The last anime you saw?

[MrGarland]

Just a couple of different series and movies I've watched during the past few months. I planned to post this earlier but had to delay doing so for a few reasons.

 

Paranoia Agent

 

 

Watched: Ep 1-12 (complete)

Enjoyment: 9/10

 

Here's something that I watched during Halloween. I mean, it had to be something as dark as this, right? I had some other shows in my mind such as Ergo Proxy, but since I haven't seen this and I've enjoyed Satoshi Kon's works, I decided to do myself a favor and watch this.

 

So, what can I say about this one? I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll leave it to that. In all seriousness, I had my own expectations, but man, was it a trip. If there’s anything that I’ll remember about this, it’s the OP song. Easily one of its kind.

 

 

The Girl in Twilight

 

 

Watched: Ep 1-12 (complete)

Enjoyment: 8/10

 

Oh, how long I've been planning to start watching this. I knew that it has its flaws, but I’ve been curious to check this one for a while.

 

First, the positive. I liked the concept which is something I haven’t seen in an anime before, at least not that much. I liked how each of the main characters get their own episodes and some character growth in the process, with the ones focusing on Mia and Chloe being my favorites. Not to mention, the transformation in the parallel universe, while sometimes silly, were pretty cool.

 

As for the negatives, it's the ending, which is rather weak. In fact, I think it's the weakest one I've seen for a while. I don't want to spoil anything, but I'll say that I was at least expecting some kind of final battle against the Twilight King (or the King of Twilight, as it's said in the subtitles), but no. It never happened. Instead, it was something different and that's the thing I was disappointed with. Other than that, there's not much else to say.

 

Overall, if I don't count the ending, I'd say I enjoyed this more than I thought. Shame that all the plans to turn this into a multimedia project were scrapped. I'd like to see more of this, but sadly, that's never going to happen. Oh well. Watching an episode or two every now and then still does the job.

 

PS. Asuka is the best girl. Same can be said about her parallel version of herself, Seriouska.

 

 

Kiki’s Delivery Service

 

 

Rewatched: 1/1

Enjoyment: 10/10

 

I decided to watch this at some point when I was working on my first trophy guide (now finished). After all, it’s been several years since I last watched any of these movies, and I needed a break from writing, so this was a good way to relax. It won’t be the only Studio Ghibli movie I’m going to watch. In fact, I’ve selected a couple of others I’ll watch when I have enough time.

 

Anyway, there’s not much to say about this one. The climax might be a bit forced, but I don’t care about that. This movie is still a classic, and it’s also one of my favorites. Not to mention, the ED song sounds beautiful.

 

 

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish

 

 

Rewatched: 1/1

Enjoyment: 10/10

 

I wanted to take the holidays easy, so I decided to rewatch this again. What more there’s to say, it’s still a beautiful movie to watch, as it was for the first time.

 

Also, something I missed when watching this for the first time was that the scene before the credits is set in Christmas Eve, so when the main duo reunites with each other again, they get possibly the best Christmas gift. I probably don’t have to say what I mean, do I?

 

 

D4DJ: First Mix

 

 

Watched: Ep 1-13 (complete)

Enjoyment: 10/10

 

I saved this one for last anime of 2022 I watched and it's an interesting one. I started watching this when it aired, but when it was time to watch the final episode, I never did it until recently. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Maybe it was laziness or something, but I really have no idea why I never finished it back then. When I did resume it, I decided to watch it from the start, rather than where I left off. After all, it's been so long since I last watched this, so it'd make sense to do that, instead of resuming from the final one.

 

There are a couple of things I'd like to mention before I start sharing my thoughts. The first time I started watching this, I noticed that the animation style looked very familiar. When I looked for more info, I found that the studio behind this had also produced BanG Dream! (Season 2 onward). It’s nice to be surprised.

 

Finally, the description the streaming services have is an odd one. “Having moved back to Japan from abroad, she transfers to Yoba Academy where DJing is popular. She is deeply moved by a DJ concert she sees there, and decides to form a unit of her own with Maho Akashi, Muni Ohnaruto, and Rei Togetsu.” MAL also the same kind of description, but the difference is that it specifies immediately who moved back to Japan, instead of doing that later.

 

Now that I got that out of the way, what can be said about the show? If the enjoyment score wasn't obvious, I enjoyed it a lot. Of course, I enjoyed it when I first watched it, but since it has been so long, I had forgotten all those great moments. And what better way to do that than pointing out some of my favorite moments. Note that there will be some spoilers ahead, so in case you’re planning to watch this, read the text below at your own risk.

 

Spoiler

Ep 1: I only have thing to say about this one. That dance Rinku does is cute. Same goes to the ED, where Maho does the same thing.

 

Ep 3: Rinku is the best girl, but it's Maho who has the best facial expressions. The look on her face when Rinku performs her signature spin in the second half of the episode is pure gold. Same can be said about the smile she makes when they're about to do another live, this time with Muni.

 

Ep 4: When Maho asks Muni about the stuffed animal she's carrying, there's a nice and long pause before Maho says anything again, and that pause lasts for almost 15 seconds. Same thing happens in Ep 6, and that was amusing as well.

 

Ep 6: Make My Style. Do I even need to say how great that song is? Even though they first performed it in Ep 4, I'd say it sounds much better in this episode, since Rei has joined the group as well.

 

Ep 10: Happy Around vs Photon Maiden. I’ll be honest, both teams gave their best and I enjoyed their songs, but the one that made me the biggest impact was Happy Around. Listening to their song for the first time was great, but when I watched the episode again and read the news about how Rei’s VA is going to be someone else in the sequel, listening to it now makes even more impact than ever. Not to mention, the fact that they tried something original and different for a change was a smart move. In case you want to see what I mean, here’s the clip.

 

Ep 12: When Rinku and Muni end up having a fight, what's the best way to make up? Rap battle, that's what. It reminds me of Zombieland Saga S1, which has had the same thing happening, and both of those were enjoyable.

 

Ep 13: The duel between Happy Around and Peaky P-key was something I looked forward to very much and it did not disappoint. Once I listened to both of their songs, I knew who the winner would be. At least it shows that you can't win every time. That ending performance with those two, and Photon Maiden, was amazing, though.

 

Overall, I'm very satisfied with this. Easily one of my favorite anime series of Fall 2020. Also, yay for S2. And it won't be long before it starts airing. I’m also planning to start playing the mobile game. I’ve played Love Live! SIF in the past and I spent playing that for a few years but had to stop because I didn’t have enough time for that, and I also had some technical problems that occurred every now and then when playing.

Edited February 1, 2023 by MrGarland

[sillyrobo75]

8/10

Chainsaw Man might be one of the most overhyped pieces of media in the last few years, even so, I had fun with it, it's a good show thanks to its characters, atmosphere and mature themes compared to what other anime in its genre offer, at the same time the fights are really not that impressive compared to other action shounen anime like Jujutsu Kaisen (made by the same studio) or Demon Slayer, also the cgi looks quite meh at times, overall the animation quality is very uneven.

Overall, when it comes to production values, I think Mappa as a studio has a long way to go till they can be considered in the same league as ufotable or KyoAni.

 

 

 

7/10

This is the first chinese anime I've ever watched, the 1st season of Scissor Seven has only 10 episodes, each at about 15 minutes long.

At parts it's somewhat reminiscent of Mob Psycho. The focus here is mostly on the humor (think Stephen Chow movies) and heartfelt moments, and not on the action. From what I read the 3rd season has some incredible looking fights. It's a fine season with hints at a greater more mature story, so I will continue with the next 2 seasons.

Edited January 1, 2023 by sillyrobo75

[EDGES]

 

Teasing Master Takagi-san Season 3

 

finished the 3rd season of Teasing Master, it's just as great as the first two, it's an amazing series overall, I give it a 10, it's the best of its kind

[SmileSlice]

Angels of Death

 

I finished the anime the other night and absolutely loved it. Very unique with interesting characters.

 

Now I’ve started playing the game that the show is based on, and enjoying it too!

[EDGES]

 

Spy x Family Part 2

 

done with the continuation to this, it manages to maintain its quality, it's nice to see a little more focus on Yor and the new character is a good addition, same for the dog, maybe there's not as much progress in the actual story as I would've liked to see, but I get it, they want to drag the family scenario as much as possible, I also think it's a strength that the show doesn't focus on the special abilities or Yor's side job

Edited January 15, 2023 by INVESTIGATOR

[EDGES]

 

Chainsaw Man

 

I didn't watch it so far because the concept looked goofy to me, but afther finishing it without any expectation or knowledge before starting it, I can say that it was a pleasant surprise, it's similar to Tokyo Ghouls, I like the powers from Tokyo Ghoul more and the animation is way better in Tokyo Ghoul, but Chainsaw Man has way better characters, world building, and more potential

I liked it a lot, looking forward for more

as far as the endings, the best one is the 3rd (made by guys that did work for Death Note), then 2nd, and 8th (made by guys that did wotk for Tokyo Ghoul) gets a mention too

it has my recommendation

[RedRodriguez87]

VOL 1

 

I've been putting this one off for years and years and years, because it did not strike me as something I would like, despite it being based on one of my favorite PS2 games. After watching the first four episodes, it seems my initial judgment was validated, as is bears very little resemblance to the game it's based on. It tries to delve into the backstory of the main protagonist and antagonist, showing how they got to their situation. Problem is, I don't care.

 

Here's the thing when it comes to something like GunGrave; it's in the vein of John Wick. The hows and whys of everything happening isn't the important part, it's the shoot-'em up action and simple Revenge plot that drives it forward. I know this varies from person to person, but you aren't going to make me feel for anybody working in organized crime, because they perpetuate a cycle of violence and suffering upon the innocent. Most of these action-based pieces know this, so they skip that part, hope you would accept the premise of somebody who tried to leave that life behind taking as many bad guys as they can with them.

 

 I will admit I was a bit intrigued for the first couple episodes, because I thought they were going to go to the route of making the main protagonist a straight-up mute, but no, he ends up talking in the later episodes, so that's out the window. So, I'm just going to go ahead and drop it here, because I really don't care to make it through half of the series just to get to the video game portion.

[SmileSlice]

Nekopara (S1)

 

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! (S1)

 

Masamune-kun’s Revenge (S1)

[xEl_Cidx]

[IV-Adz]

[Annoyingtiger888]

[Slava]

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san 2nd Attack (episode 1)

 

 

They changed the studio for the second season, and you can see the difference in animation quality even if you compare the first minute of each season. The OP song is not as good as last time either. But other than that, it's close to the predecessor. The VA work is as good as ever, especially the leads. Manga readers were excited about some character development moments, which would be nice. I'll probably enjoy this season regardless.

[SelectiveGamer]

 

Trails of Cold Steel Northern War anime has now started english dubbed and I've started watching it due to that. I can't judge it yet obviously, but at least I'll now be able to see why this was so important in Cold Steel 3 and 4 when it felt like it was getting referenced constantly in what felt like every five freaking seconds.

[ShonenCat]

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders (episodes 1-48)

ZA WARUDO!!!!

[RedRodriguez87]

The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle

 

Watch this one on a whim, and it was pretty MEH for the most part. Apparently there's a rumor going around that the previous movies much darker tone and themes didn't go over so well with audiences, so they intentionally went the opposite direction for this one, and it does show. 

 

I found the first half the movie really entertaining, with gags that actually got a laugh out of me, and it sets itself up that they are going to explore an A fully mechanically themed island. But then around the halfway point, it switches to a completely different movie, and as a result becomes a lot more generic and boring with none of the humor really present. The promise of exploring a fully mechanical island goes right out the window, and we're right back into the generic moss covered mountains that so many other movies do. The action itself is really dull, with all the enemies going down in one shot. There is some neat foreshadowing at gear second, but the final attack used to destroy the titular Castle is really really stupid. not the fun stupid, but the "I'm not sure what they were even thinking" stupid.

 

Another odd point of contention is Luffy. Again, probably to distance itself from the previous movie, he acts overly joyful and optimistic, but not in the adventure seeking "does what his heart tells him" way but as a mentally handicapped child. He is constantly just running around aimlessly and constantly crashing into things like a hyperactive kid and not really investing into anything anybody saying, which at least to me is not how I'm used to Luffy.

[blacklight-nero]

  

 

 
 

Currently watching Vinland season 2 really enjoyed season 1 so have high hopes this will be as good so far I’m enjoying it, As for Darwin’s Game it was a fun watch but I feel like I’ve watched so many animes like it before but it is what it is still enjoyed it.                                  

[xEl_Cidx]

 

(1986)

Season 1 

Classic show

[EDGES]

 

Akiba Maid War

 

I have to give it points for originality, a Yakuza story where the Yakuza are maids

[Dantes_994]

A silly name for a brilliant anime!

Loved the chemistry of the characters and how understanding they are towards one another. Also love the strange things that happen throughout the series, in my headcannon, which is the best headcannon ever put to mind or paper, it's set in the same universe as the Catherine and Persona games

Give it a whorl, it's a solid 9.5/10

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Dantes_994

[SelectiveGamer]

 

Trigun Stampede has apparently started english dubbed and I've already caught up with current dubbed episodes. I can't really say much so far. Not sure how it compares to the original... but it is a little unfair to compare it to the original. I'd say it's okay so far. I also don't know if it more closely follows the manga or not.

[poker_1987]

Just completed the stick of truth so I watched an episode of south park

[EDGES]

 

Kakegurui Twin

 

nice 6 episode prequel

[EDGES]

 

Sabikui Bisco

 

good fast pacing, lots of action, the giant crab, Actagawa, is a great character

[Taihou]

Currently Watching - 

Otonari no Tenshi-sama ni Itsunomanika Dame Ningen ni Sareteita Ken

I'm just gonna say....I wasn't a diabetic until I watched this, it's too sweet!!

 

Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!

I have only watched one episode but it seems interesting and keen to watch some more

[PraiseTheFluppi]

I'm currently watching Spriggan and Trigun Stampede, and I'm super impressed by the 3D usage. The first and last '3D anime' I watched was Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio some years ago, and that was all I ever wanted to watch with 3D models, it was so bad ?
But Trigun made me look forward to new anime in that style! Episode 3 of Trigun was insanely good!