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Robazoid 01/17/23 2:18:24 PM #1: |
Ranking: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T2EPEpQ4K17ZP_HXtYfm5uGTWG9I8_gI5AixegBRto8/edit?usp=sharing Write-Ups: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-nFiPImntSMbRTWRe2RcVu1vJ00nJLVrsKXDtBNVIgw/edit?usp=sharing MyAnimeList Profile: https://myanimelist.net/profile/Westerlyn (If you have a MAL account, add me as a friend!) I have to make one more topic for the last few recommendations, plus the finalized ranking of 292 anime coming soon. To anyone just now discovering the topic, the deadline for recommendations has unfortunately passed, but anyone can still feel free to suggest anime for me to watch! I'll at least keep them in mind for the future. There's a Kaguya write-up coming later today, then it'll probably take until Friday for something else. I still have high hopes this will be done by the end of January, though! Also, the list and document in my Ranking/Write-up links above are a bit out of date. I'll try to update them tonight after I get home from work. REMAINING: 158 episodes Monster (16/74) Code Geass (11/25 S1, 0/25 S2) Mob Psycho 100 (1/13 S2, 0/1 OVA, 0/12 S3) Sakura Quest (0/25) The Tatami Galaxy (0/11) (Write-up coming later today) Kaguya-sama: Love is War S2 and S3 --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MartinFF7 01/17/23 2:35:28 PM #2: |
Tag With that topic title, setting up yourself for AoT style "Final Part 2" and "Final Final Topic" lol ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/17/23 4:16:37 PM #3: |
(I had already watched S1 of Kaguya and only gave it a 3/10. handsomeboy had hoped the later seasons would turn my opinion around, so watching them was his recommendation.) BONUS. Kaguya-sama: Love is War https://myanimelist.net/anime/37999/Kaguya-sama_wa_Kokurasetai__Tensai-tachi_no_Renai_Zunousen Winter 2019 (12 episodes), Spring 2020 (12 episodes), Spring 2022 (13 episodes) My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 8.41/10 S1, 8.65/10 S2, 9.07/10 S3 Best Character: Hayasaka Ai Recommend by: @handsomeboy2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9Pb412Bloc Premise: Student council president Shirogane Miyuki and vice president Shinomiya Kaguya are in love. Both are too proud to confess, however, and they instead scheme to get the other to admit it first. The Good: I thought the second and third seasons were better than the first. One of my biggest complaints from S1 was that the drama in the last few episodes wasnt my style. S2 and S3 still had drama, but it felt a lot more realistic. It was tied into character personalities or believable misunderstandings, it wasnt just Kaguya's dad being abusive solely to create drama like in S1. I appreciated that. There were also some nice moments in these two seasons! Miko was a good addition to the student council dynamic, and I liked Tsubame. Shirogane's sister and father were fun characters, as was the jealous tsundere Maki. Overall, these two seasons gave me a lot more to enjoy than the first one. However, my favorite things were still aspects that had been there since the beginning. I liked scenarios like when they played the coin truth-telling game and both Shirogane and Kaguya are scheming against each other. The episode where Shirogane learned how to rap was my favorite one of the series. I was also glad that best girl Hayasaka got some more time to shine. These good moments improved my opinion of the show by a measurable amount. The Bad: Sadly, the main romance between Shirogane and Kaguya still mostly wasn't for me. They had some good moments, though! I loved the episode where they went stargazing and Shirogane was so into astronomy that he forgot all about scheming. He just pulled Kaguya close and started talking about stars, which flustered the hell out of her in a really cute way. It was great seeing Shirogane being so open and genuine in that moment... which confirmed that the premise of the show is my main problem with it. I said in my earlier write-up for S1 that my main reaction to their dilemma was "just admit you like each other you dumb kids", and that didn't change in S2 or S3. There was even a moment where Kaguya herself wondered why she cared so much about not confessing first, and the narrator pointed out that she just destroyed the premise of the show! Sadly, she quickly talked herself back into caring about it again. The Shirogane/Kaguya scheming romance is clearly something that resonated with a lot of people given the show's massive popularity. I just would've preferred if they were more open about it so there could be more cute scenes like the stargazing one. Even by the end of S3, I'm worried they still aren't entirely over the scheming phase of their relationship. Overall: After watching Kaguya-sama S2 and S3, my opinion of it did rise. I'd probably give it a middling 4/10 now, which honestly isn't a bad ranking from me and is a noticeable improvement from the old 211th 3/10. Still, my main problem is with the show's central premise, and obviously that wasn't going to change. The rare amazing moment, like when they went stargazing and forgot all about their love is war mindgames, made me wish the whole anime could've focused on cute stuff like that. A lot of people really love this show, though, so it's probably good that it didn't cater to me specifically! I can have Snow White with the Red Hair as my optimal anime romance, you guys can have Kaguya, and we can all be happy. Still, thank you for recommending this, handsomeboy! The drama at the end of S1 left a bad taste in my mouth, so left to my own devices it probably would've been a long time before I continued this show. There were enough great moments in S2 and S3 that I'm glad I didn't miss them. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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LordoftheMorons 01/17/23 4:47:57 PM #4: |
Tag --- Congrats to azuarc, GotD2 Guru champ! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/17/23 5:18:44 PM #5: |
I'm probably in the minority on this, but the reason I like Kaguya-sama isn't really because I think it's a great romance. I like the show more as a comedy about romance than as a romance itself, if that makes sense. --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/17/23 5:24:38 PM #6: |
You're not in the minority at all. I think most would agree there's way more comedy than romance in Kaguya. --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/17/23 5:46:49 PM #7: |
It's definitely comedy-focused, but the romance was always such a central driving force that I wouldn't call it secondary. For me, the ultimate comedy about romance would be Gamers. It took all the classic romantic comedy tropes and cranked them up to an absurd level. The humor came from them getting caught in a complicated web of misunderstandings. It never felt like we were supposed to actually care about any one couple succeeding or not. By comparison, the narrative in Kaguya cared very much about whether or not the main two would get together, it just told a lot of jokes and had absurd situations along the way. That's how I see it anyway, hopefully that makes sense. I can definitely see someome enjoying Kaguya primarily for the comedy, and I did find a lot of scenarios funny (like all the times they played a game and were scheming about how or why to win or lose). It just didn't resonate with me on that level in the same way something like Gamers did. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Sceptilesolar 01/17/23 5:58:26 PM #8: |
MacArrowny posted... You're not in the minority at all. I think most would agree there's way more comedy than romance in Kaguya. I don't know if I agree with that claim over the course of the manga, it's just that the comedy is very front loaded. --- Just killing time until the world ends. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/17/23 6:02:20 PM #9: |
Sceptilesolar posted... I don't know if I agree with that claim over the course of the manga, it's just that the comedy is very front loaded.I read the second half of the manga a couple months ago and there's definitely way more comedy than romance in the second half. Mobilezoid posted... It's definitely comedy-focused, but the romance was always such a central driving force that I wouldn't call it secondary.The Kaguya anime's comic timing and direction are a lot better than Gamers's imo. --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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handsomeboy2012 01/17/23 11:41:53 PM #10: |
Mobilezoid posted... BONUS. Kaguya-sama: Love is War Dont really have high expectations for my recommendation, but I guess it turned out pretty well. Lately I kind of moved on because the Kaguya manga ended and the ending was a bit disappointing on how it handled some of the characters. Theres a movie that came out in Japan continuing from S3 that we will see online some day. Its as romance-focused as you can get, though I havent seen it and cant say whether you will like it or not. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/18/23 5:25:55 AM #11: |
I could've finished Mob by Friday, but I resumed watching Code Geass instead so the write-up for it won't be until Monday. As an apology, I'll post some brief thoughts! Code Geass S1 episode 20 spoilers --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/23/23 5:00:37 AM #12: |
I finally started my free trial on Funimation. I finished Sakura Quest and started Tatami Galaxy, along with making some progress with most of the others. I'll do the write-up for Sakura on Monday, Tatami most likely on Tuesday, then either Mob or Geass later in the week. Monster, as the longest anime, remains the biggest hurdle, but I'm still on track to finish this before the end of January! REMAINING: 104 episodes Monster (26/74) Code Geass (1/25 S2) Mob Psycho 100 (1/13 S2, 0/1 OVA, 0/12 S3) The Tatami Galaxy (4/11) (Write-up coming later today) Sakura Quest --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/23/23 1:01:46 PM #13: |
Challenge for your final Geass writeup: spend no more than a single line on Suzaku. --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/23/23 1:34:09 PM #14: |
I'll probably need to give him at least two lines, one in the bad section and another one reiterating his badness in the overall section. Whether I need more than that will depend on if he does anything else that infuriates me. For example, near the end of S1, he (A Sakura Quest screenshot I took because it made me laugh, but it's also surprisingly applicable to Suzaku now that I think about it) https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/9/1/2/AABz_zAAEHaA.jpg --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/23/23 1:37:13 PM #15: |
Oh lord I forgot about the (To be fair I've forgotten most things about Code Geass...) --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MartinFF7 01/23/23 1:51:20 PM #16: |
Honestly more than anything I'm looking forward to (Roba don't click any of these spoilers!!) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/23/23 1:57:45 PM #17: |
I never watched the movies but I definitely agree on the other 2 points. --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/23/23 7:33:17 PM #18: |
BONUS. Sakura Quest https://myanimelist.net/anime/34494/Sakura_Quest Spring 2017 (25 episodes) My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 7.39/10 Best Character: Kouzuki Sanae Recommended by: @pyresword https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlrPO6dBaxw Premise: While struggling to find a job after graduating from college, Koharu Yoshino accepts what she thinks is a one-day tourism assignment in a rural town. It turns out to be a year-long contract where she'll act as the Queen of a local attraction and try to revitalize Manoyama. The Good: Sakura Quest is a slice-of-life comedy about a group of girls trying to reverse the decline of Manoyama, a rural town. Yoshino is brought in by the tourism board to be Queen of a local attraction. This is a PA Works original, which always interests me because a lot of their shows have similar elements. This definitely has shades of Aquatope and Hanasaku Iroha (broadly speaking, all three are about an aimless girl going to a rural location for work, and she ends up learning about life while finding herself). Thankfully, Sakura Quest never fell to the melodramatic lows of either of those other two shows. It does a good job at keeping things lighthearted, even while examining all the factors that go into the decline of rural areas. Yoshino and her friends (who came to be known as royal ministers based on their skills) try a lot of things to bring in tourists, entice new businesses, revitalize locations, revive old customs, and so on. There are setbacks and sad moments, but they feel natural and the show was always fun to watch. It's also the first PA Works original show I've seen where the workplace wasn't a nightmare! There are five main characters, and I liked all of them. Yoshino started out aimless, but she quickly dedicated herself to Manoyama and her kindhearted enthusiasm was infectious. Shiori already worked for the tourism board and loved Manoyama, so most of her growth came from realizing that some things about the town do need to evolve and change. Maki sees herself as a failed actress, and I enjoyed watching her grapple with the question of what to do with her life now. Ririko is a shy girl with an interest in cryptids, and becoming part of the group helped her come out of her shell. However, my favorite character was easily Sanae, the Minister of IT. She burned out at a Tokyo office job and now lives in the countryside. I laughed a lot at her fear of bugs, and she had great banter with Maki. I also enjoyed watching her grow to love Manoyama as well, even though she essentially moved there at random. The main five had a great group dynamic. I also liked the large supporting cast of eccentric townspeople. Slowly getting to know all of them really sold the theme of a new place becoming familiar. My favorite one was the foreigner, Sandal. He would often be in the background of scenes doing something funny and random. As for the setting, I liked how it was grounded but also had a lot of entertaining zany elements. It was serious while examining the problems a declining rural town faces, such as aging populations, degrading infrastructure, gender imbalance, and so on. There was also an old dude who created wacky inventions, local legends that were halfway taken seriously, and Yoshino being a Queen added fun little royal touches to a lot of things. This was just a really entertaining anime a lot of the time. The Bad: I mentioned how Sakura Quest never reached the melodramatic lows of other PA Works originals like Aquatope or Hanasaku Iroha. In my opinion, it never managed to reach the highs of those other two shows either. I hated how everyone in Hanasaku Iroha was a jerk, and I hated how over-the-top terrible the workplace was in Aquatope. However, both of those shows still had some top-notch moments that really resonated with me. Sakura Quest was consistently entertaining. However, for me at least, it never had many moments I would consider great. This is a minor complaint overall, though. SQ was simply trying to be a different kind of show. It's more of a slice-of-life and less of a drama. I just wanted to point this out because I'm probably going to rank this lower than Aquatope, and the good section made it sound like I should've enjoyed SQ more between the two of them. Overall: Sakura Quest was a consistently enjoyable anime. I liked all five of the main characters as well as pretty much everyone in the supporting cast. The setting was an interesting examination of rural decline while still having wackier elements. A lot of the jokes made me laugh as well. I was glad that SQ never got too melodramatic like a few other PA Works originals. However, it rarely had any great moments either, so in the end this will most likely get a 6/10 and fall near the middle of my ranking. It had a lot of good things going for it, it was just missing that last spark to make it truly resonate with me. Unlike Kukuru from Aquatope, no one from SQ was good enough to reach my top character ranking. Still, there's nothing wrong with a show that's consistently enjoyable! Thanks a lot for recommending this, pyresword. Since I have no faith in Crunchyroll ever fixing the delayed subtitles, I doubt I'd have ever gone out of my way to watch this on Funimation if not for you. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/23/23 7:56:56 PM #19: |
Yeah I'm definitely glad you liked it. Personally it's one of my favorites but given the show's (lack of) popularity the recommendation could have gone either way. Though I was specifically going for "type of show I think Roba might like but would probably never watch otherwise." Honestly the show is probably just my favorite slice-of-life show. But yeah I don't think the show's intent is about setting up specific cathartic moments, though I did quite like the --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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KommunistKoala 01/23/23 8:08:47 PM #20: |
I enjoyed Sakura Quest for half of it but realized after another episode or two I couldn't watch the second half of pretty much the same thing. Also first ED is a banger --- does anyone even read this ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/24/23 5:47:01 AM #21: |
pyresword posted... But it's more the type of show where you watch how the characters act in specific situations and (at least for me) by the end you're left with the sense that everyone has changed for the better. Very uplifting show to me at least. That's a good way of describing it, especially calling it uplifting. That was nice, too, because it tackled a subject matter (rural decline) that could've been way more depressing if it was handled in a different way. KommunistKoala posted... Also first ED is a bangerIt really was! --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/24/23 5:12:09 PM #22: |
BONUS. The Tatami Galaxy https://myanimelist.net/anime/7785/Yojouhan_Shinwa_Taikei Spring 2010 (11 episodes) My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 8.57/10 Best Character: Akashi Recommended by: @Sceptilesolar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkH8ti1gakE Premise: A college student laments wasting his first few years of campus life, mostly because of the bad influence of his friend Ozu. Maybe things would've turned out better if he made a different decision at the very beginning? The Good: The Tatami Galaxy is a stylish anime with elements of comedy, mystery, and romance. The story essentially follows a nameless protagonist through his college years. He's never satisfied with the choices he made, so each episode examines what would've happened if he'd chosen a different club. There are some constants in each parallel world, such as a ghoulish friend named Ozu who the protagonist always regrets meeting. There's also a girl, Akashi, who the protagonist appears to have feelings for, but he can never seem to grasp the opportunity to make anything happen between them. These are all interesting ideas. I'm a big fan of time travel and parallel worlds, and this is kind of an odd mixture of both. I'm also a big fan of examining different facets of a character, and this whole show is about seeing him through various iterations. Still, the most notable thing about this anime is the stylishness of both its narrative and the animation. I don't think any description I could write would do it justice, so for anyone interested, just watch the OP linked above to get a rough idea. Moreso than the story, I feel like the style will make or break people's opinion on this show. I thought it was interesting, and there were times where it really worked for me. The ED in particular was oddly hypnotic. The frequent use of live-action with, like, an animation filter was neat too (even though I obviously don't know enough about animation techniques to properly describe it). The Bad: The story definitely had some neat ideas, but I felt like it was missing something to really bring it all together. I would've preferred it if there was more of a focus on the main dude and Akashi. She was my favorite character from what I saw of her, but there were a number of loops where her presence was minimal at best. This is a technical complaint, but the subtitles on Funimation were also some of the worst I've ever seen. The narration was incredibly fast and would've been difficult to keep up with under normal circumstances, but Funi subtitles made it even harder. Sometimes two long lines of subtitles would appear at the bottom of the screen, then something noteworthy would start happening at the bottom so the subtitles would jump to the top of the screen. Switching which part of the screen I'm reading from mid-sentence wasnt easy. They also did that thing where onscreen text from signs and stuff would be subtitled too alongside the dialogue. When one line was long sign text, one line was lightning fast narration text, and sometimes it would all randomly jump between the top and bottom of the screen, that wasn't fun! It isn't fair to hold Funimation's crappy subtitles against the show itself, but man did it ever bug me. Overall: I can definitely see how The Tatami Galaxy could appeal to someone a lot. It uses a fantastical premise to examine some pretty relatable themes about regret, love, and friendship. The animation and storytelling styles were also exceedingly unique. I appreciated it as something where I could sit back and enjoy the crazy ride it was taking me on. Sadly, the characters and overall themes weren't quite handled in a way that resonated with me. I would've preferred a story with a lot more of a focus on Akashi and less on Ozu and the rest. In the end, I'll probably give this a 4/10, which isn't a bad score from me! It mostly just means I didn't love it enough to justify ranking it any higher. Still, thanks for the recommendation, Sceptilesolar! This is the kind of show I likely never would've seen otherwise, and it was certainly a fun ride. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Sceptilesolar 01/24/23 5:52:10 PM #23: |
It's a shame you didn't like it as much as I did, but I'm glad you appreciated its style. Yuasa is really firing on all cylinders as director for this one. I think the only other work of his you watched is Devilman Crybaby. To me Tatami Galaxy is my best example of a faultless anime; it tells exactly the story it wants to and with plenty of style and charm to support it. I can't really ask more than that. It doesn't have the same stylish flair as Tatami Galaxy, but I'm also a big fan of the Eccentric Family, based on novels by the same author as Tatami Galaxy. And it still looks pretty good. Might be more to your taste. --- Just killing time until the world ends. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Maniac64 01/24/23 7:33:25 PM #24: |
Usually when someone is talking about a character in Geass being the worst ever it's about Nina. I'll admit I did not expect this level of hatred for him. --- "Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/24/23 7:47:36 PM #25: |
Sceptilesolar posted... I think the only other work of his you watched is Devilman Crybaby.I liked Tatami more than Devilman, at least! I can definitely see similarities though, those are two uniquely stylish anime. I'll keep Eccentric Family in mind for the future! Maniac64 posted... Usually when someone is talking about a character in Geass being the worst ever it's about Nina. I'll admit I did not expect this level of hatred for him.Eh, her racism is no worse than plenty of other characters. It's annoying how she's always afraid of everything, but she's nowhere near the worst (yet). That scene with the table was at least memorable. She --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/25/23 4:18:15 PM #26: |
If I'm going to limit myself to only a few anti-Suzaku comments in my final write-up, I need to complain about him a bit more now. Code Geass spoilers up to episode 6 of S2 --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/27/23 5:50:20 AM #27: |
I finished Code Geass S2, so I finally read Martin's spoilers from post 16. My understanding is that the Resurrection movie is an alternate timeline where I'd need to watch three recap movies with slight changes, which I really don't want to do, so I don't think I'm going to watch it. Still, I'm open to being convinced otherwise if people think the movie is worth it. In any case, I'll do the Code Geass write-up tomorrow and just do spoiler-tag thoughts if I end up watching the movie over the weekend. Just to quickly respond to Martin's first two spoiler-tags: While I'm at it with spoiler thoughts: --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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LordoftheMorons 01/27/23 6:41:05 AM #28: |
Robazoid posted... While I'm at it with spoiler thoughts: --- Congrats to azuarc, GotD2 Guru champ! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Maniac64 01/27/23 9:39:39 AM #29: |
--- "Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MartinFF7 01/27/23 9:49:09 AM #30: |
I still definitely recommend Re;Surrection because I am really pretty sure the only thing fundamentally different from the tv show and the recap movies is Also Suzaku gets his ass kicked which you may find appealing! Speaking of Suzaku, I also really disliked him but nowhere near as intensely as you Regarding ep 22, ever since you posted your I'll wait for full reaction but I'd still love a Re;Surrection viewing!! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/27/23 11:01:57 AM #31: |
I also dislike Suzaku a lot! I think the idea of him is to show the futility of "changing things from the inside" and even the --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Maniac64 01/27/23 11:36:21 AM #32: |
I still haven't watched Re:surrection so I have no opinion on that front. --- "Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/27/23 12:18:13 PM #33: |
Barely anyone watched Resurrection. --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MartinFF7 01/27/23 2:38:02 PM #34: |
They're all missing out!! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/27/23 5:35:36 PM #35: |
BONUS. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion https://myanimelist.net/anime/1575/Code_Geass__Hangyaku_no_Lelouch Fall 2006 (25 episodes), Spring 2008 (25 episodes) My Score: TBA, MAL Score: 8.70/10 S1, 8.91/10 S2 Best Character: C.C. Recommended by: @Maniac64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8CFuZ9MseQ Premise: After being conquered by Britannia, Japan is renamed Area 11. Many people still rebel against their occupiers, however, and a student named Lelouch Lamperouge joins them once he gains an incredible power. The Good: Code Geass is a mecha anime set in an alternate history where Japan has been conquered by a powerful empire, Britannia. Lelouch is a Britannian student, but he carries an intense hatred for the country that abandoned him. Through various circumstances, he gains a power called Geass, which gives him the ability to order anyone to do anything as long as he's looking into their eyes. Combined with his incredible intellect, Lelouch uses the Geass to become a masked rebel leader called Zero. Now he needs to lead his group, the Black Knights, towards victory against the world's mightiest empire... all while also maintaining his everyday life as a student! I really liked the concept of Code Geass. I'm a fan of weird powers and seeing how characters use them. The comparison isn't perfect, but the Geass reminded me of Death Note. It has great potential, but also certain limitations, and the intelligent protagonist needs to use it creatively to keep ahead. I was hyped early on to see what neat things Lelouch would do with it. While the scheming didn't end up being as deep as I'd hoped for, there were still a few times where he used it in cool ways to create a network of enslaved minions in key positions. However, this was mostly an action anime with a big focus on mecha combat. The animation was always good, and I liked how many pilots there were with unique mechas, especially by the end. Kallen's in particular had a kind of microwave hand that was really cool. As for the characters and story, this anime had some pretty harsh ups and downs. I liked Lelouch because he had the cool power and kept pushing the plot forward. Still, my favorites were C.C., Rolo, and Kallen because all three of them had great development and arcs. The Bad: I complained quite a bit about Suzaku in my comments while watching this, and I'm comfortable saying he's one of the worst fictional characters ever. However, I think he was a symptom of a larger problem in Code Geass. Aside from a few exceptions, it didn't enjoy the way it examined its story, characters, or themes. Lelouch is touted as a strategic genius, and he certainly has his moments. Still, they mostly showed it by having him direct a battle saying meaningless lines like "use theta formation and move to point alpha". Outside of battle, there are a lot of instances where he makes some incredibly boneheaded decisions. There were times where I was begging him to explain himself a bit better or to use more tact when dealing with subordinates. It's hard to talk about any of those moments without big spoilers, but I could go on and on about smarter moves this super-genius could've made. Since I was excited about the potential for Death Note style mind-games and scheming early on, that was disappointing. The story was also very focused on exploring certain themes, which often led to it ignoring other things. Characters would debate the merits of changing a system from inside or from the outside, but no one would point out that the system is literally slaughtering civilians at this very moment. Lelouch never made the arguments I wanted him to. A lot of characters did some really heinous things and were either never called out on it or were easily forgiven. There was also a supernatural plot related to the Geass powers running in the background, and I never felt like it integrated with the mecha war plot very well. Overall: Code Geass had some great characters, cool moments, and large parts of the story were good. However, there were also some terrible characters, idiotic moments, and large parts of the story that didn't work for me at all. It might be that I went in with the wrong expectations. Early on, the Geass power reminded me of Death Note and I got excited for that level of mind-games. But, while Lelouch's intelligence and willingness to be morally questionable was vaguely similar to Light from Death Note, the closest thing to an L-style rival was Suzaku, and he was one of the worst characters I've ever seen. It's hard to explore a "which side is right?" theme when I have an intense hatred for one of the two sides. Still, there were enough good things in this show that I can't say I hated it overall. It'll probably end up in the 3/10s alongside shows like Violet Evergarden. That's the section for anime where I acknowledge the quality and enjoyed parts of it, but I found other parts to be really terrible. Still, thanks for recommending it, Maniac (and for being willing to swap to it so LotM could switch to Monster). I didn't love Code Geass in the end, but it had compelling characters like C.C. and Rolo along with a lot of fun mecha battles. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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LordoftheMorons 01/27/23 5:57:31 PM #36: |
Code Geass came out around the same time as Death Note and was definitely compared a lot to it (I prefer CG). --- Congrats to azuarc, GotD2 Guru champ! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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LordoftheMorons 01/27/23 6:06:44 PM #37: |
Oh yeah the best CG character is Jeremiah (Crispin Freeman does an awesome job voicing him in the dub). I also really like Diethard, though hes a pretty minor character. --- Congrats to azuarc, GotD2 Guru champ! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/27/23 6:13:07 PM #38: |
I do not think Code Geass is a good show at all but it's at least the type of thing that is fun even when it's a mess. Except for episode 22 which is one of the stupidest things any anime writer has come up with in a show I've seen, but I digress. --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Reg 01/27/23 6:38:05 PM #39: |
Code Geass is immensely entertaining IMO, even when it's objectively not that good. That's enough for me to consider it better than the vast majority of stuff. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Maniac64 01/27/23 7:18:56 PM #40: |
I'm fine with you not loving CG, I didnt have high expections so it went better than I expected honestly. I was right about you enjoying Bofuri and that is more important lol. --- "Hope is allowed to be stupid, unwise, and naive." ~Sir Chris ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MacArrowny 01/27/23 7:25:41 PM #41: |
LordoftheMorons posted... Code Geass came out around the same time as Death Note and was definitely compared a lot to it (I prefer CG). --- All the stars in the sky are waiting for you. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pyresword 01/27/23 7:57:14 PM #42: |
I prefer Death Note by a lot. Even the worst parts of Death Note are a league ahead of the best parts of Geass. --- I didn't do guru this year but azuarc can be in my sig anyways. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 01/28/23 5:39:34 AM #43: |
pyresword posted... I prefer Death Note by a lot. Even the worst parts of Death Note are a league ahead of the best parts of Geass.I don't know if I'd go that far. Death Note is easily the superior anime, but the highs of Code Geass were pretty high and the lows of Death Note were pretty low! In any case, we're into the home stretch now! I'm going to really try to watch enough this weekend that I can do write-ups Monster and Mob on Monday and Tuesday, but at worst we'll be done sometime next week. After that, all I need to do is type up the final ranking. As always, thanks for being patient as I slowly watch stuff, and thanks for following along, everyone! REMAINING: 69 episodes (nice) Monster (30/74) Mob Psycho 100 (1/13 S2, 0/1 OVA, 0/12 S3) I posted quite a few spoiler thoughts for Geass, so I guess I can do it for Monster too since it's also a long show. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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LordoftheMorons 01/28/23 5:49:26 AM #44: |
Oh yeah Dr. Reichwein is pretty cool! I really like Urasawa's style of introducing new PoV characters to later intersect with the main cast. --- Congrats to azuarc, GotD2 Guru champ! ... Copied to Clipboard!
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MartinFF7 01/28/23 5:07:57 PM #45: |
Robazoid posted...
I knew what scene this was referring to but I had to check just to be sure. Fantastic scene, and always great when characters who haven't appeared in a while pop up unexpectedly ... Copied to Clipboard!
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SeabassDebeste 01/29/23 8:23:01 AM #46: |
i don't remember how many episodes i got into CG before dropping it. might try it with my partner though - it's got a cool power and should move relatively fast (....right?!) also as for tatami galaxy - i found it near-unwatchable due to how far the subtitles went (fansub i think) and how bullshit most of the plots were. they didn't feel connecting or relevant overall because of the time loop that said, reading the light novel source material earlier this year made me more interested in giving it another shot, but without funi, i have my doubts it'll happen for a long time --- yet all azuarc of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Sceptilesolar 01/29/23 8:45:00 AM #47: |
SeabassDebeste posted... they didn't feel connecting or relevant overall because of the time loop This reminded me of one of my favorite things about the anime, which I'm pretty sure is anime original. There actually are a bunch of connecting points between the different episodes, they just don't get spelled out. My favorite is the filmmaking episode, which is chock full of foreshadowing. --- Just killing time until the world ends. ... Copied to Clipboard!
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pjbasis 01/29/23 5:33:53 PM #48: |
CG was going to be one of my favorite things ever based on the premise and first half, but then it just went off the rails. --- http://i498.photobucket.com/albums/rr345/Rakaputra/B8%20Girls%202012/pjbas.png ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Mobilezoid 01/30/23 1:31:25 PM #49: |
I wound up watching way less than usual this weekend (I had a bad headache most of Sunday) so the next write-up will be later this week. I'll be done before the end of next weekend, however! --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** (On mobile) ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Robazoid 02/02/23 5:49:57 AM #50: |
When I started my Funimation two week free trial, I thought I'd have time to finish the remaining recommendations and still watch another show or two there. Sadly, I've gotten through much less than I'd planned. I need to cancel my free trial on Friday, so I'm taking some time to quickly watch Classroom Crisis. It caught my eye because I'm a big fan of anime that put a twist on typical ideas (in this case, I figured it'd be like a school/club anime but set in a futuristic sci-fi world). Plus the premise said it was about students designing a new spaceship, which made me think of If My Heart Had Wings, a visual novel I really enjoyed that was about students designing an airplane. I'm four episodes in and Classroom Crisis hasn't been all that similar to either of my guesses, but oh well. I'll finish it tomorrow and then get back to Monster/Mob. I don't think anyone else here has seen or cares about Classroom Crisis, so I'm not sure if I should bother with a write-up and including it in the final ranking. I'll see how I feel once I finish it, I guess. I feel bad for delaying the last recommendations, so I'll quickly type up some Monster spoiler-thoughts too. I finished up to episode 62. REMAINING: 46 episodes Monster (62/74) Mob Psycho 100 (1/13 S2, 0/1 OVA, 0/12 S3) Classroom Crisis (4/13) I'm really, really going to try to finish everything in time to post the final ranking on Sunday. --- **R.O.B.A.Z.O.I.D** ... Copied to Clipboard!
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