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Er, I feel like I should apologize for being stupidly late right about now. Let me blame it on my marathon of the Banner of the Stars series. It's not often that I encounter a show that good. I'm thinking I'll cool off for a bit to let it all sink in, aside from the stuff I need to stay caught up on (my simulwatches).

I heard about the new Homeworld. I'm not sure how I feel about the shift to focusing on Kharak prior to the discovery of the Guidestone, but it could be interesting.

Despite it being a good romcom, my interest in HAHC fizzled out part-way through. I'll probably go back to it sometime when I'm back in the mood for that sort of thing, but it's on-hold for now. Gundam is mostly on-hold as well (minus IBO) at the moment, but I might get back to Zeta relatively soon depending on my mood and this year's anime challenge.

Speaking of which, I'm not watching any currently airing shows at the moment because of said challenge (here). I've been relatively slow to watch anime for quite awhile now (aside from a few shows each season), and this has been good motivation to watch a lot of stuff I've been putting off for awhile. I've already gotten two new favorites out of the deal, and none of the shows I've completed so far were disappointing. Since I don't have any thoughts on airing shows to share with you, perhaps thoughts on these will suffice? :P

Cross Game: It lived up to what I heard about it. The subtle characterization over the course of a slice-of-life-esque setting created a rather solid show. Aside from one exception, the first ten or so episodes were slow with things getting more interesting after that, and beyond even managing to top previous heights. It made good usage of tension too-- Heck, I was even in the mood to play baseball myself during one segment of the show, and I hadn't had such an urge since I was young. Although the pacing wasn't as slow and the storytelling perspective tended toward third person rather than first person, in some ways it reminded me of Space Brothers. There's a clear goal despite the relatively mundane setting, and that combined with the characterization plus some light symbolism worked well.

Shokugeki no Souma: I'm guessing this one will come as a surprise to you. I was asking some guys I know over in the O/U club for recs for the ecchi category since they tend to be crappy, and a lot of them gave me this. To my mild surprise, it is a solid series. It takes a few episodes to warm up (i.e. you might end up raising your eyebrows at first anyway), but I thought the comedy was actually pretty good, and the show starts making good usage of dramatic tension as it progresses. The only reason I have it rated a 7 instead of an 8 is because of the rather abrupt and inconclusive ending, although since a second season has already been announced, that likely won't be a problem by the end of the year. (The current song/YT link on my profile is the full version of the first ED of Souma, btw.)

Kimi ni Todoke: It's hard to say whether I could rec this one to you or not even though I loved it. I think it could be a very hit or miss series for most part. I see that you've already watched it and rated it fairly high, so that saves me some trouble. In my opinion it is the perfect idealistic romance. There was a surprisingly decent amount of comedy despite being a mostly-serious show. All of the relationships were fun. Of all the anime that made me smile a lot whilst watching them, I think it's the clear superior. I'm saving the second season for sometime when I want to watch something that I (more or less) know will be good.

Banner of the Stars: You know, I have a heck of a lot to say about this show, but in an effort to prevent myself from going massively overboard here and saving it for an analysis/review/somethingalongthoselines, I'm just going to say it is criminally underrated/unknown. Even at worst, I think most could admit that this is a good series. Personally, the elegant combination and contrast of the cultural values of the setting with the coming of age of the two leads, spiced with good characterization, excellent dialogue, good usage of drama, and thematic hooks make it an unforgettable experience. (I would-- again, personally-- say that it clearly beats out Spice & Wolf at its own game, something I never expected to find. At the very least, if you liked S&W, you'll probably like Banner of the Stars.) If you ever decide to check it out, I'd recommend the airing order: Crest of the Stars -> Banner of the Stars -> Passage of the Stars: Birth -> Banner of the Stars II -> Banner of the Stars III.

I think all four of the bolded are rec-worthy.

Moving back to currently airing stuff, Rakugo (Shouwa) and ERASED were the main two I was interested in. I definitely plan on checking out the latter, so no worries. I heard some stuff about Dimension W too, so that's a possibility as well. Idk when I'll get to them, but I was thinking of using ERASED in the anime watching challenge, so there's that.

We're up to Punk Hazard in the One Piece simulwatch, about the time Sanji fights Vergo and Luffy has his first rematch with Caesar. Now that we're over 600 episodes in, the currently airing episodes feel somewhat close. Dressrosa is the only animated arc left after Punk Hazard, after all.

One Outs is on my Anime Watching Challenge list, btw. Go check it if you haven't already. :3

Haha, you'll get used to it.

Haha, nice to meet you, unfortunately most of us seem to not disclose our locations so its hard to find each other, there is a club on facebook called 'Naijagakure' and i'm thinking of suggesting to them that we open a club on MAL for Nigerians (most countries do this) so we can meet each other. As you can see i've been on this site since 2011 :P how did you find my profile anyways?

Apologies for delaying forever on your question in your first message around the beginning of the month: Real time strategy isn't a genre I've played much of, but my favorite game ever, Homeworld, is an RTS. The story, music, and gameplay were all came together to form a masterpiece, and although the graphics are no longer jaw-dropping like they were at initial release (1999), it still doesn't look too bad even now (and there's been a remastered release too). /fangasm

Merry Christmas to you too. On my part it's been belated with everyone since I hardly looked at MAL at all over the holiday.

Now, for the anime...

His and Her Circumstances: This is the first anime romantic comedy that I legitimate like (Toradora being the previous best, which I thought was merely okay), and so far I've liked it quite a lot. The artstyle might take a bit of getting used to and the animation occasionally borders on nonexistent, but they make it work. Aside from that, the story does well at mixing situational comedy with light drama, and the relationship between the main duo has been developed to a surprising degree so far. I'm not even half-way through it yet, so I can't say if it will hold out, but everything that I've seen points toward it being great.

Heavy Object: Unless you really like seeing mecha moving around and explosions, it's probably not worth your time. The amount of fanservice unfortunately makes it border on falling into the ecchi genre as well, and the comedy is pretty stale. The characters themselves are also quite predictable, making their interactions less interesting than they might be otherwise (which it to say they're a bit interesting, but not a lot). I was considering dropping it despite my like of mecha (referring to the machines, not the genre), but I heard it gets better a couple episodes beyond where I'm currently at, so I figured I'd give it a try.

Mobile Suit Gundam & Zeta Gundam: I'm just going to preface this by saying that taking the route I decided to with the Gundam franchise probably isn't for everyone. The original MSG has a slow pace and enforces a battle-per-episode format with no exceptions that I can recall. Plot-wise, it isn't even clear what the "end goal" is during the first half of the series. There's a lot of campy drama and unintentionally hilarious scenes (e.g. the slaps, oh my, the slaps), and the rare shreds of romance are outright terrible. Plus some of the late developments may or may not be hard to swallow for some viewers (you might see it referring to as "Tomino-isms"-- a reference to the creator of the original and many other Gundam series, Tomino). To top it off, the artstyle is clearly very "old" and might not be suited to many people's taste... However! If all of that doesn't scare you, then MSG could indeed be a rewarding experience. Even though it tends to be overly dramatic, there is indeed character development and growth throughout the series, and the incessant fighting and death truly does make it feel like you're watching a story about war. At that, the story doesn't try to paint everything in black-in-white for the most part, with certain soldiers on the side opposing the protagonist's side clearly being decent people with families, for example, and it isn't even clearly spelled out whether the protagonist's side is truly in the right, leaving you to derive your own conclusions given what is shown. There are also some iconic characters birthed in the series which are quite fun to watch, the most notable of which is probably Char Aznable (who was so iconic that he happens to have "clones" in many Gundam shows not connected to the original series). You also get the added benefit of seeing where everything in Gundam came from; many attributes from the franchise derive from the original, naturally, so references to and changes from the original series will have meaning when you watch other shows.

As for Zeta Gundam, it's a sequel to the original with some changes in primary characters, and it's a joy to watch coming off the original. There were some changes to the action aspect that I liked more in the original series, but most other aspects had improvements in what I've seen so far. The same campy drama, romance, and slaps unintentional humor are still there though.

I would recommend it, but again, it's not for everyone.

Gundam IBO: This is probably much more approachable for a newcomer even though watching anything than the original series before the original series wouldn't be as rewarding in my opinion. If making your way through the original series doesn't sound like it's for you, though, this really is a solid series all around. The characters actions are believable; they're developed quite well; the political intrigue has been as good as it was in the original series (albeit presented in a different way); and the action is just great. The very matter-of-fact, non-sugar-coated presentation of the protagonist's side's situation makes it a major breath of fresh air in a general sense, and they pull it off without going over-the-top. Everything has been stellar so far. I've been singing praise for this series since the first episode aired and I have yet to stop.

Shunned forever

Nah! No excuse needed. It's not like you're obligated to me somehow. (Or are you? You don't owe me money, right?) Your name is a bit ironic though, given how little you're actually logged in on MAL. :P

Yep. Memories is definitely one of the best melodramatic dramas I've seen. I've been hearing mixed opinions on Melodies though. What's your take?

Also, what do you think of the new stuff on MAL? It's probably changed a lot since you were last here.

No problem. I'm not obligating you to post, you know. :P

Just feel free if you want to and have the time.

Also, I think there's a lot more to the continuity than just that created by characters not dying when they "should". Shanks was using Haki in the earliest episodes. Coby ended up becoming a strong and relevant Marine. Dragon ended up being very important, making sense of his mysterious first appearance. Garp ended up important. Laboon became relevant again in Thriller Bark. Skypiea foreshadowed many major story elements and, in a sense, told the One Piece story in miniature. Blackbeard was incorporated into the story seamlessly. Usopp's continual "playful" claims of being the captain early in the series hinted toward some of Water Seven. The list goes on.

Well, I actually took a break from anime for around a month, and during the past month I've been watching One Piece and catching up with some stuff I was still watching from before. Oh, and I watched Ping Pong the Animation too. It was pretty solid, but I think the praise for it is a bit overblown.

As for One Piece, it's mainly Luffy's crew that doesn't kill anyone. Many mooks die throughout the show and many important named characters have died in flashbacks from people other than the Strawhats. (Although there was one pretty egregious case I recall near the end of the Alabasta arc...) Oda's reasoning is thus: "In this era, people put their lives on their beliefs and convictions, and fight. When he goes into battle, Luffy is destroying others' beliefs. And when these enemies' beliefs are shattered and defeated, they feel a pain equal to death. I think that for these pirates, killing or not killing is secondary to winning or losing."

I consider this an indirect way for him to point us toward looking at the story's themes. Taking everything at face value can be fun (and really, if we can accept that people can stretch, take absurd amounts of damage, and so on, why can't we accept death doesn't happen unless it fit's the world's framework?), there's so much more to One Piece if you look at the story behind the story. Take the first part of the series, from East Blue to the end of the Alabasta arc. Every enemy Luffy faces (other than Morgan, who illustrates the grey morality of the series) is either a rival or former pirate, meaning they all are failures in some form or another, and Luffy's group's victory reveals a better character trait ideal to "true pirates". For example, in the Syrup Island arc Kuro is contrasted with Usopp, with Kuro actually being the true coward for abandoning his ambitions because he feared it would be his undoing, whilst Usopp, though he is scared of combat, is far more brave because his has inner convictions that he cannot ignore. Or with Arlong, he had ambitions, convictions, he was loyal to his crew, and so on, but he lacked humility (as was contrasted throughout the arc) and thus he fell as well.

There's a lot to explain or expound upon. I would encourage you very much to read my meatier posts so far in the simulwatch, but in any case I don't see why the lack of deaths would be so disturbing. It's just part of the way the One Piece world works. (As for how much I've seen, in my initial watch I got up to the Dressrosa arc, and stopped around the point where Luffy had the Haki clash with that contestant who had beef with Garp.)

As for the simulwatch, just be sure to spoiler everything properly and not hint too much since we're still in the older episodes. Since tingy and Floats are new to the franchise, I definitely don't want them to get spoiled. (I'm actually finding things here and there that I've forgotten myself!) :3

I know you don't come online much, but just in case...

I started a One Piece simulwatch a month ago today. I and two others are in on it together, with an additional one or two who want to join in later (one when we catch up to where he is, the other when she gets more time). Our current pace is two episodes per day, and we're nearly caught up to where you are as of the last time you logged in. (You could be much further by now, but still.)

I want to extend an invite to you. The topic is here, and I sent you a club invite (feel free to accept that whether you're interested or not, btw). Watching with others makes the experience a lot more fun, so it'd be cool to have you in on it too if you can manage to come online that often. I'm currently the only one who has seen most of the series; one of the potential late joiners has as well. My two current simulwatch partners and one potential late joiner haven't seen the series up to airing before, so there's a good mix going. Every episode is spoilered, and any further remarks extending beyond are also spoilered, so there's no need to worry about reading about something before it happens.

So... yeah, that's that. Feel free to join in if you're interested and able to, even if we've passed where you're currently at by the time you see this.

Hm. I'm surprised you're surprised that I would like it. I'm also somewhat surprised you think I'll think One Outs is average/neutral (which, maybe I will, but I've heard good things about it). I have another friend who's wanting me to watch it sometime.

On another note, I think you mentioned Code Geass to me before, but I don't recall why/if you recommended it. Someone else has mentioned it to me since then...

Well, I'm not a Madhouse fanboy if that's your idea of "solid"; I do think they tend to do better than many other studios, though. Anyway, the reason a moral vacuum doesn't interest me is because I already know what I know. I have a tendency to simplify things into black and white, even in shows that are considered by most to be grey. I could still do so with something like Death Parade, but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting to do so because people will be throwing away common concessions in such a show.

Hmm. I've heard the Monogatari series is supposed to be good, and afaik it's a harem. I'm surprised to see you've dropped it in light of that, and considering you like Katanagatari as well. Care to share your thoughts?

As for Shuffle, I've heard of it. I'm not into ecchi harem, or more specifically nudity- even partial nudity (I would have likely PTW'd Shuffle otherwise). Unless it's censored, barbie-dolled out, or butts only, then I tend to avoid shows with such content. The only exception I've made so far is Monster, and I'm not even sure if I'd have picked it up if I was aware of the full extent of the partial nudity (which others may consider small- four short scenes so far). This means I'm very unlikely to watch certain series even if they're very popular.

Still, I wouldn't assume that harems automatically have to be horrible. I'm still waiting for a more realistic/dramatic take on it (say, for example, when the harem is forced in an old-world setting due to customs- there could be a lot of interesting/new content there). Even apart from the realistic take, though, I don't think it would be fair to write off the entire genre. If there ever are any harems you would recommend that don't show any private bits, feel free to let me know.

Oh, I should probably caution Akatsuki no Yona since I'm not sure what your idea of my taste is yet. Don't expect something overly amazing; it does what it does well, and I really enjoy it... I'm not wanting to undercut it or anything: Just keep your expectations in check is all I mean, 'kay? I get the feeling you would prefer something like Kiseijuu to it.

As for Assassination Classroom, the superbeing picked the highschool and class. The government had no choice about it. Also, those "thugs" were part of the class, so it's not all that unbelievable for them to choose one of their weaker members to serve as part of a suicide bombing. I do see how it could turn some off I guess; I personally find it fun to watch, although I don't have much of a critical opinion of it yet.

I didn't think iDOLM@STER (or any idol anime) was my sort of show either; it would have taken me a long time to try one on my own. However, now that I've tried one, I think it's cleared up a lot of misconceptions. I'm not sure how well this one will go, but I'm many many times more interested in the genre now. As a genre, I think it has a lot of potential... I'm actually thinking I should be a little more open to other genres now.

I wouldn't blame a single person that drops KanColle. It can be fun, but it's a pretty bad story so far. The evil alien orca ships are kinda hilarious and awesome at the same time, for example. Take a look.

I'm still getting over the first Ghilbi movie (I exaggerate), but that's reassuring.

I kinda/sorta what am I saying enjoyed Akikan because of how ridiculously stupid it was. Its similar to how I enjoyed Mars of Destruction for being one of the most hilariously horrible anime ever. (You absolutely must watch it if you haven't. My favorite part is when

I've seen neither. You may have asked me on NGE before, but I don't recall. I'll probably watch it sometime after I get into the Gundam franchise (which I intend to do soon). FLCL is sometimes hailed as the weirdest anime of all time... so I think my hesitation is a little understandable. Is it good?

...Ctrl+Z? x.x

Boo.

That sucks. Depending on your browser, when something like that happens you might be able to go to history -> recently closed tabs and find what you've written still preserved in the restored tab.

Alternatively, you could write your responses in a word document and c+p it if you want to be super safe about it.

I personally try to copy what I've written often and use the tab restore if something happens.

It's always a nice surprise to see you on my wall. :)

I saw the first season of Haruhi years ago before I started watching anime frequently. I'd like to re-watch it so I have context for the movie, which is nearly universally praised. It's just finding the time to get around to it. Having "too much" to watch isn't all that bad, though.

Parasyte started out great. There was good tension and the parasites themselves were legitimately creepy. They were a threat. That combined with some early themes regarding motherhood and the nature of living made me think the series would be pretty great, but it started dragging with characters who don't add to the story (plot or themes) in a substantial manner. (I'm talking about Murano, Kana, etc.) That combined with multiple "power ups" on Shinichi's part is starting to make the show seem more like a battle shounen than anything. That might not be bad if it was that way from the start, but given the start it just comes across as inconsistent, to me.

I would like to take a moment to note that my rating scale has changed slightly since we last talked, in that I feel more sure of the way I distribute my scores. Since 5.5 is the "true center" of the scale, I consider both 5 and 6 to be ever so slight variations on "neutral", 4 and 7 are "below average" and "above average", 3 and 8 are "(overall) bad" and "(overall) good", 2 and 9 are "horrible" and "excellent", and 1 and 10 are "trash" and "phenomenal".

I say all of that to make the point that the 6 represent a mostly-neutral viewpoint with very slight leaning toward "better than neutral". I don't think Kiseijuu is bad by any stretch, it's just not particularly impressive either. (Also note that I do like the show, as per my tagged enjoyment rating.)

My problems with Shigatsu stem far now. Not only do I have a dim critical opinion of it, but I no longer even like it anymore. I'm not sure it'll be to your liking, so feel free to skip on reading it, but I made a preview outlining my initial problems. Since then I think the show has treated Kousei's abuse insensitively in other ways, such as the way his mother was portrayed sympathetically in episode 13. There was a mini war started by a post of mine in that episode discussion (all the way through page 12) if you happen to be interested.

It's funny how my interest in One Piece always seems to spike right before I end up talking to you. I've even been talking to others (and still am) about it on and off for a week or two now. You're in one of the most popular filler arcs right now with the Rainbow Mist. After that is a controversial arc that's generally considered either one of the best or one of the worst. You have gotten past the first major climax in the series with Alabasta. What did you think of that? (To this day I think Crocodile is one of the best-crafted villains in the story.)

I was actually wondering about the name, but it turns out Chocolats' had a review for Katanagatari that I enjoyed. I'll check out some of his others since you mentioned him.

I've actually watch both seasons of Spice & Wolf since we last talked (though unfortunately not One Outs, yet), and the second season made it into my favorites. The characterization, dialogue, and worldbuilding were spot-on, and the economics focus was both unique and well executed. I'd like to check out the light novels sometime, tbh.

Ef is still a decently high priority, but again, it's just finding the right time and mood for it. (On that note, I should probably update my priority tags. They've shifted since I first made them.)

While Death Parade may end up being good or even excellent, I don't think it's the sort of show for me. Afterlife stories like that exist in a sort of moral vacuum where any argument goes, and I'm just not interested in that sort of thing. For Saenai (Boring Girlfriend), I just dropped it the other day. The self-referential comedy is really dry, and all of the characters save Kato are either cookie cutter archetypes (the other haremettes) or increasingly irritating (Aki). I may give it another episode or two later on, but I'm not expecting much.

I'm still really enjoying Akatsuki no Yona, more so than anything else airing. I'm not sure how they'll end it well with only two seasons, but the politics gives the story a lot of potential, and the sub-arcs have only grown more interesting.

Assassination Classroom is a lot of fun. I think it combines comedy with a serious "story behind the story" rather well. Korosensei is very entertaining and the characters are slowly improving. I do think it's too early to tell how seriously the story wants the viewers to take it, however.

Rolling Girls is really random. I think any hope for the story to be good has been quelled, but I like the randomness as a type of fanservice, so I'm enjoying it despite that.

Surprisingly enough, iDOLM@ASTER Cinderella Girls has been pretty decent. It doesn't require previous knowledge of the franchise, and overall so far it's exceeded my expectations (which were very, very low). It might be worth checking out if you're up for something new.

KanColle is about anthropomorphic ships fighting each other. It's about 80% slice of life and 20% action. I'm mostly watching for the action fanservice. There have been hints that it might follow the historical route of World War II, which would mean a buttload of character deaths (perhaps even to Shingeki no Kyojin levels), but I wouldn't pick it up for that chance alone unless you're interested for other reasons.

I dropped Sengoku Musou (boring plot and undeveloped characters) and Yoru no Yatterman (dark setting with jarring wackiness/randomness- if you think a dark version of Rolling Girls would be to your liking, it might be worth a try).

Sorry I couldn't respond when you first posted this. Do try to drop by to talk if you get a chance. Just keep in mind IRL > MAL, like you have been.

@P.S.: I got a bit discouraged with Ghibli movies after Nausicca, especially thanks to the rumor "if you've seen one Ghibli movie, you've seen them all". I probably should try others at some point.

P.P.S. I just noticed you tried to watch Akikan. You poor thing. That must have been awful. xD

[i]no......give it...give it back!!

lol jk take it if you want....not that i care

hmph [/i]

[i]thanks[/i]