New
Apr 5, 2017 12:57 AM
#101
I've only seen Masamune-kun no Revenge and Demi-chan wa Kataritai, both were kinda disappointing but Demi-chan was the more enjoyable one out of the two. |
Honobono Log - best slice of life short -------------------------------------------- most kawaii loli overlord ---------------------------- Donquixote Doflamingo AMV - Control |
Apr 5, 2017 1:09 AM
#102
I was between Youjo Senki and Kuzu no Honkai. But a hitler loli, you can't beat that. |
A simple feeling that I can't seem to shake Oh my love, you drive me crazy in the loveliest way I stay up, all night just thinking bout' the things that you say I call your phone and hope to hear your voice and all over again I am in love... Make me fall in love why don't you Just make me fall in love again I can't deny it I'm in love In love... in love... in love... ♪ |
Apr 5, 2017 1:20 AM
#103
Kobayashi's first for me, then Kuzu no Honkai and finally Gabriel Dropout. Kobayashi offers a surprising monster-musume experience for me, while Kuzu no Honkai makes me emotionally invested with it and Gabriel is a cute show for me. |
It's time to play the Game folks! |
Apr 5, 2017 1:27 AM
#104
Counting sequels, KonoSuba 2. Not counting sequels, Demi-chan wa Kataritai. |
Apr 5, 2017 1:34 AM
#105
Definitely Kemono Friends Too bad it's not even on MAL users radar by looking at this thread even though it was the most successful anime from this season in Japan (it already has 20k pictures on pixiv :o) |
Apr 5, 2017 2:49 AM
#106
Hmm. I got 3. 1. Demi-chan wa Kataritai 2. Kobayashi's maid Dragon 3. Konosuba S2 |
Apr 5, 2017 7:02 AM
#108
Kobayashi's maid dragon and Konosuba S2 were contenders for a large part of this season. But midway through the season, Konosuba S2 just started to get repetitive in it's jokes and dip in quality for me. Meanwhile, Youjo Senki just got better and better after a slow enough start. This season in my opinion wasn't that great in comparison to last season, but kobayashi's maid dragon stayed entertaining throughout and i'm hyped for tonight's finale. Masamune easily was the worst though... cliched as hell harem that went down like a burning zepplin 1. Kobayashi's maid dragon 2. Youjo Senki 3. Konosuba S2 |
slán abhaile corcaigh Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin ☘ ☘ ☘ Currently stealing your heart, your women and also your job |
Apr 5, 2017 7:09 AM
#109
bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. |
Apr 5, 2017 7:10 AM
#110
Rakugo S2 - nothing comes close. probably even one of the best anime i ever watched Non-sequel wise, I bloody loved Dragon Maid the most. KonoSuba S2 and Youjo Senki comes close as well Honestly there are more I want to mention but it will probably just be the list of anime I watched this season. Best winter ever, for sure But yeah I agree with the one of the post above. Masamune was hilarious at first and peaked at around ep 7 or 8 then the last quarter of the season was just plain retarded. And also, fuck Zestiria S2 |
Apr 5, 2017 7:17 AM
#111
Apr 5, 2017 7:30 AM
#112
Marginal#4 and Demi-chan wa Kataritai. Both are cute, with nice openings & endings and likeable characters. |
"Please stop talking about math when I'm eating." |
Apr 5, 2017 7:32 AM
#113
Kuzo no Honkai was absolutely my favorite this season. Its listed as one of my favorites of all time. |
"It's the same sense of loss I feel when a slice-of-life series ends... The despair of knowing that their lives will still continue on, yet I won't be able to see it..." ~Hajime Tsunashi from Danna ga Nani wo Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken |
Apr 5, 2017 7:34 AM
#114
Kobayashi-san and Demi-chan were the best ones imo. Both were extremly lighthearted and easy to enjoy, also I really love the art in Kobayashi-san. |
Apr 5, 2017 7:37 AM
#115
Either LWA, Konosuba season two or Maid Dragon. LWA academia is not finished yet, but it was lots of fun, with a fantastic episode, even though some did felt a bit repetitive and are not always on par with the original two ova, it was still a fun anime and can't wait for more. Konosuba 2 improve what I like from the first season and leave me wanting more. Maid Dragon is about to finish, but the show was certainly a treat with great character, slow moments and good comedy. Is just an amazing fun moe anime. Showa Genroku S2 ending left a bit of a sour taste, which prevent it from joining up with the other, plus I was not a fan of some of the extra side character. |
Apr 5, 2017 7:44 AM
#116
Mine was Konosuba. Never laughed so hard in an anime until I watched it. |
Apr 5, 2017 7:45 AM
#117
Gintama Konosuba Ao no Exorcist Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon Only these 4 :3 |
Apr 5, 2017 7:57 AM
#118
Apr 5, 2017 8:01 AM
#119
The only two I stuck with until the end were Gintama and Kuzu no Honkai. Gintama was the best for me, no doubt...old faces teaming up, huge revelations, tons of action and even a sprinkle of that comedy I adore. I just wish there were more episodes although I get why they only adapted the Rakuyo arc. Second would be Kuzu no honkai. I was on the edge of my seat every week wondering what on earth was gonna happen, and that rarely happens to me with romance anime. Plus the ending was bittersweert but refreshing! The only other anime I watched over half of were Youjo Senki and Onihei., but I ended up dropping both of them. They weren't bad or anything, there just wasn't enough of a hook to keep me going back every week. |
Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
Apr 5, 2017 8:10 AM
#120
DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. While I won't say it's as good as Nana (which is a masterpiece in my eyes, while Kuzu isn't), I think calling it an inferior version of Nana sells both series short. Aside from the tunnel vision focus on love and sex (which makes perfect sense in the context of the series, given the characters' obsessions with physical connection in hopes that it can fulfill their emotional needs), and mildly overblown visual characterization (Akane's evil lip licking seems to be a go-to), the drama is very realistic. I've personally lived some scenes eerily similar to those in the series, and know others who have lived though other scenes. I'm not surprised that people don't like it (though School Days S2 remarks are wildly off-base). One, you have to have been exposed, at least in some fashion, personally, to events similar to those in the series. It's an example of Poe's Law. The absurd can be mistaken for real, and the real can be mistaken for absurd. The world is a crazy place. Teachers sometimes fuck their students. They fuck more than their students. Melodrama can be realistic, ESPECIALLY when dealing with hormonal teens and irresponsible younger adults. Beyond that, having previous experience with pink film, as well as traditional film cinematography and sexual psychology would help exponentially in not dismissing the sensual/sexual scenes as not exploitative. There's this idea by some that Kuzu is an excuse to make a series you can jerk it to, which is absolutely insane from my perspective. While the direction is fantastic at cultivating a palpable sensual atmosphere, the sensuality is not used to arouse the audience sexually. These scenes play out like suspenseful horror scenes, in a similar way to a movie such as In the Realm of the Senses. The fear that these people might go that one step too far to the point where they can't go back. It's an uncomfortable, but powerful watch in that context. It's even more impressive that the series manages to cultivating that dread during those scenes when considering how little they actually do show. I could go on, but I gotta play Persona 5 haha. Basically, I don't begrudge anyone for not liking it, but the outright dismissal of it by some as flat-out poor art does bug me, especially when a primary argument against it seems to be that it's exploitative simply because it shows sexual encounters "too often" when, being inspired by pink film, is like criticizing a comedy because it's too funny. |
bastard_of_youngApr 5, 2017 8:28 AM
TEN COMMANDMENTS: 1) If Evangelion and Psycho-Pass are his only 10s, he probably also worships Tool and smells like cheesy puffs 2) Freudian psychosis =/= good writing 3) Moe blob art style is only ok in pure slice-of-life comedy 4) It's ok to enjoy shounen. Having fun is allowed 5) It is not ok to enjoy isekai (jk, it is, I just fucking hate it) 6) Creator breakdown =/= good writing 7) A story does not have to be wrapped up with a bow. Life is messy, why would a good story need to be tidy? 8) InuYasha is proto-Twilight 9) Ecchi CAN be good, but is almost always an abomination 10) If God is real, They allowed Super Kid to happen, so fuck Them |
Apr 5, 2017 8:12 AM
#121
Apr 5, 2017 8:15 AM
#122
ACCA. For me, that was the one true saviour of the season, even if Youjo Senki and Kuzu were both enjoyable for the first few episodes. |
Once we seize space, we'll all... |
Apr 5, 2017 8:20 AM
#123
konsuba s2 ,scum wish and Demi chan wa Kataritai was good too. |
Apr 5, 2017 8:25 AM
#124
Sangatsu no Lion'/ 2nd half was my undisputed favorite. It resonated with me on so many levela |
Apr 5, 2017 8:56 AM
#125
I just watched Blue Exorcist kyoto saga, i do plan to watch konosuba and masamune kun revenge |
Apr 5, 2017 9:23 AM
#126
bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. While I won't say it's as good as Nana (which is a masterpiece in my eyes, while Kuzu isn't), I think calling it an inferior version of Nana sells both series short. Aside from the tunnel vision focus on love and sex (which makes perfect sense in the context of the series, given the characters' obsessions with physical connection in hopes that it can fulfill their emotional needs), and mildly overblown visual characterization (Akane's evil lip licking seems to be a go-to), the drama is very realistic. I've personally lived some scenes eerily similar to those in the series, and know others who have lived though other scenes. I'm not surprised that people don't like it (though School Days S2 remarks are wildly off-base). One, you have to have been exposed, at least in some fashion, personally, to events similar to those in the series. It's an example of Poe's Law. The absurd can be mistaken for real, and the real can be mistaken for absurd. The world is a crazy place. Teachers sometimes fuck their students. They fuck more than their students. Melodrama can be realistic, ESPECIALLY when dealing with hormonal teens and irresponsible younger adults. Beyond that, having previous experience with pink film, as well as traditional film cinematography and sexual psychology would help exponentially in not dismissing the sensual/sexual scenes as not exploitative. There's this idea by some that Kuzu is an excuse to make a series you can jerk it to, which is absolutely insane from my perspective. While the direction is fantastic at cultivating a palpable sensual atmosphere, the sensuality is not used to arouse the audience sexually. These scenes play out like suspenseful horror scenes, in a similar way to a movie such as In the Realm of the Senses. The fear that these people might go that one step too far to the point where they can't go back. It's an uncomfortable, but powerful watch in that context. It's even more impressive that the series manages to cultivating that dread during those scenes when considering how little they actually do show. I could go on, but I gotta play Persona 5 haha. Basically, I don't begrudge anyone for not liking it, but the outright dismissal of it by some as flat-out poor art does bug me, especially when a primary argument against it seems to be that it's exploitative simply because it shows sexual encounters "too often" when, being inspired by pink film, is like criticizing a comedy because it's too funny. This anime touches the sensitive feelings and problems that most young people go through when they find real love/romance or fake love/romance that they don’t know how to deal with and the problems those feelings can lead to. While I commend the show for taking such an unusual path I cannot ignore the poor manner in which it was executed. If the show would have focused much more on the moral and emotional implications of these love acts, showing and thoroughly analyzing the psych of the characters rather than focusing on poor-taste sex scenes that seemed forced sometimes, but that’s just my opinion. I also had problems with characters, they got buildup for nothing. A narrative should show both cause and effect, downfall and development, but kuzu failed. Hanabi spent whole season flirting around her darker side yet there's no pay off, no actual solution or confrontation. She just....gets over it I guess? Mugi had fascinating backstory and the whole malicious intent towards Hanabi was interesting and could have been interesting to look at male predator, but in the end he ended up being a plot device pushed around by people till plot demands him to grow a backbone because show has to end. Male Teacher was a non-character through and through to the point that the previous episode was a literal WHAT moment. Ecchan started out great as a very realistic queer character longing for approval. Then the author for some reason decided to veer towards problematic lesbian stereotypes and then she just disappeared. Was she ever treated anything more than a roadblock? Sadly, not really. Same can be said about Mocca too. She is basically discount Sengoku Nadeko. Except that Sengoku Nadeko mattered a LOT to the plot of Monogatari while Mocca just is there, starts annoying, gets interesting and then is resolved without any real consequence for anyone involved. I wonder if this could have been better if Akane was protagonist? I mean she technically is because despite us knowing NOTHING about her backstory or motivations, Akane is the sole character who developed and changed in a way. And yet yet again despite supposedly being "worst person ever", she suffered no consequences and she did not cause ANYTHING to happen. At least they did not just throw Mugi and Hanabi instantly to a wedding for the finale. The fact that the show thinks they can "Build a real relationship" is already frustrating. At least they did not become each other's consolation prize. Overall despite thrilling and well-done visuals and brilliant execution, this feels really pointless in the end. It's a decent series but far from the praise that it gets for being just "daring". I think zeph's review sums it up what's wrong with it. |
Apr 5, 2017 10:25 AM
#127
DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. While I won't say it's as good as Nana (which is a masterpiece in my eyes, while Kuzu isn't), I think calling it an inferior version of Nana sells both series short. Aside from the tunnel vision focus on love and sex (which makes perfect sense in the context of the series, given the characters' obsessions with physical connection in hopes that it can fulfill their emotional needs), and mildly overblown visual characterization (Akane's evil lip licking seems to be a go-to), the drama is very realistic. I've personally lived some scenes eerily similar to those in the series, and know others who have lived though other scenes. I'm not surprised that people don't like it (though School Days S2 remarks are wildly off-base). One, you have to have been exposed, at least in some fashion, personally, to events similar to those in the series. It's an example of Poe's Law. The absurd can be mistaken for real, and the real can be mistaken for absurd. The world is a crazy place. Teachers sometimes fuck their students. They fuck more than their students. Melodrama can be realistic, ESPECIALLY when dealing with hormonal teens and irresponsible younger adults. Beyond that, having previous experience with pink film, as well as traditional film cinematography and sexual psychology would help exponentially in not dismissing the sensual/sexual scenes as not exploitative. There's this idea by some that Kuzu is an excuse to make a series you can jerk it to, which is absolutely insane from my perspective. While the direction is fantastic at cultivating a palpable sensual atmosphere, the sensuality is not used to arouse the audience sexually. These scenes play out like suspenseful horror scenes, in a similar way to a movie such as In the Realm of the Senses. The fear that these people might go that one step too far to the point where they can't go back. It's an uncomfortable, but powerful watch in that context. It's even more impressive that the series manages to cultivating that dread during those scenes when considering how little they actually do show. I could go on, but I gotta play Persona 5 haha. Basically, I don't begrudge anyone for not liking it, but the outright dismissal of it by some as flat-out poor art does bug me, especially when a primary argument against it seems to be that it's exploitative simply because it shows sexual encounters "too often" when, being inspired by pink film, is like criticizing a comedy because it's too funny. This anime touches the sensitive feelings and problems that most young people go through when they find real love/romance or fake love/romance that they don’t know how to deal with and the problems those feelings can lead to. While I commend the show for taking such an unusual path I cannot ignore the poor manner in which it was executed. If the show would have focused much more on the moral and emotional implications of these love acts, showing and thoroughly analyzing the psych of the characters rather than focusing on poor-taste sex scenes that seemed forced sometimes, but that’s just my opinion. I also had problems with characters, they got buildup for nothing. A narrative should show both cause and effect, downfall and development, but kuzu failed. Hanabi spent whole season flirting around her darker side yet there's no pay off, no actual solution or confrontation. She just....gets over it I guess? Mugi had fascinating backstory and the whole malicious intent towards Hanabi was interesting and could have been interesting to look at male predator, but in the end he ended up being a plot device pushed around by people till plot demands him to grow a backbone because show has to end. Male Teacher was a non-character through and through to the point that the previous episode was a literal WHAT moment. Ecchan started out great as a very realistic queer character longing for approval. Then the author for some reason decided to veer towards problematic lesbian stereotypes and then she just disappeared. Was she ever treated anything more than a roadblock? Sadly, not really. Same can be said about Mocca too. She is basically discount Sengoku Nadeko. Except that Sengoku Nadeko mattered a LOT to the plot of Monogatari while Mocca just is there, starts annoying, gets interesting and then is resolved without any real consequence for anyone involved. I wonder if this could have been better if Akane was protagonist? I mean she technically is because despite us knowing NOTHING about her backstory or motivations, Akane is the sole character who developed and changed in a way. And yet yet again despite supposedly being "worst person ever", she suffered no consequences and she did not cause ANYTHING to happen. At least they did not just throw Mugi and Hanabi instantly to a wedding for the finale. The fact that the show thinks they can "Build a real relationship" is already frustrating. At least they did not become each other's consolation prize. Overall despite thrilling and well-done visuals and brilliant execution, this feels really pointless in the end. It's a decent series but far from the praise that it gets for being just "daring". I think zeph's review sums it up what's wrong with it. In my opinion, I think that assessment (as well as Zeph's) are off-base. I also don't understand how the show wasn't psychological enough. The show provided excellent psychological profiles and character arcs for each main/semi-main aside from Kanai. I'm actually shocked that Kuzu doesn't have a psychological tag, especially when it's more so than many shows that do have it. My rip on the "exploitation" criticism is in fact ripped directly from when I read Zeph's review. I don't know how often sex is "tasteful", but again, the idea that the sexual/sensual scenes were included to arouse rather than facilitate a sense of dread and enhance the characters' psychological profiles indicates to me a lack of ability to see sex as anything but smut unless it's "tasteful", and if it's not tasteful, it's exploitative and incapable of serving a storytelling purpose. The major fault I see reviewers making, in my opinion, is the idea that "it could be a good story if there wasn't so much sex". It's an odd criticism as the meat of the storytelling is told through the sexual encounters, and to "flesh out" other aspects in its wake would only serve to downplay the level of obsession the characters have. I also disagree that this is how "most" young people are, which serves as both a misunderstanding towards the show, and a valid criticism of it. I know that people have criticized the internal monologues as simply an excuse for exposition. That it's unrealistic for someone to make mistakes while consciously know that they're mistakes immediately after, or even while making them. For many well-adjusted people (or people who haven't found themselves in a similar position), this is true. But for many others, it is not. When I was at college, I fell in love with someone I knew didn't feel the same way about me, and yet I continued to pursue them knowing full well it would never happen. I remember clearly that whenever I spent time with her, my mind constantly told me "I hate this but I need this" on loop. I was in my own head and detatched from her for almost two years every time I saw her. The same applies to the characters in Kuzu. It's not healthy, it's not normal, but it is a thing. I think the emotional implications were more than met by Kuzu, and if it had taken a moralistic turn, it would immensely detract from the message. If these people faced cliched karmic justice outside of the vacuum in which their actions existed, it would've been preachy and trite. Nobody got pregnant and these characters actions don't need to have any baring on anything aside from their own psyches and relationships within the vacuum. And to Hana x Mugi shippers who might read this... you didn't get the show. If you thought they had love for each other, you didn't get it. They had a connection, yes, but it was never love. It was empathy. As the ED states, they were "parallel lines", never meant to truly come together, just to travel the same journey. After the marriage, their hope for being with the ones they truly loved was extinguished, and they were set free, from their obsessions and each other. When Akane and Kanai were joined, Hana and Mugi were separated, as the entirety of their relationship was founded on their common obsession. Without it, there's nothing left. Kuzu being tagged as a "romance" is inaccurate. It's a psychological drama that used sex and relationships as a primary method of storytelling. Everyone is going to have their own experiences to take into Kuzu. How it impacts you is dependent upon those experiences, and not liking the show is entirely understandable to me, but while their are enough little legitimate artistic criticisms to levy Kuzu with, I'm hearing far too often "it's bad because I personally can't relate and sex can't possibly be important to a story". |
TEN COMMANDMENTS: 1) If Evangelion and Psycho-Pass are his only 10s, he probably also worships Tool and smells like cheesy puffs 2) Freudian psychosis =/= good writing 3) Moe blob art style is only ok in pure slice-of-life comedy 4) It's ok to enjoy shounen. Having fun is allowed 5) It is not ok to enjoy isekai (jk, it is, I just fucking hate it) 6) Creator breakdown =/= good writing 7) A story does not have to be wrapped up with a bow. Life is messy, why would a good story need to be tidy? 8) InuYasha is proto-Twilight 9) Ecchi CAN be good, but is almost always an abomination 10) If God is real, They allowed Super Kid to happen, so fuck Them |
Apr 5, 2017 10:31 AM
#128
bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. While I won't say it's as good as Nana (which is a masterpiece in my eyes, while Kuzu isn't), I think calling it an inferior version of Nana sells both series short. Aside from the tunnel vision focus on love and sex (which makes perfect sense in the context of the series, given the characters' obsessions with physical connection in hopes that it can fulfill their emotional needs), and mildly overblown visual characterization (Akane's evil lip licking seems to be a go-to), the drama is very realistic. I've personally lived some scenes eerily similar to those in the series, and know others who have lived though other scenes. I'm not surprised that people don't like it (though School Days S2 remarks are wildly off-base). One, you have to have been exposed, at least in some fashion, personally, to events similar to those in the series. It's an example of Poe's Law. The absurd can be mistaken for real, and the real can be mistaken for absurd. The world is a crazy place. Teachers sometimes fuck their students. They fuck more than their students. Melodrama can be realistic, ESPECIALLY when dealing with hormonal teens and irresponsible younger adults. Beyond that, having previous experience with pink film, as well as traditional film cinematography and sexual psychology would help exponentially in not dismissing the sensual/sexual scenes as not exploitative. There's this idea by some that Kuzu is an excuse to make a series you can jerk it to, which is absolutely insane from my perspective. While the direction is fantastic at cultivating a palpable sensual atmosphere, the sensuality is not used to arouse the audience sexually. These scenes play out like suspenseful horror scenes, in a similar way to a movie such as In the Realm of the Senses. The fear that these people might go that one step too far to the point where they can't go back. It's an uncomfortable, but powerful watch in that context. It's even more impressive that the series manages to cultivating that dread during those scenes when considering how little they actually do show. I could go on, but I gotta play Persona 5 haha. Basically, I don't begrudge anyone for not liking it, but the outright dismissal of it by some as flat-out poor art does bug me, especially when a primary argument against it seems to be that it's exploitative simply because it shows sexual encounters "too often" when, being inspired by pink film, is like criticizing a comedy because it's too funny. This anime touches the sensitive feelings and problems that most young people go through when they find real love/romance or fake love/romance that they don’t know how to deal with and the problems those feelings can lead to. While I commend the show for taking such an unusual path I cannot ignore the poor manner in which it was executed. If the show would have focused much more on the moral and emotional implications of these love acts, showing and thoroughly analyzing the psych of the characters rather than focusing on poor-taste sex scenes that seemed forced sometimes, but that’s just my opinion. I also had problems with characters, they got buildup for nothing. A narrative should show both cause and effect, downfall and development, but kuzu failed. Hanabi spent whole season flirting around her darker side yet there's no pay off, no actual solution or confrontation. She just....gets over it I guess? Mugi had fascinating backstory and the whole malicious intent towards Hanabi was interesting and could have been interesting to look at male predator, but in the end he ended up being a plot device pushed around by people till plot demands him to grow a backbone because show has to end. Male Teacher was a non-character through and through to the point that the previous episode was a literal WHAT moment. Ecchan started out great as a very realistic queer character longing for approval. Then the author for some reason decided to veer towards problematic lesbian stereotypes and then she just disappeared. Was she ever treated anything more than a roadblock? Sadly, not really. Same can be said about Mocca too. She is basically discount Sengoku Nadeko. Except that Sengoku Nadeko mattered a LOT to the plot of Monogatari while Mocca just is there, starts annoying, gets interesting and then is resolved without any real consequence for anyone involved. I wonder if this could have been better if Akane was protagonist? I mean she technically is because despite us knowing NOTHING about her backstory or motivations, Akane is the sole character who developed and changed in a way. And yet yet again despite supposedly being "worst person ever", she suffered no consequences and she did not cause ANYTHING to happen. At least they did not just throw Mugi and Hanabi instantly to a wedding for the finale. The fact that the show thinks they can "Build a real relationship" is already frustrating. At least they did not become each other's consolation prize. Overall despite thrilling and well-done visuals and brilliant execution, this feels really pointless in the end. It's a decent series but far from the praise that it gets for being just "daring". I think zeph's review sums it up what's wrong with it. In my opinion, I think that assessment (as well as Zeph's) are off-base. I also don't understand how the show wasn't psychological enough. The show provided excellent psychological profiles and character arcs for each main/semi-main aside from Kanai. I'm actually shocked that Kuzu doesn't have a psychological tag, especially when it's more so than many shows that do have it. My rip on the "exploitation" criticism is in fact ripped directly from when I read Zeph's review. I don't know how often sex is "tasteful", but again, the idea that the sexual/sensual scenes were included to arouse rather than facilitate a sense of dread and enhance the characters' psychological profiles indicates to me a lack of ability to see sex as anything but smut unless it's "tasteful", and if it's not tasteful, it's exploitative and incapable of serving a storytelling purpose. The major fault I see reviewers making, in my opinion, is the idea that "it could be a good story if there wasn't so much sex". It's an odd criticism as the meat of the storytelling is told through the sexual encounters, and to "flesh out" other aspects in its wake would only serve to downplay the level of obsession the characters have. I also disagree that this is how "most" young people are, which serves as both a misunderstanding towards the show, and a valid criticism of it. I know that people have criticized the internal monologues as simply an excuse for exposition. That it's unrealistic for someone to make mistakes while consciously know that they're mistakes immediately after, or even while making them. For many well-adjusted people (or people who haven't found themselves in a similar position), this is true. But for many others, it is not. When I was at college, I fell in love with someone I knew didn't feel the same way about me, and yet I continued to pursue them knowing full well it would never happen. I remember clearly that whenever I spent time with her, my mind constantly told me "I hate this but I need this" on loop. I was in my own head and detatched from her for almost two years every time I saw her. The same applies to the characters in Kuzu. It's not healthy, it's not normal, but it is a thing. I think the emotional implications were more than met by Kuzu, and if it had taken a moralistic turn, it would immensely detract from the message. If these people faced cliched karmic justice outside of the vacuum in which their actions existed, it would've been preachy and trite. Nobody got pregnant and these characters actions don't need to have any baring on anything aside from their own psyches and relationships within the vacuum. And to Hana x Mugi shippers who might read this... you didn't get the show. If you thought they had love for each other, you didn't get it. They had a connection, yes, but it was never love. It was empathy. As the ED states, they were "parallel lines", never meant to truly come together, just to travel the same journey. After the marriage, their hope for being with the ones they truly loved was extinguished, and they were set free, from their obsessions and each other. When Akane and Kanai were joined, Hana and Mugi were separated, as the entirety of their relationship was founded on their common obsession. Without it, there's nothing left. Kuzu being tagged as a "romance" is inaccurate. It's a psychological drama that used sex and relationships as a primary method of storytelling. Everyone is going to have their own experiences to take into Kuzu. How it impacts you is dependent upon those experiences, and not liking the show is entirely understandable to me, but while their are enough little legitimate artistic criticisms to levy Kuzu with, I'm hearing far too often "it's bad because I personally can't relate and sex can't possibly be important to a story". Although I have a bit of problem with how the sex scenes are handled, I am pretty much fine with it. The main problem as I said in the spoilers tag was the characters imo, as I said. They can be realistic to some people but that's it, it lacks any payoff of the characters apart from that teacher which is not a sign of a good show. |
Apr 5, 2017 10:38 AM
#129
DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: DigitalExile said: bastard_of_young said: Returning Sangatsu and Rakugo. Best new show was easily Kuzu. Unless you're sexually repressed and hoped to live a sweet, successful love story vicariously through missionary position loving innocent cuties. Then you probably called it "Cuck's Wish", compared it to School Days, gave it a 1, and returned to Twitter to tell porn stars to kill themselves. I agree with sangatsu and rakugo but not really kuzu. Kuzu suffered from some overblown drama with characters that didn't progress much although they had huge potential to be exlpored through their psychology and actual results of those relationships, but instead turned out to be unrealistic drama and an inferior version of Nana. It tried to achieve something but failed. While I won't say it's as good as Nana (which is a masterpiece in my eyes, while Kuzu isn't), I think calling it an inferior version of Nana sells both series short. Aside from the tunnel vision focus on love and sex (which makes perfect sense in the context of the series, given the characters' obsessions with physical connection in hopes that it can fulfill their emotional needs), and mildly overblown visual characterization (Akane's evil lip licking seems to be a go-to), the drama is very realistic. I've personally lived some scenes eerily similar to those in the series, and know others who have lived though other scenes. I'm not surprised that people don't like it (though School Days S2 remarks are wildly off-base). One, you have to have been exposed, at least in some fashion, personally, to events similar to those in the series. It's an example of Poe's Law. The absurd can be mistaken for real, and the real can be mistaken for absurd. The world is a crazy place. Teachers sometimes fuck their students. They fuck more than their students. Melodrama can be realistic, ESPECIALLY when dealing with hormonal teens and irresponsible younger adults. Beyond that, having previous experience with pink film, as well as traditional film cinematography and sexual psychology would help exponentially in not dismissing the sensual/sexual scenes as not exploitative. There's this idea by some that Kuzu is an excuse to make a series you can jerk it to, which is absolutely insane from my perspective. While the direction is fantastic at cultivating a palpable sensual atmosphere, the sensuality is not used to arouse the audience sexually. These scenes play out like suspenseful horror scenes, in a similar way to a movie such as In the Realm of the Senses. The fear that these people might go that one step too far to the point where they can't go back. It's an uncomfortable, but powerful watch in that context. It's even more impressive that the series manages to cultivating that dread during those scenes when considering how little they actually do show. I could go on, but I gotta play Persona 5 haha. Basically, I don't begrudge anyone for not liking it, but the outright dismissal of it by some as flat-out poor art does bug me, especially when a primary argument against it seems to be that it's exploitative simply because it shows sexual encounters "too often" when, being inspired by pink film, is like criticizing a comedy because it's too funny. This anime touches the sensitive feelings and problems that most young people go through when they find real love/romance or fake love/romance that they don’t know how to deal with and the problems those feelings can lead to. While I commend the show for taking such an unusual path I cannot ignore the poor manner in which it was executed. If the show would have focused much more on the moral and emotional implications of these love acts, showing and thoroughly analyzing the psych of the characters rather than focusing on poor-taste sex scenes that seemed forced sometimes, but that’s just my opinion. I also had problems with characters, they got buildup for nothing. A narrative should show both cause and effect, downfall and development, but kuzu failed. Hanabi spent whole season flirting around her darker side yet there's no pay off, no actual solution or confrontation. She just....gets over it I guess? Mugi had fascinating backstory and the whole malicious intent towards Hanabi was interesting and could have been interesting to look at male predator, but in the end he ended up being a plot device pushed around by people till plot demands him to grow a backbone because show has to end. Male Teacher was a non-character through and through to the point that the previous episode was a literal WHAT moment. Ecchan started out great as a very realistic queer character longing for approval. Then the author for some reason decided to veer towards problematic lesbian stereotypes and then she just disappeared. Was she ever treated anything more than a roadblock? Sadly, not really. Same can be said about Mocca too. She is basically discount Sengoku Nadeko. Except that Sengoku Nadeko mattered a LOT to the plot of Monogatari while Mocca just is there, starts annoying, gets interesting and then is resolved without any real consequence for anyone involved. I wonder if this could have been better if Akane was protagonist? I mean she technically is because despite us knowing NOTHING about her backstory or motivations, Akane is the sole character who developed and changed in a way. And yet yet again despite supposedly being "worst person ever", she suffered no consequences and she did not cause ANYTHING to happen. At least they did not just throw Mugi and Hanabi instantly to a wedding for the finale. The fact that the show thinks they can "Build a real relationship" is already frustrating. At least they did not become each other's consolation prize. Overall despite thrilling and well-done visuals and brilliant execution, this feels really pointless in the end. It's a decent series but far from the praise that it gets for being just "daring". I think zeph's review sums it up what's wrong with it. In my opinion, I think that assessment (as well as Zeph's) are off-base. I also don't understand how the show wasn't psychological enough. The show provided excellent psychological profiles and character arcs for each main/semi-main aside from Kanai. I'm actually shocked that Kuzu doesn't have a psychological tag, especially when it's more so than many shows that do have it. My rip on the "exploitation" criticism is in fact ripped directly from when I read Zeph's review. I don't know how often sex is "tasteful", but again, the idea that the sexual/sensual scenes were included to arouse rather than facilitate a sense of dread and enhance the characters' psychological profiles indicates to me a lack of ability to see sex as anything but smut unless it's "tasteful", and if it's not tasteful, it's exploitative and incapable of serving a storytelling purpose. The major fault I see reviewers making, in my opinion, is the idea that "it could be a good story if there wasn't so much sex". It's an odd criticism as the meat of the storytelling is told through the sexual encounters, and to "flesh out" other aspects in its wake would only serve to downplay the level of obsession the characters have. I also disagree that this is how "most" young people are, which serves as both a misunderstanding towards the show, and a valid criticism of it. I know that people have criticized the internal monologues as simply an excuse for exposition. That it's unrealistic for someone to make mistakes while consciously know that they're mistakes immediately after, or even while making them. For many well-adjusted people (or people who haven't found themselves in a similar position), this is true. But for many others, it is not. When I was at college, I fell in love with someone I knew didn't feel the same way about me, and yet I continued to pursue them knowing full well it would never happen. I remember clearly that whenever I spent time with her, my mind constantly told me "I hate this but I need this" on loop. I was in my own head and detatched from her for almost two years every time I saw her. The same applies to the characters in Kuzu. It's not healthy, it's not normal, but it is a thing. I think the emotional implications were more than met by Kuzu, and if it had taken a moralistic turn, it would immensely detract from the message. If these people faced cliched karmic justice outside of the vacuum in which their actions existed, it would've been preachy and trite. Nobody got pregnant and these characters actions don't need to have any baring on anything aside from their own psyches and relationships within the vacuum. And to Hana x Mugi shippers who might read this... you didn't get the show. If you thought they had love for each other, you didn't get it. They had a connection, yes, but it was never love. It was empathy. As the ED states, they were "parallel lines", never meant to truly come together, just to travel the same journey. After the marriage, their hope for being with the ones they truly loved was extinguished, and they were set free, from their obsessions and each other. When Akane and Kanai were joined, Hana and Mugi were separated, as the entirety of their relationship was founded on their common obsession. Without it, there's nothing left. Kuzu being tagged as a "romance" is inaccurate. It's a psychological drama that used sex and relationships as a primary method of storytelling. Everyone is going to have their own experiences to take into Kuzu. How it impacts you is dependent upon those experiences, and not liking the show is entirely understandable to me, but while their are enough little legitimate artistic criticisms to levy Kuzu with, I'm hearing far too often "it's bad because I personally can't relate and sex can't possibly be important to a story". Although I have a bit of problem with how the sex scenes are handled, I am pretty much fine with it. The main problem as I said was the characters imo, as I said. They can be realistic to some people but that's it, it lacks any payoff of the characters apart from that teacher which is not a sign of a good show. And I differ. I believe every single character outside of Kanai significantly changed from the beginning of the show to the end. Payoff doesn't need to be a wedding, and it doesn't need to be blatant or drastic. Everyone ended stronger and wiser than they were before, and in a better place in their lives. But I respect your opinion, as I hope you respect mine, as we're both qualifying them as such. |
TEN COMMANDMENTS: 1) If Evangelion and Psycho-Pass are his only 10s, he probably also worships Tool and smells like cheesy puffs 2) Freudian psychosis =/= good writing 3) Moe blob art style is only ok in pure slice-of-life comedy 4) It's ok to enjoy shounen. Having fun is allowed 5) It is not ok to enjoy isekai (jk, it is, I just fucking hate it) 6) Creator breakdown =/= good writing 7) A story does not have to be wrapped up with a bow. Life is messy, why would a good story need to be tidy? 8) InuYasha is proto-Twilight 9) Ecchi CAN be good, but is almost always an abomination 10) If God is real, They allowed Super Kid to happen, so fuck Them |
Apr 5, 2017 10:47 AM
#130
shouwa genroku rakugo shinju 2nd season .. anyone ?? |
Apr 5, 2017 11:17 AM
#131
Little Witch Academia, of course! Nice character cast (especially Akko), funny comedy episodes, good serious episodes, the character development seems to be going well at a reasonable pace, and Andrew x Akko is OTP. |
Apr 5, 2017 11:21 AM
#132
My favorite would had to be Konosuba, freaking hilarious, with Kobayashi, Demi-chan, and maybe Masamune and Blue Exorcist not too far behind. |
Apr 5, 2017 12:40 PM
#133
The sugoii and tanoshii show Kemono Friends. |
Apr 5, 2017 12:42 PM
#134
Kuzu No Honkai was my favorite it had the art style, a nice opening and ending, realistic characters that are flawed yet likable and it kept me on edge I really liked it |
yeehaw |
Apr 5, 2017 1:33 PM
#135
imho Tier 1: 3-Gatsu, ACCA, Demi chan. Consistently great throughout the season. Tier 2: Maid Dragon, Youjo Senki, Konosuba 2. Some brilliant moments, some so-so episodes; but overall enjoyable. Tier 3: LWA, Gabriel Dropout, Kuzu no Honkai. A little too inconsistent; and in the case of Kuzu, it was one of those where at the beginning you can't help but be fascinated by the show like watching a train wreck. You just couldn't turn away. However, by the middle of the series, it lost its way and I just couldn't care about the characters anymore. LWA started off too kiddish for my liking, but later episodes are building up nicely. Big dropoff to the other series - Urara (cute, but lacking cohesion. Maybe targeted at a younger audience than me), Masamune (good lord was it overrated), Ao no Exorcist (whole season felt flat) . As for Shouwa; I couldn't invest myself in the characters in S1, so I still haven't finished S1, let alone have an opinion on S2. |
Apr 5, 2017 1:44 PM
#136
Gabriel Dropout all the way, Its one of the anime that made me burst out laughing so much, and I adored it's mixture of dark humor and cute humor, like the anime was really dark like One of the episodes Gabriel almost destroyed the entire fucking world because she was in a crowd of people, man that anime, it was just so entertaining and every monday at my school I would sit down and watch the latest episode while eating my school lunch and having a really fun time with the anime. |
hi |
Apr 5, 2017 2:28 PM
#138
Apr 5, 2017 2:30 PM
#139
Perfection—————————————————— Urara Meirocho - chiya best, kon best, cutest and most colorful anime ever made >_< Great Line——————————————————— ACCA - intriguing different kind of anime the most interesting calm paced anime after Space Brothers Kobayashi - very good even though best dragon Fafnir get sidelined because he has a dick Decent Line——————————————————— Akiba Trip - not much fanservice, but fun, everyday action slice of life with a lot of parody in akiba Konosuba 2 - not as good as the first season, a lot of boring moments and DEEN is stupid studio who only give 10 episode for popular show. smh. Nyanko Days - Nyanko anime with no nyankos? also too short Bang Dream - decent, nothing much to say. arisa best girl Demi-chan - the most average slice of life I’ve ever watch. good when I’ve got absolutely nothing to do. Garbage Dump—————————————————— Tales of Zestiria 2 - absolute trash that spoil the whole Berseria for their own trash plot and characters. slowest paced action anime I have ever seen. not even ufotable animation can save this utter mess. Gintama - this is the point when Gintama stray away from its comedy gold into some boring, generic shonen serious arc all the way until the end of the series. Garbage DropOut - the most boring, repetitive and formulaic comedy anime i have ever watch. jokes are not even funny and the characters are plain and boring af. If you seriously like this, I REALLY recommend “Kill me Baby”, it’s better than this. I gave it 3/10 btw. Yuru Yuri + Nichibros is how you make comedy-focused SoL. tons of diverse characters with different quirks making non-boring skits. there is absolutely no reason to watch this if the design and artwork isn’t cute. I keep watching hoping it makes me at least grin, but nope, wasted time. AT LEAST, it’s cute. but that’s not the point of this anime. Kuzu no Honkai - I only watch the yuri sex gif Yojo Senki - edgy Fuuka - all Seo Kouji works are absolute mess without the glorious memes. Masamune - typical boring harem with kirito lookalike clone, absolute trash Kemono Memes - CGI is absolute garbage (not Berserk-garbage at least), don’t care about japan memes Idol Jihen - wtf Schoolgirls Striker - *facepalm* el Dlive - … Hand Shaker - WOW |
CrossAnge Hey guys check my profile for current airing season anime recommendation (guaranteed best taste) |
Apr 5, 2017 2:46 PM
#140
Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon. You see, i even bother writting such a large name correctly, that's just how much i loved it. This one anime kept giving me the "oh it's the end of the episode, why so fast?" feeling all the way till its end. |
Apr 5, 2017 2:47 PM
#141
In my opinion it was konosuba. Enjoyed it very much. |
Apr 5, 2017 4:01 PM
#142
Youjo Senki was the best mood killer of the season. |
Apr 5, 2017 5:25 PM
#144
It is still ongoing but definitely LWA. Lots of likeable characters and fun magical adventures, i always have a blast watching it every week. As for a series that already concluded.. probably have to say Youjo Senki. |
Apr 5, 2017 6:03 PM
#145
X_ said: shotz said: X_ said: ACCA. But I was disappointed by its rushed and "convenient" ending, and I wish the show was 24 episodes instead of 12. acca spoiler the ending was so anticlimatic af to me. sucks because it was getting really good in the last few episodes. with them talking about the coup from the 2nd episode and the gradual buildup was expecting more. too bad. but i'm surprised more people don't seem to have this opinion on the last episode. seems like a textbook example of a good show with a bad ending. Yeah, it was going so well I thought nothing can be ruined by a single last episode. But the ending did spoil my whole impression of ACCA. I mean wtf, they were slowly and meticulously (and masterfully) building all that suspense for that simple ending? The opening, those trips to districts, the backstories, the characters' interactions were all narrowed down to "sorry we weren't serious about the coup". In the last episode Grossular suddenly grows a spine, Lilium family turns stupid, Schwann easily changes his mind, Jean is revealed as just a kind and phlegmatic protagonist with no personality and ambition, the people are happy, the country is prospering as never before. Really? Yes, I don't know why is that. People usually only discuss the art style or the slow pacing. I can't share your concerns about the ACCA ending. It made perfect sense to me, both conceptually in terms of what the show was all about, and in terms of the characters and their personalities. Jean was intelligent but without ambition from the start. They made that clear throughout the show. I was gonna be disappointed if he actually had gone for the throne because it would have contradicted and ruined the interesting but laid-back personality the show has been building for him this whole time. He reminded me a lot of a Yang Wenli if he had lived in more peaceful times. Him and the others successfully managed to bring the ones that actually wanted to stage a coup for their personal benefit to the surface and unmask them, while also securing the future of ACCA and making sure the prince knows where he stands and that they can dispatch him at any time without muss dissent from the populace. He was a spoiled brat with a lot of bark and no bite from the start. Of course he'd cave to the pressure. And Grossular always had a spine, he was just holding back so the plan/trap wouldn't be endangered. Not sure what doesn't make sense there. As for the Liliums, what should they have done differently? Suddenly realizing everyone was aware of their plans did not leave them many options. I don't think they are stupid, they just were overconfident and arrogant and didn't consider that there decade-long plan would be seen through. Overall the ending was a nice, unexpected twist that managed to stay in line with the established personalities of all the characters and has the nice side effect of making people realize that non-violent solution can be present even when nobody sees them (in this case the viewer, who was expecting a coup). It gave a much more meaningful insight into the nature of politics than the actual coup could have. It's all about making tensions dissipate without having them explode. That's what happens to the suspension of the earlier episodes. They managed to dissipate it without escalating it. Brilliant. The 'coup ending' would have made the show fall into mediocrity with its conclusion. It would have been the easy, lazy way out of the situation. I'm glad the author didn't take it. That being said I don't completely like the ending either. It could have been a bit better executed (like having a bit more focus on Grossular's role) even though conceptually I fully stand behind the way the show ended. It did feel a bit rushed and like maybe one or two more episodes towards the end would have made for a smoother transition into the 'final phase'. And the one thing that definitely felt way too convenient was that resources were detected in Pranetta at the perfect timing right after Furawau left the kingdom. In that specific regard, and also in general I do think the ending was too happy-go lucky overall. But that's mostly about the aftermath where everything just seemed perfect. The actual conclusion to the coup plot was brilliant in my opinion. But the show would have profited from showing that not everything is perfect now (because it never is, which is why politics is an endless job). Maybe with some struggles for resources after Furawau's departure, maybe by making Schwan fall back to his arrogant attitude and stirring up some more shit. Some kind of ongoing conflict instead of having all the problems solved just like that. But that complaint is small in comparison to yours and that small blemish on the epilogue didn't really make me want to lower my rating for the show because it feels insignificant compared to all the thing the show did almost perfectly for the better part of those 12 episodes. |
I probably regret this post by now. |
Apr 5, 2017 6:24 PM
#146
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen |
'Just one more thing..." - Detective Columbo |
Apr 5, 2017 9:33 PM
#147
Konosuba ofc, I enjoyed other ones but it was a pretty weak season imo |
I'm feelin' normal, I'm feelin' myself ♪♪ |
Apr 6, 2017 5:05 AM
#148
Apr 6, 2017 5:09 AM
#149
Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen was the better and the most enjoyable one. AOTY contender |
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