Winter 2018 Anime discussion

[Ranzo]

Watched the first episode of Violent Evergreen so far it seems really good I love the art direction and I really like the main character(She reminds me of a character I'm trying to write so I felt a bit jealous)

[Plk_Lesiak]

I've just watched the third episode of Death March to the Parallel World and for me it's absolutely wonderful. It has some of those typical elements that should theoretically break it, with protagonist being completely overpowered etc., but I don't think I've seen RPG anime doing such a good job at creating a climate of adventure and exploring the game's world - it's like what In Another World with My Smartphone tried to do, but with a lot better writing, much less (if any) haren trashyness and a protagonist that might be a bit Gary Stue-ish, but have an actual backstory and motivations that make his actions in this new world meaningful and understandable - someone that doesn't want to play the hero, but just enjoys the opportunity to escape from his miserable life and tries to make the best of his situation.

People obviously give it shitty ratings for how iterative it is - after all, it's probably the millionth isekai series out there - but it just does such a good job with this concept. It's still early in the season, but if what I've heard about the LN is true, it should be a joyful experience through and through.

[Kurisu-Chan]

16 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

I've just watched the third episode of Death March to the Parallel World and for me it's absolutely wonderful. It has some of those typical elements that should theoretically break it, with protagonist being completely overpowered etc., but I don't think I've seen RPG anime doing such a good job at creating a climate of adventure and exploring the game's world - it's like what In Another World with My Smartphone tried to do, but with a lot better writing, much less (if any) haren trashyness and a protagonist that might be a bit Gary Stue-ish, but have an actual backstory and motivations that make his actions in this new world meaningful and understandable - someone that doesn't want to play the hero, but just enjoys the opportunity to escape from his miserable life and tries to make the best of his situation.

People obviously give it shitty ratings for how iterative it is - after all, it's probably the millionth isekai series out there - but it just does such a good job with this concept. It's still early in the season, but if what I've heard about the LN is true, it should be a joyful experience through and through.

Stop trying to sell me that Isekai please, stop wwww, it took me a whole year to finally be objective about Re;Zero, i don't want to relive the nightmare!!

Jk jk, so far i watched first episode of Violet Evergarden...it reminds me way too much about the first ghost in the shell movie, i don't know why, but i have the impression both shows tackles the same theme, just phrased differently. 

[Jun Inoue]

17 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

I've just watched the third episode of Death March to the Parallel World and for me it's absolutely wonderful. It has some of those typical elements that should theoretically break it, with protagonist being completely overpowered etc., but I don't think I've seen RPG anime doing such a good job at creating a climate of adventure and exploring the game's world - it's like what In Another World with My Smartphone tried to do, but with a lot better writing, much less (if any) haren trashyness and a protagonist that might be a bit Gary Stue-ish, but have an actual backstory and motivations that make his actions in this new world meaningful and understandable - someone that doesn't want to play the hero, but just enjoys the opportunity to escape from his miserable life and tries to make the best of his situation.

People obviously give it shitty ratings for how iterative it is - after all, it's probably the millionth isekai series out there - but it just does such a good job with this concept. It's still early in the season, but if what I've heard about the LN is true, it should be a joyful experience through and through.

I'm really sorry, but... no. To everything. In all due honesty, I had already read the manga, so I knew what I was getting into, and that it was going to be a pretty bad anime (since the source material itself is a pretty bad narrative). But the anime surprises even more.

The MC is yet another *insert yourself here* who's OP beyond reality, the harem is going to be insane (and, in a way, quite literally a harem). The action scenes are pretty weak, the colours are ugly, the scenes transition horribly from one to another, and so does the dialogue... and I really could go on. I'd say you were actually spot on the moment you brought up Smartphone, cuz this is pretty much the same. Hell, the dude has so many skill points he becomes a master of anything he does instantaneously, learns everything he sees, and so on. He's even killed a god, from what we've seen in episode 3!

I understand that it's a pretty "conflictive" argument since I'm literally going against the point you made, but you can only force things so much, and to call this show good by any standard... I get "entertaining", because it is, but Death March fails kind of at almost everything.

I'll most certainly keep watching it, though, both cuz this season's been so weak and cuz there's a sort of intrinsic entertainment in this kind of shows.

[Plk_Lesiak]

57 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

I'm really sorry, but... no. To everything. In all due honesty, I had already read the manga, so I knew what I was getting into, and that it was going to be a pretty bad anime (since the source material itself is a pretty bad narrative). But the anime surprises even more.

The MC is yet another *insert yourself here* who's OP beyond reality, the harem is going to be insane (and, in a way, quite literally a harem). The action scenes are pretty weak, the colours are ugly, the scenes transition horribly from one to another, and so does the dialogue... and I really could go on. I'd say you were actually spot on the moment you brought up Smartphone, cuz this is pretty much the same. Hell, the dude has so many skill points he becomes a master of anything he does instantaneously, learns everything he sees, and so on. He's even killed a god, from what we've seen in episode 3!

I understand that it's a pretty "conflictive" argument since I'm literally going against the point you made, but you can only force things so much, and to call this show good by any standard... I get "entertaining", because it is, but Death March fails kind of at almost everything.

I'll most certainly keep watching it, though, both cuz this season's been so weak and cuz there's a sort of intrinsic entertainment in this kind of shows.

Well, obviously the protagonist is in God Mode and that eliminates most of the possible drama, but it also have a very different feel than Smartphone, where you simply knew that nothing exciting can happen, because everything must lead to MC becoming bigger and bigger hero to the whole world. Also, action scenes? There wasn't much of that yet and I think they weren't the point of anything that happened so far. It's all about exploration and figuring out this artificial world and its rules - especially because the protag tries to play it smart and not revealing his true nature to others. Maybe it's just different expectations, but I've found all of this quite refreshing - also, if it's really going to devolve into super-standard harem fantasy anime, then my assessment will change a lot - Smartphone, if we go by that example, stank of harem since the very beginnings, I guess the cast of this one should suggest the same, but there was nothing screaming "ecchi trash series" in the episodes aired so far.

BTW, I didn't try to say it's a masterpiece (by wonderful, apart from exaggerating just for the fun of it, I simply meant that for me it's super-entertaining), it is an isekai series with just some slight spins to it, so I judge it as the super-casual entertainment thing that it is. I just find it much more balanced and well-though out than some other examples of this I've seen so far (I don't count Re:ZERO obviously, because it's a very different beast).

Also, I have a terrible taste when it goes to all kinds of media, so there's that too.

EDIT: Also I find the part with discovering the "god-killer" title and realizing he randomly killed one while testing the meteor shower ability quite funny. The fact he's OP to the point that some of his skills are too dangerous to use is not a bad plot development - he has the means to completely screw this world over or take any role he wants in it, the thing is that he don't want to turn it upside down or bend it to his will, he wants to explore it and enjoy his time there. It's such a simple, casual concept that simply have a very subjective, personal appeal for me.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Plk_Lesiak

[bakauchuujin]

Personally I feel like Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody is just like In Another World With My Smartphone just that it has better writing and better animation. Btw being better at that than smartphone is not hard.

[Plk_Lesiak]

47 minutes ago, bakauchuujin said:

Personally I feel like Death March to the Parallel World Rhapsody is just like In Another World With My Smartphone just that it has better writing and better animation. Btw being better at that than smartphone is not hard.

Indeed, it's pretty possible that I've been watching so many bad series lately (Smartphone included) that anything half-competent suddenly looks like the ninth wonder of the world, but I will cautiously stand by my unreasonable opinions.

[Mr Poltroon]

31 minutes ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Indeed, it's pretty possible that I've been watching so many bad series lately (Smartphone included) that anything half-competent suddenly looks like the ninth wonder of the world, but I will cautiously stand by my unreasonable opinions.

By all means, please enjoy yourself.
There have been cases where external opinions have affected my opinion of a title. Don't let that happen. If you're enjoying a 'mediocre' title, please do so. Any time time spent doing so is time not spent on excellently regarded titles you might later consume and enjoy. I think the bane of most badly regarded titles is that not enough people even try them with any patience (Not that that's a bad thing. Your time is your own, and there are plenty of other things you could do that you find to be more rewarding investments).
In other words, take every opportunity to enjoy things you usually would not, and leave those that you normally would enjoy for another time. That will maximise your overall enjoyment, or so I believe.

 

Incidentally, since I am posting in this thread, here are some things I'm really looking forward to starting:

Spoiler

 

• Hakumei to Mikochi
• Marchen Maden
• Slow Start
• Takunomi
• Gakuen Babysitters
• Ryuou no Oshigoto!
• Yuru Camp
• Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
• Karakai Jouzou no Takagi-san
• Death March on a Parallel World
• Citrus (though I'm seriously not looking forward to the majority of it)
• Overlord II
• Violet Evergarden

...which also happens to be a lot more shows than what I'm used to per season. And I haven't started a single one because I'm far too busy. And I still haven't finished a few from the previous season.

 

Envy my slow consumption rate and crappy standards, peasants!

[Kurisu-Chan]

I'm pretty sure Violet Evergarden will be the anime of the year (yes, yes i know there is legend of galactic heroes that will come next, yes i know it's production I.G, but nah, it's gonna be Violet Evergarden)

PS : Yes i also know there will be steins;gate 0, but let's be honest, Violet Evergarden is way too beautiful and cool and good to get beaten by anything this year.

PPS : Yes, i know there's also a Captain Tsubasa anime this year, but let's be honest, even animated Christiano Ronaldo can beat Violet.

PPPS : Yes, i know there's also, also attack on titan Season 3, but let's be honest, Eren can't even Yamero!!! Violet Evergarden.

PPPPS : Yes, i also know there's also, also my hero academia season 3, but no amount of TEXAS LEMME SMASH can even smash Violet.

PPPPPS : Yes, Yes, Death March Kara Hajimaru Isekai something is yet another isekai anime, like that shit is not even overdone since .Hack//Sign, amirite?

PPPPPPS : Ok, but can you do this?

[bakauchuujin]

still quite some time left of this year. Feel like it is a bit too early to call something anime of the year

 

Edited January 26, 2018 by bakauchuujin

[Jun Inoue]

23 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Well, obviously the protagonist is in God Mode and that eliminates most of the possible drama, but it also have a very different feel than Smartphone, where you simply knew that nothing exciting can happen, because everything must lead to MC becoming bigger and bigger hero to the whole world. Also, action scenes? There wasn't much of that yet and I think they weren't the point of anything that happened so far. It's all about exploration and figuring out this artificial world and its rules - especially because the protag tries to play it smart and not revealing his true nature to others. Maybe it's just different expectations, but I've found all of this quite refreshing - also, if it's really going to devolve into super-standard harem fantasy anime, then my assessment will change a lot - Smartphone, if we go by that example, stank of harem since the very beginnings, I guess the cast of this one should suggest the same, but there was nothing screaming "ecchi trash series" in the episodes aired so far.

BTW, I didn't try to say it's a masterpiece (by wonderful, apart from exaggerating just for the fun of it, I simply meant that for me it's super-entertaining), it is an isekai series with just some slight spins to it, so I judge it as the super-casual entertainment thing that it is. I just find it much more balanced and well-though out than some other examples of this I've seen so far (I don't count Re:ZERO obviously, because it's a very different beast).

Also, I have a terrible taste when it goes to all kinds of media, so there's that too.

EDIT: Also I find the part with discovering the "god-killer" title and realizing he randomly killed one while testing the meteor shower ability quite funny. The fact he's OP to the point that some of his skills are too dangerous to use is not a bad plot development - he has the means to completely screw this world over or take any role he wants in it, the thing is that he don't want to turn it upside down or bend it to his will, he wants to explore it and enjoy his time there. It's such a simple, casual concept that simply have a very subjective, personal appeal for me.

Oh, no, no no. This will never be about taste. Your taste is shit, and so is mine, and same for all of us. I mean, I really like Gate, and god is it an awful anime.

I get the whole context-based bias, how due to the similitudes Death March can look like an smarter Smartphone (hue). I reacted that way mostly because it reminded me of the way people try to defend not their taste, but bad shows being not so terrible because "well I like it", an argument that really gets to me. Quality and enjoyment don't necessarily go hand by hand, we know as much, so there's a need to sometimes "mark the line" a bit too strongly between the two.

Btw, regarding the harem, it is indeed going into that direction, and really hard. I can't remember if it's the OP or the ED, but you can see a part of it where it shows like 5 or 6 girls in succession; they are all part of the harem (not really a spoiler, I'd say, since the OP/ED literally shows them to us). I would comment smth else about the harem... but that could indeed be a spoiler, so I'll refrain from it

@Kurisu-Chan

Spoiler

 

[tahu157]

4 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

I would comment smth else about the harem... but that could indeed be a spoiler, so I'll refrain from it

Are you talking about how most of the harem are his slaves even though he doesn't actually consider them slaves?

[Jun Inoue]

4 minutes ago, tahu157 said:

 

  Hide contents

Are you talking about how most of the harem are his slaves even though he doesn't actually consider them slaves?

 

Spoiler

Indeed. Even the ones who join the harem and technically are not his "slaves", he nevertheless has some form of control and/or power over them. It's a harem of girls whose existence depends on him. It's a pretty messed up mindset for the show if you think about it, I'd say.

 

[tahu157]

12 minutes ago, Jun Inoue said:

  Hide contents

Indeed. Even the ones who join the harem and technically are not his "slaves", he nevertheless has some form of control and/or power over them. It's a harem of girls whose existence depends on him. It's a pretty messed up mindset for the show if you think about it, I'd say.

 

Yeh, for a series that says slavery is evil it sure romanticizes the idea an awful lot. As with any harem this is a self-insert 'nice-guy' masturbation. In its attempts to "do the right thing" though, it becomes the most screwed up of them all.

[Jun Inoue]

47 minutes ago, tahu157 said:

 

  Hide contents

Yeh, for a series that says slavery is evil it sure romanticizes the idea an awful lot. As with any harem this is a self-insert 'nice-guy' masturbation. In its attempts to "do the right thing" though, it becomes the most screwed up of them all.

 

[pik3rob]

Here's my very brief thoughts on everything I've watched at least a little of.

Mitsuboshi Colors - Great source material with a decent adaptation that is sadly let down by poor production values.

Violet Evergarden - Great first episode with very average second and third ones.

A Place Further Than The Universe - Amazing. Great characters, nice direction, spot on comedy, all tied together by a well delivered central theme.

Slow Start - Anime of The Season.

Hakumei to Mikochi - Okay. Sometimes boring, other times relaxing.

Yuru Camp - Cozy as all hell

Death March - Hate it. Nothing interesting at all. Isekai Smartphone was better.

After The Rain - Has it's hiccups here and there, but it's shaping up nicely.

Ryuuou no Oshigoto - Proud pleasure of the season.

Beatless - Couldn't make it past the first episode.

Citrus - Saw a non yuri kiss and noped out of there.

Junji Ito Collection - Second episode was creepy, but it's very clear that Junji Ito is just a bad writer.

Takagi-san - It's worth watching for one episode. Loses all it's steam after that

Pop Team Epic - Absolute shit.

Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san - Eh

Toji no Miko - Crap

[Plk_Lesiak]

31 minutes ago, pik3rob said:

Citrus - Saw a non yuri kiss and noped out of there.

Whut? The series itself is generally quite heavy/uncomfortable, but that scene was a crucial plotpoint that so far I don't think repeated in any form (and probably won't) - a one-time thing that was there to build Mei's background and motivations. 

[pik3rob]

7 hours ago, Plk_Lesiak said:

Whut? The series itself is generally quite heavy/uncomfortable, but that scene was a crucial plotpoint that so far I don't think repeated in any form (and probably won't) - a one-time thing that was there to build Mei's background and motivations. 

But it ruins the pure and wholesome yuri image I had of it going in. If it's not pure yuri, then I don't have any intention of dealing with this show's brand of bullshit.

[Jun Inoue]

13 minutes ago, pik3rob said:

But it ruins the pure and wholesome yuri image I had of it going in. If it's not pure yuri, then I don't have any intention of dealing with this show's brand of bullshit.

How could you go into it with a pure and wholesome image. Everything about the show screamed "fetishistic yuri anime"

[pik3rob]

2 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

How could you go into it with a pure and wholesome image. Everything about the show screamed "fetishistic yuri anime"

Yuri itself is pure and wholesome by nature. Seeing an ounce of non yuri kills all that wholesomeness.

[Jun Inoue]

9 minutes ago, pik3rob said:

Yuri itself is pure and wholesome by nature. Seeing an ounce of non yuri kills all that wholesomeness.

Yuri = Youngster u r incorrect.

Still waiting for a yuri show that's not for men to masturbate to

[pik3rob]

8 hours ago, Jun Inoue said:

Yuri = Youngster u r incorrect.

Still waiting for a yuri show that's not for men to masturbate to

Youngsters and Yuri are both pure. By your name I expected you to understand this better than anyone else. Yuri shows are meant to be masturbated to. Tainting the innocent and pure lesbian lovers with your own lewd thoughts is what all men of culture strive to do.

Edited January 30, 2018 by pik3rob

[Jun Inoue]

7 hours ago, pik3rob said:

Youngsters and Yuri are both pure. By your name I expected you to understand this better than anyone else. Yuri shows are meant to be masturbated to. Tainting the innocent and pure lesbian lovers with your own lewd thoughts is what all men of culture strive to do.

I defend purity, you monster!

Spoiler

Also, Pop Team Epic 4 seem to indeed be the confirmation of what we feared. The first episode burnt through every decent joke the show had, and now very little is left. All things said, though, I might continue watching simply cuz this season is pretty barren.

[MaggieROBOT]

Somehow, I enjoyed episode 2 of Pop Team Epic more than episode 1, but maybe that's just me. I'm yet to watch episode 3 and 4 tho.

Anyway, just watched episode 1 of Fate/Extra Last Encore and, as someone who have played the game (but not CCC) twice, I have no idea what's happening. For someone who doesn't know a thing about it, it will be either going forward with hype alone or be utterly confused for 20 mins. The background art is fantastic, but the characters are a bit... weird. Especially the girls. Aka Saber's eyes are huge and the fact that they stretched her legs so her clothes could be "less revealing" made her torso way too short.

They also changed lots of things in regards to the plot of the prologue and wasted time with inexplicable cameos intead of showing character like Rani or even Alice. I'm also not satisfied with the attempts to "edgify" the story (like what Shinji did, the "hate, hate, hate" the MC keeps thinking, the Limbo thing, unless this one is from CCC, I don't know).

I'll keep watching, but my hype already died ;___;

[eris]

I'm only really interested in the continuation Mahoutsukai no Yome this season, which I keep wanting to be good. :'(