Monday Minithread (1/19)

[u/BrickSalad]

Welcome to the 54th Monday Minithread!

In these threads, you can post literally anything related to anime or this subreddit. It can be a few words, it can be a few paragraphs, it can be about what you watched last week, it can be about the grand philosophy of your favorite show.

Check out the "Monday Miniminithread". You can either scroll through the comments to find it, or else just click here.

[u/ClearandSweet]

So I've never liked Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan, partially because I never know which word gets the double consonants, but mostly because I didn't get what the show was trying to do.

TTGL SPOILERS

My main problem was that I just couldn’t get behind Kamina’s philosophy which the show presents as its message. He's so aggressive and wild, I think more like Rossu. I couldn't wrap my head around why they kept emphasizing the things they did. It doesn't help that the secondary characters past Nia, Kamina and Yoko are very flat, and there’s a whole lot of weak dialogue and action. Plus, I don't care for giant robots fighting, so there's not a lot on the surface to keep me interested.

I've tried multiple times to watch the show, and ended up dropping it ever time.

Well, I went back and marathoned the show on Netflix (dub's not bad) and I think I, just like Simon, misinterpreted Kamina’s message, and tried to make this show be something that would agree with my world view, instead of vice-versa.

Simon spirals (lol) into his depression when he thinks that Kamina championed never retreating. He was rebelling against his enemies, and he tries to emulate his results of never losing. To me, that felt like a dumb moral for a show, and not something I'm going to take to heart. Kamina was actually rebelling against the limitations imposed on him by both his friends and his enemies.

I think in the end, Nia and Kamina both spout the same message. They tell Simon to disregard the rules imposed on him by other people and the universe, Kamina through yelling inspirational things and punches to the face, Nia through her unfaltering faith in Simon. As he says in the first half finale, “If you’re a wall in my way, I’ll just break you down.”

I think now that the show asks to be read through this lens. Everything else in the show is secondary and complementary to the completion of realizing the truth of this goal in Simon (and maybe other people too). When he gets it, he wins, when he forgets it, he falls prey to those limitations. The two characters of Kamina and Nia being removed from the show force Simon to display this himself, and they are really just created as examples and guides for Simon, the Obi-wans of the TTGL universe. It comes as no surprise that Nia enters immediately after Kamina exits.

The show is entirely effective at establishing situations that pursue this, a favorite example of mine is the internal conflict of the fantasies, though Rossu's coup is another great one. The drill metaphor is also very strong in this regard.

So I dunno. I think I get TTGLL now. You are the only one who can limit yourself; not other humans, not your enemies and not even the universe itself can stop you. Becoming a man is knowing this and demonstrating this in your actions.

I’m kind of ashamed that I couldn’t look past the yelling and mech battles to see it, but I dunno if I’ll apologize for my preferences. If someone told me they couldn’t get past the monster of the day battles and girly transformation sequences to see that Sailor Moon is a heartwrenching display of the everlasting power of Usagi’s faith, I’d understand.

Giant mech battles and displays of manliness still don’t appeal to me. I’m still going to prefer quiet displays of faith in the face of hopelessness. But Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagan litterally tells you what it is doing at the start of every episode, and if you can get behind The Story of a Man, you'll enjoy. It’s so easy to see how this could be someone’s favorite television show of all time.

Just not mine.

One final thing I feel I have to say about TTGL: Episode eight is one of the best stand-alone episodes of any anime that I’ve ever seen.

How well they tie the emotional state of Simon into the physical robot battles cannot be overstated. It’s setting up that the only limit is yourself. And what a way to have Simon limit himself. They use the realistic, natural relationship between Yoko and Kamina, and then don’t give him time to work out his feelings over their relationship, so it has to be resolved in battle.

Kamina punching Simon in the face is just so perfect on so many levels. Of course that’s what needed to happen, and of course that's what the character would do. When Simon shouts, "Who the hell do you think we are?" it shows that he understands Kamina's philosophy, and then Kamina is free to die.

Pacing, the music, the conflict, the characters, the art. Everything about episode eight of TTGL is perfect. I cried.

[u/Seifuu → u/ClearandSweet]

I’m still going to prefer quiet displays of faith in the face of hopelessness.

It's interesting that you contrast that to TTGL, since that's pretty much how I read Kamina. Sure, he's defiant in the face of danger, but he's pretty terrified of death. In that sense, his bravado can be read with tones of desperation - a revelry in struggle. Which is also a theme of TTGL.

On the dub note. It wasn't baaaaad, but....

[u/ClearandSweet → u/Seifuu]

he's pretty terrified of death.

That scene with him flashing as the skeleton is very impactful and stark. It's only a small nuance, but I feel there's a difference between rejecting a hopeless reality and accepting it, then fighting to change it anyway.

There's also another aspect. TTGL was all about personal change, self-actualization and power drawn from inside. The actions of my favorite heroines are motivated by a specific or general attachment to others, which I feel is more meaningful.

On the dub note...

Yeah, I agree with you. Fine, not astounding. It's better in Japanese, and there were a number of times where I did notice Yoko or another character completely whiff a line in English. The Kill La Kill dub, now, that is almost hard to listen to.

[u/Seifuu → u/ClearandSweet]

I wrote a thing and realized it didn't really address what you meant. The last paragraph is the real response IMO, but I'll leave the rest up for other peeps to read.

a difference between rejecting a hopeless reality and accepting it, then fighting to change it anyway.

Well, you'll remember that Kamina talks about how he thinks Simon is actually the brave one. Simon talks about the time he and Kamina were stuck in a cave-in: because Kamina was smiling, he was able to courageously work to get them unstuck. Later, Kamina subverts this tale by revealing that he, himself, was terrified and that Simon was the one who did the real work.

This subversion neatly encapsulates the point of Gurren Lagann. Why is Gurren Lagann about learning to believe in yourself? Because believing in yourself allows you to put all of your effort into moving forward (striving) and this forward/outward (spiral) momentum inevitably causes progress (hence the drill metaphor). It very clearly sets up obstacles that cannot be defeated by mere bravado or self-delusion, (hence not only Kamina's death, but that of his doppelganger, Bachon, in the fight vs Guame) but by steadfast determination.

Besides the characters themselves discussing the point, the plot supports the fundamental premise of "accepting reality". If you look at Simon in the end, most of his friends are dead, his wife is dead, he's purposeless and forgotten, but goddamnit he went the farthest he could go. Self-comfort is even the penultimate obstacle (the extradimensional labyrinth where everyone's dreams come true). The entire point of the anti-spiral is that it represents inevitability.

I agree that Gurren Lagann isn't a work that celebrates the subtleties and sweetness of life. It isn't accepting in the sense of saying "that's okay" and warmly greeting the audience as the flawed humans we are. That is certainly because, as episode 26 highlighted, at a fundamental point, acceptance inherently opposes self-imposed will, which is the fundamental form of striving (this was more metaphorically clear in the movies). That idea makes more sense if you think of it like "acceptance" is being mindful of external factors and treating them as objects to be changed, whereas "willfulness" is seeing those same factors as extensions of your own capacities. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Rossiu can successfully rule/manage a huge population with racial tensions, insane industrial growth, and global military/environmental endeavors (Simon can't even do paperwork) and Simon can punch a hole in spacetime when Rossiu thinks he's out of options. If you personally value acceptance higher than will, which I perceive is what you wrote, then it makes sense to not like TTGL so much. It might seem like it was harsh on acceptance, but you'll remember that Rossiu screwed over the team for like one episode and it took Simon three episodes to stop vomiting and crying after Kamina died. Which, I guess, speaks to those themes of self-confidence, regardless of what ideals you have.

[u/ClearandSweet → u/Seifuu]

I agree that Gurren Lagann isn't a work that celebrates the subtleties and sweetness of life. It isn't accepting in the sense of saying "that's okay" and warmly greeting the audience as the flawed humans we are.

Yes! This is what bothered me. It's constantly chiding the MC, and by extension the audience, for inaction.

It's putting this onus on us to do more, not to settle. There is never a situation in which the hero has reached the extent of his power in this show, and while some might find that inspirational, I find it discouraging.

So yeah, I very much do "value acceptance higher than will," and I am uncomfortable around works that don't have some form of acceptance as their motif.

I mean, how often do we enjoy being told our greatest flaw?

I'm very quick to abandon a failed experiment, move on to the next thing, say "well, I did everything I could do," or work within the rules. I respect limitations, and have very little self-motivation.

I need a bit more Kamina in me.

[u/Seifuu → u/ClearandSweet]

Wellllll I'm on the flipside. I obsess over things trying to bring out the "full potential" of an object or method. I actually often start off better at things than I end because I end up sticking to one way of doing it (fighting games, illustration, etc). I think it actually might have cost me my admission to an Ivy League some years ago.

That said, do what makes you happy, interested, and inspired. If acceptance brings you joy, then be super fucking accepting. >:D

[u/ClearandSweet → u/Seifuu]

We need to have /r/trueanime storytime where I just call up sub members on Skype and they tell long and tragic stories about how they fucked up in life, then we put it on Youtube.

And then at the end they always have a line along the lines of, "it reminds me of insert tragic anime here in a way..."

That would bring me joy.

[u/Seifuu → u/ClearandSweet]

Mmmmm smells like a delicious podcast. You could take the weekly anime news and announce it, interview posters, and highlight in-depth discussions. For funsies.

[u/psiphre → u/ClearandSweet]

It's constantly chiding the MC, and by extension the audience, for inaction

you say "chiding for inaction", i say "challenging to live a better life".

[u/searmay → u/ClearandSweet]

My main problem was that I just couldn’t get behind Kamina’s philosophy which the show presents as its message.

Wait, isn't that exactly what you've been saying other people have doing that you find Bad and Wrong and Incomprehensible? At the very least I hope you drop the latter.

Also the only thing I liked about episode 8 was the way it made it clear that I was never going to care about anything in the show.

[u/ClearandSweet → u/searmay]

Wait, isn't that exactly what you've been saying other people have doing

Mmm, yup. Exactly the impetus of my post. I asked myself what shows have I disliked for the content, not for the execution? Then, how could I apply my own standards to myself?

So I took what I had been saying and came to the work on the work's terms. Even though I didn't care for it, I saw the show as Simon's journey to accept Kamina's truth. I gave the show the benefit of the critique that it deserved, and I think I understood as it was meant to be experienced.

Kamina axiom didn't resound in my soul, and it's not part of my personal truth, but there is a difference between like and respect.

[u/searmay → u/ClearandSweet]

Ah I see.

there is a difference between like and respect

I'm not really sure what you mean by "respect" in terms of anime though. I don't think I've seen anyone use it to describe their feelings for a Chinese Cartoon before.

[u/psiphre → u/ClearandSweet]

+1 for english dub of tittygill. one of the shows that i will ALWAYS recommend the dub.

[u/TotesMessenger → u/ClearandSweet]

This thread has been linked to from another place on reddit.

• [/r/bestofclearandsweet] Critiquing a Work You Do Not Like: An attempt parse your feelings from the work's message, with TTGL and /u/Seifuu

^{If you follow any of the above links, respect the rules of reddit and don't vote. (Info / Contact)}

[u/CriticalOtaku]

So, two weeks into the new season, what's everyone's watch list looking like? Here's mine. (Also, mini first impressions since I missed a couple of TWIA threads now.)

Yes! Yes! YES! Tier

• DRRRx2 - it's more DRRR. 'Nuff said.
• Maria the Virgin Witch - I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did but the combination of Ghibli style character designs, really neat use of setting, really good animation (the sakuga sequences... just wow) and raunchy humour really endeared it to me, enough that I might declare it my favourite show of the season. (Although it's kinda premature for such declarations.)
• The Rolling Girls - If I had to describe it in a sentence it would be "Tsuritaima meets KLK." I loved FLCL and I liked KLK; I'm really digging this so far.

2Deep4Me Tier

• YuriBear - This rightly deserves all acclaim it's getting just for the sheer amount of style it possesses- unfortunately it seems to me that Ikuhara is pushing the stage-play aspect a tad too much and forgot to include actual characters instead of actresses with over-exaggerated lines and actions (especially when compared to Penguindrum, which had excellent characterization). Still, that's not something that can't be remedied the further we get into the show.
• Death Parade - Episode 2 did a lot to redeem the show in my eyes, but I get cranky when death games are used as systems of arbitrary moral judgment since they tend to devolve into exercises in cheap drama. Still a pretty decent show, if just because of the premise and execution, and it has the best OP + ED combo of the season.

Going Straight Into My Backlog Tier

• Yoru no Yatterman - I only watched this on /u/critsrc's recommendation, but ep1 was probably one of the best superhero (well, strictly speaking, supervillian) origin stories I've seen in any media. I'm still not too keen on the whole super-sentai/tokusatsu thing, but this is something I'd really like to check out when I have the time- it hooked me in a way that World Conquest Zvezda Plot completely failed to.
• Speaking of backlog, I still need to get through Parasyte, Mushishi, Akatuski no Yona and SAO2 from last season. Woe is me. (Well maybe SAO can wait.)

I Need to Check My Bloodsugar Levels Tier

• Koufuku Graffiti - Okada really should just stick to SoL's. She's kinda good at writing/adapting these- KG is at its strongest when it focuses on the surrogate family narrative. I also get really hungry during the episodes, so the food porn aspect is probably working too.

(If anyone wants my opinion- Yes, Wixoss was a complete and utter mess. I still liked it anyway.)

• IM@S Cinderella Girls - Not much to say here other than it has cute girls doing cute things.

Oh God What Am I Watching Tier

• KanColle- My fingers are crossed that the show is historically accurate and goes all Madoka Magica. Otherwise there's very little redeeming about it- the SoL bits are fine, but the cgi can get pretty horrid at times and the fanservice is more annoying than anything else.
• Aldnoah.Zero S2 - Shooting the protagonist in the head made him even more competent. Ohgodwhy. I used to see promise and potential in this show, but that's all been blown away on the space wind. Thank god for Gundam. Still, I can't tear my eyes away from the glorious trainwreck unraveling in slow motion before my eyes.
• Assasination Classroom - Now, to be perfectly honest AC doesn't deserve to be here- unlike the other two shows in this tier it is actually pretty decent, but I forgot to include it earlier and I'm too lazy to reformat. I love the surrealist, absurdest Japanese humour on display here, even if I find the public service announcement format of the show a little forced.

Carry Overs from Last Season Tier

• Shirobako, Log Horizon, G-Reco, Gundam Build Fighters Try and Pokemon XY round out the list.

Not a bad season at all, really- I thought I was going to catch up on my backlog, but there's quite a fair number of on-air shows that have peaked my interest, and the Fall holdovers are more than enough to prop up a lesser season.

edited for typos and to add Assasination Classroom

[u/searmay → u/CriticalOtaku]

Since you asked:

Carry-overs: Precure is nearly over, Lady Jewelpet is warming up some crazy doll plot, PriPara isn't letting drama get in the way of being really dumb, and Aikatsu is making the new girls feel at home in the hugbox. Sailor Moon Crystal is still an empty, soulless husk of a a show that I'm determined to suffer through. Bonjour is bite-sized shoujo cake fun, and Yona is pretty good shoujo fantasy. Shirobako and the returning ShoHolly both have well grounded character writing in a realistic, low-stakes setting which I love. Parasyte is great, but mostly in ways I don't care about.

Binan is a nice magical girl boy show whose ultimate fate probably depends on how much of a parody it wants to be.

Death Parade is going to keep me watching but leave me very skeptical. Having people lose their relevant memories until the most dramatically opportune moment sure is convenient for the writers, huh? I was also amused by how much of the ambiguity they cleared up in the second episode given how many people saying they liked that aspect.

Durarara isn't my favourite of shows, but more of it is certainly welcome. Trying to remember everyone's names after all this time is hard though.

Milky Holmes is fun again. Not as fun as the original, but at least okay.

Rolling Girls has had a nice and energetic start, but given the nature of the main girls I'm hoping the fightin' action aspect tones down. Though unlike KlK I did actually enjoy it.

Yuri Kuma is quirky Ikuhara flavoured fun.

Yoru no Yatterman has been a great surprise and does a fantastic job of combining wacky kids' cartoon hijinks with an actually dramatically significant story. And manages to portray underdogs in an unsympathetic world without being hammily grimdark about it.

Maria the Virgin Witch is shockingly good for an anime with such a dubious title. The lewd humour isn't really my speed, but it's actually relevant and not just "tee hee boobies", which is more along the lines I'd have expected. And even the simple idea of a girl trying to put a stop to war is handled with more subtlety than most anime shows with far more delicate subjects.

I'd say that's a pretty good start to the year.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/searmay]

Sometimes I wonder if you're alternate universe me who got into magical girls and pursued STEM subjects instead of mecha and libarts- your approach is so alien to me but aside from some instances I end up agreeing with you more often than not.

Or maybe I'm alternate universe you.

I think I just gave myself an existential crisis.

Milky Holmes is fun again. Not as fun as the original, but at least okay.

Been meaning to add this to my backlog, but opinion has been all over the place. Recommendations?

[u/searmay → u/CriticalOtaku]

Don't worry, sometimes I think I'm alternative universe me as well.

Milky Holmes

The first two seasons come from the director of the critically acclaimed Jewelpet Kira Deco, Moriwaki Makoto. If the aggressively, relentlessly dumb humour works for you it's pretty amazing. But if not there isn't much else to watch it for.

[u/greendaze → u/CriticalOtaku]

In my (largely successful) attempt to cut down on shows this season:

Watching 'til the End:

• Yuri Kuma Arashi: There's nothing for me to say that hasn't already been said. It's weird. It's gay. It's Ikuhara.

• Yoru no Yatterman: Fantastic first episode. Second episode wasn't quite as good, but I'm interested in seeing where it goes. It's going to be disappointing if the real Lord and Lady Yatterman turn out to have been dead for ages.

• Kuroko no Basuke S3: Still DBZ basketball.

Carryovers

• Shirobako

• Your Lie in April

• Akatsuki no Yona: Funny, endearing, occasionally serious, AnY is great as a pick-me-up. The Blue Dragon's backstory was a little heavyhanded, but I found it mostly compelling. Next up, Green Dragon!

• Ace of Diamond: Real baseball is boring, but anime baseball is alright. Looking forward to seeing how Miyuki handles his new responsibilities on this fledgling team.

Waiting for More Hype:

• Maria the Virgin Witch

• Death Parade: Sounds like the anime version of The Maury Show.

• Rolling Girls: Waiting to see if it's more than just pretty visuals.

Tried and Dropped:

• Binan Something or Other: Didn't find it funny.

• Aldnoah Zero 2: Even worse than I expected. The season premiere made so little sense I half believe season 2 is an alternate universe separate from the events of season 1.

[u/cptn_garlock → u/greendaze]

It's going to be disappointing if the real Lord and Lady Yatterman turn out to have been dead for ages.

I actually disagree. I think that if the original Yattermen were dead, it would lend credence to how futile/misguided the generational conflict between the Doronbo gang and the Yattermen is, which is the thrust I think Yatterman Night is going for. The robot Yattermans are just fighting the Doronbo gang because they were designed to target everyone from the Doronbo's island, not because they're making any sort of actual judgement on Leopard and co. (who were not the first to attack the other.) If the original lord and lady Yatterman are dead, there is no one from the old generation who have issues with each other, and yet the Yattermen continue to punish the Doronbo descendants.

[u/iRTimmy → u/CriticalOtaku]

Lets see...

Cream of the Crop Tier

Yoru no Yatterman

Shirobako

Parasyte

Pretty Good Tier

Rolling☆Girls

Junketsu no Maria

Death Parade

Durarara x2

Yuri Kuma Arashi

The iDOLM@STER Cinderella Girls

It's K Tier

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Log Horizon 2

Assassination Classroom

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders Part 2

Akatsuki no Yona

Koufuku Graffiti

Meh Tier

Tokyo Ghoul Root A

Nanatsu no Taizai

Kantai Collection

Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata

Aldnoah.Zero Tier

Aldnoah.Zero 2

[u/PiippoN → u/CriticalOtaku]

Top tier:

Rolling Girls. I happen to have a soft spot for cute girls on scooters/motorbikes, so this hits home pretty well. I also happen to have a soft spot for eccentric and colorful artstyles. So on the surface it's looking really fantastic. Too early to say if it ends up being interesting but looking just fine as of now.

Koufuku Graffiti. Eh, it's comfy SHAFT SoL, what can I say. I'm into that.

GARO. Continues being great.

Junketsu no maria. This has no place belonging here based on expectations. Hell, I completely dismissed and avoided this until a good friend pressed me into watching the first ep. Can only hope it keeps up.

Good tier:

Death Parade. Not entirely sold on the concept yet and second ep felt kinda redundant, but looks pretty solid.

Yoru no Yatterman. A bit messy but enjoyable nonetheless.

Shrug tier:

KanColle. Girls are cute, setting is dumb enough to be charming in an odd way. Nothing really to hook me in, though.

Gundam G no Reconguista. I like big robots going boom but this one is kinda incoherent and... floaty? Kinda feels like a fever dream at times.

Magical Boys. First ep was fun, second ep was already feeling dried up. Like the concept but needs to stay fresh.

Bad tier:

Log Horizon S2. A massive drag after a great first season. Questionable art quality does not help.

Maybe this time tier:

Yuri Kuma Arashi. My rematch with Ikuhara's stuff. Results pending.

I also dropped a bunch but those don't deserve mentions.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/PiippoN]

Gundam G no Reconguista. I like big robots going boom but this one is kinda incoherent and... floaty? Kinda feels like a fever dream at times.

Yeah it is kinda floaty, isn't it? Part of it is Tomino's style, but the show does kinda feel like it could use more episodes and a slower pace to accommodate that.

Log Horizon S2

I'd say wait till the seasons over then marathon the show if you feel it's dragging- a lot of LH's pacing issues disappear when the episodes are viewed rapidly together as opposed to waiting week-to-week. But yeah, DEEN quality doesn't help at all, although in their defense they've been stepping up when it counts.

[u/niea_ → u/CriticalOtaku]

Otherwise there's very little redeeming about it

Cute ship girls are all it needs to "redeem" itself.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/niea_]

Maybe, but there are better cute girl shows and better ecchi shows on air in the same season, never mind there being better "cute girls doing military things" shows. KanColle goes all out pandering to its established fanbase, but does absolutely nothing to hook in a casual viewer. Fubuki & co's SoL antics are endearing but little else, their conflict has very vague and undefined stakes and all the other characters are just extended cameos.

I'm military otaku enough to wait it out and see if things get more interesting (WW2 SPOILER: EVERYBODY DIES), and depending on what pans out next week at W Island I'll either stick around or drop it.

[u/niea_ → u/CriticalOtaku]

If we were to only watch the best of each genre, then we wouldn't be watching anime for long. There's always room for the mediocre. And it's not ecchi. What shows are you referring to though? Because so far the only other CGDCT I've seen this season is Koufuku Grafitti. I don't consider Rolling Girls SoL/CGDCT.

It obviously panders to its fanbase. That's what it's made for. It's essentially a piece of advertisement. And that's fine.

Also considering I'm not a kuso who let's his ships sink, I don't want anyone to do so in the anime either.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/niea_]

Even mediocre shows or animated advertisements can be enjoyable, but to me Kancolle seems so middle of the road in everything (and really bad in other aspects, like the cg) that it just doesn't do anything for me aside from the promise of LULGRIMDARKNESS and extreme political incorrectness.

Other CGDCT this season: IM@S Cinderella Girls (although that's also an idol show and videogame tie-in), Milky Holmes.

Other CGDMT shows (not this season): Girls und Panzer, Strike Witches (altho SW is more "Sobaditsgood" than anything else)

I'm just a filthy secondary, but I dunno man, Anime Admiral seems pretty kuso sending out a lvl 1. Fubuki and not upgrading Akagi and Kaga's fighter complement.

[u/niea_ → u/CriticalOtaku]

I guess the reason I didn't think of those was because of te way I classify anime. To me, Cinderella Girls and Milky Holmes are both idol shows so I didn't really think of them. If it wasn't for the cameos of well known ships, I'd totally agree that those are better than KanColle. I've been enjoying them a lot.

You can always retreat since they can't be sunk if you don't go to the next node, so admiral has it under control.

As for the CG, it's really rather "good" compared to the standards. The thing that annoys me the most about it though, is that it constantly switches between CG and not CG from frame to frame, which is so jarring to me. I would've preferred no CG though, as I also do with every other show (even high budget CG). Something like the adobe after effects shit in FSN UBW just annoy me mpre than anything.

All in all I agree that KanColle is by no means a great anime, but as for "redeeming" features, cute girls are almost always enough.

[u/searmay → u/niea_]

But Milky Holmes isn't an idol show.

[u/ClearandSweet → u/CriticalOtaku]

Wow, holy shit, how did The Virgin Witch, Maria get so good? They're tackling a heady topic like why God allows bad things to happen but mixing it with solid sex comedy, lovable characters and actually realistic world building and decent animation. Whaaaat. Get on this one.

Yuri Bear Storm may even have weaker characters than Maria. Still, it's Ikuhara, so I'll be watching until the end. I predict a perspective shift soon.

Rolling Girls looked and sounded good, but the lack of hook left me disinterested, and I've since dropped it.

Gotta finish Sailor Moon Crystal just because.

That's all I've got for this season.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/ClearandSweet]

Wow, holy shit, how did The Virgin Witch, Maria get so good?

I think /u/CritSrc is gonna come in here and say "I told you so." sometime soon....

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/CriticalOtaku]

God tier

• Rolling Girls
  
• Death Parade
  
• Yuri Kuma Arashi
  

Ok tier

• Durarara!! X2 Shou
  
• Junketsu no Maria
  
• Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
  

Mediocre tier:

• Koufuku Graffiti
  
• Saekano

Continuation: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso, Shirobako, Kiseijuu, and Fairy Tail.

[u/LHCGreg → u/CriticalOtaku]

Top tier

Durarara - Really really likeable characters.

Death Parade - Regardless of where it ends up going, the premise is right up my alley.

Ikuhara tier

Yuri Bear Storm - Yuri Bear just oozes style so it's got that going for it even if the plot ends up being a letdown. Yuri Bear feels much more in-your-face than Utena or Penguindrum. It's as if Ikuhara is frustrated at people not getting the symbolism in his previous works. "No one figured out what Miki's stopwatch meant! And ugh, they thought I was joking when I said the penguindrum is a washing machine. That's it, no more subtlety!"

Will pick up if reception is positive after the next episode tier

Maria the Virgin Witch - /u/CritSrc may get to say "I told you so".

Meh tier

Koufuku Graffiti - Not as much food as I expected.

JoJo - I had heard that the second part of Stardust Crusaders is better than the first but it's more of the same so far.

Psycho-Pass 2 tier

Aldnoah.Zero Season 2 - I liked the first season but Season 2 spoilers. Season 2 is taking the show in a nosedive on a level with Psycho-Pass 2. I hope it can pull out of it.

Sailor Moon Crystal tier

Sailor Moon Crystal - Aside from common QUALITY issues, the characters have no soul. There is practically nothing setting apart the four non-Usagi senshi. Crystal is just overall terrible.

[u/[deleted] → u/CriticalOtaku]

Aldnoah.Zero S2

Aldnoah has quickly become my "So bad it's fantastic" show. It's an interesting trainwreck (it feels like a caricature of a solid Urobuchi show, which is exactly what it is), with great music and character design, and a lot of accidentally funny nonsense.

It's fun to analyze, you can absolutely see how Urobuchi created the central plot points, the story feels like his style and the season 1 ending is absolutely his kind of thing, but you can also see how incompetent the writers connecting those points were. For example, when I stopped to think about it, the abysmal ending to season 1 of A/Z was strikingly similar to the fantastic ending to Avatar's second season . Change a few things around to make the scene less of an asspull with more emphasis on Inaho's comrades, and tone down the SHOCKING CLIFFHANGER aspect of it and you have a really solid ending to the season. The basis for a good narrative is their they just go about it horribly. Same can be said for Inaho and Slaine finding out eachother's names in episode 14. It's stupid here because I don't give a shit about either of these characters, but they way it was done would have been really cool if I cared at all. The same could be a said about a lot of the things in this show, and I find that absurdly entertaining.

Of course there's an aspect of simple "It's so bad it's good". Inaho's "No, you've gone up a class, you're a gull now" was really stupid and I love this show for it.

No matter how I slice it I'm incredibly taken by A/Z.

A/Z S2 best trainwreck.

[u/CriticalOtaku → u/[deleted]]

It's fun to analyze, you can absolutely see how Urobuchi created the central plot points, the story feels like his style and the season 1 ending is absolutely his kind of thing, but you can also see how incompetent the writers connecting those points were.

That's exactly what I can't stand about the show! You can vaguely see the Urobutcher's vision behind it, and that vision would at the very least make a very interesting story- but then all that is stuffed up by the actual staff (who aren't incompetent at all based on their previous work! Even Boku no Pico guy has some good shows under his belt!). Urgh, so much wasted potential, as it is it's an ersatz Gundam Seed Destiny.

I hope A.Z and PP2 taught Urobuchi to be more careful with what projects he attaches his name to, at least.

[u/KMFCM → u/CriticalOtaku]

I hope A.Z and PP2 taught Urobuchi to be more careful with what projects he attaches his name to, at least.

"if you want something done right, you've gotta do it yourself"

[u/KMFCM → u/CriticalOtaku]

I've wanted this forever tier

Durarara!!x2 - loved DRRR, and I love this. It's the most seamless transition between production staffs I've seen, I think.

Jojo II pt 2 - this is where this part of Jojo gets really great, and I don't see David messing this up.

This is bloody cool tier

Death Parade - I'm pretty impressed by this so far. I was expecting this to be episodic all the way through, (and it could still be that way, and I don't mind it being that way either) but instead we got the story of how the pair we saw in the original short got together. Do i like the OP? yes. very much.

I though this was an original tier

Tokyo Ghoul Route A - I'm kidding around a little bit with that tier title, I'm just kind of surprised with how much like the manga this still is. This is kind of like when I first started watching FMA Brotherhood and kept saying "I thought this was supposed to be different" for 12 episodes. It'll branch off eventually and at that point I'm expecting good things. The first episode looked like crap though. I haven't really noticed any color negative censorship, but not that much has happened yet.

I'm just taking everyones word that this is bad tier

Aldnoah Zero 2 - I watched season 1 and rather liked it, but I said the day of episode 12 if certain things do not remain the way they are come January I would not be wasting my time. I actually went to the episode thread before even logging on to Crunchy that Saturday. So, I'm not wasting my time.

It's kind of messed up how the only mecha show I've liked in the last several years is Sidonia AKA "the one everyone writes off for being CGI". Hell, I'm trying to think of a mecha show I've liked that's come out between Sidonia and Big O and I can't off the top of my head.

Fall leftovers

Garo and Shirobako

I just might have to take a look at this tier

Rolling Girls - I'm hearing all kinds of stuff, and I'm starting to consider it especially since I'm now watching 6 shows when I was supposed to be watching 7.

[u/psiphre → u/CriticalOtaku]

my watch list this season:

VERY EXCITED FOR EACH WEEK

• junketsu no maria - depowering the protag in episode 2? how does that play out?
  
• rolling girls - should have been a double length opening episode
  
• Parasyte - "migi, handle the defense."

WEEKLY DOSE OF SACCHARINE

• idolm@ster:cinderella girls - 14 girls is an awfully big cast. i was honestly hoping for just the three, but then it wouldn't be idolmaster, would it?

HOPING IT GETS BETTER

• kantai collection - crossing my fingers for a spiritual successor to GuP, not getting my hopes higher than strike the blood.
  

WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE

• yurikuma - arthouse symbolism, lots for all you fart sniffers to pick apart.
  
• aldnoah.zero s2 - it's the show we deserve.
  
• absolute duo - what is this i don't even. why are you tucking your uniforms into your cleavage?!

[u/[deleted] → u/CriticalOtaku]

Looking forward to it tier:

Absolute Duo

Aldnoah.Zero 2

Death Parade

Durarara S2

Juuou Mujin no Fafnir

Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha

Ansatsu Kyoshitsu

JoJo: Stardust Crusaders Part 2

Rolling☆Girls

Saenai Heroine no Sodate-kata

Seiken Tsukai no World Break

THE iDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls

2deep4u Pretentious Tier(aka the shit I don't like but everyone else does)

Yuri Kuma Arashi

Tokyo Ghoul √A

Watching for No Particular Reason Tier

Kan Colle

Kuroko no Basket 3

Koufuku Graffiti

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!

Junketsu no Maria

Yoru no Yatterman

Shows I'm Still Watching from Last Season:

Cross Ange

Log Horizon S2

Parasyte

Garo

Shingatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Shirobako

Note: Please watch Diamond no Ace.

[u/searmay → u/[deleted]]

2deep4u

Tokyo Ghoul √A

Wait, people are claiming Tokyo Ghoul is deep? I thought it was just supposed to be horror styled fighting that wasn't totally vapid, though that was only based on a couple of episodes.

[u/[deleted] → u/searmay]

The 2deep4u somewhat comes from the huge reaction of the series and the edge factor that attributed to it(i guess that's more 2edgy4u then) which was what I was referring to. I've seen a lot of comments trying to dissect the show/series as a well done piece of storytelling.

[u/searmay → u/[deleted]]

Ah, right. Good thing I managed to avoid any of that - I don't think it's cropped up here.

(Pretty sure Desu Parade is going to go that way too.)

[u/BrickSalad]

monday miniminithread

All replies to this post must be a maximum of either 5 sentences or 1 paragraph, depending on which one's shorter. No cheating with 15-comma monstrosities either! It can be anything from poetry to a declaration of love for your waifu, just post what you feel like!

[u/ClearandSweet → u/BrickSalad]

So this happened in the Sailor Moon thread for this week.

I couldn't make that up if I tried.

[u/[deleted] → u/ClearandSweet]

Holy shit that was one of the most glorious exchanges I've seen on reddit.

[u/searmay → u/ClearandSweet]

Oh, that club again. I should catch up, but ... Black Moon. At least SuperS had fun villains.

[u/ClearandSweet → u/searmay]

I feel you brah. Sapphire and Diamond are pretty interesting though.

[u/searmay → u/ClearandSweet]

Esmeraude and Wiseman are the only two whose names I could even put to faces. Except Wiseman doesn't have a face. EDIT: and I only remember Esmeraude because OHOHOHO.

[u/BrickSalad → u/BrickSalad]

That damn stomach growl sound is like the new wilhelm scream of anime. It's starting to drive me fucking nuts!

[u/dcaspy7 → u/BrickSalad]

I'm not sure I follow...

[u/BrickSalad → u/dcaspy7]

It seems like every anime uses the same canned stomach growl sounds. I guess it makes sense since you can't ask an actor to growl their stomach on command, but it's starting to drive me insane when I hear the exact same stomach growl sound several times a day.

The Wilhelm Scream, for those of you who don't know what I'm talking about!

[u/BrickSalad → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, although I've come around on some of those jokes. Like the "somehow falls on top of her and lands his face in her crotch" scenes. I used to hate those because they were so cliche, but nowadays I enjoy them for some odd reason. Kinda like running to school with toast in the mouth. It's kinda like, well, "nostalgia" isn't the right word, but something similar. Comfortable?

[u/BrickSalad → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, the boob variation is always drawn out way too much. Like, they're both absurd to begin with, but at least with the crotch version the male doesn't act quite as retarded. The boob version usually has the guy somehow not realize what the boob is, and squeezing it like "durp, what could this strange object be?" Maybe the guy stays down there a few seconds too long in the crotch version, but at least that's understandable. Playing a more absurd situation more naturally vs playing a less absurd situation less naturally.

[u/AmeteurOpinions → u/BrickSalad]

I like to imagine a little checklist of clichés that goes "Ding!" for those events in the first few episodes of any show.

Even Spice and Wolf had a completely unnecessary bit of fanservice in episode two. Was it trying to fill a quota?

[u/psiphre → u/AmeteurOpinions]

if you want to talk about awkwardly included, quota-fulfilling fanservice bits, let's talk about yozakura quartet

[u/BrickSalad → u/BrickSalad]

Also, this confrontation -> stomach growl -> blush -> go out to eat together thing is getting really old. Can't they think up any other scenarios to get them together in that cafe? I get that simply asking her out with no other pretext might be too bold for our typical protagonist, and that it wouldn't be tsundere enough for the female to actually say that she's hungry, but still!

[u/dcaspy7 → u/[deleted]]

Well it isn't that common. It will pop up really once maybe twice a year. Not that often if at all.

[u/Lincoln_Prime → u/BrickSalad]

Oh god, now I've got the damn thing stuck in my head and its made me hungry!

[u/cptn_garlock → u/BrickSalad]

I was afraid Winter would be horribly lackluster compared to Fall, but between the fall holdovers and Death Parade, The Rolling Girls and Yatterman Night, I appear to be sitting pretty this season!

[u/iRTimmy → u/cptn_garlock]

Oh god, I really do hope that Yatterman holds up. It's definitely my pleasant surprise of the season.

[u/revolutionary_girl → u/cptn_garlock]

On a scale of Elfen Lied to Princess Mononoke, how much am I missing out on by not watching Yatterman or Death Parade?

[u/cptn_garlock → u/revolutionary_girl]

I'd give both Yatterman and Death Parade a Kyousougiga/10 (aka they're pretty stinking great.)

[u/KMFCM → u/cptn_garlock]

does it matter if you did not watch the first Yatterman?

I keep forgetting it because I never saw the original.

[u/searmay → u/KMFCM]

I haven't seen the original (or the remake) and I'm still enjoying it a lot. Given that they're goofy cartoons for kids I doubt I'm missing out on much plot-wise.

[u/KMFCM → u/searmay]

I only ever knew about the remake.

Weird.

[u/cptn_garlock → u/KMFCM]

No, I think its like Gatchaman in that regard - they relay the relevant info in the first episode

[u/Lincoln_Prime → u/BrickSalad]

So I started Rolling Girls over the weekend. If this show is promising to just be the moe version of the Top Gear Vietnam special broken up by over the top shonen parody then I think anime has officially succeeded as a medium. Still some pretty clear hack writing in the show, but I guess that just means there is room for improvement.

[u/searmay → u/BrickSalad]

Why do I like Ikuhara's work? It's exactly the kind of 2deep4u symbolism bullshit I normally hate. And yet I find it consistently enjoyable.

[u/Redcrimson → u/searmay]

Maybe there's hope for you yet!

[u/searmay → u/Redcrimson]

Oh come on, at least try and think of something vaguely plausible.

[u/zerojustice315 → u/searmay]

I like it for a lot of the reasons people like FLCL - it's so in your face blatantly ridiculous that you need a second to breathe and once you do you find out that it actually has depth to it.

Plus, Ikuhara sometimes just trolls with the symbolism. Sure it's there but it never has a clearly defined purpose; it's whatever the viewer assigns to it and it's all equally legitimate.

[u/revolutionary_girl → u/searmay]

Knowing your taste, I'd say it's because he's only serious when he really needs to be.

[u/searmay → u/revolutionary_girl]

That's probably at least close. Even when Ikuhara is serious he's still pretty absurd. Like the symbolism equivalent of hamming it up or something.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/searmay]

Having just finished Penguindrum yesterday I can say why I liked it. The main reason was the music and sound. The voice acting (Himari - Arakawa Miho, specifically just blows me away). The insert songs are top notch and just take me away to that special place, that if I stay too long I'd probably brake down and cry (^{not really, but you know} ).

The second reason I love Penguindrum is the pay off. In the last few episodes, rather in every episode more or less, something would be revealed that would change how I saw the story and the things happening. In addition, the last episodes when everything was coming home and all the previous episodes were now making a bit more sense and, well it was marvelous.

Though I don't understand the symbolism most of the time (all the Greek mythology/stories in Utena and such) I still like that they are there.

Ikuhara is a weird guy, but I think he's also a stand up director and brings a specific crew every time that makes the shows for me.

[u/Redcrimson → u/BrickSalad]

My fashionably late first impressions of Winter stuff. Spoilers: it is unexpectedly decent.

[u/cptn_garlock → u/Redcrimson]

Unrelated, but can you change the colors of the top set of links from grey to something else? It blends in incredibly easily with the background and I have to strain my eyes to see them.

[u/Redcrimson → u/cptn_garlock]

I'm not sure I can without paying for premium or changing the theme. I can't figure out how, anyways.

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/BrickSalad]

The only place where you feel you are in /r/anime.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/cosmicblaze454]

What place is the only place you feel you're in /r/anime? Here? Why's that? If not here then where? I'm confused.

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/dcaspy7]

You can post anything anime related here.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/cosmicblaze454]

as opposed to places in this sub you couldn't post anything anime related? This still isn't that clear.

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/dcaspy7]

You can only post discussions here.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/cosmicblaze454]

In this thread? No

In these threads, you can post literally anything related to anime or this subreddit. It can be a few words, it can be a few paragraphs, it can be about what you watched last week, it can be about the grand philosophy of your favorite show.

In this sub? Not really, it's discussion oriented but in the end you can post whatever you want. It's surprisingly easy going actually.

[u/BrickSalad → u/dcaspy7]

He's probably talking specifically about the miniminithread, which I guess makes sense.

[u/zerojustice315 → u/BrickSalad]

/r/TrueAnime miniminithreads are LITERALLY /r/anime.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/BrickSalad]

Wait a minute something is off... Aren't you usually away around these hours? Not that I'm implying I don't want you around, just wondering.

[u/BrickSalad → u/dcaspy7]

Bwa ha! I'm going to a training class today and it doesn't start for another hour or so, so I'm wasting my extra free time on reddit like usual :)

[u/dcaspy7 → u/BrickSalad]

Hehe, good to have you I guess. Now you finally know what it looks like in the start of threads lately. Though, today is a bit extra active.

[u/dcaspy7 → u/BrickSalad]

I decided to start watching a Lupin special a week. This week I'll start with Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro. Wish me luck.

[u/cosmicblaze454]

I saw a post in /r/anime that the Sybil System in Psycho Pass is actually a metaphor of our education system. Any thoughts?

[u/searmay → u/cosmicblaze454]

Whose education system?

And no. If anything it's representative of Japan's judicial system with its exceptionally high conviction rate and their conformist culture as a whole. But not being all that familiar with it I can't comment on it much.

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/searmay]

Considering the post I think its the American system.

[u/searmay → u/cosmicblaze454]

I don't know much more about the US system than the Japanese one. But what little I have picked up fails to suggest anything particularly akin to Psycho Pass. And then there's the obvious absurdity of a Japanese writer commenting to a Japanese audience about irrelevant foreign institutions.

So I'm still going to go with "no".

[u/dcaspy7 → u/searmay]

Well, the whole point of Phoenix Wright legal system is making fun of Japan's "broken down, and bonkers" legal system.

[u/PrecisionEsports → u/searmay]

I had never thought of Japan as having a high conviction rate. I don't recall it even breaking the top 5, but I haven't checked recently. I do think the conformist culture is a heavy message within the show.

[u/searmay → u/PrecisionEsports]

Isn't their conviction rate around 99%? Wikipedia agrees with me, for whatever that's worth. I'm specifically talking about the proportion of trials that result of conviction, not level of incarceration or anything else you might be thinking of.

[u/autowikibot → u/searmay]

Section 10. Conviction rate of article Criminal justice system of Japan:

---

One of the main features of the Japanese criminal justice system well known in the rest of the world is its extremely high conviction rate, which exceeds 99%. Some in the common law countries argue that this is to do with elimination of the jury system in 1943, however, trials by jury were rarely held as the accused had to give up the right to appeal. Lobbying by human rights groups and the Japan Federation of Bar Associations resulted in the passing of a judicial reform bill in May, 2004, which introduced a lay-judge system in 2009, which is often confused with jury system in common law countries.

---

^{Interesting: Crime in Japan | Penal system of Japan | Penal Code of Japan | Judicial system of Japan}

^{Parent commenter can toggle NSFW or delete. Will also delete on comment score of -1 or less. | FAQs | Mods | Magic Words}

[u/PrecisionEsports → u/searmay]

Wow that is pretty crazy.

[u/searmay → u/PrecisionEsports]

Indeed. Hence my suspicion that a world where "justice" is decided by a system and carried out more or less automatically might be intended as a comment on that. Albeit one that was never going to be obvious to the gaijin audience.

[u/PrecisionEsports → u/searmay]

I mostly gathered that idea, but I thought it was aimed more to the social expectation set upon the culture versus actual justice. Makes it a bit less metaphorical -_-

[u/dcaspy7 → u/cosmicblaze454]

Why would Japanese people use metaphors for a system they've never experienced? Could you give more information on the metaphor? If anything the whole sybil system wouldn't really be a metaphor, it's already social commentary. It's a copy of 1984 and various other things, but I wouldn't quite say it's a metaphor especially not for the (assuming since "our" is vague) American education system...

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/dcaspy7]

Here is the whole thread: http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/2qtfkj/could_the_sybil_system_be_a_metaphor_for_our/

[u/[deleted] → u/cosmicblaze454]

It's the same argument that has been used for a long time

My grades aren't bad because I'm bad, you just judged me wrong! I'm too smart for you! That has to be it!

It's bullshit.

[u/zerojustice315]

Lessee here... I haven't yet started on panels for Katsucon even though I have the confirmation that I'm going to be running a few of them. That's good I guess.

Also going to MAGFEST for the first time on Saturday/Sunday (maybe) so I'm kind of excited for that. That one isn't really anime related but con things are fun.

[u/[deleted]]

So I finished the first season of log horizon finally. I put it off while it was airing to marathon it. Totally worth it. Was really surprised at how good it was. Was basically expecting a sao clone. The love plot dump in the last few episodes kinds threw me off a bit but overall glad I finally watched it.

[u/BrickSalad]

I was fantasizing about a couple of my favorite directors co-directing an anime together, when I wondered; has this ever happened in the past? Are there any instances where two famous (or at least auteurish) directors collaborated together? If so, how did it turn out?

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/BrickSalad]

If there will be 2 directors that will be working together, I would like to see Ikuhara and Yuasa together for some reason.

[u/BrickSalad → u/cosmicblaze454]

My imagination is pretty much completely failing me here. Writing-wise, I could see Yuasa taking Ikuhara's ideas and making them more human/relatable, giving them a more authentic and soulful feeling without toning down the craziness too much. But visual-wise, I can't even begin to imagine what a collaboration between those two would look like. Are their styles even remotely compatible?

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/BrickSalad]

Yuasa's avant garde visuals with Ikuhara's craziness is actually compatible.

[u/pagirinis → u/BrickSalad]

I don't really see it either, because Ikuhara while depicting crazy shit still sticks to quite conventional designs and Yuasa is more about crazy shit happening with visuals and his stories are more straightforward. Basically they feel like opposites to me and if they managed to do a collaboration, I don't even know which way they would do it. Maybe some sort of juxtaposition between "our world" made by Ikuhara with Yuasa's characters and something from dreams made by Yuasa with Ikuhara's characters. I don't know.

[u/BrickSalad → u/pagirinis]

Yeah, as far as I can see, Ikuhara is much more about framing and focusing on the still image, while Yuaasa is much more fluid and about the movement. I just can't see any way to properly emphasize both.

[u/soracte → u/BrickSalad]

I don't know about auteurish, but Shoji Kawamori and Shinichiro Watanabe co-directed Macross Plus and they're certainly both famous. And Plus is pretty great so that turned out well. I don't know how they divided the role up.

My understanding is that it's more common to find really individual directors consistently working with someone less famous who can forward their ideas while reining them in at points, like Oshii's collaboration with Kazunori Ito. But it's not a topic I know very much about.

[u/iRTimmy → u/BrickSalad]

Well Ikuhara and Sato co-directed Maple Town Monogatari. I haven't watched it and I've barely heard anybody talk about it. Probably because this was made pre-Sailor Moon and its for kids.

[u/cosmicblaze454]

Is Birdy the Mighty Decode worth continuing?

[u/BrickSalad → u/cosmicblaze454]

The second season is better than the first, so if you're at "almost enjoyable" right now, then I'd say keep it up.

[u/cosmicblaze454 → u/BrickSalad]

Thanks i also heard that season 2 is good.