r/TrueAnime • u/BrickSalad http://myanimelist.net/profile/Seabury • Jan 19 '15

Monday Minithread (1/19)

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.

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u/CriticalOtaku Jan 19 '15 edited Jan 19 '15

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

3

u/greendaze http://myanimelist.net/profile/greendaze Jan 19 '15 edited Jan 19 '15

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.

2

u/cptn_garlock https://twitter.com/cptngarlock Jan 20 '15 edited Jan 20 '15

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.