Let's talk anime.

Mantid wrote:

So, Samurai Flamenco...

Spoiler:

All the result of accidentally getting the extremely rare wish granting power of the magic word Flamenco? This was not the explanation or payoff I wanted...

Eh, I really can't imagine any satisfying explanation for all the weird crap that's happened so far.

Spoiler:

Wish-Granting Hypercube Space God is good enough I guess.

Besides, who knows what bizarre new twist they'll add in the next episode.

LarryC wrote:

Log Horizon is really bringing it in a "Whoa, that happened," sort of way. Mega spoilers.

Spoiler:

So. Not only does Ri Gan know what Shiroe did - he probably planted the idea in Shiroe's head and Shiroe kind of knows it. So the question is, what's Ri Gan's game? Is he also behind the World Magic cast in Minami, or is he racing against another Sage?

Not sure how much of the Festival episode was moe and how much was set-up. Establishing a love rivalry between Akatsuki and Minori feels like it could have a big payoff later on.

Spoiler:

I was really annoyed at the couples cake eating event set-up, but I was happy with how they treated it in the end. Despite the set-up itself being very trope-ish each of the girls generally handled themselves in an adult fashion and actually talked about their feelings and expressed them to others. It's a big relief not to have a clearly foreshadowed embarrassing moment coming but instead have people actually dealing with their feelings / struggles. I was worried for a moment.

The reveal that there is a 3rd party out there passing on knowledge of what Shiroe did to the People of the Land in order to destabilize things is very interesting. For the first time we are seeing what amounts to an intelligent actor behind the scenes playing against the adventurers (and now against Shiroe in particular).

Spoiler:

I'm really interested in how the interactions between other major hubs like Minami will be like. With the ability to create new things and a supposedly random selection of people from modern times... what advances will they come up with other than food and steam power.

I don't understand the love triangle plot line. I don't see its purpose unless Minori does something stupid because of her feelings, and I don't know what that would be.

Golden Time

Spoiler:

I love this show. Its by the same writer as Toradora which makes me wish I saw it earlier. I love the designs of Linda and Koko. I wish that the intro played a bit more on who was going to end up with who. They spell it out that Banari is going to end up with Koko. I believe that Koko is a fairly designed character. She would be the hardest to get right. She has to be flawed and has to have some character to her. Linda is a nice contrast to her. She is sort of a reflection of Banari of sorts as well. Linda's design to me is a little too plain. She is very pretty in the first episode to the point where in the later ones she is more plain.

manta173 wrote:
Spoiler:

I'm really interested in how the interactions between other major hubs like Minami will be like. With the ability to create new things and a supposedly random selection of people from modern times... what advances will they come up with other than food and steam power.

I don't understand the love triangle plot line. I don't see its purpose unless Minori does something stupid because of her feelings, and I don't know what that would be.

Spoiler:

Normally I would just dismiss it as a light hearted change of pace, but I thought the end of that episode was rather well done. If anything, we get to see more character development in Minori. She's growing not just in terms of her knowledge and skill, but also as a person. I hope it also means we get to see a little more depth from Akatsuki, with Minori possibly helping push her beyond the role she seems stuck in.

karmajay wrote:

I've added Witch Craft Works to my queue. Fun stuff!

It is! It still feels like the animation* and dialogue could be better though.
*by which I mean there should be more awesome fights and the characters should actually talk more-not at the same time, obviously-and have more screen time and advance the plot.

Dunno why, perhaps because I don't have a sister and I grew up with American sitcoms where heart-warming brother-sister moments were saved for the end of the episode and the natural bro-sis state was fighting, but I get a kick out of jealous sisters (like in Witch Craft Works). Anyone have more of that?

oilypenguin wrote:

I don't know what Hamataro is, but I have decided that it is most likely about hamsters.

You're thinking of Hamtaro, and yes, it is to be avoided.

Theory on Log Horizon, don't tell me if I'm right or not, but

Spoiler:

Betcha that the Knights of Izumo are in control of the player's bodies back in the real world

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Kill la Kill - Far From the Madding Crowd was just amazing.

OMG yes after the rough start through episode 7 this show has been AWESOME!

I really hope they do something unconventional to the show, what that is i don't know. Maybe Ryouko really becomes the bad guy after she kills Ragyo, and Satsuke becomes the heroine. Or Moka puts on one of the Kamui's. I dunno just don't do what I expect (the two girls fight, sanity is restored, okay back to killing off momma)

RolandofGilead wrote:

Theory on Log Horizon, don't tell me if I'm right or not, but

Spoiler:

Betcha that the Knights of Izumo are in control of the player's bodies back in the real world

Oh snap!!!

Spoiler:

I was thinking that they could have been the mods... but those were also evident in the things that stop fighting in town.... Your idea is much better.

That's crazy, you're crazy. What a violation that would be.

manta173 wrote:
Spoiler:

I'm really interested in how the interactions between other major hubs like Minami will be like. With the ability to create new things and a supposedly random selection of people from modern times... what advances will they come up with other than food and steam power.

I don't understand the love triangle plot line. I don't see its purpose unless Minori does something stupid because of her feelings, and I don't know what that would be.

"Student of the Mage" and the general arc of that character interaction suggests that Minori will evolve and grow to eventually be very Shiroe-like, but in her own way. A full-circle of this is eventually for Shiroe to call her for help at a critical point down the line, and for her to create her own new kind of magic. This love triangle thing is just more dramatic texture being built up for that dramatic sequence so that she and Akatsuki and Shiroe have History.

Dang Wizard Barristers ep.8!

Cayne wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Kill la Kill - Far From the Madding Crowd was just amazing.

OMG yes after the rough start through episode 7 this show has been AWESOME!

I really hope they do something unconventional to the show, what that is i don't know. Maybe Ryouko really becomes the bad guy after she kills Ragyo, and Satsuke becomes the heroine. Or Moka puts on one of the Kamui's. I dunno just don't do what I expect (the two girls fight, sanity is restored, okay back to killing off momma)

It turns out the Life Fibers were actually protecting Earth from the evil Anti-Fibers. Ryuko and Satsuki team up to create a galaxy-sized Senketsu which incorporates Ragyo's severed head somehow. Guts rapidly evolves into a weird dog-man and saves everybody.

Why do I HAVE to watch the ending song sequence of Witch Craft Works every time?

karmajay wrote:

Why do I HAVE to watch the ending song sequence of Witch Craft Works every time?

because fancy crisis!

Oh WCW and Log Horizon, LH is better, because despite the slow pacing of both, sh*t happens in LH and people interact with each other, or at least in ways that haven't become monotonous, or rather, I can tell that things happen in the minds of LH characters.

Which reminds me, when the hell is someone going to do the anti-Harem? The guy's a manipulative jerk, pits the harem against each other, and beds them as soon and as often as he can. No, wait, that sounds like a terrible idea and that's why it hasn't been done. I'm just tired of them having the heart of gold and morals of Superman, of course without that, not as many people would like them. sh*t, I can't find a way out of this box.

JohnKillo wrote:

Golden Time

Spoiler:

I love this show. Its by the same writer as Toradora which makes me wish I saw it earlier. I love the designs of Linda and Koko. I wish that the intro played a bit more on who was going to end up with who. They spell it out that Banari is going to end up with Koko. I believe that Koko is a fairly designed character. She would be the hardest to get right. She has to be flawed and has to have some character to her. Linda is a nice contrast to her. She is sort of a reflection of Banari of sorts as well. Linda's design to me is a little too plain. She is very pretty in the first episode to the point where in the later ones she is more plain.

I really like that the characters are all fairly flawed. The plainer the character the more grounded in reality they are, where the more attractive characters have character flaws that level them out. I'm very curious how this show will end, as I feel pretty attached to the characters at this point.

JohnKillo wrote:

Golden Time

Spoiler:

I love this show. Its by the same writer as Toradora which makes me wish I saw it earlier. I love the designs of Linda and Koko. I wish that the intro played a bit more on who was going to end up with who. They spell it out that Banari is going to end up with Koko. I believe that Koko is a fairly designed character. She would be the hardest to get right. She has to be flawed and has to have some character to her. Linda is a nice contrast to her. She is sort of a reflection of Banari of sorts as well. Linda's design to me is a little too plain. She is very pretty in the first episode to the point where in the later ones she is more plain.

I really like that the characters are all fairly flawed. The plainer the character the more grounded in reality they are, where the more attractive characters have character flaws that level them out. I'm very curious how this show will end, as I feel pretty attached to the characters at this point.

RolandofGilead wrote:

Which reminds me, when the hell is someone going to do the anti-Harem? The guy's a manipulative jerk, pits the harem against each other, and beds them as soon and as often as he can. No, wait, that sounds like a terrible idea and that's why it hasn't been done. I'm just tired of them having the heart of gold and morals of Superman, of course without that, not as many people would like them. sh*t, I can't find a way out of this box.

It has been done, the anime is called School Days, and in the end it's one of the most disturbing things I've ever watched.

RolandofGilead wrote:
karmajay wrote:

Why do I HAVE to watch the ending song sequence of Witch Craft Works every time?

because fancy crisis!

Oh WCW and Log Horizon, LH is better, because despite the slow pacing of both, sh*t happens in LH and people interact with each other, or at least in ways that haven't become monotonous, or rather, I can tell that things happen in the minds of LH characters.

Which reminds me, when the hell is someone going to do the anti-Harem? The guy's a manipulative jerk, pits the harem against each other, and beds them as soon and as often as he can. No, wait, that sounds like a terrible idea and that's why it hasn't been done. I'm just tired of them having the heart of gold and morals of Superman, of course without that, not as many people would like them. sh*t, I can't find a way out of this box.

I actually find the so-called male protagonists of most harem-type anime to be borderlinde creepy "nice-guy" types. To a certain extent, Ted in How I Met Your Mother exemplifies the archetype - indecisive, melodramatic, manipulative, and entitled.

Elycion wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

Which reminds me, when the hell is someone going to do the anti-Harem? The guy's a manipulative jerk, pits the harem against each other, and beds them as soon and as often as he can. No, wait, that sounds like a terrible idea and that's why it hasn't been done. I'm just tired of them having the heart of gold and morals of Superman, of course without that, not as many people would like them. sh*t, I can't find a way out of this box.

It has been done, the anime is called School Days, and in the end it's one of the most disturbing things I've ever watched.

Gaw! *Shrivels up at the mention of School Days*

I'm all for the ending of School Days (I know I've mentioned my love of yandere here before), but I seriously loathed nearly every character in School Days. I was like watching a train wreck, and I hoped it took everyone out in the process.

LarryC wrote:

I actually find the so-called male protagonists of most harem-type anime to be borderlinde creepy "nice-guy" types. To a certain extent, Ted in How I Met Your Mother exemplifies the archetype - indecisive, melodramatic, manipulative, and entitled.

Spoilered for Log Horizon just in case (although I consider it minor and not plot related.)

Spoiler:
Jolly Bill wrote:

Same here. I personally really hate that trope. Especially combined with some of the others. It's one thing to say Akatsuki looks young, but is really in grad school. That gave Shiroe and Naotsugu conniptions at the beginning of the show. Now an ACTUAL child is interested in Shiroe and for some reason nobody bats an eye? Bleagh. I suppose you could say Shiroe is oblivious and nobody but Minori's brother knows about her infatuation but it really doesn't sit well with me. Like I said, at least she treated it in a semi adult manner and talked to her brother about it.

Yeah, that is a bit of an issue to me as well, I wish Akatsuki was an adult looking character. Minori is not so much of an issue, because I feel he doesn't consider it that way. She didn't seem to realize any feelings were there other than her wanting to protect him from the bad perception he was accumulating until she realized something was there with Akatsuki.

LarryC wrote:

I actually find the so-called male protagonists of most harem-type anime to be borderlinde creepy "nice-guy" types. To a certain extent, Ted in How I Met Your Mother exemplifies the archetype - indecisive, melodramatic, manipulative, and entitled.

Spoiler:

Same here. I personally really hate that trope. Especially combined with some of the others. It's one thing to say Akatsuki looks young, but is really in grad school. That gave Shiroe and Naotsugu conniptions at the beginning of the show. Now an ACTUAL child is interested in Shiroe and for some reason nobody bats an eye? Bleagh. I suppose you could say Shiroe is oblivious and nobody but Minori's brother knows about her infatuation but it really doesn't sit well with me. Like I said, at least she treated it in a semi adult manner and talked to her brother about it.

Spoiler:

I think no one's concerned about it because Shiroe doesn't know and he's not going to reciprocate anyway. It's a teacher-crush.

I've often been disturbed by the preoccupation with appearance in Japanese and American sensibilities. I have no problems with Akatsuki looking the way she does, and if some men find child-like bodies sexually arousing, then that's their thing and it ain't nobody else's business to dictate - so long as they only conduct relationships with adult women, they're fine.

And yes, I know of a number of friends and acquaintances who have the faces and bodies of 12 year old girls at 40. One of my friends just stopped getting constantly carded at a bar this year and she's 36.

It's not the body that's the issue. It's the mind. A well-endowed woman of 20 with the mental capacity of a 6-year-old is still a no-no.

I'd care less about it if they didn't make a BIG DEAL about appearance in one case and completely ignore it in the case where it's actually true. Both girls are presented as fairly adult and they wear nice functional clothes for their class roles. Their body types / appearances really don't bother me at all. It's really the inconsistency that kills me.

I'm still curious in LH if they are going to do a time lapse at some point, cause i'm curious if age=levels and if so when all the sub 40 kids start leveling up if they get older as a result.

Heh system message:

SYS OP: You have hit the level cap of 40.
Player:"What why level cap is 90!"
SYS OP: Your player age is under 18 therefore you are restricted in level"
Player:"FFFFUUUUUU"

How many shows is Samurai Flamenco going to be before it's done? WTF IS HAPPENING.

casual_alcoholic wrote:
JohnKillo wrote:

Golden Time

Spoiler:

I love this show. Its by the same writer as Toradora which makes me wish I saw it earlier. I love the designs of Linda and Koko. I wish that the intro played a bit more on who was going to end up with who. They spell it out that Banari is going to end up with Koko. I believe that Koko is a fairly designed character. She would be the hardest to get right. She has to be flawed and has to have some character to her. Linda is a nice contrast to her. She is sort of a reflection of Banari of sorts as well. Linda's design to me is a little too plain. She is very pretty in the first episode to the point where in the later ones she is more plain.

I really like that the characters are all fairly flawed. The plainer the character the more grounded in reality they are, where the more attractive characters have character flaws that level them out. I'm very curious how this show will end, as I feel pretty attached to the characters at this point.

I agree.

The new episode 21 is out and holy shoot. I want the next couple of episodes now.

casual_alcoholic wrote:

How many shows is Samurai Flamenco going to be before it's done? WTF IS HAPPENING.

22, from what I hear. So only three left.

Spoiler:

Obviously Hazama wants to help Goto, so his Flamenco wish-granting powers is created a great child conspiracy!

Assuming they don't throw another twist in the plot... like that would happen! :p

Mantid wrote:
casual_alcoholic wrote:

How many shows is Samurai Flamenco going to be before it's done? WTF IS HAPPENING.

22, from what I hear. So only three left.

Spoiler:

Obviously Hazama wants to help Goto, so his Flamenco wish-granting powers is created a great child conspiracy!

Assuming they don't throw another twist in the plot... like that would happen! :p

Spoiler:

The Goto reveal was fairly sad. It's kind of funny the main plot just goes and goes, yet the characters feel fairly grounded from where they started. So they can do this sad side story and reveal about this broken friend and a girlfriend that doesn't exist, and yet it's the only story that doesn't feel out of place.

On the upside, he has Japan's #1 female idol in love with him, and he helped save the world. Most crazy guys don't have that going for them.

Kill la Kill - The characters in this show never do what I think they're going to do/want them to do, and I can't tell if it bothers me or if I appreciate the surprise.

Edit to Kill la Kill:

Spoiler:

I had to re-watch the ending. I thought she ripped it off and said now she wouldn't be able to wear Senketsu again, aka she permanently damaged herself so she'd never be able to wear a Kamui. It was the total opposite though, so now I'm happy. Funny how reading one line differently can change everything.

Kill la Kill is just epic.

I wanna post this silly comment from another forum. There is a guy in their anime thread that watches a bunch of anime and posts his thoughts. issue: he just doesn't get anime no matter how much he watches. here is latest bash on the latest episode.

Spoiler:

Some guy on another forum: It is a shame, I do think that the writing has improved and gotten better, but is nullified by how choppy the animation is. THEN THERE WAS THE END OF THIS WEEK'S EPISODE. No. I do not buy it. I barely bought life fibers having shape shifting properties, but now they can go into someone's memories AND someone else with them BY GOING INTO SOMEONE ELSE'S BODY? No, hell no, f**k no, s**t no, nope nope nope NOPE. Oh and no AGAIN. You cannot justify it by being that blunt with it unless Ryuko's body has dimensional or spatial properties, which was never demonstrated or spoken about. Clearly Trigger believes its audience is stupid.

Grenn wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

So, if I'm getting back into anime a bit, how do y'all feel about Sword Art Online

Everybody loved the first half. The second half turned what we loved about the first half on its ear. But the battles still looked bad ass. There is tentative hope for the next season.

Aside from shuffling things around so they're shown chronologically, it's a pretty faithful adaptation of the novels.