The Anime Thread

[Mick]

[LUKIE]

Just started watching Mirai Nikki, and whilst I will continue watching, I must point out that the production levels are fucking horrible.

It annoys me.

Okay...how are they horrible?

Really poor quality animation. It is notorious in Japanese animation these days due to pumping out anime as quickly as possible on as low a budget as possible.

There were so many points where it was cringe worthy, because they were animating as low as 4's, which is obsurd. I don't think they animated in 1's once.

[Mick]

Okay, so read the manga

[=BK=]

Lukie,stop looking for a reason to complain about it and just watch the damn thing.

[Mick]

Yeah, seriously. Nobody here bitched about it, and if you think this is bad, God help you if you watch like, pre-2000 anime.

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah, seriously. Nobody here bitched about it, and if you think this is bad, God help you if you watch like, pre-2000 anime.

If he wants good animation he could always watch Sword Art Online. You sacrifice quality writing, characters, pacing, and enjoyment for some really well-drawn scenes.

I will try and make this brief; it is generally accepted on MAL and /a/ (and I'm sure other places, but I don't get around the 'net like I used to) that letting the actual animation affect your enjoyment of a show is a poor decision. It's a strange quirk with anime, since it's an entertainment medium centered around hand-drawn (and now CGI) art yet everything but that goes into what people consider in recommended and liking a series. It's why I can go back and watch Galaxy Express 999 and enjoy it, and why anime fans can continue to go back to watch classic series despite a number of them physically looking dated. I'll stop here, but seriously Mirai Nikki looks lightyears better than anime being done in the 1980's and 1990's and furthermore the whole "anime being poorly drawn because of quick releases/low budgets" notion has always been true and has been accepted as a natural consequence of the way the industry, which is always focused on manga and merchandise, needs to operate. Basically anime is the most entertaining marketing tool in history.

[The Mask of Norro]

Hey, I liked Sword Art's characters, pacing and story damn it

I do wish they went further into the story and think it would have been better suited as a medium-to-long-tier anime ala Brotherhood/Soul Eater (of course, one used the extra episodes wisely and the other didn't...) but, you know, a little shorter; however, I still enjoyed it for what it was at least.

Still, all this said, Mirai Nikki is an anime I'd recommend sticking through for. I can see why Sword Art would be harder for some people to get into, much like Gurren Lagann, but... unless you're against violence in your animes, Mirai Nikki is just seven shades of fucked up and I absolutely love it for that.

Onto Norro's current anime exploits...

Anyone following Kotoura-san? That first episode's intro has basically left the entire anime on-edge for me, because every happy-go-lucky episode they give us I feel like at any moment it's going to turn into this dark freaking journey into her past, or everything's just going to go completely wrong. The light-heartedness makes it a nice slice-of-life anime with a twist, but damn it, I feel like it's trying to make me let down my guard.

Speaking of slice-of-life animes, Lorina and I are also watching Tamako Market, which is about a bird that falls into the cutest place to live on earth and tries to find a bride for his prince in this magical town of how-the-hell-are-you-all-so-nice? It's nothing to follow seriously but it's fun and I'll be damned if someone finds a cuter animated intro to anything else

There's also Magi, which... I'm hoping they're going for the Brotherhood long-game anime archetype and not the DBZ/Fairy Tail/Bleach/etc. never-ending archetype. I'm loving it, but it's a story that lends better to ending naturally, rather than dragging on near-infinitely. Sinbad is a beast and I'm interested in where Jafar's character is going. Aladdin's character is great (though the fanservice bit with him loving women's boobs is just... odd), Alibaba is a good main character type and Morgiana is fun to watch in battle. The fights are well animated, characters have my attention (beyond just the couple I mentioned) and the story's enough to keep me coming back, but like I said, I'm hoping it's just a long anime. Too short and it's not enough, but if it drags like Fairy Tail (don't get me wrong, I still enjoy Fairy Tail) I can't see myself keeping up with it.

[LUKIE]

I will keep watching, but Damshow, you have to remember, I am a trained animator. As I said, after spending two years learning how to animate and producing my own stuff, things I used to enjoy I can't watch anymore because I can see all the faults now.

It's a shit thing to say and makes me sound pompous, but it is a curse. As stated, I will keep watching and I hope the story improves. The first episode seemed rather rushed.

[Mick]

Well, ignore them. I deal with computers, but I'm not going to freak out at every latency spike or bug I come across

[gunnar hendershow]

Yeah, basically what Mick said.

Lukie, you're essentially saying you refuse to enjoy puro, joshi, or indie wrestling because it lacks the same level of polish as TNA and WWE. For a fair comparison to make.

[Ruki]

I work with radio commercials, I don't get angry whenever I hear a shitty commercial.

Basically, just accept that things aren't always going to be up to your standards (that probably goes for women too )....life will be much better when you do.

[LUKIE]

Episode 2's start was awesome. She blew up the fucking school!

I love her.

Oh man, Yuno just murdered the fuck out of everyone. I love her more.

I love when things get absurd.

[Ruki]

Just watched the opening of Robotics;Note 19....this is gonna be a big episode. I think this is where shit starts to hit the fan.

Edit: I was right.

Wow.

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm about to sit down and watch it myself Ruki while I eat lunch. I'm hoping the conclusion really makes up for everything else.

[Mick]

I really need to get caught up, maybe during spring break.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh, shit. We finally have a series.

DAMN YOU SERN!!!! I didn't expect this twist, but man of man. Kimijima has been manipulating the world all along. Everything did tie together nicely upon that revelation. 3 episodes left, the conclusion should be thrilling. I do love the way this and S;G (and I'm also told C;H) put in real-life conspiracy theories into their material.

Looking forward to catch episode 19 of Psycho-Pass at some point this weekend as well.

[IAceI]

I have loads to catch up on, Robotics; Note, Psycho Pass, Uchuu Kyoudai, Zetsuen no Tempest - I'm about 3 episodes behind on the first three and about 7 back on Zetsuen no Tempest. Been working my backside off lately so may watch some tomorrow afternoon - Oz time - and try and catch up. I've neglected anime a bit lately, to my detriment!

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh my god you need to catch up on Psycho-Pass. Zetsuen no Tempest's 2nd half has been a big departure from the 1st half, I think I'm enjoying it more now though. Robotics;Notes finally got going, so that's definitely something to look forward to. I'm still stuck way behind in Uchuu Kyoudai, need to catch up myself.

[Ruki]

One day I will start Psycho Pass.

[Ruki]

So, this is absolute batshit insanity.

One of the theme songs from Nichijou

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AJRXi7Rudxo