Anime Megathread III and Cartoon Megathread I!

It is legit looking at the next title episodes. But honestly It is soo out of place that it might work. And there are still like 19 episodes left XD

I would be okay with this if SF is purely a nostalgia piece giving nod to the tokusatsu superhero genre, but after showing promising potential for some decent, genuine drama, this goofy nonsense becomes very difficult to swallow. It literally makes all of the previous points human drama irrelevant because, "oh, look, big bad evil guys are threatening the safety of the world!" makes everything superhero problems instead of real people problems.

Maybe I'm crying foul a little too early. Maybe this will somehow strike a good balance between genuine human drama and tokusatsu goofiness. Maybe none of this is even for real (my best case scenario, to be honest). I just hope the previously shown potential of SF doesn't go to waste. It would be disheartening to see a good-natured show like Samurai Flamenco crash and burn.

I was like WTFFFFFFFFFF at first too, but it makes more sense when you think about it. It is a 2 cour show as Darji said, so you could see how they when do a bait and switch at 7 episodes in because they have the time. Again, this very well could be a dream or whatever but I hope not. I was getting very tired of the fighting street punks stuff that they were focusing on.

@zomgfruitbunnies:

I agree that the character human drama stuff was great, but the last few episodes before 7 barely had any of it I felt like the show was getting super uninteresting. Going unrealistic/tokusatsu may be a cheap move but if they were not going to approve again without it then I would like to see how it goes.

Here is the catch though: This is the Episode Title of Episode 10!!: "Final Battle! The Enemy Base!"

This show is very fast paced. And Honestly I do not know anymore what to expect

Also there is a ton of potential for human drama for example the scene from the Into with the flowers on the cliff. Now it could make total sense. But whatever will happen this is THE twist of this season for sure^^

Personally I really loved how it got more serious from episode to episode and how more of an Hero he became in these past episodes.

Did Samurai Flemenco... just go full retard on us? Like @zomgfruitbunnies said, best case scenario it's all a dream haha.

I don't know what all this Samurai Flamenco stuff is about because the last episode I saw introduced the full girl band as a group at the end of the episode.

What I do know is that Kill la Kill is going to be crazy next week. Big fights are happening. Big reveals will blow you away. I'm fairly certain the anime isn't what we think it is. It will go global. They aren't going to leave the backstory for the world being the way it is out in the dark. If this is the situation in Japan and Satsuki is trying to gain control what is her plan for Japan?

Tada Banri is still one of the better MCs in a romance

Soooo... I need to get this off my chest. I finished the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist series, and boy is that ending duuuuuuuumb. And not necessarily in a good way like the anime I usually end up watching. It's a show that becomes a lot more directionless and a lot weirder the second it fully breaks off from the manga/Brotherhood (which is roughly about the time that Hughes is killed), but that comparison isn't really warranted because it's such a different show and even when it is taking cues from the manga it's a slower, more thoughtful (and more meandering) series that has its fair share of filler. It's really interesting to see how differently some major characters are portrayed, how some supporting characters are utilized and others ignored.

But even before it starts dropping existentialist thought bombs and ends with Ed and Hoenheim stranded in 1920s Germany (which I applaud if only for its complete audacity and randomness), it's clear that they really had no idea how to end it. I didn't even take as much issue with the philosophical navel gazing as much as I thought I would, given that it establishes those themes pretty hard throughout the series. I just... I just... there's no catharsis. Probably doesn't hurt that the villains are a lot lamer. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to track down the movie that supposedly completes the whole thing and also has Hitler. Because of course it does.

Also Kill La Kill is dope.

@arbitrarywater: I am of the opinion that BONES knew exactly what they were doing with the parallel world thing. It allows them to wipe just about everything clean and start fresh tabula rasa. It let them tell exactly the kind of story they wanted to. The whole philosophical angle that emerged during the second half of the show was a dead giveaway of what kind of ending they were shooting for. All of their later originals and adaptations basically does the same thing of giving things an, often unnecessary, philosophical spin that ends up detracting from the stories. The worst of the bunch is probably X'amd: Lost Memories, as it, I feel, literally intended to cause confusion in the viewer toward the end of the series by inserting some really, really pretentious, cryptic dialogue to cover up the atrociously sloppy second half. The same could be said for Soul Eater, as well, where the original ending is as jarring as jarring ending get. Full Metal Alchemist is the best adaptation with an original ending BONES has ever done. However, while the story is symbolically sound and thematically consistent, it is ultimately hollow and without substance because it remains within its fictional confines to the very end, never trying to reach out to the viewer, but content with the introspection of its fictional universe.

@bocam said:

Tada Banri is a natural gigolo and lady's man. He is also quite possibly every young Japanese woman's ideal college boyfriend. Motherfucker's got everything going for him. I mean, fuck, dude's even got a whole mysterious amnesia ex-girlfriend thing. Fucking Mitsuo is a pitiful thing compared to him.

Go watch Episode 7 of Flamenco. If you think that is crazy Oh Boy XD

As for FMA. I really did not like the direction it went with the 2003 series. Brotherhood is so much better and makes much more sense. I am really glad they followed the great Manga and made Brotherhood to something special.

So, I think the last anime I watched was the original Hunter X Hunter which I watched early 2000's, and only recently have gotten in to watching again, thanks to Kill la Kill, which is the one of the two I've been watching.

The other is Samurai Flamenco... So these eight weeks so far, I haven't really felt the need to talk about either of the two series... But holy shit episode 7 of Flamenco.... Like, what???

Don't know how I feel about it yet, but one thing's for damn sure: I'm definitely gonna watch next week's episode

Suddenly I feel I need to go watch Samurai Flamenco...but, I'll probably go watch Gundam Build Fighters instead.

Got through watching up to the most recent episode of Golden Time and I'll be damned I like it so far. Never thought I'd say that about a romance anime again. Other than that I plan to start watching Samurai Flamenco and more of Outbreak Company given I found the first episode mildly interesting.

I'd also like to say thanks to everyone here. I've found some really good anime suggestions by lurking through this ongoing thread for the last several months.

Just heard about that thing in SamFlam. I think I'm gonna go pick that show up.

Finally got around to finishing up Tiger and Bunny after procrastinating on it for a long time. I really enjoy that show. It's not drop dead amazing or anything and the framerate of the CG takes some getting use to but the premise and characters really take it home for me. It's not often that the main protagonist ends up being my favorite character in an anime so that's saying something. I didn't really mind the bromance that much although it certainly is noticeable at times. After finishing that I was inspired to check out Samurai Flamenco during a sick day from work. I caught up to the current episode and...that show just pulled an Attack on Titan on me. It starts with a lot of genuine promise and then there's some bullshit that comes out of nowhere that starts to unravel the whole thing. That series has exactly one episode to pull me back in or I'm done with it.

On the American cartoon tip, Teen Titans Go! is probably the all time funniest DC cartoon ever produced. Never an episode that doesn't make me smile. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles remains great as well though not as good as the previous season if you ask me. There's a really hilarious parody of Voltron at the beginning of the 4th episode in the season that I can't recommend enough.

@mezmero:

I'd say Teen Titans Go varies quite a bit, but at least it's been getting better. Sometimes, though, it feels like all the male Titans are just lumped into the same jerkass asshole personality (especially Beast Boy and Cyborg).

@video_game_king: I really enjoy how they come off as total jackanapes most of the time in that show. In DC's comics the characters are far too often portrayed as idealized paragons so it's funny to see them go over the top in the other direction. It's all just silly immature fun.

@mezmero:

I just wish that they each had more distinctive personalities. At least Robin has the control freak separating him.

@mezmero: That comparison to Attack on Titan is pretty much the exact same thing I thought when I watched it. But for some reason I felt more insulted when I watched Attack on Titan. Maybe 'cause Attack on Titan had more of a serious tone or maybe 'cause all of the overwhelming hype surrounding Attack on Titan?

@themanwithnoplan: Hmmm, I could not keep watching Golden Time. I did not like the whole, lost my memories oh my past girlfriend is here plot.

I will gives a thumbs up to Samurai Flamenco and Outbreak Company though

@mezmero: I am probably never gonna watch TTG because I loved the original cartoon too much and from what it sounds like, the humor focus... eh.

Plus I already get Starfire in Adventure Time so...

@animasta: Oh yeah, I nearly forgot she does Bubblegum's voice too. For some reason I find Raven way more adorable in TTG than Starfire. Just the way she's drawn is sooo damn cute and I'm not the kind of dude who normally points out stuff like that.

A sequel to Chaos;Head has been announced, Chaos;Child.

did anyone here watch scooby doo mystery incorporated? if you haven't you should go watch it (I'm only halfway through season 2) because it's the best thing scooby doo has ever done and it's fucking dark as hell.

episode 11, cassidy williams :(

The drastic paradigm shift of Samurai Flamenco seems to be for realzies. Yet, episode eight gave me new hope that there's something to this nonsense. In every conceivable way, episode eight is too simple, too cliched, and, most importantly, too stupid compared to what SF has shown in the past. I find it difficult to believe that the director Omori Takahiro is okay with something as dumb as this. My hopes in the series have been renewed, somewhat, and, hopefully, they will not be in vain.

Yeah, this whole Samurai Flamenco becoming a "real" hero happen WAY to fast in episode 8. I was surprised when he said 2 months has past. The fact that this arc of real monsters is happening so fast should mean it will be done by the next episode or two. The big question is why they did this. If they are not taking the time to flesh out the monsters and all the other why's and how's, if they are not making good fight scenes (because they are fucking terrible), than why did they make SUCH a huge tone change.

All I know is I did not like that episode. I tried to have hope but I cant have hope anymore. Hopefully the ending to this arc has a good twist or something cause so far this has fallen flat.

Episode eight is so characteristically un-Samurai Flamenco that I just can't bring myself to believe this is genuinely the direction the series is going to head in. Watching episode eight is like watching a completely different show. Omori Takahiro has a pretty stellar resume, which makes it extra hard to believe he would approve of something as pathetic as this.

The only nagging doubts I have are Hazama's agent and Gotou's girlfriend. Episode eight put a strange amount of focus on those two, especially Gotou's girlfriend, that makes me doubt myself. If this fever dream is just a throwaway thing, why bother building suspense around those two during it?

Fuck, man. I don't know.

Watching this right now is exactly how I felt while witnessing the ending to Mass Effect 3. I'm not angry or anything but it's just like... what is happening? The difference is this still has a chance (I guess).

Episode 8 was a almost a homage how these superhero shows for kids go. These crimes these monsters did like stealing all fruits were totally child like. However the last scene when Gotou's girlfriend said that his eyes look scary was interesting. I think next episode is about this change and with episode 10 already named The final battle this arc should close soon. The question is what happens after this arc^^

This episode was really silly^^

NOOOOOO! Not you too, Golden Time! :<

As if Samurai Flamenco's antics weren't enough, this week's Golden Time might have also fallen into nonsense territory with that bullshit ending. Golden Time has its problems, but so far everything has been grounded in, more or less, reality. The dramatic tension is genuine and writing, while really wonky at times, sincere. When ghost Tada Banri showed up some episodes ago, I was concerned, but was hoping he would at least be used in some not intrusive way (as a melancholic narrator, maybe). From the looks of things after episode nine, I can't say I'm excited about what's going to happen. WHY YOU DU DIS, GOLDEN TIME? And just when things were starting to rev up, again! The happy couple facade is finally cracking with Kouko starting to experience insecurities again. You had a setup for the perfect storm, some real interpersonal conflict, but now it's potentially ruined with the stupid ghost thing.

Seriously, fuck ghosts.

Why does it feel like I'm the only one watching Kyoukai no Kanata? It's such an amazing show with beautiful animations and great fight scenes. What is going on?

Kyo ani makes boring shows, the ambition never matches animation quality.

whats crazy to me is people not watching kyousogiga, its show of the year material, ambitious as hell and succeeds on every level.

Kyo-ani tends to make "shows about nothing" which aren't as splashy or loud as something like Kill la Kill. I wouldn't worry about it if you feel like you are the only one watching their shows.

You are literally saying crazy things. I believe there's been at least one fight scene in every episode (9 episodes so far) of Kyoukai no Kanata. The last few episodes have had several really good ones.

KyoAni also made Lucky Star and K-On. They basically made Kyoukai no Kanata one half slice of life and the other half pure fighting.

It's true that stuff like Lucky Star and K-On are mostly talking, but Kyoukai no Kanata is hardly that. It's probably had as much action if not more than Kill la Kill. It's not as over the top as the fight scenes in Kill la Kill, but it makes up for it with really detailed fighting and action scenes.

@golguin:

Yeah, I been watching Kyoukai no Kanata and really enjoying it. Don't know whats up with all the haters who think they know what a show is without watching it. I wish Mirai was a better character but other than that I enjoy it quite a bit.

Sorry, i probably wasn't clear enough, what i mean by ambition is the scope of the series, there is no question kyo ani has some of the best animators in the industry, but they animate shows with boring premises, the last 3, free, tamako market, chunibyo, all passable shows with great animation. They play it safe, so many of their shows are about kids in a school setting who are part of some club, the moe blob female characters have become almost interchangeable and in my opinion, completely unlikeable. Kyoukai no Kanata is a half step that i still found incredibly dull.

Oh man this episode of Kuroko's Basketball was painfully and unpleasant to watch and not because it was a bad episode but rather the opposite...

Luckily Hajime no Ippo this week was fantastic as well. I really love Vorg's character and the story about Sawamura. This is really getting exciting. But now I need some harmless shounen baseball emotion to end the day. Please do not disappoint Ace of Diamond.

Also people should really watch Log Horizon. Most of the last two eps were just negotiating but it was intense and intersting to watch. Fantastic show.

I've been watching Log Horizon and I enjoy it. I think the show has done a good job with its "no perma death" premise and how stuff can go really bad if you're weak and immortal with no chance of escape.

I've never been into MMOs, but watching the show almost makes me feel like trying one. I recently started playing Dragon Age Origins again after a hiatus of a few months because the show had me itching to RPG it up.

I don't remember who it was who mentioned Outbreak Company, and I'm far too lazy to check, but I'm glad they did. It's been surprisingly enjoyable since ep. 1, mostly because of its' solid sense of humor.

Or maybe it's because of this. I don't know.

@rehtayne: Yeah you do like it. Yeah the show has so far not gotten too serious and with it being a one cour show, I would say it will just stay the course and be enjoyable the last 4 episodes.

I started watching Digimon last week. Never saw it when it first came out, kind of dismissed it, but man: that show is not what I expected. Sure, it's still a kid's show with cute little characters, but you never saw Pokemon build a mystery and throw in Twilight Zone tropes the way Digimon does. There are some actually very funny lines as well.

An interesting show.

So I watched the first 2 episodes of Samurai Flamenco (Which I quite liked), and then the next day accidentally started the 8th episode thinking it was 3. As you could expect, I was fairly confused... Oh anime.

@zomgfruitbunnies:

I know exactly what you mean. Although it was disappointing to see Banri's prior consciousness return, I can't say i'm surprised. I kind of guessed it would happen the moment they brought Ghost Banri into the mix. It's a drama, so it has to have a continuing resurgence of dramatic conflict. However, I would've rather seen that dramatic conflict arise from something more grounded, like it seemed to be going with Kaga's insecurities.

@themanwithnoplan said:

Personality swaps are lazy and dumb. They're also boring since it adds no depth to the existing character because it simply replaces one with another. It's basically introducing a new character dynamic without putting in the work to write a new character. If Banri is to regain his lost memories while retaining his current self, I would be all for it. In fact, I would be thrilled since it creates both interpersonal and intrapersonal conflicts. Tada Banri and Kaga Kouko are both drama gold mines, and it's disappointing to see their potential left tapped and diminished by a arbitrary personality swap. Golden Time's quality hinges solely upon the dynamic between its two amazing lead characters (every supporting character is terrible, including Linda), and this personality swap is literally removing half of the that crucial equation.

Keep it together, Golden Time!

Yeah, I completely agree. I was hoping when Banri inevitably regained his memories, he would essentially fuse his old and new self into one person, creating that needed dramatic conflict. I would've loved to see that. I'm really hoping they still handle it that way, but everything from the end of the latest episode and the preview of next week's episode seems to indicate otherwise.

The reason why I felt the show worked, was because of the personal drama between the two main characters, and like you've pointed out part of that dynamic is gone. What I imagine will happen now is the worst, where old and new Banri (Both being their own separate entities) will continually battle for control, which is really unrealistic, dumb and not what I want to see.

@themanwithnoplan: Knowing that Golden Time is an adaptation of an existing light novel series doesn't get my hopes up.

My biggest worry is director Kon Chiaki, to be honest. A lot of Golden Time's problems can be boiled down to its detached, matter-of-fact, deadpan delivery, even during the more emotional moments. There's a directorial indifference here. It's as if Kon doesn't really give a fuck and just wants to translate text to images as is for the sake of "faithfulness." So, so much is left unsaid, and it's left to the viewers to figure out the emotional twists and turns. As a result, we are too busy trying to parse through the material rather than feeling it. This is fatal for romance stories. You can't logic your way through love, you have to live it with your heart.

You are not the only one. I've been out of the loop for a while now and only picked up anime again in the last few days. I like Kyoukai no Kanata so far. I see where the nay-sayers are coming from, but at the same time, not significantly but this show is definitely different from what you might expect from modern KyoAni.

I'm here, I'm watching it. Sort of (a couple episodes behind.)

It sorta reminds me of Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita. Where Jinrui was kind of sinister (those fairies, man), Kyouso makes you feel warm on the inside. Other than that, it too has a vivid world with its fair share of goofiness and a non-linear timeline.

Kiyoshi might be the only one I care about from Seirin and damn this arc gives me "the feels."

Also, dude, the recent chapters of the manga is so awesome. I wished it will go to somewhere special and that is exactly what happened.

I refuse to believe that it's for real. The makers are trolling us pretty hard. It must be either a heroin fever dream, a fever dream or just a regular dream. In the opening there's a part where he fights a giant robot and then wakes up, so... They have to go back to the real thing. They have to.

@alexandersheen: I do not read the manga since I want to have at least some animes I know nothing about while watching them but man this series is really great. And yeah Kiyoshi and the guy with the glasses (I am very bad with names) are the really good ones at Seirin. The other Teams are somehow more enjoyable and likable XD