I just watched the first episode of Maji de Watashi no Koi Shinasai. I liked it! Big battles, silly power levels, brief glimpses of likable characters… if you liked Sengoku Basara and aren’t completely allergic to high school characters, check this one out. Just very light humor and fanservice that was amusing instead of annoying or offensive.
Kimi to Boku is going to take the place of Hanasaku Iroha as “slice of life I actually enjoy” this season. You can basically summarize the series as “cute boys doing cute things.” Relaxing light humor. Despite what a lot of people assumed, this is not a homolust show. The boys have female love interests, but the show is focused on them and their friendships.
So, Hunter X Hunter #1. I thought this was an “alternate re-telling” of the original? Granted, I haven’t seen the first episode in over a decade, but everything felt so familiar, even the voices, that I could swear it was the original. That said, I liked it, and I really hope they end up finishing the manga story this time around and avoid some of the filler.
But, noobs! It was one of my favorites after the first viewing! :P
I watched the first episode of Horizon and, well, that happened. They sure animated the hell out whatever that was.
Everywhere I’m looking I see “alternate re-telling,” including on that schedule posted a page earlier. ANN also says it.
I dug this as well. Completely over-the-top abilities and the action was non-stop start to finish. I also thought it was fairly well-animated, especially in the “super character A fights super character B” sequences, not when the supers were wiping the floor with the rest of the students. The RTS aspects reminded me a bit of early Code Geass too, which is one of my favorite takeaways from that series.
I like Chiharafuru #1. Karuta is a very, very Japanese game, so it might not be for everyone, but I found it a nice, relaxing show.
It occurred to me by “alternate re-telling” of HxH, they might mean “basically the same as the original, minus a lot of the filler” because the ANN page says they’re going to follow the manga pretty closely, or at least it’s implied. Which is just fine with me.
If anyone’s had problems like me with watching recent vids (colors look weird etc.), it’s probably because a number of groups have switched to using Hi10P encodes. While some advertise the switch (and give you a choice of encodes), others do not, AFAICT. I found this guide helpful (slightly NSFW masthead).
It’s a “new adaptation” of the same story (the manga), so maybe they will change something, but it’s not an “alternate re-telling”, in the sense of “we are going to change shit here, forging a new story”.
In other news, we have learnt today i am more trustful than ANN. :D
Quitch
3091
Welcome to the NHK up to the end of episode 7 was superb. I especially love the way they’re pealing back the layers of his time in the literature club so you see him as a lonely and isolated boy clinging to this girl who, hides it better, but looks to be the same. Then they meet years later and little has changed, except he’s hiding in his room while she looks to be hiding inside herself. I was really looking forward to seeing how these two meeting again changes their lives. They have similar problems and they clearly have a bond going back for years, so this all feels very natural and very adult. Then there’s her farewell present to him when she leaves school…
Then episodes 8 and 9 trot along and suddenly we’re heading into a disappointingly predictable anime tropes. We’ve got fake dating, accidental stumbles, blushing and love interests developing for little reason beyond the fact that they’re major characters sharing screen time. Sigh.
I believe in you NHK, you can do better than this!
The guy is basically an anti social NEET, him latching on to attractive, friendly females isn’t exactly some huge jump.
Okay, I need some steampunk with airships.
Last Exile?
Quitch
3094
I agree, but that’s not what happens. She makes the first move.
Watching his obsession over take him was interesting and believable, someone has taken an interest in him for the first time since school, which is presumably why he’s remembering the literature club now. I feel this is being thrown away for something much more rote.
Still, at least in 10 he’s questioning all this himself.
EDIT: This hasn’t stopped me from wanting to leave work and go watch more of this ;)
Persona 4 anime is a huuuuuuge improvement over the mess that was the Persona 3 anime.
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai looks to be a pretty entertaining harem show. Probably the first thing I’ll drop if I find that I have too much stuff to watch this season, but that’s just because of my ambivalence towards harem shows. The characters so far are pretty fun.
Although there are airships in Last Exile, they are not steam powered. Still a very good series.
Steamboy might fit better.
Quitch
3098
Welcome to the NHK is still good but it’s no longer great. I think after episode 7 it has lost some of its focus and we’re stuck in mini-arcs where a problem arises which eliminates his progress and then by the end of the arc has been resolved, only for a new problem to occur.
The issue is that the show isn’t really moving forward. Each of the first seven episodes built on the ones that came before, so it felt like one on-going story. It no longer has that feeling, there’s very little development going on. I’m also disappointed that Senpai was thrown away in that mini-arc and her problems having seemingly all been fixed through a marriage proposal. Really? We’re throwing her away but keeping cipher girl? I was hoping she’d play a bigger part than she has because her problems, and her history with the main character, make her quite interesting. That her happiness with another was almost enough to destroy him was something I’d hoped would be more drawn out and better explored.
Ah well. I’m at 17 now and I expect the formula to continue until about 21 or 22 when it will go into its sprint for the finish.
Otagan
3099
I was never the biggest fan of NHK, and it’s one of the first anime I ever actually watched. I recall particularly enjoying a couple of arcs but finding the rest rather middling. I do think the lack of development is quite intentional as it serves to highlight the social issues the show is always bringing to the fore and makes them actual problems, not something that can be resolved by a single story arc.
NHK isn’t a show that tops my list of recommendations to others, that much is for sure. I have it on good authority that the manga is considerably better, but have yet to verify that independently. One day that might be something I try. Time will tell.
There are too many new shows that I still need to watch, and a wall of text will likely come once I get around to the last few. Chihayafuru is faring well on a tentative basis, somewhat unexpectedly, but I don’t know if my interest will hold up over time.
It has been a LONG time since i’ve seen the anime, but I was pretty sure there was an ending to it that saw some movement for each of the main characters.
