Left myself an hour again so I'll breeze through this one quickly and then conclude the year with my other more personal review.
The number of anime has only dropped this year though after this last month or so I am actually more eager to watch more now than I was last year, I feel I just need to find the right shows. And I suppose that starts with what is currently on my plan to watch list and pick stuff I think I would like. I suppose part of it too is that I have dropped a few other hobbies I had, not entirely but in the sense that what used to be weekly things I did now have become far more infrequent, and I think in that gap I would like to watch anime again.
Looking at my list this year I only actually watched one new thing, that being Amaama to Inazuma, however I really liked it. It felt refreshing finding something brand new that I could get on board with in comparison to previous years where I would see something like Spy X Family or One Punch Man and just go with it because I couldn't find anything else, it's more in line with how I used to chose an anime to watch so I'm happy about that. And having ended the year on Seitokai Yakuindomo the Movie 2 I also think I prefer Slice of Life overall, I like the comedy more and the wholesomeness, I suppose in a way it reminds me of old Simpsons seasons which maybe plays a part, I guess I miss that void.
I'll see what 2024 brings, but I think I'm now a lot more keen to clear up my to watch list than I have been in the last 2 years instead of just letting it be filled to the point it's got over 100 different things in it.
Sped through this review a lot faster than I would have first thought, more than 50 minutes to go which I hope is enough time to write up my second one. Anyway, here's to 2024.
2022 time. Got a solid hour once again but I've also got some other things I need to do so I'll try to make this one quicker thinking out.
Fortunately there isn't much that needs said. Once again my total number of anime watched this year was small, but I think what I did choose to watch was a very solid selection, I picked up a few things like One Punch Man and even decided to give Yugioh GX a try, both of which I put off previously, but both pleasantly surprised me. And others like Spy x Family are what I want to see more of, it's probably become one of my top anime of all time with how well it's being handled, and while I have not read manga in a while it's one I would be really keen to read, along with The Quintessential Quintuplets, which I have heard could have been handled better, which peeks my interest as I thought it did a pretty good job up to the last half of the movie where the choice didn't surprise me and I thought more could have been done to improve in that area.
2023 I have no idea what it will bring for me in terms of watching anime. I think the way going forward for me is look for stuff that peaks my interest which is easier said than done for me as I don't actively look for anime anymore and go off what I see and hear which contradicts a statement I previously made of how I seek out anime. I'll maybe change that but again, it really depends on how keen I am on seeking out anime. Besides, my to watch list is already pretty backlogged with new seasons of stuff I watched previously along with movies so in theory I've got plenty I can watch, if all else I can watch those.
Anyway, this year is over, I think this year went well enough on the anime side, but now I've got some grinding to do, then I've my year review to write up. With exactly an hour left now I've got work to do.
Writing this with nearly an hour to go so I'm hoping I left myself enough time.
I've changed my plans slightly, I'll be doing a personal year reflection on a notepad, I'll be keeping anime related stuff solely here with maybe a tiny bit of personal reflection as it plays an impact on how my year with anime went.
For anime I seriously left some huge gaps in between watching stuff, and it's because I'm forgetting about it, or at least going back to it. It's not even because I was overly busy, in fact this is probably one of the last times I'll be able to be as free as I am now because I did the unthinkable and got a job. Now would seem the optimal time to get as much in as possible and yet I didn't, so whether I like it or not it feels like my anime journey is in it's last few years. I hope it's not though, it's one of the few hobbies I can still say I have and is therefore a talking point among peers.
Thinking recently, I've realised I don't have a "number 1 waifu" like others do. If I thought hard enough I could maybe come up with one, but at the same time I would think if there were one it would stand out straight away as a number 1 should.
Anyway, with my life moving forward, I'll maybe try and use next year to try getting back into anime more, and since I'll be earning an income I might even manage to get to the point I could even get proper anime merch and begin to recement my weebhood, but this time through collecting instead of binging.
We'll see how 2022 goes. Now onto my personal year reflection.
Man the gaps between these posts just keeps getting larger and larger, it wouldn't surprise me if next year I don't even post anything, heck I only just noticed that I never sent a message of the anime I watched in 2020, from first to last and my favourites, though that was maybe because I had about 5 things on there and some I never even finished that year.
Here's a short summary of how things have gone for me this year, passed my exams, graduated, got a job (somehow), and become only more distant I'd say from anime. I mean I finished a few things from 2020 and recently just finished up some anime I began a few months ago, but overall I feel like I'm just riding the motions with it. I guess you could say I am at about the point I am with anime as I am with movies, where I find it hard to get into any new ones because they look generic and uninteresting, so if I were to use my time to watch anime I'd just watch the next season of one I have already watched or rewatch something I liked.
I'll do my usual year review when the time come and will probably include a lot more on it as I have escaped the hellhole that is social media, never to return. I'm sad my years of memories have been erased (though it wouldn't surprise me if they like to keep a copy on hand should they ever want to cancel me or others), it needed to be done, it's a cesspool that breeds only hate, and I will not support what they have done, are doing, or will do in any way.
It's been a very long time (at least compared to usual) since I made any sort of update or even watched an anime, as of writing this I've still not finished the first season of Uzaki chan, heck I haven't even watched a single episode of an anime yet I've just been busy both with work and I've found new interests which seems unreal to me, even though I have slowly been watching less anime each year but that' s something I planned on doing anyway but only to better appreciate the ones I did watch. Anyway I'm back at least for now, we'll see how this university year went and if I can get a job in my field but for now I've got some serious catching up to do.
So it's that time of the year again where I make an anime year review though this time I have started this much earlier than normal as I am having to type this out on a PS4 which makes this take a lot longer.
Anyway, onto the review. I think it's fair to say I am no longer the weeb I once was, I still like anime and wanted to finish a few series I am in the middle of watching along with a movie as has been a tradition of mine the last few years, but I never got round to it before my laptop crashed a couple of days ago. I don’t know the exact number of anime I watched this year but I would guess it's noticeably lower than my average. A big factor is my workload has only increased which gives me less time to relax, but the bigger reason is that I have found other interests which are taking up the time I would often use to watch anime. Afternoons I find myself going down the Hololive rabbit hole and evenings are spent watching a streamer who I respect on so many levels. As such anime has dropped in the priority list and it has been that way for most of this year.
I am still learning Japanese but I think I need to change the way I study as I'm progressing very slowly.
This strange year I don’t think affected me as much as it did others because I prefer being shut away fot days on end so I'm used to it. Still I think it's fair to say everyone will be affected in some way and in my case it is reflected in my word of the year, "setback". Because of the lockdowns I've been directly affected as a student about to enter the workforce, getting a job was already a challenge for me so to top it off with this makes it that much harder.
Anyway I think that will do, as soon as I can I'll add the stats I normally do but for now I have other things I want to do other than write out massive passages on the PS4. Goodbye 2020, your messed people up in many ways and I am not confident 2021 will be much better.
I'm back after a near 3 month scheduled hiatus which is becoming more and more common for me to do during the university semester. Something else I'm noting is I feel like I am moving away from anime somewhat though that may just be because I took a break for so long. But by that I mean I'm finding alternatives to time I would previously devote to watching anime series or watching content specifically related to anime and hearing talk about anime doesn't compell me as much as it once did, but maybe this next month will change my mind as I try to finish the series I was watching over summer and see what I've missed. I'll still make my year review specifically talking about my anime year, at the very least I want to use it like an open diary where I can look back on how I've changed over the years. And so I'll leave it here and talk about the rest on December 31st.
This is my first proper post this year and it's aimed at an anime close to my heart and the sequal movie which I considered controversial, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Ressurection.
Why I considered it controversial? R2 had one of the most iconic and best anime endings of all time in my opinion, on top of it being regarded as one of the best anime series of all time, with both series ranking in several top 100 anime of all time votes. It is still my personal favourite anime so I will admit I show some bias towards it, but trying to add more to the story following the ending seemed like a very dangerous move to me as it is whenever you add more to animes which ended a long time ago.
So first off, let me say that before you watch this I implore you to watch the movies, specifically the ones going over the two seasons. I did not and it appears to have cost me, critical events appear to have changed which will leave you scratching your head, questioning if the writers forgot their own story. Now unfortunately there are no dubs from what I have seen, and Code Geass is one of the few I did watch dubbed so that was part of the reason I didn't watch them beforehand, the other is because I thought it would be pointless if I was just going to see the two Code Geass seasons in movie form, I had no idea they would end up changing parts which would have an impact on the movie, how wrong I was.......
On to the movie itself, I'll say it here as well but it should go without saying but there will be spoilers so go watch it if you do not want to have it ruined, but follow my advice from earlier and watch the movies first.
Long story short, I didn't like it. As I had feared it has now added a weird ending in my opinion. Bringing Lelouch back to live (which you could argue they already did in R2 in the very final scene, personally though I considered him dead) for one thing, making his sacrifice from the Zero Requiem have less meaning, but to make him now a "code master", roaming with C2 and him renouncing his title, dubbing himself L2, none of this struck well for me. More than that though, his personality took a perculiar turn, even ignoring the first half where his memory was gone. When he was truely resurrected, he often felt like someone else than the Lelouch who I knew from season 1 and 2 which can only be put down to the fact that he probably feels the war was over for him after the Zero Requiem, now he can be more open with the people around him while no longer having to hide that he is Zero. Even still he lacks drive, considering one of his big points that he fights for the future, it now just seems like he lives in the present, the anti hero you knew is gone, he's now just a hero which I think demeans him as a character. He also lost his arrogant nuture, becoming a much more humble figure, another aspect which made him a different yet likeable character. You see glimpses of his brilliance but for the most part he almost feels like a normal person which he should most definetly not be. Didn't help the dub voice chaged the way he pronounced Suzaku either.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the story. Much like most movies like this they added a gerneric set of villans who we never knew about before but have enough strength to beat the Black Knights and UFN soldiers and kidnap Suzaku and Nunally. I get it would be hard to make someone who wasn't generic but then why even make a movie like this in the first place other than to make mon....... oh...........
I can accept Lelouch was able to take on Charles' code but if that was the case, why was he still able to use his Geass afterwards. Of those who possessed a code not a single one ever used their geass afterwards, greatly impying they lose it upon obtaining the code. This is not the case for Lelouch as he used his geass multiple times this movie, so does that mean C2, Charles, V2 and the Nun we saw in the 2 seasons were all still capable of using theirs or is Lelouch given the special case treatment? Either way, it is never explained so we are left guessing.
It's not just Lelouch though, C2 for example is now more human than ever. She isn't the same sarchastic and quick witted character from before who lacked human emotions. But now she is much more devote to Lelouch, not exactly in a loving fashion, but nontheless the immortal witch has become human. I know that was a result of what happened in R2 but it still doesn't feel right for her character.
The art style is much the same as before. I do have some problems with the way the knightmares look but the characters all look good. And the music fits well, even keeping some of the music from the series which I thought was a good touch.
Overall though I really didn't like it, and the idea of a sequal doesn't interest me either. Because the story was changed a bit from the seasons to the movies, I'll treat the two as two different timelines and as such wll treat the ending of R2 as the true ending. If not then they will have destroyed one of the best endings in anime history with a sub par movie that felt too different from what Code Geass reperesented.
Decade review and this needs to be quick as I only have 11 minues left.
For the first 5 years I did not really watch anime with a few exceptions like Code Geass and Kashimashi: Girl meets Girl (don't ask I was weird). I started watching at a bad time too, during exams, I will never forget how I was about 30 episodes into Fairy Tail and I got my results from Advanced Higher saying i failed everything, I was miserable but immediately went back to watching the Tower of Heaven arc. As I went into university, I started to watch anime more and at one point I was a fanatic, almost watching full seasons in a few days consistently. That is not what I wanted to do and where I am at now is how I like it, prioritising work but watching an episode or two when I am not busy. It also allows me to appreciate them more now, unless I am binging something trying to catch up or rushing to watch all before the year ends (like this year) I can remember everything a lot better.
I have not made any friends in particular from anime watching but I have found those with the same interests in anime, I am happy to be a part of this community even though I am too scared to talk about it in public, which to be fair is true for most things for me. I am glad to have found anime, I hope i can find a way to speak to others about it but that can be a 2020 goal. Overall I don't know what next decade will bring, but I am excited and want to make the most of it.
Time is up for this decade. Here I come 2020. Goodbye 2010 decade. Thanks for bringing anime to my life.
I want to talk about an anime that while I wouldn't call it a guilty pleasure, I like it more than most others I watch and I know it gets a lot of hate for various reasons. That anime if Fairy Tail, I've just finised the second season after a years long rewatch of everything that had previously aired is nearing it's concusion, all that's left is the second movie and the season 2 OVA's, I planned on watching the final season as it aired but the worked piled up and I took a lot of breakes during the semester and at one point not watching a single episode for months, only in summer did I start binge watching it again, I got from episode 127 to 277 in a month and a half while also watching other airing anime and some other rewatches. I will also mention I think the dub is infinitely better, it's one of the few times I think this is the case but the cast is so well put together.
On to why I like it, it's not the fights, actually I am often left dissapointed by them, without giving anything away I just find them to lack what makes other anime fight scenes so memorable, part of that probably comes from them cutting away to a different event happening for amost every fight. Why I like it comes from the other aspects, the soundtrack is one of the best I have ever heard, the characters are all unique yet memorable and for a show that already has 277 episodes that's easier said than done, the humor is great and is delivered the way I like it, I even like the cringy friendship power that happens all the time. You don't watch it for the fights, you watch it for the soundtack, the cast, the cringy humor and its as simple as that.
I know some of the things that may happen in the final season and I know some details I wish I didn't (thanks Screw Attack) but I hope it meets my expections, it needs to finish well, it better not be predictable but at the same time not do a 180 on what had led up to the finale. I don't know how I want it to end but when I am finished I will know.
Summer break is ending for me very soon, this next year will probably be the hardest I have every worked as I am switching from my Beng to an Meng, not only will the work load be harder but I also need to put 10 times more effort into getting a job, this might be my last summer break where all I did was laze around unless I got small part time jobs. I am going to miss this time but I have to move forward so I am not a burden on those around me, I want to take the next steps in my path and start bettering myself. I don't quite know what exactly I want to do yet and that worries me, I've been stuck with this question for several years now and I have barely made any decisions yet, I have many regrets looking back on how I acted in my teenage years, I didn't take enough opportunites or think about what I wanted to do, I had no goals, only video games and I have felt the effects of that every time a test or other important deadlines come up.
On the plus side I have started learning Japanese via Duolingo, I was hesitant to use the ap at first as I felt it would not cover enough, I am currently 80% finished on the course and all of that is from summer, my general routine is divide the finished courses into two days, do each finished course twice that day ( eg. 32 maxed out courses, do 16 a day and do each one twice), I split those up into day and evening so I don't spend an hour pressing buttons and going crazy bored, on top of that I also do 3 new lessons and do each one three times, if I am feeling it that day I do it again in the evering. It's going well but Kanji is a different story, I'm not going to bother memorising all of them, but there are quite a lot of ones I could regocnise by looking at them but not draw them. I hope this sidetracks into me focusing more in classes and tutorials, I find myself distracted on occations and I hope to break that habbit.
I've somewhat updated my ratings though there are still a lot at 7 but I really did like each of them equally as much. What I will try to is make a tier list of how I rate good animes, what makes it diffiult though is that with each one I may have diferent things that I am rating it on.
Tier 1
Predicibilaity, If an anime ends in a manner that I saw coming from a mile away I like it less (similar rule for spoilers)
Cast, Sometimes there are just a few characters who I think are fantastic or straight up hate eg I was not a fan of Seig from Fate/Apocryphia and he was a main character so I liked the series less.
Plot, A great story can do wonders for me and while it is not always nessecary for some (eg certain comedies) having something which feels natural instead of forcing a plot. This ties in with predictability but plot is a general coverage, predictability concerens how plots unfold.
Tier 1 special case (can be considered most important if applied)
How true it stays to the manga, Some shows try to rush 200+ chapters into 12 episodes which cuts out a lot so doesn't do justice to a great series, my notable mention on when it's done wrong is Re:Life, if you want one which does it incredibally well go read and watch Nisekoi.
Tier 2
Comedy, I find I like slice of life comedies in particular a lot, I think the unpredictability of the sketches can be glorious, when I watch something that is meant to be focused on comedy such as Konosuba I judge them on how good a job they did making me laugh.
Soundtrack, Openings are often somehing I will listen to and if I like it will learn it, there have been a few credits I have done this to as well but not as many, if not I skip them and am left dissapointed. Then of course comes the chosen music for the anime, sometimes it can fit so well and others just feel out of place.
Expectations, If I watch something expecting it to be good and it turns out bad I would like it less than if I were to go into with with no opinion and the opposite is also true, if I go in with no expectations and I liked it, my opinion of it improves.
What happens next, When a series finsihes whithout going all the way through the manga I will sometimes start to read the manga just so I know how the story ends.
Tier 2 special case(if applied wrong can vastly reduce overall opinion)
Fanservice, If an anime decides to include a small bit thats fine but if it becomes the only focus then it seriously puts me off it, it greatly ruins my enjoyment when they can't go even an episode without doing something to please a specific audience.
Tier 3
Popularity/Community reception, I could not care less how the world percieives an anime, in fact someimes I am put of because of it's popularity becuase of all the atention it's getting, I want to like something having found it myself rather then dozens of reviews, very rarely I watch something based on others opinions.
Voice actors, I mean it's nice when I recognise someone from another anime, but watching something becuase they are in it is a different story.
There are probably more things I could add to this list and I may update it later when I have about it more, I may also do one for manga though I would say for now the same gerenal ruling applies, the only difference would be sometimes I read a manga after watching the anime and judge it based on the other.
Can't believe I have to do this but here we go anyway.
Overlord watch order
Drama CD-tsuki Tokusou-ban- Yokoku-hen
Season 1
Ple Ple Pleiades
Ple Ple Pleiades (OVA)
Movie 1: Fushisha no Ou
Movie 2: Shikkoku no Eiyuu
Overlord Movie: Manner Movie
Ple Ple Pleiades Theatrical Version
Season 2
Ple Ple Pleiades 2
Season 3
Ple Ple Pleiades 3
Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades - Clementine Toubou-hen
From here I can just watch the rest as they are released
Well after watching Overlord season 1 in less than a day and figuring it was much better than a lot of the stuff I have rated at 7 I figure it is about time for another refinement of scores I have given the anime I have watched, I rate far too much stuff 7 or 6 when it was more medicore than that. At the time of posting this I have 263 complete entries so it will be a much bigger task than the last time I did this which was back in December 2017. What I may also do is change more comments as now when I look over some I notice there may be some accidental spoilers within them, on the off chance someone actually looks at my list I don't want them to have an anime spoiled. I should also make a warning here as well as I made a post about Nisekoi which completely spoils the manga, unfortunatelly I cannot edit that comment and I don't want to delete it, so I will post the warning here.
Back to the original topic, I expect my average score to go down a lot, but I don't want to lie to people and say I liked one series equally as much as this one when looking back that was clearly not the case. There is a small chance some will go up, I will just need to see how I feel refelcting on it.
All Comments (36) Comments
Left myself an hour again so I'll breeze through this one quickly and then conclude the year with my other more personal review.
The number of anime has only dropped this year though after this last month or so I am actually more eager to watch more now than I was last year, I feel I just need to find the right shows. And I suppose that starts with what is currently on my plan to watch list and pick stuff I think I would like. I suppose part of it too is that I have dropped a few other hobbies I had, not entirely but in the sense that what used to be weekly things I did now have become far more infrequent, and I think in that gap I would like to watch anime again.
Looking at my list this year I only actually watched one new thing, that being Amaama to Inazuma, however I really liked it. It felt refreshing finding something brand new that I could get on board with in comparison to previous years where I would see something like Spy X Family or One Punch Man and just go with it because I couldn't find anything else, it's more in line with how I used to chose an anime to watch so I'm happy about that. And having ended the year on Seitokai Yakuindomo the Movie 2 I also think I prefer Slice of Life overall, I like the comedy more and the wholesomeness, I suppose in a way it reminds me of old Simpsons seasons which maybe plays a part, I guess I miss that void.
I'll see what 2024 brings, but I think I'm now a lot more keen to clear up my to watch list than I have been in the last 2 years instead of just letting it be filled to the point it's got over 100 different things in it.
Sped through this review a lot faster than I would have first thought, more than 50 minutes to go which I hope is enough time to write up my second one. Anyway, here's to 2024.
Fortunately there isn't much that needs said. Once again my total number of anime watched this year was small, but I think what I did choose to watch was a very solid selection, I picked up a few things like One Punch Man and even decided to give Yugioh GX a try, both of which I put off previously, but both pleasantly surprised me. And others like Spy x Family are what I want to see more of, it's probably become one of my top anime of all time with how well it's being handled, and while I have not read manga in a while it's one I would be really keen to read, along with The Quintessential Quintuplets, which I have heard could have been handled better, which peeks my interest as I thought it did a pretty good job up to the last half of the movie where the choice didn't surprise me and I thought more could have been done to improve in that area.
2023 I have no idea what it will bring for me in terms of watching anime. I think the way going forward for me is look for stuff that peaks my interest which is easier said than done for me as I don't actively look for anime anymore and go off what I see and hear which contradicts a statement I previously made of how I seek out anime. I'll maybe change that but again, it really depends on how keen I am on seeking out anime. Besides, my to watch list is already pretty backlogged with new seasons of stuff I watched previously along with movies so in theory I've got plenty I can watch, if all else I can watch those.
Anyway, this year is over, I think this year went well enough on the anime side, but now I've got some grinding to do, then I've my year review to write up. With exactly an hour left now I've got work to do.
I've changed my plans slightly, I'll be doing a personal year reflection on a notepad, I'll be keeping anime related stuff solely here with maybe a tiny bit of personal reflection as it plays an impact on how my year with anime went.
For anime I seriously left some huge gaps in between watching stuff, and it's because I'm forgetting about it, or at least going back to it. It's not even because I was overly busy, in fact this is probably one of the last times I'll be able to be as free as I am now because I did the unthinkable and got a job. Now would seem the optimal time to get as much in as possible and yet I didn't, so whether I like it or not it feels like my anime journey is in it's last few years. I hope it's not though, it's one of the few hobbies I can still say I have and is therefore a talking point among peers.
Thinking recently, I've realised I don't have a "number 1 waifu" like others do. If I thought hard enough I could maybe come up with one, but at the same time I would think if there were one it would stand out straight away as a number 1 should.
Anyway, with my life moving forward, I'll maybe try and use next year to try getting back into anime more, and since I'll be earning an income I might even manage to get to the point I could even get proper anime merch and begin to recement my weebhood, but this time through collecting instead of binging.
We'll see how 2022 goes. Now onto my personal year reflection.
Here's a short summary of how things have gone for me this year, passed my exams, graduated, got a job (somehow), and become only more distant I'd say from anime. I mean I finished a few things from 2020 and recently just finished up some anime I began a few months ago, but overall I feel like I'm just riding the motions with it. I guess you could say I am at about the point I am with anime as I am with movies, where I find it hard to get into any new ones because they look generic and uninteresting, so if I were to use my time to watch anime I'd just watch the next season of one I have already watched or rewatch something I liked.
I'll do my usual year review when the time come and will probably include a lot more on it as I have escaped the hellhole that is social media, never to return. I'm sad my years of memories have been erased (though it wouldn't surprise me if they like to keep a copy on hand should they ever want to cancel me or others), it needed to be done, it's a cesspool that breeds only hate, and I will not support what they have done, are doing, or will do in any way.
Anyway, onto the review. I think it's fair to say I am no longer the weeb I once was, I still like anime and wanted to finish a few series I am in the middle of watching along with a movie as has been a tradition of mine the last few years, but I never got round to it before my laptop crashed a couple of days ago. I don’t know the exact number of anime I watched this year but I would guess it's noticeably lower than my average. A big factor is my workload has only increased which gives me less time to relax, but the bigger reason is that I have found other interests which are taking up the time I would often use to watch anime. Afternoons I find myself going down the Hololive rabbit hole and evenings are spent watching a streamer who I respect on so many levels. As such anime has dropped in the priority list and it has been that way for most of this year.
I am still learning Japanese but I think I need to change the way I study as I'm progressing very slowly.
This strange year I don’t think affected me as much as it did others because I prefer being shut away fot days on end so I'm used to it. Still I think it's fair to say everyone will be affected in some way and in my case it is reflected in my word of the year, "setback". Because of the lockdowns I've been directly affected as a student about to enter the workforce, getting a job was already a challenge for me so to top it off with this makes it that much harder.
Anyway I think that will do, as soon as I can I'll add the stats I normally do but for now I have other things I want to do other than write out massive passages on the PS4. Goodbye 2020, your messed people up in many ways and I am not confident 2021 will be much better.
Why I considered it controversial? R2 had one of the most iconic and best anime endings of all time in my opinion, on top of it being regarded as one of the best anime series of all time, with both series ranking in several top 100 anime of all time votes. It is still my personal favourite anime so I will admit I show some bias towards it, but trying to add more to the story following the ending seemed like a very dangerous move to me as it is whenever you add more to animes which ended a long time ago.
So first off, let me say that before you watch this I implore you to watch the movies, specifically the ones going over the two seasons. I did not and it appears to have cost me, critical events appear to have changed which will leave you scratching your head, questioning if the writers forgot their own story. Now unfortunately there are no dubs from what I have seen, and Code Geass is one of the few I did watch dubbed so that was part of the reason I didn't watch them beforehand, the other is because I thought it would be pointless if I was just going to see the two Code Geass seasons in movie form, I had no idea they would end up changing parts which would have an impact on the movie, how wrong I was.......
On to the movie itself, I'll say it here as well but it should go without saying but there will be spoilers so go watch it if you do not want to have it ruined, but follow my advice from earlier and watch the movies first.
Long story short, I didn't like it. As I had feared it has now added a weird ending in my opinion. Bringing Lelouch back to live (which you could argue they already did in R2 in the very final scene, personally though I considered him dead) for one thing, making his sacrifice from the Zero Requiem have less meaning, but to make him now a "code master", roaming with C2 and him renouncing his title, dubbing himself L2, none of this struck well for me. More than that though, his personality took a perculiar turn, even ignoring the first half where his memory was gone. When he was truely resurrected, he often felt like someone else than the Lelouch who I knew from season 1 and 2 which can only be put down to the fact that he probably feels the war was over for him after the Zero Requiem, now he can be more open with the people around him while no longer having to hide that he is Zero. Even still he lacks drive, considering one of his big points that he fights for the future, it now just seems like he lives in the present, the anti hero you knew is gone, he's now just a hero which I think demeans him as a character. He also lost his arrogant nuture, becoming a much more humble figure, another aspect which made him a different yet likeable character. You see glimpses of his brilliance but for the most part he almost feels like a normal person which he should most definetly not be. Didn't help the dub voice chaged the way he pronounced Suzaku either.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the story. Much like most movies like this they added a gerneric set of villans who we never knew about before but have enough strength to beat the Black Knights and UFN soldiers and kidnap Suzaku and Nunally. I get it would be hard to make someone who wasn't generic but then why even make a movie like this in the first place other than to make mon....... oh...........
I can accept Lelouch was able to take on Charles' code but if that was the case, why was he still able to use his Geass afterwards. Of those who possessed a code not a single one ever used their geass afterwards, greatly impying they lose it upon obtaining the code. This is not the case for Lelouch as he used his geass multiple times this movie, so does that mean C2, Charles, V2 and the Nun we saw in the 2 seasons were all still capable of using theirs or is Lelouch given the special case treatment? Either way, it is never explained so we are left guessing.
It's not just Lelouch though, C2 for example is now more human than ever. She isn't the same sarchastic and quick witted character from before who lacked human emotions. But now she is much more devote to Lelouch, not exactly in a loving fashion, but nontheless the immortal witch has become human. I know that was a result of what happened in R2 but it still doesn't feel right for her character.
The art style is much the same as before. I do have some problems with the way the knightmares look but the characters all look good. And the music fits well, even keeping some of the music from the series which I thought was a good touch.
Overall though I really didn't like it, and the idea of a sequal doesn't interest me either. Because the story was changed a bit from the seasons to the movies, I'll treat the two as two different timelines and as such wll treat the ending of R2 as the true ending. If not then they will have destroyed one of the best endings in anime history with a sub par movie that felt too different from what Code Geass reperesented.
Last anime of 2019: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Best of 2019 (same rules as 2018 apply):
Anime: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, We Never Learn
Manga: Komi can't communicate
For the first 5 years I did not really watch anime with a few exceptions like Code Geass and Kashimashi: Girl meets Girl (don't ask I was weird). I started watching at a bad time too, during exams, I will never forget how I was about 30 episodes into Fairy Tail and I got my results from Advanced Higher saying i failed everything, I was miserable but immediately went back to watching the Tower of Heaven arc. As I went into university, I started to watch anime more and at one point I was a fanatic, almost watching full seasons in a few days consistently. That is not what I wanted to do and where I am at now is how I like it, prioritising work but watching an episode or two when I am not busy. It also allows me to appreciate them more now, unless I am binging something trying to catch up or rushing to watch all before the year ends (like this year) I can remember everything a lot better.
I have not made any friends in particular from anime watching but I have found those with the same interests in anime, I am happy to be a part of this community even though I am too scared to talk about it in public, which to be fair is true for most things for me. I am glad to have found anime, I hope i can find a way to speak to others about it but that can be a 2020 goal. Overall I don't know what next decade will bring, but I am excited and want to make the most of it.
Time is up for this decade. Here I come 2020. Goodbye 2010 decade. Thanks for bringing anime to my life.
On to why I like it, it's not the fights, actually I am often left dissapointed by them, without giving anything away I just find them to lack what makes other anime fight scenes so memorable, part of that probably comes from them cutting away to a different event happening for amost every fight. Why I like it comes from the other aspects, the soundtrack is one of the best I have ever heard, the characters are all unique yet memorable and for a show that already has 277 episodes that's easier said than done, the humor is great and is delivered the way I like it, I even like the cringy friendship power that happens all the time. You don't watch it for the fights, you watch it for the soundtack, the cast, the cringy humor and its as simple as that.
I know some of the things that may happen in the final season and I know some details I wish I didn't (thanks Screw Attack) but I hope it meets my expections, it needs to finish well, it better not be predictable but at the same time not do a 180 on what had led up to the finale. I don't know how I want it to end but when I am finished I will know.
On the plus side I have started learning Japanese via Duolingo, I was hesitant to use the ap at first as I felt it would not cover enough, I am currently 80% finished on the course and all of that is from summer, my general routine is divide the finished courses into two days, do each finished course twice that day ( eg. 32 maxed out courses, do 16 a day and do each one twice), I split those up into day and evening so I don't spend an hour pressing buttons and going crazy bored, on top of that I also do 3 new lessons and do each one three times, if I am feeling it that day I do it again in the evering. It's going well but Kanji is a different story, I'm not going to bother memorising all of them, but there are quite a lot of ones I could regocnise by looking at them but not draw them. I hope this sidetracks into me focusing more in classes and tutorials, I find myself distracted on occations and I hope to break that habbit.
Here's to a new accademic year.
Tier 1
Predicibilaity, If an anime ends in a manner that I saw coming from a mile away I like it less (similar rule for spoilers)
Cast, Sometimes there are just a few characters who I think are fantastic or straight up hate eg I was not a fan of Seig from Fate/Apocryphia and he was a main character so I liked the series less.
Plot, A great story can do wonders for me and while it is not always nessecary for some (eg certain comedies) having something which feels natural instead of forcing a plot. This ties in with predictability but plot is a general coverage, predictability concerens how plots unfold.
Tier 1 special case (can be considered most important if applied)
How true it stays to the manga, Some shows try to rush 200+ chapters into 12 episodes which cuts out a lot so doesn't do justice to a great series, my notable mention on when it's done wrong is Re:Life, if you want one which does it incredibally well go read and watch Nisekoi.
Tier 2
Comedy, I find I like slice of life comedies in particular a lot, I think the unpredictability of the sketches can be glorious, when I watch something that is meant to be focused on comedy such as Konosuba I judge them on how good a job they did making me laugh.
Soundtrack, Openings are often somehing I will listen to and if I like it will learn it, there have been a few credits I have done this to as well but not as many, if not I skip them and am left dissapointed. Then of course comes the chosen music for the anime, sometimes it can fit so well and others just feel out of place.
Expectations, If I watch something expecting it to be good and it turns out bad I would like it less than if I were to go into with with no opinion and the opposite is also true, if I go in with no expectations and I liked it, my opinion of it improves.
What happens next, When a series finsihes whithout going all the way through the manga I will sometimes start to read the manga just so I know how the story ends.
Tier 2 special case(if applied wrong can vastly reduce overall opinion)
Fanservice, If an anime decides to include a small bit thats fine but if it becomes the only focus then it seriously puts me off it, it greatly ruins my enjoyment when they can't go even an episode without doing something to please a specific audience.
Tier 3
Popularity/Community reception, I could not care less how the world percieives an anime, in fact someimes I am put of because of it's popularity becuase of all the atention it's getting, I want to like something having found it myself rather then dozens of reviews, very rarely I watch something based on others opinions.
Voice actors, I mean it's nice when I recognise someone from another anime, but watching something becuase they are in it is a different story.
There are probably more things I could add to this list and I may update it later when I have about it more, I may also do one for manga though I would say for now the same gerenal ruling applies, the only difference would be sometimes I read a manga after watching the anime and judge it based on the other.
Overlord watch order
Drama CD-tsuki Tokusou-ban- Yokoku-hen
Season 1
Ple Ple Pleiades
Ple Ple Pleiades (OVA)
Movie 1: Fushisha no Ou
Movie 2: Shikkoku no Eiyuu
Overlord Movie: Manner Movie
Ple Ple Pleiades Theatrical Version
Season 2
Ple Ple Pleiades 2
Season 3
Ple Ple Pleiades 3
Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades - Clementine Toubou-hen
From here I can just watch the rest as they are released
Back to the original topic, I expect my average score to go down a lot, but I don't want to lie to people and say I liked one series equally as much as this one when looking back that was clearly not the case. There is a small chance some will go up, I will just need to see how I feel refelcting on it.