General Anime Thread 2018

[Hisako]

I've had this sitting in my head for quite a while, but I debated doing a giant fuckton post full of research and then that fell to the wayside as I ended up having too much shit to do this week.

Just a thread for anime (or at least, anime that doesn't have its own specific thread already) and fans in TLS. What (else) have you been watching? What do you think have been the highlights of this year? What's been great, and what's been bad in your eyes? Make recommendations, and/or warn people away!

For the muricans, non-anime stuff that shows up on the Toonami blocks eg. The Clone Wars or whatever is also cool I guess

Onwards! What I've seen!

Noragami

YouTube Video

tl;dr plot
The premise: a shitty, washed-up two-bit Japanese god attempting to make his way up in the superstar world of Japanese gods is 'saved' by a high-school girl (aren't they always) who pushes him out of the way of a speeding bus. Being a god and all, it means diddly-squat either way but, appreciating the gesture, not-quite brings her back to life.

He also spends some time attempting to replace his shinki (the spirits of dead people who died against their will, used as weapons by the gods) and then deal with his new one. He's such a shitty god his last one plain quit on him, but exactly what kind of Japanese god he is plays a key point in the plot.

The series itself does well in terms of writing by focusing on the personalities of the gods (mythologies have always been more interesting when the gods in question are smarmy shitheads/have personality flaws), though it occasionally falls flat when trying to generate sympathy for characters. Apparently obnoxious teenage boys with angst issues are just as irritating in death as they are in life.

Studio Bones does a bang-up job of adapting the manga, though by all accounts it's diverged a little by episode 12. They've made what should be a contrived, silly, clichéd shonen into a mildly enjoyable television series. I rate this four strobe lights out of a possible five recycled power-up sequences.

Kill La Kill

YouTube Video

tl;dr lolplot

There's some shit about some schoolgirl who has a sword that looks like one half of a pair of scissors. She transfers to an ultra-fascist city-state owned and run with an iron fist by the student council president (aren't they always?), in the search of the one WHO KILLED MY DAD. There's a lot of explosions and shockwaves generated by sheer willpower, and everyone calls out each other's names in the hammiest way possible.

The source of power in this Power Half-hour anime series comes from fibres called "Life Fibers" used as clothing, produced on approval by the council president. The clothing granted to students consist of anything up to 30% of these fibers. After the main character gets her ass handed to her in an obligatory hero's adventure plot progression, she stumbles across a stripperiffic schoolgirl's uniform made entirely of Life Fibers, which is, of course, fully sentient.


Speaking of recycled power-up sequences, someone needs to give Trigger an actual fucking budget so they can stop pulling shit this obvious. Fortunately it's mostly all in context and appropriate (where in this childish, hokey mess the word 'appropriate' is applied very loosely). The show itself is all entirely to be expected when one takes into account that the makers were generally the same Motherfuckers who made Gurren Lagann.

The obligatory 'dark-main-character' arc is weak and towards the end the fanservice is downright obnoxious and as un-sexy as it could ever get, but despite all that and the predictable (but not inherently awful or asspulled) plot twists, it's got good energy (the insert songs definitely help in that regard) and a fair sense of humour from start to finish. As an aside, it's been interesting seeing Hiroyuki Sawano mature over the years as a music composer - he's always had flashes of brilliance but still can't shake that style of composition better suited to 'those guys who make music for film trailers for a living'. Luckily, he fits right in this time. Not the savior of anime people claimed it would be, but a great watch, in spite of its autism (not because of it). I rate this show three child sexual abuse lawsuits out of a possible two hair-concealed nipples.

Space☆Dandy

JP OP

YouTube Video

Toonami OP

YouTube Video

tl;dr what plot?

It's about a fucking dandy guy in space. It's not hard.

There isn't actually a lot of continuity between episodes, besides the fact that the show revolves around a dandy guy in space, his companion robot and a creeper pervert cat-alien who just hangs around. Each episode has completely different hijinks from the episode before it, such like an episodic comedy show. The pilot episode, written by Shinchiro Watanabe, went over the basic premise of the characters and the show has randomly gone from subject material to subject material ever since.

Other consistent things in the show include its vibrant retro-80s-sci-fi aesthetic, a set of villains (including a uniformed gorilla, a cucumber in a lab coat, a skeleton king of cosmos) riding a spaceship that looks like the fucking Statue of Liberty wearing a ball gag, and a chain of breastaurant space stations called BooBies.


Of the Studio Bones productions of this season, Space☆Dandy took the lion's share of the budget. Directed by genre-god Shinchiro Watanabe and staffed by names behind Bebop, Champloo, Eureka 7, Stand Alone Complex, Wolf's Rain, and Code Geass (and scored by some swag Prince and/or Michael Jackson wannabe), this show generated about the same level of hype that Kill La Kill did. Like Kill La Kill, it hasn't quite hit the 'savior of anime' mark for a lot of viewers, but for different reasons entirely.

The lack of continuity is very distinct, even more so than a lot of shows that are completely nonsensical. Part of it I think is to do with the huge disparity in writing styles between episodes, which in turn might be partly due to the fact that almost all of the episodes are followed up with an episode written/directed by someone completely different. Watanabe seems to have let his creative team run wild with the show, resulting in wildly differing episodes from one week to the next. One episode covering a (wildly hilarious) zombie apocalypse spanning the entire universe was followed by a strangely personal, focused plot involving an orphaned child on a single planet. Some episodes have been straightforward, tropey-with-a-tweest seinen plots, while others have been (maybe literally) drug-induced fever dreams.

Personally for me, it's never been boring. A lot of people expected something consistently like Bebop or Champloo, but in hindsight what we got was something different completely. Each episode has surprised me to at least some degree, on some level, and more often than not has ended in a way that I did not expect. The lack of consistent tone threw a lot of people (and likely turned a lot of them off the show), and for a show that was marketed quite singularly as a comedy show, I'm not sure that what we got as a product was the right thing to do in that context. Again, not the savior of anime, but again, never boring. Hell of a ride. I rate this show fifteen unacknowledged character deaths out of a possible three moé library books. Also, it's fucking great. My favourite of 2014 so far.

[Drax]

Gonna watch me some JoJo in one week. It's been so long.

I've been watching Kill la Kill off and on. I usually just watch 1 episode at a time when I do.

Does anyone else watch the new Hunter x Hunter? It's fantastic shonen.

[HylianMogget]

I thought Kill la Kill was a blast to watch even if as a whole it wasn't groundbreaking or anything. I was kind of hoping for some outlandish plot twist with the ending, but it was OK for what it was. I'll definitely miss having a new episode to watch on Thursday.

I need to catch up with Space Dandy. The last episode I watched was the zombie one, which I liked. The show is great from a visual standpoint, but I guess the episodic plots don't really do it for me; I definitely plan to finish it, though.

Other than that I really hope there's a preview soon for Ikuhara's new anime, since the first manga chapter was recently released. Also, even though I probably shouldn't get my hopes up I still want to believe that the Sailor Moon reboot will 1) actually happen this summer and not be an elaborate troll by Toei, 2) be decent even though it's supposedly streaming and not airing on TV.

[Celes Chere]

Noragami and Kill La Kill are ... okay. I have yet to get around to seeing Space Dandy. The last anime I watched and finished/enjoyed to a great extent was Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. And before that it was Kyoukai no Kanata which I rather enjoyed. Not the best I've seen but I liked it better than KLK and it's probably on par with Noragami.

Things I'm excited for coming up? THE FATE/STAY REMASTER/REMAKE WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT.... Apparently due in October. Rumor has it my favorite route is going to be included so I'm hoping and praying. Thank GOD that studio DEEN isn't responsible for it anymore. The animation already looks astounding from what I've seen in trailers. I'm also excited for the new Sailor Moon. Turns out they will INCLUDE the male/male and female/female pairings in the show instead of the disgusting 'they're just cousins' lie they came up with long ago. Which is great for the lgbta community too aaa

Oh right! I almost forgot - DURARARA is getting another animation. I don't want to call it season two because apparently it's now based around the Light Novels. So it will include all the amazing characters the original show was missing out on. Hecka.

Finally Dramatical Murder is getting an Anime and the PV for that looks amazing. I'll just post it here bc it's great

YouTube Video

[Howl]

I was actually browsing for an Anime/Manga thread just yesterday but I couldn't find one. My anime prayers have been answered. 8]

I'm currently watching Rurouni Kenshin. I've finished seasons 1 & 2 and I have about four more episodes to watch on the final season. I watched the OVA Trust and Betrayal before beginning the anime and I watched the OVA Reflections just last night.

The story is enjoyable; it focuses on serious themes including:
+ the reconstruction of the government in Japan in the late 1800's (the Meiji restoration)
+ the realization that the art of swordsmanship and the status of the Samurai who fought for Japan were both on the road to decline
+ the personal struggles of the main character who was an assassin in the years leading up to the Meiji restoration


Anime vs OVA vs Manga:
+ Manga (10/10)
The Manga is really where you should begin the story. I picked up about halfway through the Manga because many details included in the Manga are not mentioned in the Anime & vice versa. The story flows well and there is much less 'filler' material than there is in the Anime.

+ Anime (9/10)
The anime displays a good balance between serious and comical tones. I watched the entire show with English dubs and I only found one single character in all three seasons to have an unbearable voice. The action scenes were written and animated well. Beware of season 3; it is 99% filler; of which only about 3 epsidodes were thoroughly enjoyable and/or meaningful to the original plot. I personally believe that season 3 should have entailed (SPOILER) Kenshin's confrontation with Enishi, which is actually where the Manga ended.

+ OVA: Trust & Betrayal (8/10)
I watchied this OVA prior to beginning the anime series. It's easy to understand without having seen or read the anime or manga. It delves into Kenshin's past as an assassin in the years leading up to the Meiji restoration and explains how he came to have a cross-shaped scar. Some mentionables:
+ the action scenes are less exciting than they are in the anime
+ the English dubs didn't leave me feeling aggitated
+ the setting is much more serious than the anime or the manga; (SPOILER) the story takes place at a time in Kenshin's life prior to or leading up to events which caused him to reconsider his purpose in life, so don't expect any silly 'oro' moments from Kenshin in this OVA

Bear in mind that the details surrounding (SPOILER) Kenshin's relationship with Tomoe are not mentioned in the anime series, so this OVA might have more meaning to you if you read the Manga first.

+ OVA: Reflections (2/10)
This OVA is (seemingly) told from the perspective of Kaoru. It delves into the futures of Kaoru and Kenshin after (SPOILER) they both settle down and have a child together. Some mentionables:
+ the English dubs were terrible
+ Kaoru was written in a way that is incredibly out of character
+ Kenshin and Kaoru are the central characters; don't look forward to seeing very much of the other characters that you love; they are nonexistent in many of the scenes where they played pivotal rolls in both the anime and manga
+ the characters' personalities and actions contradict those which took place in the anime and manga
+ the way that both characters meet their ends will leave fans of the rest of the series feeling bitter and unimpressed

If you want to really spoil it for yourself, see here and get ready for a rant:
(SPOILER) Kenshin, after having a child with Kaoru decides that he still needs to help the world, so he sets of wandering again for fifteen years, leaving behind the responsibilities of having a wife and child. Kaoru willingly accepts that Kenshin needs to wander again and she cheerfully tells him that she'll wait for his return.
Their son, Kenji, develops feelings of resentment towards his father who is not around; his purpose in this OVA is meaningless, IMO, because neither parent really takes his existence into consideration.
Kenshin is revealed to have some sort of unknown disease that looks like leprosy. He returns (at some point) to Kaoru for one of his brief visits and she tells him that she wants to share his pain by having sex with him and inflicting the disease upon herself. This isn't something that the original character of Kaoru would do, IMO, because (the real Kaoru) is responsible and sees the world from a realistic perspective. The original character of Kaoru would not wish to die with her husband and leave her son behind.
Whatever; Kenshin gladly complies and inflicts her with the mystery disease. He ventures off again to live in some hut on the side of a mountain somewhere in China where he slowly succumbs to his disease and loses his memories. Meanwhile, Kaoru also suffers from the same disease. Both the mother and father of Kenji are slowly dying without having so much as a flicker of a thought about their son.
Eventually, a family friend, Sanosuke, gathers Kenshin from his death-hut and returns him to Japan. Kenshin stumbles on home and into Kaoru's arms where he dies. She takes notice that his cross shaped scar has faded, which is symbolic of the fact that he has finally been set free of his inner demons.

What a bitter ending, really. Kenshin already went through so much shit in his life, and he spent what was left of his life after the beginning of the Meiji restoration trying to atone for his sins. I don't think that he should have met such a shit ending. He literally was not released from his demons until the day he died even though the Manga clearly explains that he did find atonement. So...he found atonement, then his inner demons overcame him again several years down the line? Not to mention that his mystery disease causes him to lose his memories while the same disease has Kaoru recalling the history of her life with Kenshin.

Bottom line: This OVA should not exist.


On another note:
I have two unopened anime series that I have yet to watch...not sure where to start:
1. Claymore
2. Basilisk

[Serah Farron]

I'm just waiting for Durarara and DMMD tbh. but the last anime I really enjoyed was Sword Art Online. Definitely in my top 5.

None of those listed are appealing to me, although I do love KLK's art style and the fanart in general. And Noragami I am curious about but meh.

I did try one episode of Claymore and Berserk, but idk I think I'll go back to them sometime? But I think I'm gonna read the Berserk manga first.

[Hisako]

Basilisk is pretty crazy. It's slow and methodical, though it doesn't always go the way one would expect.

In hindsight all the characters are basically hard counters to each other, but it's intricately written and animated quite well. The art is decent and the music is pretty good, and overall the show didn't outstay its welcome.
And by music I mean some classic noughties relics like Onmyouza and early Nana Mizuki

re: SAO, I keep hearing really, really dumb, autistic things about that series. Not that I mind dumb at all (I wouldn't have enjoyed KLK otherwise) though, but out of context some of the reactions I watch are... interesting I trawled AnimeGAF for a bit and their base was divided between fandom and utter hatred and loathing lawl

I'm not in a position to complain about autistic anime characters though given that I enjoyed Guilty Crown an unreasonable amount

[HylianMogget]

Noctis wrote:

I'm also excited for the new Sailor Moon. Turns out they will INCLUDE the male/male and female/female pairings in the show instead of the disgusting 'they're just cousins' lie they came up with long ago. Which is great for the lgbta community too aaa

The "cousins" stuff was just the dub, though, not the show itself. Has anything been confirmed beyond some info on the staff and the one leaked preview image? I'd love for them to go beyond the first story arc and have the Outers included, but unfortunately I'm not sure if it's likely that it'll happen.

[Hisako]

Also are they ever going to localise these GODDAMN PERSONA 3 FILMS

[Howl]

I started watching Basilisk eons ago but my mind was sort of boggled. Although, it does take me some time to get involved in any show.
On a similar note, I tried getting into DBZ long ago but I started losing the will to live when it took 10 episodes for a character to finally land a hit on someone during a fight.

I failed to mention some of my favorites:

+ Naoki Urasawa's Monster
Psychological murder-mystery thriller. I was on the edge of my seat throughout most of the episodes.

+ Wolf's Rain
This show was incredibly endearing to me, despite the sad setting. The relationship between the wolves in Kiba's pack was so beautiful. 8]

It's been so long since I've watched either of these, so I can't provide a fresh review.

[Drax]

I adore the hell out of Kenshin. It got me into anime when it aired on Toonami. The whole series is on crunchyroll, some of it's the media blasters dub (my preferred voices, whenever they decide to come back and finish the last manga arc.) I like all of its marvel comics references.

Buso Renkin was also okay.

I have a lot of classics I have to catch up on:

Berserk
Hellsing (both of which I think got updated)
Akira

The only anime I really watch lately are video game adaptations. Ys is actually pretty good.

[Celes Chere]

Oh, I know the cousins bit was just the dub! I mean that it's going to be included regardless of anything else which is relieving news. uvu Sadly I don't think there's any other info rn. ;c

@Howl - OMFG Wolf's Rain is definitely one of my favorite series and it's terribly under-rated. It's absolutely beautiful animation and a stunning story line with characters you actually end up feeling like are a part of you as it progresses. It's a terrible feeling the show leaves you with but also a really good one at the same time. IT'S AMAZING ;A; I own the entire series in boxset so... sometimes when I need to remind myself to keep going I watch that.

Monster is also really awesome. I watched that not too long ago for the first time and I absolutely loved it! It was really different than other anime in it's genre.

[Omega]

RuroKen was a fantastic manga, but I felt the anime fell mighty short of its standards - it got a lot of the history wrong, among other things, and, with RuroKen being a historical fiction piece, this was a big hangup for me.

[The Twilight Mexican]

Re: The "Reflection" Kenshin OVA --

I despised it more than any other anime ending ever for the longest time, even after learning that the manga writer had nothing to do with it beyond reading the script. "Why would he even allow it when it's so different from his intention?" I wondered.

Later, I realized the whole thing is a commentary on the tropes of manga historically popular with adult, salaried Japanese men. That whole schtick of the warrior free to wander, uninhibited by even so much as the guilt of leaving behind responsibility. His departures and "greater calling" celebrated. Able to have sex indiscriminately and without even a follow-up required as to whether there are any consequences demanding his attention.

I think aging Kenshin was one clue toward this. His abandoned son taking a different path is another.

Viewed in that light, it's actually quite brilliant. Taken at face value, though -- which I have to believe it wasn't meant to be -- it's nothing but a bottomless well of disappointment.

[Hisako]

Oh, and the soundtrack for Space Dandy came out a couple of days ago, for anyone who's into the anime music scene.

YouTube Video

It ranges from cheesy, cheesy synths to god-tier slapbass funk and cute Yoko Kanno J-pop/jazz-rap and imo anyone who's already watched the show will already know that this album is fucking godlike

http://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb/12654093/ (hint: preview track 19)

edit: Now in cassette form! Cute.

The Monk wrote:

Hellsing (both of which I think got updated)

Hellsing is pretty top tier in my eyes. The TV show in hindsight was kind of lackluster but the music was some of the best in anime (acid-jazz anyone?) and even the monstrously-good OVA series ended up appropriating some of the tracks from the TV series (though the OVA series' music was excellent in its own right).

Also, a lot of people like the dub Alot, likely because of all the accents

edit x2: Has anyone seen anything of Michiko to Hatchin? I saw it sitting on the shelf of my local Gametraders and it just popped out from the rest. It's apparently an anime set in Brazil, of all places, but I think I need a second opinion before taking the plunge.

YouTube Video