Anime?

[Sera]

No good anime, or better said, anime according to my taste are airing now.

 

Mushi-shi, Zoku Shou (Mushi shi Second season) was perhaps, the best one I have seen this year.

 

Same. I'm afraid my tastes changed, I became more exigent and annoying or something.

 

__

To be honest, I haven't watched many animes lately, besides Mushi-shi the only other one I kinda liked was Zankyou no Terror, though this one is from 2014. The characterization made up for a couple of plot holes, and the beautiful style was a plus.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Sera

[nicocoberru]

But, SAO II is pretty good.  At least, if you liked the first arc of SAO, you'll most likely like SAO II.  The first arc focuses on Kirito and does a good job putting some of the tension back in the show that I felt was lost in the ALO arc, there's a forgettable 3-episode mini-arc, then the second arc focuses on Asuna, which I thought was pretty well done, too.

Um, I actually liked SAO so much that I got impatient waiting for Season 2 that I read the LN. I think, the last I got was until the start of the Underworld Arc? I think the rranslators stop translating? Which is a shame sine I also liked Accel World. The thing is though, unless I really, really, /really/ love the story, I generally don't watch the anime of a manga that I've already read.

Also. Maybe unrelated, but for some reason I saw a picture of Mikasa (Snk) today and went "Hey, she looks like Vin!"

There's similarities, I think. Good fighter, short black hair. IDK, I might be streching.

Edited October 15, 2015 by nicocoberru

[Hood]

Same. I'm afraid my tastes changed, I became more exigent and annoying or something.

 

__

To be honest, I haven't watched many animes lately, besides Mushi-shi the only other one I kinda liked was Zankyou no Terror, though this one is from 2014. The characterization made up for a couple of plot holes, and the beautiful style was a plus.

 

I thought about watching this series many times, only to forget later. Thanks. I think it will be a fine show; after all Shinchiro Watanabe is its director.

[Pestis the Spider]

 

Same. I'm afraid my tastes changed, I became more exigent and annoying or something.

 

__

To be honest, I haven't watched many animes lately, besides Mushi-shi the only other one I kinda liked was Zankyou no Terror, though this one is from 2014. The characterization made up for a couple of plot holes, and the beautiful style was a plus.

 

I thought about watching this series many times, only to forget later. Thanks. I think it will be a fine show; after all Shinchiro Watanabe is its director.

Yes. Everyone please watch Zankyou no Terror and tell me what you think. I watched it quite some time ago, but I still don't know what to think about it, and my feelings are confused. I mean, it didn't excite me that much, and plot probably could've used some improvements, especially the middle episodes. I can't say it's an amazing anime. I can't say that I love it or that it is my favourite. But in the same time I easily rate this anime 10/10. I have no idea why. 

Every episode left me with extreme satisfaction (like my life was fullfiled, seriously), ending gets me crying everytime I see it (even out of context), even though I don't cry like this usually. Well, and the soundtrack is beautiful. 

 

I don't know. My thoughts about this anime confuse me. I guess I can say it's briliant but not exciting anime? Maybe 'stunning' (in very literal meaning) would be best term to describe it?   God, I don't know what to think. Someone help me. 

Edited October 15, 2015 by Pestis the Spider

[Sera]

I thought about watching this series many times, only to forget later. Thanks. I think it will be a fine show; after all Shinchiro Watanabe is its director.

 

And it's short! Perfect for watching without compromise. On a fun note, I had no clue it was directed by Watanabe until I started watching. I found the tone so familiar... It was a nice surprise.

 

 

Yes. Everyone please watch Zankyou no Terror and tell me what you think. I watched it quite some time ago, but I still don't know what to think about it, and my feelings are confused. I mean, it didn't excite me that much, and plot probably could've used some improvements, especially the middle episodes. I can't say it's an amazing anime. I can't say that I love it or that it is my favourite. But in the same time I easily rate this anime 10/10. I have no idea why. 

Every episode left me with extreme satisfaction (like my life was fullfiled, seriously), ending gets me crying everytime I see it (even out of context), even though I don't cry like this usually. Well, and the soundtrack is beautiful. 

 

I don't know. My thoughts about this anime confuse me. I guess I can say it's briliant but not exciting anime? Maybe 'stunning' (in very literal meaning) would be best term to describe it?   God, I don't know what to think. Someone help me. 

 

Hahaha, I had similar reaction! Considering how I couldn't find something grave against it my ultimate decision is "yes, I quite enjoyed it". Yes, it is satisfying to watch. Let me try to put my thoughts in order...

 

- It's beautiful, for a start.

- I think the characterization helped here. You won't find many flashy angst yelling teenagers in Zankyou, even the childish characters are collected and thoughtful. Someone like Lisa would be romanticized in another series, she'd be presented like Asuna from SAO. Nine and Twelve always have an edge of danger, if I had to compare them to a known character... I don't know, they remind me of Kelsier from Mistborn, split in two and taken in a different direction.

It was refreshing, I'm sick of anime MCs archetypes. I watched Zankyou mostly to see why the characters were doing what they were, and to see how they would act in the situations they were pushed into.

- I also appreciated the pacing. While it might annoy people used to shonens, it's the sort of pacing I'm looking for in a series. No "enemy of the week" which will fight the MCs to kill-them-yet-not-because-reasons to artificially raise the stakes.

 

_______

Hm. I'm thinking about finishing Baccano!. I started to watch when it was first aired, but never got around finishing it. It was fun. Mafia, outlaws, alchemy and supernatural elements in the 1930s (and also 1700s). It's hard to follow at the beginning though, too many characters to keep track.

 

Oh, it also has one of the most satisfying OPs I've ever seen. Can't put my finger on what made it so attractive, I suspect it was the successful pairing of the music with the animation, it set the tone just right. Squeezing 17 characters in that opening was a feat. (yes, 17. With names included.):

 

 

+Random anime suggestion:

Seirei no Moribito. It's a bit old now, from 2007, based on a fantasy novel. The protagonist is a spearwoman on her 30s, tasked with protecting the crown prince. It has a fairy-tale like tone, and slower pacing than a shonen. It was responsible for my love of spears as weapon of choice, and I actually wish it had more fights, because they're so mesmerizing.

 

Ouch.

 

[ThirdGen]

Baccano! is fantastic.  One of my favorite anime shows of all time.  It tells three stories in different years, crosscutting between them to maintain the pace, tension, and reveals with extreme precision.  It's confusing for the first episode or two, but then you adjust and it settles down a bit.  1930 - the tension between two mob families, 1931 - a train ride more interesting than you'll ever want to have, and 1932 - a girl searching for her brother.  I highly recommend finishing it (there are three OVA episodes as well that are alright, but not great.)  As you get later on into the story, you'll notice

the important character whose name isn't given

in the opening credits.

[Sera]

Baccano! is fantastic.  One of my favorite anime shows of all time.  It tells three stories in different years, crosscutting between them to maintain the pace, tension, and reveals with extreme precision.  It's confusing for the first episode or two, but then you adjust and it settles down a bit.  1930 - the tension between two mob families, 1931 - a train ride more interesting than you'll ever want to have, and 1932 - a girl searching for her brother.  I highly recommend finishing it (there are three OVA episodes as well that are alright, but not great.)  As you get later on into the story, you'll notice

the important character whose name isn't given

in the opening credits.

 

Yeah, I think I stopped watching it when this spoiler reveals its relevance. I just rewatched the first episode over lunch and realized I should have given a small content warning here: things can get bloody. They don't use it for shock value, it's linked to the plot, but still...

Edited October 16, 2015 by Sera

[Pestis the Spider]

Baccano! is fantastic.  One of my favorite anime shows of all time.  It tells three stories in different years, crosscutting between them to maintain the pace, tension, and reveals with extreme precision.  It's confusing for the first episode or two, but then you adjust and it settles down a bit.  1930 - the tension between two mob families, 1931 - a train ride more interesting than you'll ever want to have, and 1932 - a girl searching for her brother.  I highly recommend finishing it (there are three OVA episodes as well that are alright, but not great.)  As you get later on into the story, you'll notice

the important character whose name isn't given

in the opening credits.

Baccano! is amazing. I agree with every word. I think it's in general one of the best shows of all time, and is definitely in my top 3. The time-skips and number of characters make it confusing at the beginning, but I think they've done it on purpose. That's why I think it's best to actually binge-watch it all in one go. It's aboslutely worth watching.

 

 

Yeah, I think I stopped watching it when this spoiler reveals its relevance. I just rewatched the first episode over lunch and realized I should have given a small content warning here: things can get bloody. They don't use it for shock value, it's linked to the plot, but still...

If that's when you stopped watching then you still haven't seen all the best parts! I mean

this character is my fav characters of all time. Seriously. And there are so many good parts about his plot.

 

But yeah, things can get really bloody and graphic in this anime. Sometimes when I see particular scene I just feel the pain of the character. Well, it's not anime for kids, that's for sure.

 

EDIT: Actually I have Baccano! opening music set as my ringtone ever since I watched this anime, which means for years. It's kind of cool and laud, so works well as a ringtone. Though it annoys everyone around. xD

Edited October 16, 2015 by Pestis the Spider

[PeterAhlstrom]

So, after reading the recommendations here yesterday, we watched SAO Abridged last night. Yeah, it's very funny. The first episode moved much too slowly, but it got quite a bit better after that. I felt there were some missed parody opportunities in the murder investigation episode.

 

Also, it reminded us that the first arc of SAO is just so good.

 

Since Baby Steps ended, none of the current season's shows are really pushing our buttons. We're watching My Love Story about one episode a night right now, but this time last year there were about four shows a week we were really looking forward to. Now, not so much.

 

Anyway, regarding abridged series, the only ones we like are Team Four Star, YGOTAS, and now SAOA. Most of them just have too much profanity or poor production. SAOA does have a bit too much profanity but not enough to make us turn it off.

Edited October 16, 2015 by PeterAhlstrom

[Voidus]

Watching Setokai no Ichizon at the moment and enjoying it quite a bit, it was recommended to me ages ago but I thought it would be just another harem/school setting with too much fan service and no plot but it's actually pretty great, decent characters, plenty of fourth wall breaking and character asides to make it self aware enough that all the usual tropes are actually amusing.
Also, RWBY volume 3 is out soon which will be awesome, looking forward to seeing how it pans out without Monty
Also apparently there's a game for it coming out which is currently in Steam Greenlight so check it out and vote for it if you're interested.

[Sera]

Baccano! is amazing. I agree with every word. I think it's in general one of the best shows of all time, and is definitely in my top 3. The time-skips and number of characters make it confusing at the beginning, but I think they've done it on purpose. That's why I think it's best to actually binge-watch it all in one go. It's aboslutely worth watching.

 

Haha. Ideed, I felt it was better to watch it in one go. That's when I decided to wait it to finish airing. It only took me eight years to actually do that.

 

Hm, trying to remember something good to add to this topic, and I can only remember the popular shows I watched recently and didn't like. Since I don't want to be lynched...

 

Walking back in time, I quite enjoyed Attack on Titan. I had some problems with how the characters were presented—Eren is plot blackhole!—, and the contrived pessimism at some points, but the worldbuilding was so delicious I couldn't help to watch (then read) it. Oh, in the same worldbuilding vein, I loved Last Exile. Daaaw!

 

[Corax]

Oh, wow! I have two cents to add. If jumpy, sweary, or actiony anime aren't what a person is looking for, I'd recommend these three (They're all fantasy settings):

 

Kino's Journey: The main character moves through various societies, learning their ways, triumphs, and foibles. It's like a series of world-building exercises. This has the most action of the three posted here, because Kino has some serious gun-fu, while at the same time having a strong moral awareness of their use. I only wish there were more episodes.

 

Haibane Renmei: This is more of a character study. It's a bit slice-of-life, and ambient, and very introspective with a strange little closed-system community and some world-building around it. The series is often purposely vague, without obvious force-fed conclusions, but satisfying nonetheless. It uses some angelic imagery, but more for the visual feel than anything else. Of the three of these, it would be the slowest, but also the one with the most definite story arc.

 

Mushi-Shi: Of these three, this is the most well-known and has the most episodes, with two series that are both good. Again, it's ambient and slow if you prefer mecha fights, but i really like it. The main character, Ginko, travels the land and is something of a hands-on scholar of the spirit-world. Most episodes can stand alone, and there is an overall theme of living in harmony with the things in one's environment and not bearing ill will to those things that simply because they are hard to undersand. It probably been touted before here (I haven't read the entire thread) but it's my go-to recommendation to anyone who wants a quietly engaging anime. I'd certainly recommend it to Sanderfans, et al. As an additional bonus, the background art (the still art in the background of scenes) is really, very lovely.

[Hood]

Did I mention Oregairu ? The season 2 of this show was very good, in my opinion. Though, the ending left something to be desired. Still, it is highly recommended. Though, if you don't like long monologues, or characters expressing their philosophies, then it may not be that good.

 

I really liked when the teacher says to Hachiman ,"[...] People hurt each other just by their presence (or existence ?). You cannot help if someone hurts you. "

[Pestis the Spider]

Does anyone here watch Concrete Revolutio currently? It has kind of interesting art, but that's not why I'm asking. The reason is that on MAL there is lots and lots of people saying that this anime is completely confusing, because of non-linear plot (it has lots of time-skips) and only because of that they rate it very low (how can you even rate an anime after just 3 eps...), dorp it and so on. And I just can't understand how can anyone find it confusing, as I think it is all perfectly straightforward. I mean, obviously we don't know what exactly is going on, but doesn't equal the statement that "it's confusing". The same way one could say that any mystery anime is confusing, because you don't know what happened. I don't know. 

 

Does anyone here watch it? Could you share your opinion? I really like the non-linear plots, and I always enjoy time-skips, whether in book, anime, movie or anything else, so I just might be positively biased. So I just wanted to know that anyone here also thinks it's confusing. 

 

I'm not saying that it is amazing anime, or anything, because it has some problems. But just this one thing keeps bothering me, everytime I read the comments on MAL.

Edited October 20, 2015 by Pestis the Spider

[Voidus]

Does anyone here watch Concrete Revolutio currently? It has kind of interesting art, but that's not why I'm asking. The reason is that on MAL there is lots and lots of people saying that this anime is completely confusing, because of non-linear plot (it has lots of time-skips) and only because of that they rate it very low (how can you even rate an anime after just 3 eps...), dorp it and so on. And I just can't understand how can anyone find it confusing, as I think it is all perfectly straightforward. I mean, obviously we don't know what exactly is going on, but doesn't equal the statement that "it's confusing". The same way one could say that any mystery anime is confusing, because you don't know what happened. I don't know. 

 

Does anyone here watch it? Could you share your opinion? I really like the non-linear plots, and I always enjoy time-skips, whether in book, anime, movie or anything else, so I just might be positively biased. So I just wanted to know that anyone here also thinks it's confusing. 

 

I'm not saying that it is amazing anime, or anything, because it has some problems. But just this one thing keeps bothering me, everytime I read the comments on MAL.

I watched the first two I think, haven't gotten around to the third episode yet and that's probably when I'll decide if I'm going to keep watching it or drop it but I didn't find it the least bit confusing. I guess after following the time and character POV jumps in epic fantasy series you don't find it all that difficult.

[PeterAhlstrom]

So, we got to the end of episode 12 of Gate, and there was no preview. And we said wait, is that the end?! And yes, yes it is, right after a new arc was apparently starting. Ugh. This show did some interesting things and we would have gladly watched more. (Oh, thank goodness, it's coming back in January.)

 

Still, we've been struggling finding good shows right now. The only thing we're keeping up with is the new season of Haikyuu, which I'm pretty happy with—the coach is actually doing some, y'know, coaching, compared to any coaches in Yowapeda. Growth is happening. Yay.

 

Watched 3 episodes of Sound! Euphonium and I just can't take it anymore because the teacher does not teach them. I guess this is the way they do clubs in Japan, but it's too discouraging to watch.

 

Watched 1 episode of Ushio and Tora. Will give it another episode. This is an interesting character dynamic, but I'm not sure it's enough for me. The demons are tiring.

 

We're 20 episode into My Love Story, so that's near its end. Hope we can find something to replace it with. It's a good one.

 

We've done 39 episodes of World Trigger. This show is sort of like our Bleach replacement, and it comes with the same too-much-recap-in-each-episode-that-we-fast-forward. (Oddly, this show has only one credits sequence, usually in the middle of the episode, rather than an OP and an ED. It took me a long time to figure this out, that there was not ED.) Anyway, World Trigger is something we watch kind of in fits and starts. Sometimes we go weeks without watching one.

 

Watched the first episode of Gatchaman Crowds. Very strange show with odd visuals. Will not continue.

 

Watched the second episode of Akame ga Kill about a month after watching the first one. Too gory for us and won't continue.

 

We have watched 5 episodes of Classroom Crisis. Some good early stuff, now kind of on the fence.

 

Watched 2 episodes of Nobunagun a couple months ago and just can't care about it. Removing it from queue right now...

 

On a sort of related note, after Crunchyroll discontinued their app for our Panasonic TV (which was one of the reasons we had bought that TV in the first place), we borrowed a relative's Roku 3. The Roku Crunchyroll app kept dropping the resolution down to 480p or 360p, which sucked. (Our connection is about 20M.) We just got a new Apple TV and I'm much more happy with it. The interface is a little bit nicer in my book, and it doesn't lose the resolution like that. Fast-forwarding also does not make it sit and buffer for a whole minute.

[Zathoth]

Peter, Sharders, watch Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

 

Or, well, dont if violence really disturbs you, but seriously, do it.

 

Or dont, I love it to death, but it is not for everyone. Watch the first nine episodes, if nothing at all hooks you, drop it.

[Left]

Haven't watched an anime in months really. Netflix just hasn't had anything I felt like. The Seven Deadly Sins just got put on. Watched the first two episodes, not for me. Fans of Fairy Tale might like it. This afternoon on a whim I decided to start the second episode of Samurai Flamenco. The first episode didn't really hook me when I first watched it a few months ago, but I watched about six episodes this afternoon. It's pretty good, kinda a goofy superhero show. The fanservice isn't too bad, and has actually gone both ways, which at least makes it feel like the girls don't get sexualized too much. Then I notice their costumes again, and yeah, superwomen should really get more intelligent costumes.

[PeterAhlstrom]

Jojo's art style has always put me off, but I might give it a look.

[Observer]

Not sure if they've been brought up before, but if you liked Fate/Zero, I highly recommend Unlimited Blade Works and Madoka Magica.

Unlimited Blade works is the sequel to Fate/Zero and acts as a Deconstruction of the all-loving Martyr Without a Cause hero.

Madoka Magica spent several episodes where not even the VAs knew it was anything but a run-of-the-mill Magical Girl anime, and then suddenly got....fun.

 

Bokurano for those who really like psychological animes, though I warn you now that it really doesn't really care where it has to go to keep the dark atmosphere, so be warned. And Baccano! is fantastic, with great characters and the kind of anachronic-storytelling I've always been a sucker for.

[Retsam]

I've started watching Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans (which is currently airing).  I've never actually seen a serious Gundam show before (I don't think SD Gundam Force counts), but I've decided that I enjoy mecha as a genre, so I figured I'd check this one out.

 

I'm five episodes in, and it's interesting so far.  It's done some solid character and world-building, but it still feels like it's mostly just laying groundwork for the plot so far, so I can't say much for or against the plot yet.  But I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

[Blaze1616]

Not sure if they've been brought up before, but if you liked Fate/Zero, I highly recommend Unlimited Blade Works and Madoka Magica.

Unlimited Blade works is the sequel to Fate/Zero and acts as a Deconstruction of the all-loving Martyr Without a Cause hero.

Madoka Magica spent several episodes where not even the VAs knew it was anything but a run-of-the-mill Magical Girl anime, and then suddenly got....fun.

 

Just to make sure you understand (I have no idea how much you know about the various Holy Grail Wars), Unlimited Blade Works is one of the possible sequels to Fate/Zero (though technically Fate/Zero is the prequel, not the original). The other two paths that the timeline can take are known as Fate/Stay Night (otherwise known as the Fate pathway) and Heaven's Feel. All three pathways (Fate, UBW, HF, played in that order) are a visual novel titled Fate/Stay Night that was originally for the PC, then ported to the PS2 in Japan. Fate/Zero was then a light novel prequel that was written after the sequel visual novel, Fate/Hollow Ataraxia was created. Since then, the Fate pathway has been turned into a series (which had hints of the other paths too because the creators didn't know whether they'd get the chance to make the others), UBW has been turned into both a movie and a series, Fate/Zero has been turned into a series, and HF is now being turned into a movie (which frightens me).

 

I have to assume you knew this already, but the post didn't make it clear so I wanted to be sure 

[Observer]

Yeah, but I really cannot recommend the Fate route anime, and the Unlimited Blade Works movie was...mediocre at best.

Still can't wait for the Heaven's Feel movie though. Heard it'll be getting at least two, to avoid the overstuffing that happened last time.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Observer

[Blaze1616]

Yeah, but I really cannot recommend the Fate route anime, and the Unlimited Blade Works movie was...mediocre at best.

Still can't wait for the Heaven's Feel movie though. Heard it'll be getting at least two, to avoid the overstuffing that happened last time.

 

I enjoyed the Fate route anime. It's dated, but then a lot of anime is dated. Plus, I always have to give it credit for treating Caster the way the VN did (she pops in, says "I am Caster, fear me!" and then gets slaughtered by Gilgamesh Highlight for Spoilers).

 

And I worry about the HF movie(s). HF was such a brutal, dark, and twisted pathway. I'll be sad if they don't do it justice, and I'll be disturbed if they do 

[Left]

Yuki Yuna is a Hero just got added to netflix. I watched the pilot, and......it's like a really weird cross between Lagrange and Madoka Magicka Girls. I really liked both of those shows, and I think this show might have potential. There were a ton of moments where I found myself in need of a large amount of exposition. It went from school/slice of life, to a fight scene straight out of Madoka, and what was going on wasn't explained very well. Maybe it'll explain more in later episodes, but it sure doesn't feel like it will.