12 and looking forward to what else this series has to offer up.
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Errinundra
Moderator
Posts: 6590 Location: Melbourne, Oz |
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I was planning to watch Angels of Death from the backlog on my shelves and decided to watch 3 more anime from 2018 to bring my total seen for that year up to 20. I didn't have any more on my shelves so I decided to pick 3 popular shows to stream. The ANN encyclopaedia search engine isn't working at the moment, so I went to MAL's (which isn't as simple to use) where I chose the 3 highest ranked shows I'd not already seen (obviously), weren't a sequel of something I hadn't seen, and were available to watch on Crunchyroll. Including Angels of Death, none were shows that, on the surface, would appeal to me. Three of them I still wouldn't rate highly but neither were they a waste of time.
Angels of Death. Rachel Gardner is a traumatised young patient in a psychiatric hospital after witnessing her parents' murder. After being interviewed by a seemingly kind doctor she wakes up in an multi-level underground maze along with a bunch of psychopaths. She strikes up an unusual relationship with one of the psychos, Zack, and the two of them try to find their way out using her smarts and his predilection for extreme violence. This was a blind buy some 3 years ago. With such purchases I watch the first episode when it arrives, which usually determines how enthusiastic I am about watching it. At the time it seemed trashy & gratuitously vicious. With the help of Steve Jones's episode reviews I found it more fun than I expected. Of course... it's meant to be trashy. Two things stood out: the amusing, unlikely and kind of endearing development of trust between Rachel and Zack; and my realisation that the heroine is quite villainous herself. In the last third, It runs out of steam. Rating: decent. Teasing Master Takagi-san. I went into this thinking Master Takagi-san was the victim of school yard vendetta but, no, Miss Takagi-san is the verbal nemesis of the hapless Nishikata. Again, I was dubious at first, as it seemed it may be premised on Japan's liking for cruelty in their humour. It was saved by 3 things: Nishikata always started the verbal jousts and duly earned his comeuppance; Takagi-san is a very appealing character (Just admit it to yourself, Nishikata!); and, yeah, the two are actually sweet on each other. It's a fun rom-com. Rating: very good. It's the best of this bunch. 
Takagi-san, the master of teasing. Asobi Asobase -workshop of fun-. The opening credits give the impression this is a CGDGT but the show itself quickly dispels that misapprehension. They 3 girls of the after school Pastime club are idiotic, crass and cruel. The show pushes ideas into hyperbolic absurdity and is occasionally hilarious, although not often enough to be rated above decent. That Time I Gor Reincarnated as a Slime. Lucky for Rimuru his average life as a salaryman in Japan is curtailed by a knife attack, allowing him to be reincarnated as an all-powerful slime in an a fantasy world. I liked how the show wasted as little time as possible on shounen-style fighting, and concentrated on Rimuru's skills as a diplomat and person manager. The problem is the perfunctory battle scenes were symptomatic of everything else about the show: it flitted from one thing to another without ever allowing the viewer to get deeply invested by anybody or anything. It was just a bland but sweet confection. Rating; so-so. My top 6 2018 shows are: 1. Maquia - When the Promised Flower Blooms 2. Liz and the Blue Bird 3. Violet Evergarden (TV) 4. Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai 5. A Place Further Than the Universe 6. Teasing Master Takagi-san Given I've only watched 20 anime from a year in which hundreds of anime were produced, it probably isn't a reliable guide to the best of the year. Anyway, I've finally begun playing?/reading? Fate / stay night Remastered on Steam. After 5 hours I've completed the Prologue (equivalent to episode 00 of F/SN Unlimited Bladeworks) and haven't yet met Sabre in the Fate route, ie I'm still in episode 1 of the original TV series. This is going to take a while. |
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