The last thing we watched, cartoon/animu edition

[Bob_McMillan]

Watched Attack on Titan Part 4 The Final Stage 7 Episode 0.5 on Netflix.

Great production value as always. Although I think the setup for the finale is really unsuited to the CGI they're using for the titans. A fuckton of colossal titans should be horrifying, and when zoomed in they are, but when we get wide shots of them, they move far too fast to seem imposing.

It's also just really so grimdark and edgy, which has me wondering if they really will stick to the silly ending the manga had. After all this bleak horror, I feel like that ending would induce neck breaking whiplash.

The episode (or is it movie? This thing is a fucking hour long) ends right before the dumbest part of the whole story, so that was a smart move I suppose. I don't know if I'll watch the finale, since it's my girlfriend who's the fan, but I've come this far so might as well.

 

[Kyrian007]

(Copied from the review I left on MyAnimeList)

Eureka Seven is first and foremost a coming of age story, but more broadly it's about how everyone can and should adapt as their circumstances change. It's also about mecha on flying surfboards, the horrors of war, the power of love, fascism, counterculture, Gaia Theory, the importance of family no matter its form, how you shouldn't meet your heroes, some really out there sci fi worldbuilding, and finding your first love. Even at a stout fifty episodes it's positively overstuffed with ideas, which does mean some have to be run through at a million miles an hour and arguably don't get the screentime that they should, and people coming in with an explicit desire to see a *lot* of mecha action may leave disappointed. However, all of the ideas clearly belong together and play off of each other to create the texture of the story. It's a very post-Evangelion series in much of its ideas and iconography, but is also a repudiation of the former show's crushing nihilism. The animation itself is not necessarily awe inspiring, although it is consistently good, but the designs are visually interesting and there's a very considered use of colour that means things that need to stand out, like lasers and the trapar waves which allow flight, do. The first part of the story is a bit slowly paced, but patient viewers will be rewarded with a cavalcade of "oh blimey" moments, in various forms: shocking plot twists, scenes of visceral horror, and moments of punch-the-air triumph. It is a wild and uneven rollercoaster ride that will leave viewers with a preference for more tightly constructed plots behind, but I absolutely loved it.

I enjoyed Eureka Seven, Its sequel... not so much. Didn't get far into it before I entirely lost interest. Kind of like how I feel about Last Exile. The original was beautiful and a favorite of mine. I couldn't even get through its sequel.

Overall, the whole production feels like fanfiction written by people who didn't "get" the original.

Fifteen words that say all anyone needs to know about Trigun Stampede. I didn't even give it my traditional "everyone gets 3 episodes" before giving up.

 

[BrawlMan]

I didn't even give it my traditional "everyone gets 3 episodes" before giving up.

I never followed that tradition for a reason. If I wasn't liking or feeling it, I would drop the show fast. Saved a lot of time that way from bad anime, mediocre shows, or something clearly not for me.

 

[Kyrian007]

It's a "rule" I try and follow. Not just anime, but really most GOOD television doesn't exactly thunder out of the gate with tremendous and stellar beginnings. A good story has to percolate a little before really "wowing" an audience. Now, there are a few exceptions. But generally when I think of pilot episodes... good ones are almost always the mark of a show that flames out quickly when the quality can't be maintained. And the shows on my personal "best ever" list... the average seems to be 6-9 episodes before they aired a really "great" episode. Case in point, an anime I really like that I took my avatar here from. Psycho Pass's first 6 or 7 episodes were freaking stellar. And the show NEVER got that good again.

And that holds true in anime. Anyone who only gave Puella Magi Madoka Magica one or 2 episodes, could be forgiven for just assuming it was a mediocre pallet swapped Sailor Moon ripoff. Following the "rule," giving it a 3rd episode before giving up on it... was a good move for me.

 

[BrawlMan]

It's a "rule" I try and follow. Not just anime, but really most GOOD television doesn't exactly thunder out of the gate with tremendous and stellar beginnings. A good story has to percolate a little before really "wowing" an audience. Now, there are a few exceptions. But generally when I think of pilot episodes... good ones are almost always the mark of a show that flames out quickly when the quality can't be maintained. And the shows on my personal "best ever" list... the average seems to be 6-9 episodes before they aired a really "great" episode. Case in point, an anime I really like that I took my avatar here from. Psycho Pass's first 6 or 7 episodes were freaking stellar. And the show NEVER got that good again.

And that holds true in anime. Anyone who only gave Puella Magi Madoka Magica one or 2 episodes, could be forgiven for just assuming it was a mediocre pallet swapped Sailor Moon ripoff. Following the "rule," giving it a 3rd episode before giving up on it... was a good move for me.

There's nothing wrong following a rule of some sorts, but if it's not working out for me, then it's not working out for me. I used to be a bit more relaxed with this, but as I got older, I had less patience for certain things. I'm still willing to give things a chance, but just with a bit more restrictions in some cases. Depends on what it is. And like I said before, in some cases not the show being bad, but it's not for me. Well I do admit for anime, I have a bit less patience now that I did back then. I have to already be someone interested or invested.

 

[BrawlMan]

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - It's as great as people says it is. Animation is top-notch. Actions are creative and on point. Unlike the later Shrek sequels and even the original, doesn't rely on pop-culture references or plays "modern" music in the middle of the film. Last Wish is the best of not only the spin-off franchise, but the mainline Shrek franchise in general. This gonna be added to my Blu-ray collection. It's great on its own merits and nice holdover until Spider-Verse 2 comes out in June.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Watched Gundam Hathaway, if that's even the name, on Netflix.

There was some fun novelty in that it's set in my dad's hometown, which is incredibly rare for me to see. But beyond that, I was just confused at to what the whole point of this was. Is this a prequel? A first part of some series? Whatever it is, it wasn't interesting enough for me to even ask google for answers.

Also ugly ass Gundams. Meh. This is the second Gundam thing I've given up on. When does Witch from Mercury S2 come out?

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Watched Gundam Hathaway, if that's even the name, on Netflix.

There was some fun novelty in that it's set in my dad's hometown, which is incredibly rare for me to see. But beyond that, I was just confused at to what the whole point of this was. Is this a prequel? A first part of some series? Whatever it is, it wasn't interesting enough for me to even ask google for answers.

Also ugly ass Gundams. Meh. This is the second Gundam thing I've given up on. When does Witch from Mercury S2 come out?

April 9th. Easter Sunday.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

April 9th. Easter Sunday.

Huh, relatively soon. Hope it keeps going strong.

 

[meiam]

Watched Gundam Hathaway, if that's even the name, on Netflix.

There was some fun novelty in that it's set in my dad's hometown, which is incredibly rare for me to see. But beyond that, I was just confused at to what the whole point of this was. Is this a prequel? A first part of some series? Whatever it is, it wasn't interesting enough for me to even ask google for answers.

Also ugly ass Gundams. Meh. This is the second Gundam thing I've given up on. When does Witch from Mercury S2 come out?

I don't know how well its explained in the synopsis given on netflix hathaway, but its not a movie you could enjoy as a stand alone. It's like a sequel to three different gundam show/movie.

But if you're interested in gundam because of witch from mercury, I wouldn't bother watching anymore since its essentially unrelated to anything gundam in setting, tone and story structure. Beyond having mech with a peculiar color scheme, it essentially share nothing with the rest of the franchise. If you haven't watched it, try Utena instead.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I don't know how well its explained in the synopsis given on netflix hathaway, but its not a movie you could enjoy as a stand alone. It's like a sequel to three different gundam show/movie.

Ah. That would explain why they kept revealing characters like I should know who they are. Still though, I thought the movie was just boring on its own. The sparse mech fights were a pretty big letdown.

But if you're interested in gundam because of witch from mercury, I wouldn't bother watching anymore since its essentially unrelated to anything gundam in setting, tone and story structure. Beyond having mech with a peculiar color scheme, it essentially share nothing with the rest of the franchise. If you haven't watched it, try Utena instead.

Based on a google search, I assume you think I like Witch from Mercury because of the whole little girl duels people thing. It's actually the opposite, I could take or leave all that stuff. I'm here purely for the Gundams, sci-fi setting, and just generally high production value.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Got pretty far into Uncle From Another World on Netflix. Started out as a fun deconstruction of the isekai concept, then devolved into a fun isekai deconstruction except horny. I could tolerate, even enjoy, the horny elements, but they felt sudden and out of place, and ultimately made the whole show feel more generic.

 

[meiam]

Based on a google search, I assume you think I like Witch from Mercury because of the whole little girl duels people thing. It's actually the opposite, I could take or leave all that stuff. I'm here purely for the Gundams, sci-fi setting, and just generally high production value.

Then unicorn is probably where you should try gundam, dumb as fuck plot/character but really good space action.


Some of the macross might also work, frontier was decent

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Then unicorn is probably where you should try gundam, dumb as fuck plot/character but really good space action.


Some of the macross might also work, frontier was decent

Thanks, will try it out.

 

[BrawlMan]

Mortal Kombat: Snow Blind - An alternate universe/elseworlds story. I like it, and it's something different from the usual MK movies. It's not another tired adaption of either MK1, MK2, or MK3, but MK crossed with Mad Max and Fist of the Northstar. Kenshi is the leading character this time, and Kano is the actual main villain of this movie. Kano and his Black Dragon Clan are ruthless in this, and it show what a complete nightmare the world would be, if someone like him got powerful. Snow Blind is a great movie, and out of all the animated MK films, this is the best by far. I would not mind more alternate storyline movies. Can we get one that focuses on Kitana, Jade, Mileena, and Sindel? A Li-Mei solo movie would be great too. Anything to bring out the underrated or obscured characters to give them their time to shine.

​

 

[meiam]

Mortal Kombat: Snow Blind - An alternate universe/elseworlds story. I like it, and it's something different from the usual MK movies. It's not another tired adaption of either MK1, MK2, or MK3, but MK crossed with Mad Max and Fist of the Northstar. Kenshi is the leading character this time, and Kano is the actual main villain of this movie. Kano and his Black Dragon Clan are ruthless in this, and it show what a complete nightmare the world would be, if someone like him got powerful. Snow Blind is a great movie, and out of all the animated MK films, this is the best by far. I would not mind more alternate storyline movies. Can we get one that focuses on Kitana, Jade, Mileena, and Sindel? A Li-Mei solo movie would be great too. Anything to bring out the underrated or obscured characters to give them their time to shine.

​

Everything changed when the mad max nation attacked.

 

[SilentPony]

I did it. I broke my one rule. I watched a high school rom-com anime. And it was really good.
Horimiya.
The plot is actually relaxingly simple and the characters much more reasonable than an anime generally allows for. So Hori is a high school girl, and Miyamura is a high school boy. One day they meet up when Miyamura brings Hori's brother home after the bro was bullied. They realize they go to the same school, and on their off days/down time they can hang out and just be themselves. Hori is a homebody who likes to take care of people, and Miyamura is a recovering Goth kid. And that's it. The anime is about them slowly falling in love while just hanging out.
No end of the world stakes, no surprise magic girl transformations, no mehca, no giant misunderstandings - they communicate healthily and clearly, and...and that's it. Its a refreshing little rom-com, all the more noteworthy for its distinct lack of common anime rom-com tropes.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I did it. I broke my one rule. I watched a high school rom-com anime. And it was really good.
Horimiya.
The plot is actually relaxingly simple and the characters much more reasonable than an anime generally allows for. So Hori is a high school girl, and Miyamura is a high school boy. One day they meet up when Miyamura brings Hori's brother home after the bro was bullied. They realize they go to the same school, and on their off days/down time they can hang out and just be themselves. Hori is a homebody who likes to take care of people, and Miyamura is a recovering Goth kid. And that's it. The anime is about them slowly falling in love while just hanging out.
No end of the world stakes, no surprise magic girl transformations, no mehca, no giant misunderstandings - they communicate healthily and clearly, and...and that's it. Its a refreshing little rom-com, all the more noteworthy for its distinct lack of common anime rom-com tropes.

Do the annoying rival suitors (from what I remember both Hori and Miyamura have competition for each other) ever fuck off? That's why I stopped watching the first time.

OT: Watched Campfire Cooking in Another World on Netflix. Yet another isekai with one very specific difference, the MC's special power is that he can order from an online grocery. Which means he has access to incredibly cheap food, any time and anywhere. This gives him a huge advantage as an adventurer in this world, and for some reason his Japanese food is irresistible to the citizens of the fantasy world.

It was pretty fun, I love cooking so seeing actual Japanese recipes was fascinating. The cooking scenes are gorgeously animated too. However, in recent episodes, they started making the MC get into combat more and become the more stereotypical OP protagonist. So that was disappointing. Will probably at least finish the season, but it's bizarre how isekais whose entire gimmick is to NOT be a typical isekai still end up being pretty generic

I also started Trigun Stampede. It's very much an anime that feels like art, rather than just a manga adaptation ordered by some producer. They put some real elbow grease into this one, especially for a CGI anime.

I don't know anything about Trigun, but Vash himself is kinda annoying. Dude is a badass, except he never uses his gun to ever shoot anyone. And while anime protagonists refusing to kill isn't new, it's ridiculous to see a man waving around a gun for like 10 episodes and never actually use it.

Otherwise though really like this one. It got wayyyy darker than what the first few episodes would have you expect.

 

[SilentPony]

Do the annoying rival suitors (from what I remember both Hori and Miyamura have competition for each other) ever fuck off? That's why I stopped watching the first time.

There really isn't any competition that causes drama. One girl is interested in Miyamura early on, but Hori shuts it down. And then later a freshman girl is interested in Hori, but she and Miyamura end up being close friends when the girl realizes he's a neighbor and his family runs her favorite cake shop.
That's one thing I enjoyed about it. The rival suitors are introduced and calmly shut down within the same episode, and thereafter become supporting characters. There's no love triangle, no harem, nothing like that.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Thanks, will try it out.

I would recommend Iron-Blooded Orphans over Unicorn.

Unicorn starts off decent but gets real cringe real fast. I think I got about 6 episodes in before dropping it.