General Anime Thread

@Holofan4life  
How many of those did you actually watch?

@dt  
What does that have to do with the conversation?

@Holofan4life  
So, none?

@dt  
I have seen some. Not all of them, but some. I don’t agree with the philosophy of “You can’t comment on it if you haven’t seen it.” If you feel that way, that’s fine. I’m gonna keep doing what I’m doing.

 
If I were to watch Spice and Wolf, I would be a Holo fan for life. I’m not a furry yet, and I like wolf girls.

@Holofan4life  
Quick question: What movie do you believe should’ve won among the nominees? I did watch the MHA movie and I enjoyed it.

@Scrabbleman  
I think the winner should’ve been Liz and the Blue Bird.

@Holofan4life  
Never heard of it.

@Holofan4life  
What makes you think you understand these shows when you had never seen them? You never watched Liz, or any of the nominees for Best Movie or Best Anime except ZLS. You think you get them just ‘cause you read some reddit memes or a reaction video? You don’t.

Mid-season rankings for Winter 2019. Like last winter, this is turning out to be kind of a top-heavy season for me. Disclaimer: All standards for artistic merit are completely subjective and arbitrary.
 

 
Mob Psycho first, the rest nowhere. Its optimistic themes, endearing cast, inventive and awesome action scenes. This show has been on another level. It’s surely going to come down in the second half but, hopefully, not too much.
 
KOTOBUKI has been very good, both in the air and on the ground. Interesting setting, immersive plane action, and really fun characters. Its tone has felt more even as the episodes have gone, although there still isn’t much in terms of an overall narrative. We’re mostly still just ambling about the world, but it’s been a lot of fun.
 
Endro’s shine started to fade a bit, but it picked back up with the introduction of Rona and more focus on Mao’s story. As much as I like the Hero party, Mao and Rona elevate the show to another level. This shows explores ideas that normally turn me away from fantasy anime, and adds a wholesome twist that I find endearing and entertaining. This show is still pretty legit.
 
Neverland has been solid, but I feel like it’s carried by its visual direction. I don’t think its writing is as smart as the show thinks it is. I don’t think giving your audience wrong information is a clever way to tell a story. But I do enjoy this show’s brand of tension, and its characters are sympathetic enough. The big problem still looms: how much of the stuff they’re setting up will actually pay off?
 
Gave Kaguya-sama another chance because I had nothing else to do, and while it still has some of the issues that I complained about initially, I didn’t regret picking it back up.
 
I’m glad to see the show doesn’t tie itself to its initial premise. Expanding it to general teenaged awkwardness and childish insecurities are more interesting and relatable, and helps make the comedy more varied and fun than I thought it would be. It also kinda works as a romance, but only as an exploration of what kids with no experience or positive influence might think love is. (Sort of like YagaKimi but less twisted.)
 
The problem with the show is that it set itself up to be a romance story that doesn’t go anywhere. Not only is there this impasse that defines the main pair’s relationship and a lot of the comedy, they don’t seem particularly damaged or miserable. So there’s no urgency for either side to change even at the cost of their pride. It’s difficult to get that invested in them as a couple when they themselves are not that interested in moving forward. But like I said, the story doesn’t tie itself down to its initial idea, so maybe there will be some major development that totally changes their dynamic.
 
Individually, the characters are fine. The show could spend more time exploring Miyuki’s character and why he likes Kaguya. I guess the show just assumes their audience would “get” him, so they spend more time exploring Kaguya’s thoughts, but I would like their story to feel a bit less one-sided. Chika is perfect, though. She is the element of this show that most lives up to the hype.
 
Star Twinkle Precure is off to a solid start. I love its throwback retro-futurist design, and the designs of its Cures. The characters sing while they transform, and if it worked for Symphogear, it can work for Precure. It’s too early to tell if it’s going to try for the deeper themes or have the quality of animation that Hugtto had at its best, but so far, it’s been fun.
 
Egao no Daika has been okay, but as solid as the individual eps have been and as much as I like the show’s themes, I’m not sure where the actual story is going now. Its leads haven’t even met yet. (Why do I gravitate to these kinds of shows, even when I’m trying something different.)
 
Dororo doesn’t have much to latch onto. The action sequences are cool, but most of the time, they fight demons, who are not really connected to the underlying story about the war. Its had its moments, but its episodic structure kinda makes it tough to get that invested in the series.
 
At least it seems to be getting better. We’re slowly learning more about Dororo, Hyakkimaru is getting more sympathetic as he’s reborn through battle, and they actually fight people now. Maybe it’ll all come together at some point, if the pacing doesn’t kill my interest.
 
Objectively, Manaria Friends should be a lot better (or at least classier) than it is, given its production value. Subjectively, the leads are hot, so it’s fine.
 
MGSO Asuka is dumb fun. I’m okay with the over-the-top action and characterizations, but I’m not really okay with its simplistic depictions of trauma. It’s nothing groundbreaking but it is some quality, edgy, problematic magical-girl bullshit, and that’s fine.
 
Hulaing Babies subs stopped. /shrug
 
Colorful Pastorale was amusing for awhile, but the lack of thought put into the world-building eventually got tiresome. Unlike Uma Musume, Maid Dragon, or even ZLS, its core gimmick didn’t add enough to keep me engaged long enough to see if there is more to the show, especially when they don’t even seem that committed to it.

@dt  
Depending on the direction, you probably should pick back up Kemono Friends season 2

@Holofan4life  
I kinda want to now after seeing that one spoiler. But I’m more likely to pick Kemurikusa back up, since it did more right in the eps that I watched, and I’ve seen more positive comments about it.

 
Dagshi Kashi is an anime about candy. I think.

@dt  

 
Colorful Pastorale kind of annoyed me at how the whole “they’re mermaids” schtick was seemingly tacked on as a cheap after-thought.  
Nothing works like it should if they were really underwater. How can you boil water underwater? How can you pour tea without it creating a messy tea-cloud everywhere? How have the girls NOT noticed that movie theatre before a storm blew away some reefs?

@dt  
In an anime about Candy.
 
Great we get to see what they think the M&M’s look like.

@YetAnotherBrony  
It’s even reflected in the art, where it looks like they forgot about their tails until the last second.

@YetAnotherBrony  
@dt
 
For comparison, Uma Musume had this:
 

 
What a show.

@dt  
I still love that little detail.

@dt  

 
It’s a slice of life romantic comedy with elements of ecchi thrown in.

@Holofan4life  
I watched both seasons, I’m pretty sure it’s about candy.
 

 
Yup. Candy.

@dt  
Making candy or humanized candy?

@PonyPon  
For real, they talk about candy products called “dagashi” which are very cheap and aimed at children with small allowances. The main character is a guy who is set to inherit his father’s dagashi shop but he doesn’t want that because I don’t remember. And then the girl featured in the dvd box art walks through the door.
 
He also has a cute childhood friend (featured in the gif) who he’s not interested in romantically because anime hates childhood friends. He also has another friend who wears sunglasses and a Hawaiian shirt all the time. (There was an ep set during a blackout, and he still wore sunglasses.)
 
It’s pretty decent. The lead guy is above-average for this sort of show (a bit dense but not frustrating), and the girls are cute. It’s a chill, comfy show, with pretty consistent humor. It gets a bit lewd in some spots but never gets real trashy. And the girls are cute.
 
And I really like the artist of the manga.

Apparently Battle Angel is pretty good.

Is anyone as surprised as I am Rimuru Tempest is so well liked? Usually characters who’s main defining characteristic is that he’s nice are labeled bland and uninteresting. However, not the case with Rimuru. A lot of anime fans like him. Is it because he’s a cute slime and therefore has a ton of merchandise appeal?

@Holofan4life  
>Usually characters who’s main defining characteristic is that he’s nice are labeled bland and uninteresting.
 
In the circles that I lurk in, this is celebrated. Especially in genres that are occasionally problematic.