printerati

Strike one.

Strike two.

PhantomStranger

I saw Gungrave many years ago but don't remember much about it except the ridiculously large guns.

LorenzoL

I have been watching a few episodes at a time. I simply adore the theme song and the design of the robots but plot and dialogue wise, it hasn't held up very well. However, I don't regret one bit, buying both of the volumes.

fujishig

Finally caught up with Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon. Found it odd they resolved the big cliffhanger from the previous ep in the very beginning of this episode instead of letting the tension mount a bit, but I guess that's not really the point of the series. I guess this may be intentional, but the blank slate that is Aiz Wallenwhatzit is not really making her a compelling match for Bell IMHO. And no way Bell would have done the same thing to the other group, not even in desperation.

Gungrave is another odd one. The Nightow-designed game (and the first and last episode) are basically nothing like the majority of this series, which focuses on the backstory of the game and two guys growing up in a futuristic gang (this is kinda similar to how the Berserk series is a massive flashback that is completely different from the rest of the manga and first episode).

I don't regret buying Mazinger Z either, I just don't know if I'll get through it. Maybe with the kids or something. Are you going to get Shin Maz?

Also watching the bi-weekly Saint Seiya Soul of Gold, which is basically an excuse to give the Gold Saints cool new toys, I mean armor. But it is old-school Saint Seiya.

LorenzoL

Yup. It's supposed to be delivered sometime this week. I have never seen it but at this point, anything Mazinger coming to North America is a must buy for me. Mazinkaiser, on the other hand, is a different story...

fujishig

I'm not sure how well it was received, but Shin Mazinger basically takes a bunch of Go Nagai stuff, mixes it all together, then ups the craziness (Mazinger Z is basically a transformer now... and it's awesomely over the top). I never finished it, though, so I'm looking forward to it. Kinda reminds me a little of how Giant Robo mixed all kinds of Yokoyama properties (though I'm not saying it's anywhere near as good as that classic)

printerati

Man, The Labyrinth of Grisaia and The Eden of Grisaia have really kicked it up a notch over Fruit, for better and for worse. I thought Amane went through some shit at the end of the first season, but it's nothing compared to Yuuji's backstory. Unfortunately, things are starting to go off the rails (again) five episodes into Eden with a "character development" that is absolutely ridiculous even by this show's standards.

LorenzoL

I watched the first 3 episodes and I love it. You were right as it up the craziness and even shows the civilian casualties that the original glossed over. I haven't finished watching the original series yet so I don't know if all of the other villains besides Baron Ashura and Dr. Hell were in the original or created for this series. Looking forward to finishing all of the 26 episodes.

LorenzoL

So reading the background information of this show, some of those new characters that I stated above are based from other Go Nagai's stuff that you stated fujishig. I have yet to watch Devilman or Violence Jack so maybe I should go and search if they are available here in North America. I think Devilman was recently released by Discotek.

fujishig

Finished Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon. Since I somewhat intentionally avoided spoilers for the show, I had no idea that was the end, but it kinda explains why they started going at light speed with the plot. Cool episode, but man I'm kinda bummed that we probably won't get more for some time.

PhantomStranger

The plotting for that show was all over the place. It was like the director/writer didn't know if they had two seasons to play with or only one, so they went halfway by introducing some new characters towards the end without much background. A lot of stuff that was set up early in the series was completely dropped or forgotten by the end.

I liked the show but that irked me a bit.

The Fate / Stay Night re-make is a complete love letter to Rin/Shirou shippers. It was entertaining but I didn't feel it was quite on par with the fantastic Fate/Stay Zero. The tone is completely different from the original Fate/Stay Night. That show now feels out of place in the franchise.

Why So Blu?

I just finished watching Fate / Stay Night (the 2006 series) and liked it enough. I saw the trailer for the movie(?) and it looked pretty cool. I guess the movie anime came out in 2010?

PhantomStranger

Avoid the Fate Stay Night movie if possible. It's not particularly good and gives away the big twist for the very recent Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works series. If I remember correctly, the original series you saw had to go in its own direction since it got ahead of the manga. It has been retconned out of the franchise from what I can tell.

Why So Blu?

Thanks for that!

PhantomStranger

I've really enjoyed watching Akame ga Kill. A lot of serious action and the battles are impressive, about as well constructed as anything I've seen. The villains might actually be more developed in characterization than the nominal heroes. It's a rewarding series for those that stick with it through the end.

PhantomStranger

Does World Trigger get any better? It was a struggle to make it through the first two episodes. There have been shows I enjoy once all the main characters are introduced and the plot begins, but I didn't see much in World Trigger's writing beyond generic action anime set in high school.

fujishig

I haven't watched the anime, but I enjoy the manga quite a bit; it starts picking up when the invasion starts, and it ditches the high school setting, but I have no idea how long that takes in the anime. Like a lot of manga (ie: Bleach and Attack on Titan), there are so many characters that I'm confused who's who half the time, but hopefully the added color of anime helps sort that out.

Koby

I stalled at episode 8 but I intend to finish it. I've heard it gets a lot better, but I've also heard that at 50 episodes it'll have to either end with an anime-original ending or in the middle of an arc. Apparently something like 37 episodes or something would have allowed it to end at a better spot (the end of an arc). I may have that episode number wrong, but it was somewhere in the 30's iirc.

PhantomStranger

I'll probably move on to something else. Yamada-kun and the Seven Witches has been fun in the early going.

printerati

Crunchyroll has been pushing My Little Monster (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun) during their ad breaks, so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately, while it has its moments, it's largely another forgettable high school romantic comedy where nothing gets resolved. It doesn't sound like I need to seek out the OVA for any sort of closure, either.

PhantomStranger

I watched My Little Monster a while ago in its entirety. MLM starts out interesting enough but falls flat by the end. It's not the worst anime in its category but I didn't think it did enough with its premise after the first few episodes.

I've been watching Soul Eater Not! recently. As someone that loved the original Soul Eater, this seems to be a very light, fluffy take on the DWMA with cute girls doing cute things. While I think some Soul Eater fans will enjoy Not!, I would not recommend it as a blind buy.

chrisc31

I watched Expelled from Paradise on Netflix, this movie is really good.

Koby

Yeah, really enjoyed it, even though the plot is basically borrowed from numerous other shows.

Currently watching Guilty Crown. It seems like a jumbled mess of plots and seems to just randomly jump around for the first 12 episodes like it doesn't know what it wants to do or where to take the story. Characters are generic, the plots are all hashed from other series, nothing original to see here; but the animation budget was high and it's at least pretty to look at.

PhantomStranger

I've been disappointed by Soul Eater Not! as a big fan of the original series. Much of what made that beloved series unique has been stripped out for gentle school girl antics. As a show more about school life and slice of life, it's average at best. Also gone are the very interesting character designs and art direction, replaced by fairly generic female students.

Koby

I really enjoyed SEN!
It seems those who didn't, went into it expecting more SE and it's anything but. It's in the title of the show; this is NOT! your Soul Eater. =P

Anyhow SEN! ends around the timeline of episode 4 of SE, so the majority of it takes place before. You technically don't have to have seen SE to enjoy it, but having done so allows you to appreciate the cameos throughout.