What Anime are you watching?

[B E C K]

Ousama Ranking is wrapping up.  Honestly, it's still sloppy but it is attempting to neatly put together loose ends.  I don't recall the last time I've seen a show with a 5/5 first half and a 2/5 second half.

Okay, I lied.  The show's over and that's a 1/5 ending.  Holy shit.  It should've just ended with the last episode because nothing happened except another couple of lingering plot threads to add to the pile.  The few seconds between the main character and his stepmother having a touching moment was the only scene of any value.  So many other "moments" in this show that are not fucking earned.  We got the equivalent of Palpatine being greeted by the smiling force ghosts in Return of the Jedi.  Wait, you mean it wasn't Palpatine?  In Ousama Ranking it was.  The stupid nasty villain gets the figurative thumbs up from daddy-boyfriend, mommy, and the woman she got killed.  And now she'll be Queen of the kingdom she brought war and devastation to.  Look, I'm all for redemption arcs but there was no arc here.  It wasn't fucking earned.  Oh, yeah, and another character is revealed to cheat death.  When he appeared, I about head-desked.  How cheap can you get?

I'm legitimately wondering if two different people (or teams, whatever) were involved with the different cours.  The first cour was amazing and the second cour was nothing but bloat.  It's easy to blame the source material but the anime should stand on its own.  I would not have minded if they filled the time with some original story.

Well, since the show is done, at least I won't be in this thread complaining about it anymore.  Unless it gets another season.  And if I manage to make a blog post about it, I link it in this thread.  I dunno what it would be: "Ousama Ranking 2nd Cour is a Stinky, Stinky Mess?"

[jonhammstein]

I've been collecting this show to binge and you're really making me feel like I should just dump it all in the recycle bin.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

I've actually watched a good bit of anime this season, which reverses a pair of tendencies I've picked up in recent years. First, downloading a bunch of stuff that I only watch a few of but continue to pull the rest in case I ever do decide to watch. Second, paring it down to one or two shows I know I'll watch and forsaking the rest. No, I've been actively watching four at one time (Dress-Up Darling, Realist Hero, Genius Prince, and Princess Connect), and catching up with Lupin III's 5th season and stocking up the 6th (which will probably be replaced later with a dubbed version...ah, how weeaboo of me). I also just started 86 (Eighty-Six) in the midst of these.

I'll likely slow back down with this next season which only has a few shows that appeal to me: Kaguya-Sama S3 (FT-freaking-W!), Date A Live (may not finish this...didn't care for the previous season at all, plus it's been awhile), the final run of Ikki Tousen (being that I'm still a shameless smut-hound), Tiger & Bunny S2, the final run of Strike the Blood (it's been hard as hell to follow the past couple years), the OVA for Moriarty the Patriot (probably should actually watch the rest of it...) and Ascendance of a Bookworm S3 (I really need to finish S2). I probably won't see all of those, either.

[B E C K]

I've been collecting this show to binge and you're really making me feel like I should just dump it all in the recycle bin.

  Oops.  Well, I'm a critical ho so maybe you'll enjoy it more than me.  I still really liked the first half or so of this. The second half doing ass-pull, unexplained, unearned bullshit let me down.  I admit I grade good shit on a harder scale when it does crap like this. I don't blame shows for wanting to leave a hook to get the viewer wanting more but I swear modern media does it all wrong.  (Not the manga of this, which I haven't read.  I'm referring more to tv shows and movies in general that appear to just want to set up the next battle instead of telling a contained narrative.)

Shows that did this right, though?  My Dress-Up Darling.  A nice perfect ending to this anime that left off on the right spot.  Leaves the door open for a sequel but can be viewed and just its own complete thing.  I still don't like the creeper scenes of this show.  And the wet noodle of a male protag that was getting on my nerves, becomes WAY more bearable.

[B E C K]

New season of Ascendance of a Bookworm started and I'm just bored.  It just feels like the same shit from the past two seasons and I want something more to happen.  Maybe I'm mentally done with this show now.  I dunno.

Also tried Spy X Family.  I thought the little girl would be the most annoying part of the show but she's actually the best part.  She's funny and adorable.  The spy/assassin shit is boring and try-hard edgy.  I wish this show leaned more into being a light comedy with the dad and mom keeping their secret lives as a spy and an assassin in the background while going about their normal lives.  Instead, it's about a spy and an assassin in the foreground having uninteresting troubles with some light comedy sprinkled in.  It don't think the latter works. You can't just show the chick stabbing people to death with blood splattered everywhere, feel empathy that she's sad she's 27 and single, and then have any stake at what happens at the party later in the episode.  The stakes being "the horror" of her showing up at the party without a boyfriend.  That feels really low investment when it comes to the other troubles and situations presented in the episode.  I guess I'm supposed to laugh at the disconnect between the image of a ruthless assassin and the same women's shame at being a Christmas cake.  (It admittedly doesn't help that the cake humor is tiring.  Although I'd rather suffer through the Christmas cake jokes if that must be the trade off for a show that doesn't take place in a highschool.)

I wanted to like this show more.  I really like the designs of the three main characters.  But so far it's not that enjoyable to sit through.

[jonhammstein]

You don't really care for the whole humor juxtaposed with violence angle, huh? I remember you sharing similar feelings about Dorohedoro.

I remember people clamoring about the Spy x Family manga, but it didn't really grab me other than the artwork. The show seems alright so far, I'll stick with it for now.

Also, my kneejerk reaction that this season was a dud was way, way off. I'm enjoying a lot of it, but the standouts for me are Dance Dance Danseur and Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie.

[B E C K]

I saw previews for those two and didn't care them.  Especially Danseur.  But with that one, it just freaks me out how they look. They're like freaky dolls melting in the sun.

Regarding the humor and violence together in the same medium, maybe you're right.  Maybe I can't find things with ultra violence funny in any way.  But to me, the type of jokes they go for aren't funny and that's the biggest offense.  I feel like I won't know for sure until I find something ultra violent with actual jokes in it.

Just as an example, with Spy X Family, I don't find an assassin depressed about being an unmarried 27-year-old funny.  Admittedly, I don't know if I'm supposed to read it as an attempt at a joke or as an attempt at empathy for the character.

If it's a joke, the "joke" is too simple. That circumstance in and of itself is not a joke no more than an assassin sad at losing an ebay auction would be a joke. Now, if she was a depressed Christmas cake actually on a date so she could get married and she was having a hard time juggling the date between also having to kill someone the same night, that might be funny. It would open the door to situational humor. But they don't do that. They have her kill and/or fight people and in between this, be bummed about being single and how inconvenient it is to her job.

If it's for empathy, they made her a cute, timid, super-capable assassin. So why do I feel sorry for her?  Who cares if she's bullied on the job when it doesn't actually appear to affect her in any way? She states what MAY happen and looks sad and that's about it. Plus she kills people so why do I care about her feelings again?

It all feels lazy.

I looked up my past comment about Dorohedoro** and that one was more of the tonal whiplash. I guess if you're the viewer who finds the idea of an eyeball hanging out of someone's eye socket in itself to be humorous, having it subsequently fall off would be funny. I think that's what's expected of the viewer. I know people like that. I can imagine them having a blast with that type of show. Like how people find Game of Thrones funny.




**Copy/paste of past comment oh Dorohedoro below:

I wanted to like Dorohedoro but I just can't. It's setting and grittiness should lend itself to a gruesome, suspenseful adventure. Instead it tries to be funny every three minutes. Imagine if the movie Se7en had magic in it and tried popping jokes every few minutes. You don't have to. Watch this show.

If it was capable of actually being funny, I could still find some enjoyment in it. Except none of the jokes landed. It felt like edgy kid humor. At least if a kid wrote this I would be impressed by the world building. Instead, it all feels wasted.

Most of the characters are unlikeable for the fact they can't be consistent. It's like they're all schizophrenic. The girl is supposed be capable but she's also stupid. The croc guy is serious but goofy. There's no problem having different aspects of one's character but it's complete fucking tonal whiplash:

Look. How horrifying. Her face came off and it's hanging off his teeth.
Look. How funny. Her face came off and it's hanging off his teeth.

Look. How terrible. His friend crushed his eyeball.
Look. Ho ho ho. His friend crushed his eyeball.

Look. How gruesome. Bloody body parts were in that cheap trash bag.
Look. How funny. It was a cheap trash bag so all the bloody body parts came out.

Every other scene is this way. This show wants it both ways. But I can't find it horrifying if it's treated like a joke and I can't laugh if it's supposed to be horrifying. It neutralizes like baking soda and vinegar so I just feel, like, blah about it.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

Kaguya-sama is back, all's right with the world. I'm trying to remember if I liked Tiger & Bunny enough ten years or so ago to watch the new season. I was glad to see Science Fell In Love got a second season as I enjoyed the first go around. I'm giving Spy x Family a shot due to its  premise alone.

[jonhammstein]

I missed Summer Time Render because it wasn't showing up for me through my usual channels. Just watched the first episode, seems like it could be something special.

[jonhammstein]

Oh, and I blasted through Bisque Doll because it's just too fucking good. How can something be so horny and yet so wholesome and life-affirming at the same time?

Recent manga chapters seem to be building toward some actual interpersonal conflict, not sure how I feel about that. Like, this newly introduced character I know absolutely nothing about is prejudiced against Marin, how endearing.

[B E C K]

Watched most of Bubble on Netflix.

11/10 visuals and sound/music.  Gorgeous and stunning. 
10/10 setting. Clever and interesting. 
6/10 character designs: a few were decent, the rest bland to ugly.  (Second-worst Usagi coming through.)
1/10 story and characters.  A dull mess.  The characters are mostly cardboard. The exposition (in both the dialogue and outright narration) is cringe.  I don't remember the lines off the top of my head so I'm making up fake dialogue for example purposes:

  "Hey, Tony!  My older brother and only family!  Don't push me.  My legs still hurt from the tragic, super-sad car accident that killed our parents."
  "Sorry, Bob!  My younger brother!  Man, it sucks being orphans like us fighting for food through super parkour. If only big pharma's truck didn't crash into our parents on that stormy night!"

Shit, movie, stop telling me everything that happens. The biggest faux pas is when this movie decides to explain its world. There was no need to explain this world. Just let the viewer put the pieces together. Mysterious bubbles appeared and fucked up Tokyo causing flooding and orphans.

If someone edited this into a purely visual and musical movie, it would probably make it a 10/10.  This is basically Waterworld x District 13 x anime x The Little Mermaid. I can accept that the "mermaid" would not be much of a character as a literal fish out of water. But if that's the case, then her love interest needs to carry the bulk of the story. It's like if Eric from Disney's The Little Mermaid barely showed any emotion.  Didn't smile, didn't dance, wasn't kind, didn't love his dog or his kingdom or even the sea. The main dude in this movie is a husk of cr0n wearing headphones that sometimes jumps on buildings and he's, like, super good at it or whatever. He cries at the end and is oh-so-sad but it's too late to make me feel anything at that point. The "mermaid" is also a mess but I don't like those types of "mostly mute animal girl" characters in general.

Anyway, I got bored thirty minutes in, gave up 50 minutes in and jumped the end. Sometimes when I jump to the end of something, it makes me want to backtrack and see more. This one really didn't. I was confused by what the point was but I didn't care enough to resolve this confusion.

[B E C K]

I can't get into Summer Time Render.  I really love the general look of it.  I wish it leaned into being a bit moodier and tempered the moments of levity. But that's just a preference thing. It's not really the fault of the story that it wants to be something else. 

I was still interested in what's going on so went through the manga.  Not every chapter but most of it to get the gist of things. It turns into "punchy-punchy-shooty evil goo-man" which leaves me meh.  Again, this is me wanting a weird, tense mystery but the manga's intent was, like, action with super battles. On to things I don't like before the things I do: it does put me off that this story wants its titty and panty shots and erect nipples and has a some weird jokey moments with stupid faces.  Also... and this is probably an age-thing and me having seen enough anime, but I'm done with villainous "children/loli" characters.  It feels overdone as a concept.  And this might have nothing to do with the story and just be a translation thing but if characters are actually calling the bad guy "the final boss" and the bad guy is saying they're "the final boss," then that's mega-cringe.

On to good things: Line art is beautiful in this manga. I still like the designs. The anime is very faithful to its beauty. Story seems to be decently paced with twists and turns to keep things fresh. My favorite character is probably the dead brother but this story does have several good characters and the protag is thankfully not super obnoxious or anything. Not my kind of story but I must admit it's well done.

Oh, and I blasted through Bisque Doll because it's just too fucking good. How can something be so horny and yet so wholesome and life-affirming at the same time?

Yes, I'm also impressed it managed to do so. Thinking about it, the story allows both Gojo and Marin to wallow in their own interests, do things they love, and also shows they value others' rights for self-expression and pursuing their interests.  (i.e. Gojo accepts Marin cosplays, Marin accepts Gojo loves hina dolls, the two of them helping/encouraging tsudere loli's sister to cosplay, tsundere loli and her sister's mutual affection and support for one another, Grandpa supporting Gojo's creativity and being so accepting of Marin, etc.)  It shows different shades of people being loving, not just for the main two characters but even in platonic and familial ways among the other characters. So I think all of these things help off-set the weird moments of fanservice/horny-horny and make those moments in more human moments. Like with the love hotel scene for example.

[jonhammstein]

Yes! The hotel scene is undeniably provocative... AND it serves the story/characters without being throwaway masturbatory bullshit.

Damn, I wish I could un-know that STR just turns into pew-pew-pew. I was hoping it was going to land more on the thoughtful side of things. I'll probably keep watching.

[B E C K]

Yes! The hotel scene is undeniably provocative... AND it serves the story/characters without being throwaway masturbatory bullshit.

Damn, I wish I could un-know that STR just turns into pew-pew-pew. I was hoping it was going to land more on the thoughtful side of things. I'll probably keep watching.

It does have some cool non-"pew-pew" parts so it might succeed in keeping your attention depending on how material is presented within the anime version. But, yeah, I was hoping for something more in line with the pre-timeskip episodes of Erased.  Tension, investigation, psychological sorta content.  I don't blame this show for being what it wants to be but it's not what I hoped for.

[B E C K]

Watched some of Love After World Domination. Really like the concept: cute and creative. Really don't like the execution: designs look sloppy, animation is nearly not there, jokes are dumb and bland, music is nothing special, bg's look boring. The lack of sufficient funds for this show bleeds through the screen.

[B E C K]

Watched the short film Summer Ghost. 10/10.  Except one part gets 7/10 for lack of realism.





















Because dead bodies smell and attract bugs.  Not that I wanted to see that shit but the character's reaction should've conveyed some level of horror.  Even if he just covered his mouth and looked away.  Instead, it's the romanticized way kids think if they imagine finding a dead body.

[jonhammstein]

Never heard of this. Will watch.

[B E C K]

Under forty minutes so well worth the time.  "Bubble" might've been five times more gorgeous but "Summer Ghost" has way better characters and a story with an actual heart.

[B E C K]

This is a damn shame! I would've liked all of this music in the movie instead of the one song we got on a perpetual loop.

I'm listening to this now and I will say I'm glad this got made at all.  But a pity pity pity it didn't all get put into the film. The music would've elevated the film so much. It appears this was just released this year and only produced to sell a collectible at the Ghibli Museum. Makes me sad it wasn't done for the actual movie.

Linked a playlist of the tracks.  So far, they're really really good.

[jonhammstein]

Okay, watched Summer Ghost. I liked it.

And you're right with your critique. He was all, "Yokatta! Corpse get! ^o^"

I'll add one of my own. Why did Ryou linger?  It's not as if he was bitter. Or maybe that end scene was literally supposed to be the evening of his passing.

Also, leaving the pendant on the mom's doorstep. That's fucked! Wouldn't that have just messed her up even more? I guess we're meant to fill in the blanks that the authorities were alerted and all that, but come on.

[B E C K]

Okay, watched Summer Ghost. I liked it.

And you're right with your critique. He was all, "Yokatta! Corpse get! ^o^"

Ha ha!  Oh man, I'm laughing so hard right now.  Yeah.  That could've easily been fixed.  You could clip that part and tell people he just found treasure no one would question his reaction.

I'll add one of my own. Why did Ryou linger?  It's not as if he was bitter. Or maybe that end scene was literally supposed to be the evening of his passing.

I don't think so.  I don't recall right now but I thought they had mentioned time passing by between his death. I think we were supposed to infer he was there because of the significance of the place but it did confuse me a little as to why he would be, um, there of all places.  It wasn't in the forefront of my mind but I did think it was odd they would see him when, as you said, he had no regret.  It was a nice scene, but yeah... I don't really have any ideas how they could've done this better so I just let it go.

Also, leaving the pendant on the mom's doorstep. That's fucked! Wouldn't that have just messed her up even more? I guess we're meant to fill in the blanks that the authorities were alerted and all that, but come on.

I would've rather have the doorbell ring and the cops are on her doorstep.

[B E C K]

Tried some old school anime with Kimagure Orange Road. Saw two episodes. Love the backgrounds and the girls are totally cute-looking. The guys are missing any sort of visual appeal. The protag is passable but I see nothing special about him like I do with the girls.

I think my problem in sticking with this is I don't like any of the personalities of these characters so far. The sister making them move seven times because she keeps abusing her powers just pisses me off. The other sister doesn't seem affected by anything going on. The love interests are kind of rotten. Is that gap moe or whatever? Beauties with terrible personalities? Meh, it's not my thing. Then there's the guy... I'm trying to pinpoint what I don't like about him. He's milquetoast, I guess. He's not naive/altruistic enough like Ippo from Hajime no Ippo nor is he firey/defiant enough like Ranma from Ranma 1/2. He's like if I combine Ippo and Ranma with Ataru from Urusei Yatsura. (And I find Ataru utterly unlikeable.) I want to like this character but I don't feel like I have anything to work with.

Not sure if I'll stick with this. It's over forty eps like. It has to get better, right? Right?

[B E C K]

Watched some of Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san.  It's cute.  I have nothing bad to say about it.  It doesn't really interest me further just because it's one of those pure slice of life shows without much underlying plot.  But I'd imagine it's nice to watch for people with craving for slice of life geisha food anime.

[B E C K]

Saw a bit of Boob-zaki Just Wants to Tits-Out.  (Nothing new on my radar right now so I'm just catching up on things I missed.)  Holy shit, what an obnoxious character.  I recall all of our Western media being all "the tits tho' and she looks like a child" but this character is pure ass.  Loud, annoying, clingy, judgy, and a schemey little shit to boot.  She's not even attractive.  They tried to make her cute.  Her head and her eyes are way too damn big.  Way, way too damn big.  Her haircut is terrible and her flesh tooth makes me unreasonably rage.  I hate the flesh tooth on characters so much.  Like, the oversized cans were the least of her problems. At least her clothes are cute.  But that's all that succeeded at being cute.

And then this little bitch is mocking people who watch movies alone.  I chafe at being called out this way by this squealy piece of shit shortstack! 

[jonhammstein]

Yeah, that's an odd one. She's meant to be attractive, I guess? But there's something off-putting about her design. The haircut mixed with the height, she looks like a little boy in gym class who decided to shove a couple dodgeballs under his shirt. And the tooth, totally with you on that. Blech.

I started watching it back when it came out, and I'm only about half way through. I should probably just recycle it already.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

Took me awhile to figure out what you two were talking about. Are they already airing season 2?

[jonhammstein]

Nah, just the one season so far.

I watched the first episode of Vampire in the Garden. Pretty good!

[B E C K]

Watched Josee, the Tiger and the Fish.  Pretty movie, decent story.  7/10, I guess. 

Cons:
Didn't care for Wheelchair Taiga™.  The character had moments where she was cute and overall she isn't a terrible character.  She was an artist so the story should've leaned into being an artist.  Instead, this movie's all "here's bitter, angry wheelchair girl."  The meeting between her and the male MC could've easily been the moment at the beach that was in another scene of this movie and then we could've skipped the shit before it.  The whole angle of her being a bitch and him growing to hate her at first was completely out of the place with the rest of the vibe of this film.  I timed it and it's not even fifteen minutes of content so it's a minor gripe at best.  But I didn't like that part and almost stopped the movie because it felt trite.  She does improve but it's not a great first impression.

Her Grandmother keeping Wheelchair Taiga™ as a shut-in made me cringe.  I couldn't tell if this was an ablelist thing or a Japanese thing.  She's an adult and she has mobility.  Why is she being kept indoors like that?  I didn't understand.  At least if the Grandma just outright said she wasn't able to handle her and let the guy take her outside, that'd make sense.  Instead the Grandma was all "you're not going out ever!13r4frg because tigers."  Like, wut?  I initially thought--when the Grandma offers Male MC a job--that him taking Wheelchair Taiga™ on outings was going to BE the job.  Instead, the job was just Male MC being in the house (and it's not a big house) with Wheelchair Taiga™ so she can be a bitch to him while Granny goes a-gamblin'.  This part felt so sloppy.  Like my early issues with the romance and the Female MC, it's not a big part of the movie.

Pros:
I liked the Male MC.  From visuals, he appears to be Generic Japanese Boy Protag #2 but the animation style and the way he's rendered is very nice.  (Reminds me of the MC from Summer Time Render in that I like the way they look in general.)  His love of the ocean, focus on his dream, and drive to go overseas (both literally and figuratively) helps make him unique and fleshed out as a person.  He's a good protag.  He could easily carry a sequel film with his adventures in Mexico.

Like I mentioned before, the film's pretty to look at: the city, the ocean, the paintings are lovely.

The love story is nice.  And, mild spoilers, it does end well.  I liked to see it.  I was worried this was gonna be "we can't be in love because wheelchair" or some bullshit like that.

[jonhammstein]

I decided to watch this since you mentioned it, and I thought it was cute enough. The part near the end where she had made the storybook that basically recaps their relationship thus far in a fantasized setting was kind of ham-fisted, though. Like, "Dis is duh part of duh movie dat make you cry now, mmmkay?" Right down to the shot of dude tearing up. Tell me how to feel, movie!

Is it fair to say it's a trope where 'girl' can't function as a complete human being for one reason or another, then 'boy' shows up to care for her and romance ensues? Komi Can't Communicate, etc. It's just a little blech. Infantilization, right? "Baby girl need daddy!"

I'm probably just a cynical asshole.

[B E C K]

No, it's a thing. Especially in romance. Whittle broken bird healed by wuv. But it tends to cross into infantilization in the wrong hands.

Like, in this movie, there was no excuse to her to not be mobile and already have a job. She's a damn adult. That's why I feel like I might be missing something culturally speaking. This plot could've easily been twisted into ocean-stan fascinated by wheelchair girl's ocean-themed artwork and could've become a romance from there. Instead, she's the angry wheelchair trope with no independence and he gets paid money to spend time with her. It's Me Before You set in Japan without the suicide. That's another thing: grandma wasted away money this girl could've used to live. Spending it on this guy as well as gambling. What a bitch!