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KLK has top tier waifus, though, so it's all good. And yes! Bakemonogatari was unexpectedly great! Definitely lived up to the hype, for sure. I can see why folks say it's an acquired taste.

Our tastes are moving away. Maybe it's the new algorithm, maybe I *do* have shit taste. :(

A match made in heaven. <3

Wanted to finish it before responding. Heheh, Attack on Cliffhangers.

Yeah, that engineering salary ceiling problem. But like you, I put doing what I like higher on the list. Just can't see myself enjoying any of the attainable careers that pay much higher than ours, not to mention the longer hours & much higher average stress from those careers. That said, holy crap: $800/hour! But yeah, "nightmarish lifestyle" is right. Congrats on the scholarship!

Totally agreed on Titan's pacing and originality. And most definitely on how they kept our interest piqued with all the timely daring surprises and all the guessing and wonder each one enticed, they handled that so effectively. I haven't seen many zombie things so I can't discuss much there, but I do really like your parallel to zombies too, totally makes sense.

For me, SnK just kept getting better and better most of the time. First two eps with the obnoxious young protagonist: 6/10. With eps 3-4's setting renewal and addictive training episodes (one of my favorite types of episodes due to all of the usually great character development in these), the show jumps up to an 8/10. Eps 5-8 with 5's so early protagonist-losing surprise and the stellar way he returned in episode 8 and all of the other characters' growth and dynamics inbetween, the show peaks at a solid 9/10 and I was so very excited with how insanely promising the show seemed at this point. The next few episodes didn't end up harnessing all the potential I saw with Eren's from-the-inside return and how the other characters had evolved as a team, but I was still happy with the route they took instead. Like I didn't actually expect to keep it at a 9/10 after episode 8's enormous peak of potential, but they did a fine enough job to hang on to a low 9 in the few eps afterward. But then came imprisonment and that beyond retarded trial and everyone's demeanor around Eren even after the trial, around the one who'd undeniably proven to be their only friggen hope, sigh. From there it kept getting better and better with the so very engaging episodes on horseback before dropping down a notch with the last few eps. Total lol at the show's very last frame revealing what's inside the wall.

And oh, we can't forget all those flying scenes! Rewound every single one of them ~2-5 times. Overall, I definitely had many problems with the show (more than the few I mentioned above) but since I always give way more weight to the 'good' in a work than the 'bad' (maybe because I'm just grateful they allowed me to enjoy those high points so much that some of the lower points don't matter much anymore), it's a low 9/10 for me. Also because I definitely enjoyed it overall more than all of my 8s.

So yeah, you could say I liked it too.

Yeah, the only reason I decided Tech over any of those private universities is because of instate tuition, and mostly because of all the financial aid I knew I'd receive considering how low-income we were. And with how I just stopped caring the final few years of high school, never doing the homework and purposely passing classes with a C out of sheer laziness to study and do work, letting my grades drop to like 3.8 or something while others were getting above 4s, I doubted I'd be able to get the scholarships I'd need for those expensive private schools.

Okay, I'm officially jealous. No, I'm way beyond jealous. Damn you're so lucky!

I remember in Governor's School back in High School being everything you described: starstruck, humbled, motivated, etc. There was this Russian guy in my Experimental Mathematics class that would, per his group's weekly presentation, walk up to the chalkboard and start solving/proving some ridiculous math stuff no one would understand -- including the professor -- taking up the entire chalkboard. Not only him, but everyone else in the class and school was so genuinely smart, it was an awesome awakening and spectacular environment considering the average level of intelligence back in my rinky dink hometown high school. I felt so at home there. But yeah, all the bullshit and charades of the rest of high school and college were quick to iron all the motivation flat out of me, to the point where by the end I became utterly disinterested in _everything_, took whatever classes cuz I didn't care for any of them anyway, got the grades of course but was really just going through the motions without a hint of care. So thank you, that wonderful post was a wonderful reminder of what it all could be like. Glad you were able to experience it for yourself too.

Goddamn that resume, freaking inhuman! Hahahaha, wow, I just... wow.

>bring home a sizeable, well-deserved paycheck

How sizable we talkin here?

>projects move very rapidly from idea to prototype to field test to product.

That is SO cool! You're going to laugh at me, but I actually did develop this wild fancy of being a researcher a few years ago when I played Xenosaga 1. Just how cool the researchers jobs' seemed developing and actualizing and testing this combat android thing near the beginning of the game. But then I realized that researchers probably don't do much testing or actualizing, just researching all the time and nothing more, and also held the impression research -> product was an infinitely long process in reality, "marinating" as you say.

I actually haven't been watching much anime either this summer, maybe averaging 2 per month with nothing last month. Mostly gaming and movies. That's not to say I'm burned out or anything, no way, just saving anime for when I really need it -- when I start working and have little time for some hardcore gaming.

>the anime industry just won a ton more visibility

Yeah but... I mean, other than the first few episodes, I've been hearing nothing but bad things about it. I'd love for anime to be more popular, but I wish Attack on Titan didn't give our fellow prospective initiates such a dismal impression, or more of a quality impression like Fullmetal Alchemist. Ah well.

I'm watching Saki's new side story season now. This time, it's from the perspective of a rival team playing in the same tournament at the same time as the one in season 1. Though I really really reeeeally wanted a sequel, I'm just so deliriously happy that this got a new season at all considering how low-key Saki 1 was. Getting all this nostalgia seeing all those nice characters from the first season again, and in a whole new light too! Unfortunately, the actual main characters of this season are... I mean they're nice, but just so utterly bland and generic, not a single one of them with any zest or distinction like with Nodoka and Saki in season 1. Probably going to be a 7/10 from me unless the second half does something wild.

Ippo 3's coming out =D

Oh, so you actually LIKE researching? Boy, we’ve got ourselves an anomaly here, a member of a truly endangered species =D jk, that’s so cool!

> to succeed at post-graduate studies, you really ought to be doing it for more than to fulfill some sort of societally-imposed requirement. Otherwise, you're doing it wrong.

I’d say the same for undergraduate, and heck any schooling and any occupation. Yeah, researching just isn’t my thing at all, so I’m glad no one’s making me get a Masters… yet (though some company might force me to if I want to advance). So wait, communications, so I’m sure you’re all hooked up with Clancy now? What kinds of research or whatever are you doing, or are you planning to do with him?

> It's just so chill and cool to see how self-motivated everyone is.

Boy, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that scene before. Sounds incredibly uplifting and motivating. Glad you’re enjoying yourself there; you’re 2 for 2 with your internships! I’m one for two, GE’s tight and stuffy corporate bureaucracy didn’t mesh too well with me, but at least now I know what to look out for.


> most of the characters never do anything REMOTELY similar to any human being

Haha, I actually had that problem with Kara no Kyoukai, but with the rest of Bakemono engaging me so much (unlike Kara no Kyoukai’s empty atmosphere), I guess it just didn’t bother me nearly as much here. Especially since I’d already experienced it once in Katana so I knew what I was in for, and I probably cut this problem some slack and tossed it up among this show’s many other unique quirks. As I mentioned, I posted my Bakemono thoughts elsewhere already, so if you don’t mind reading a few copy-pastes, here’s me trying to decipher why I enjoyed Bakemono so much:

After episode 1:

Totally enraptured by its delicious sense of style with all of its camera angles (and how frequently it shifts), the beyond stellar art (love the edgy perspectives they use here, as well as the somehow unclashing and interesting mesh of realism and abstraction), and all of the cryptic flashing text or background typesetting keeping your subconscious ripe. Not to mention the same fresh, playful, and well-written dialogue we found in Katana.

Though there isn’t much that actually happens in an episode’s plot, you’re engaged trying to keep track of all of the aforementioned incessantly hitting you. There’s always something or other piquing my interest every few frames, so the anime actually feels pretty dense to me, even though the plot really isn't. Characters are all rather interesting and cool, all 5-6 of them from this episode. Even Hanekawa, who outwardly looks pretty generic but exudes an I-am-more-than-meets-the-eye vibe at a few points, especially with whatever link I think she has to that badass white-haired chick they foreshadowed.

Because I’m too busy enjoying and keeping track of everything else, I don’t really notice any of the shortcomings of each component (lack of animation, low density, “nothing but dialogue”, etc.) until (useless) post-analysis scrutiny, and I don’t find myself bored in the slightest. Instead, I’m enthralled and thoroughly engaged from beginning to end. I do like it better than Katana so far, but it’s just the first ep – pretty foolish to hedge anything on the hook episode.

tl;dr: I’m loving it thus far. Stylish, original, engaging, unconventionally dense, and just plain refreshing at every single angle. 8/10, an experience like no other.


Then after episode 2:
Man, I effing love this show. 9/10 now. They went full blast fleshing out Senjougahara's character here, especially liking her contrasting kind bit at the very end of ep 2. And the connection between feelings, memories, and weight, or rather the fact that they actually made a meaningful connection to the seemingly arbitrary weight loss aspect, so cool!


Then after episode 3:
So weird, it's like with Bakemonogatari, I don't really find the plot all that important for some reason. More that I just want to watch the characters, and all the other crap I listed before. So enamored by the show's overall atmosphere that the plot's like the cherry on top, the bonus extra credit. This crazy anime's flipping me upside down XD


I was actually watching this with another person, and wrote a short post for almost every episode. The rest can be found from the bottom to about halfway up this page, each Bakemono comment starting with “Ep X:”: http://myanimelist.net/comtocom.php?id1=2092391&id2=61720&show=0


One excerpt:
I'm a big fan of every single character in this show -- quite the rare feat in a story. I mean, you could easily find works where you don't have a problem with any character, but to say that you really really like every character.. that's something special I think.


Oh, and about Senjougahara and Araragi, I certainly don’t have a problem with the way their relationship initiated –- thought Senjougahara confessed and explained herself pretty gracefully there. And while I loved their interactions in the first three eps, I totally agree with you after ep 3. After ep 12, I posted this:

I still have this lingering gripe though. I mean, I realize how intimidating Senjougahara must be to Araragi, but I wish he'd take a bit more initiative in the conversations and the relationship rather than merely responding to her all the time. He proactively gripped her hand this episode, and that was a good start, but I'd like to see more! A bit of a downer to keep watching our cool protagonist be so passive and choked up, keeping himself a doormat for her to walk all over, merely blown about by and forever chasing after this trombe rather than trying to catch up to her as he did in episode 1. With the way Araragi interacts with others, he certainly can do it, I know he can, so I hope he does. It'd make their conversations and interactions far more interesting, I think.


Like, in plenty of other anime you get the weak male strong female relationship, possibly to pander to all the otaku or whatever, and here it’s sort of the same, except I don’t consider Araragi weak at all. Only when it comes relatively to Senjougahara, sure, but his strong interactions with every other character gave me hope that he’d go back to how he was more on her level like back in the first three episodes-ish (though yes, even there she still “tore him to shreds”, but I felt Araragi also gained the upper hand at several points too).


On another note, I’m loving Trigun right now! Another show that doesn’t really seem like the show I’d typically like, with all the comedy and its episodic nature, but I’m really having a blast with every passing episode, and I'm totally addicted for more.

Haha, "Back, baby!" -- I guess that answers my question?

Hey! Thanks for the heads up. Argh, my damn luck: I'm actually not in Virginia anymore, moved back with my parents and my dad, a contractor, landed a job in another state =( But I totally would've gone if I was still around. Enjoy and lemme know how it goes!

Lincoln labs huh, how's that going? What're you specifically doing / researching there? Is this fulfilling some sort of grad school requirement, or something extra on the side? Boy, it's so good to finally be free of school -- you straight-into-grad-school people mystify me. Are you doing the 5-year masters thing?

I see you've kinda been watching/reading some stuff lately. So are you back yet, or still not fully? I'm actually on the flipside, probably won't be watching much for a while now that I finally ordered my new computer's parts and can finally play something from this generation. Been really missing out, so now's my time to catch up.

That said, I am finishing up Bakemonogatari right now, and boy did this show take me by surprise! I see you didn't enjoy it as much as most others, and actually a few people here told me I probably wouldn't like it much either. But I surprisingly did, and enormously so, even moreso than Katanagatari, despite it not being anywhere near the type of show I typically like. Wrote up a whole wall trying to decipher why I liked it so much elsewhere, but since you only gave it a 7, I'll save you the trouble =)

Cute Yukiko avatar. Wait, was she suppose to appear in P3P as a cameo??

It's about damn time: http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-02-26/nikkei/adk-toei-aniplex-sunrise-tms-nas-dentsu-to-stream-anime-overseas

Hopefully we won't have to worry too much about this stupid, languid industry much longer. With this, they seem to be getting smarter. I hope this is just the first step.

Yup, your perception of Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan is spot on actually, I felt the same. How'd you know that without even trying it? Is it just the author's style? But considering the heavy score, I still feel like the only one that didn't get even the slightest bit emotional over it. I'm not trying to be all hardass or whatever, I mean, I've teared up plenty with anime. But my main problem with the manga was with the characters, especially one of the protags. Also, it didn't allow for much plot development or character development with how short it was.

20th Century Boys it is! Thanks a ton. Liar Game does sound fun, but I think I'm going to wait for it to finish. Really, like with VNs, I just need to find one that drives me to at least an 8/10, maybe even a 7, and I'll be eternally hooked on the entire world of manga.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes.

So the one I tried is actually the second-highest rated manga on MAL, but yeah, not a fan at all. My thoughts are pretty spoilery, so I'll send you them once (or if) you try it for yourself: Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan.

Help.
Could you recommend me something that's finished, and preferably something that hasn't already been adapted to anime? Pretty please? I'm itching to give manga another try or two asap, but I don't want to start off on the wrong foot.

Oh hey! Welcome back as partially as it is. Yeah, I forgot what it was with me and Baccano, think it had something to do with the characters. Yeah, after Durarara, I’m sure it was.

Happy new year!

I’ve been concentrating on gaming more than anime as of late, so not sure if I’ll have much to offer. Movies also. Have you seen Sunshine (2007)? Excellent premise, excellent first half, and could've easily been an excellent movie overall, an easy 8/10, if it wasn't for this maniac in the second half pretty much ruining the movie. Why oh why did they have to turn it Hollywood? The plot was thrilling enough without that crap. Anyway, so Sunshine awoke this mad urge for a good sciency / spacey flick, and I came across Contact (1997). REALLY hit the spot! I don’t know, despite all their low ratings, movies with Jodie Foster playing protag have always been unique and surprisingly enthralling to me. Flightplan, Panic Room, and now Contact...

Oh, and remember how I was all enthusiastic about Legend of the Legendary Heroes? Well, it dropped the ball. Though it was sooooo refreshingly well-made and chock full of potential, LOL Heroes was cut short. From lack of viewership, I guess. Effing dumbass viewers that continue to overload on shitty fan-service, silly comedies, and school dredge instead of pure gold like this. Would've easily been a 9/10 from me if they didn't try to rush it at the end because they knew they were being cancelled... so overall 8/10, and with the aftertaste that I'd really like to forget the last 5 or so episodes. If you do end up trying it, which I still highly recommend, do yourself a favor and stop around episode 20.

Oh, and I’m about to try my first manga right now. Wish me luck.

Mirai Nikki: 5/10. Time to step down Kaiji, a new king is born. It's like getting barraged by ridiculousness. Raped by it. It's like whenever it started to get back on track, someone said, "OH SHIT! WE'RE STARTING TO MAKE TOO MUCH SENSE. INSERT STUPID NOW!!"
The only reason I was able to complete it and not give it a lower score is because so much stuff happened that it simply kept me watching. At the very least it had density, though of course most of that density was just plain retarded. Even though I knew the next episode would get even more absurd, I still wanted to watch just how absurd it got. Just how much more brainless and absolutely fucking ludicrous the characters could get. Just how on earth so many people could like this piece of shit so much for it to have such a high score here, such raving veneration.
*sigh*, At least it didn't bore me.

DUDE, thanks so much! I'll be there, and bring at least two others too -- that okay?

When are you planning to be there?