Anime General Thread (Official)

[Terminus]

Hmmm... Well, out of the few series from this year that I watched (Fate/Zero, Sword Art Online, Joshiraku, Kokoro Connect, Robotics;Notes, Guilty Crown, and one or two more), I like Robotics;Notes the best. It has a good level of mystery tied in with a pretty good story, and I don't see it dropping in quality anytime soon.Anyways, my top 5? Haven't done this for a while:1. Puella Magi Madoka Magica2. Steins;Gate3. Gosick4. Strike Witches5. Gurren Lagann

[Hodor]

Speaking of Gankutsuou, as someone who has not read the novel it was based on, can I enjoy it the same as someone who has? At the moment is is probably the series I'n looking forward to, so I don't want to be disappointed.

You don't really need to have read the novel, since Gankutsuou differs from the book quite a bit. Need to read it too, honestly.

[Terminus]

Just saw the new PV for the second half of Robotics;Notes... Looks like there will be a pretty big change between the first and second halves... Just like S;G, but this might look even better...Also, just ordered the Limited Edition Madoka Magica Portable PSP game. The $95 I paid for it (including shipping from Japan) was worth it for the LE goodies alone (pretty much all the Madoka figmas I see on Amazon go for between $60-70, so that's most of it right there). Now I just have to wait out (at most) 3 weeks for it to arrive...

Edited December 30, 2012 by Terminus24

[The Lawuser]

Yeah, I'm in the middle of watching Gankutsuou, and it's honestly just fantastic. I do believe I have found my new favourite anime.

[Hodor]

Nothing can go wrong/Nothing can go wrong/Nothing can go wrong... The only gripes I really had were

the mechs and the rather disappointing ending- the former were extremely unneeded(though the two uses were rather neat) and the latter... well, it was more how amazing the previous episode was, and the fact it wasn't terribly needed.

The fact they apparently start halfway into the book was an interesting choice as well (the numerous differences- such as Franz being a protagonist rather than a side character- aside), IMHO. Just a wonderful series, honestly.

[The Lawuser]

But I have not read the original novel, so I don't fear anything being... how to put it - ruined. All I know is that I'm enjoying it immensely, and that's all that counts.

[Kothra]

My favourite show of 2012 (meaning started in 2012) is probably either Joshiraku or Jormungand.

 

Also:

[Timelady Gallade]

I only watch Sword Art Online. I'm on Episode 9 season 1. I used to watch Pokemon on CITV. Not sure if its still aired though.

Luckily my friend Sarah is also an anime fan. :D

My friend Teodor watchs Naruto Chippen.

[TheJake]

I see other people listing their favorite anime, so I guess I'll join in...

 

1. Code Geass

2. Clannad After Story

3. Puella Magi Madoka Magica

4. Mawaru Penguindrum

5. Neon Genesis Evangelion or Toradora (I can't decide ._.)

 

Anyway, my Garden of Sinners box set arrived the other day as well as my Evangelion Platinum Collection, Gurren Lagann, and Toradora DVDs. I can't wait to start watching them!

 

Oh, I'm finally watching Shakugan no Shana. I can barely stop myself from watching it! There are only 8 episodes left 'til I'm done with the whole series. It makes me sad... The characters in this are so likable (my favorite is Wilhelmina~).

[Terminus]

Started Vividred Operation earlier today, it seems like it'll be a fanservicey sci-fi magical girl series, but that was kinda expected from the trailers, anyways. Liked the first episode, hope it turns out good.Also, I got the Madoka Magica Portable Limited Edition Box on Friday, and I'm quite pleased with it. It came with a nice School Madoka figma (and I've been wanting a second figma for a while, they are pretty good models for drawing) and some other goodies, but I was actually really surprised at how much I like the game. It's apparently a pretty good visual novel, which is sort a shame as I really don't know much Japanese, but I still can somewhat follow the story. But, it's also a pretty solid RPG, all the stats are in English, and the item/magic menus are easy enough to figure out due to the numbers. Also, the gameplay is much more enjoyable than I expected (since I'm more used to FF-style JRPGs than first-person dungeon crawlers), and the first-person perspective is nice for showing off how pretty (or most of the time, creepy) the game is.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Terminus24

[Kothra]

From me, after I saw the Madoka movies last thursday:

 

 

I feel like I enjoyed them more than I enjoyed the show last time I saw it.The new opening is so ridiculously better than the previous one.New soundtrack pieces were great.I don't know why people keep pointing out Kyoko's strawberry pocky in particular when her green one got much more screen time.What the heck was the point of showing the original opening in the middle?THE SOUNDTRACK.I feel they could have not cut just a tiny bit from the first movie, but oh well. The rest of it runs together pretty much perfectly.THE SOUNDTRACK ARGH I NEED IT.And I definitely like Sayaka more than I did before.

Edited January 15, 2013 by Kottsu

[Terminus]

Hopefully, the soundtrack will be in the LE Box when Aniplex releases the movies. I have most of the soundtrack of the anime on my iPod (I'll finally be able to get the last part of Madoka in a couple of weeks), and if the movie soundtrack is as good as I've heard, I won't want to miss it.Anyways, lucky you. Almost went to a showing on Saturday, but due to the fact that I had to work during the showing (and that I live almost 2 hours away from the theater) I couldn't go. I'll probably have to wait for the eventual BD/DVD release, which I desperately hope Aniplex dubs.

[Kothra]

The movies basically just used the show's soundtrack, but they still added quite a few great new tracks.

 

But yeah I'm desperately waiting for a physical release as well.

[Hodor]

So I picked up the new Jojo anime after starting up the manga, which has been on my backlog for 10,000 years, give or take a century.

 

...Looks surprisingly good for a series by a rather small studio. Pretty accurate so far, too.

[TheJake]

Is anyone here watching any of this season's new anime? I'm only watching Tamako Market, and I need a few more things to look forward to in life... Reccomendations, anyone?

[Neelh]

I like Angel Beats.

 

I also like Studio Ghibli films.

 

I got Whisper of the Heart and Spirited Away for Christmas, and purchased Grave of the Fireflies last year.

 

I like the CGI version of Appleseed.

 

Nobody wants to know this.

[Kothra]

Angel beats was great.

 

As for current season shows, I'm following Kotoura-san, Oreshura, Tamako Market, Vividred Operation, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, and Maoyu.

 

The ones I would definitely recommend are Kotoura-san and Maoyuu. And if you like Shaft then Sasami-san as well.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Kottsu

[Terminus]

Just watching Vividred Operation this season, it's enjoyable so far. And when I have time (like that'll happen ) I want to catch up on Girls und Panzer and start Idolm@ster, so I doubt I'll be watching any other current shows anytime soon.Also, some Ghibli films will be screening in my area in a couple of months (Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away) and I'd like to see at least one, but since I've never seen any Ghibli films and don't really know much about these, does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should see?

Edited January 28, 2013 by Terminus24

[HAZMAT]

Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa, and Spirited Away are my 3 favorite of those. Honestly you should see as many as you can, I have yet to see a Ghibli film I didn't like.

[Hodor]

SUPER HEROINE CHRONICLE 超ヒロイン戦記PSP2013年夏発売予定デビルマンレディーReキューティーハニーバブルガムクライシス天地無用!(OVA)スレイヤーズスレイヤーズNEXTアキハバラ電脳組サイレントメビウススクラップド・プリンセス十兵衛ちゃん -ラブリー眼帯の秘密-十兵衛ちゃん2 -シベリア柳生の逆襲-ニニンがシノブ伝まほろまてぃっくまほろまてぃっく もっと美しいもの舞-乙HiMEFate/stay nightストライクウィッチーズストライクウィッチーズ2そらのおとしものそらのおとしものfとある科学の超電磁砲魔法少女リリカルなのは The MOVIE 1st魔法少女まどかマギカ戦姫絶唱シンフォギア

 

Devilman LadyRe Cutie HoneyBubblegum Crisis! (OVA) Tenchi MuyoSlayersSlayers NEXTAkihabara Dennou setSilent MobiusScrapped PrincessSecret of the Lovely Eyepatch - Jubei-chan -Counterattack of Siberia Yagyu - Jubei-chan 2 -Ninin is Shinobu DenMahoromaticMahoromatic: Something More Beautiful乙 HiME - MaiFate / stay nightStrike WitchesStrike Witches 2Sora no OtoshimonoSora no Otoshimono fTo Aru Kagaku no RailgunMagical Girl Lyrical Nanoha The MOVIE 1stPuella Magi Madoka MagicaZessho Synphogear Senhime

I;'d say this is relevant to the thread.

 

Basically Super Robot Wars with female protagonist-based shows.

 

Having seen most of these, 12/10, hype get

[Terminus]

Seems interesting, I'll definitely keep an eye on that. I'm so glad PSP is region-free.

[Lortaku]

Madoka~

[Terminus]

Madoka~

I just got the LE Part 3 of Madoka in the mail today, and I finished it just a few minutes ago. I cried manly tears, the ending is just so good.Also, Fate/Zero is getting dubbed and an eventual DVD/BD release by Aniplex of America. If they did that from the start, they could have saved a few people a ton of money, instead of offering über-expensive (compared to absolutely everything else on the American market) import DVD/BD sets that were just dubbed and coded for NA DVD players. Edited February 7, 2013 by Terminus24

[Hodor]

Turns out it was a fake. Should've waited for famitsu scans to pop up.

 

Ah well.

[Lortaku]

I went to the premiere of the Madoka movies second night it was out in Downtown LA :3

[Kothra]

I went to the premiere of the Madoka movies second night it was out in Downtown LA :3

They were really something, weren't they?

[Kumata]

I've been trying to watch a lot more anime recently. These are the series I've seen (and enjoyed) and I would appreciate it if any of you guys could recommend me more series, based on this. No particular order:

• Baccano!
• Cowboy Bebop
• Darker than Black
• Neon Genesis Evangelion
• Full Metal Panic!
• Last Exile
• Serial Experiments Lain
• Eden of the East
• RahXephon
• Black Lagoon

I also enjoyed High School of the Dead, but that was only because of how hilariously bad it was.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Kumata

[Terminus]

I see a few mecha series on there, but no Gurren Lagann. That's one you probably should see. And by probably, I mean definitely.Really haven't seen much else on your list besides Evangelion, Full Metal Panic, and RahXephon, so I can't really offer much more help...Anyways, I really, really hope Vividred Operation picks up next week. There's been about zero plot advancement since it started, and the first five episodes were just establishing the five main characters (pretty much just one each episode)...Oh, and it looks like Robotics;Notes isn't the next Steins;Gate. I'm somewhat disappointed, but its still good enough so that really doesn't matter to me.

Edited February 8, 2013 by Terminus24

[Kothra]

Durarara!! is written by the same person as Baccano! and is by the same studio.

 

I suppose not quite as good, but it's still quite good.

[Hodor]

I've been trying to watch a lot more anime recently. These are the series I've seen (and enjoyed) and I would appreciate it if any of you guys could recommend me more series, based on this. No particular order:

• [*]Baccano![*]Cowboy Bebop[*]Darker than Black[*]Neon Genesis Evangelion[*]Full Metal Panic![*]Last Exile[*]Serial Experiments Lain[*]Eden of the East[*]RahXephon[*]Black Lagoon

I also enjoyed High School of the Dead, but that was only because of how hilariously bad it was.

You'll probably get a kick out of the The Five Star Stories, if only for dat smooth animation and possibly the non-toyetic mech designs a la Rah and EVA. Be sure to read the manga after the movie- and even then don't expect much of a conculsion, as it's still being seralized in Newtype. Though I admit, this is at least partially my fanboyism for this series. The currently airing JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is also a grand watch. Very accurate to the source, though I haven't seen past the first six episodes. And if you enjoyed Lain, perhaps its spiritual prototype Key the Metal Idol is worth your time? Excellent, excellent OVA- really does deserve more love. Utena is right up your alley as well, given the enjoyment of Rah and Evangelion. Have you seen RahXephon: Pluralitas Concentio and That and Thereness/Her and Herself? The latter is arguably required viewing, if only for the interesting look at Quon's character,

as well as the look at how she awakens as the BelXephon's Ollin

. The former... eh, love it or hate it, it's the TV movie. It's a great watch, but I'm an utter fanboy for RahXephon- even more so than my love of FSS.

[Kothra]

I started up Aquarion Evol to catch up to where my club is in watching it.What I've seen so far feels very much like Macross F, which is great. AND THIS MUSIC IS SO RIDICULOUSLY GOOD.

[Matsuoka Nui]

I'm currently awaiting for Blood-C: The Last Dark (10 days left and I finally got the Blood-C TV series both DVD and iTunes...XD) But in the meantime, I just resumed D.Gray-Man again and I am also trying to make a half-way point in Tiger & Bunny.

 

OMG, I heard that xxxHolic will have a Live-Action series starting next week! I wonder if it will have new content from the original manga/anime series. ^^

[Hodor]

The Rebuild of Evangelion: Q Blu-Ray and DVD are hitting stores on April 6th.

[HAZMAT]

24th, not 6th.

[Terminus]

Aaand it won't have English subtitles, as I was hoping. Whatever, it comes out after Devil Survivor 2 The Animation starts airing, so that'll hold me over for the fansub, which will probably go up within days of the BD release.The good news is that now we can estimate that Funi might release it mid-2014. Oh god, the wait's gonna kill me.

[Hodor]

@HAZMAT: ah, you're right. My bad.

[Terminus]

Well, I finally caved and started Persona 4 The Animation today. Was going to wait till I finished the game, but I didn't really have anything else to do, so I decided to watch it. It's one of the few video game adaptations I've seen (in any form of media) that's actually good, although the way the game was structured somewhat flawed the anime. In the game, the nameless protagonist never speaks, except when choosing a preset response, which is perfectly fine, as it lets you really be the protagonist and form his personality. In the anime, Yu (the protagonist) is almost exactly the same as in the game, except he actually speaks, but he still pretty much has the personality of a brick, and a passive, near-silent main character with almost no personality is just weird in an anime where all the characters are really developed, and half the time I forget that Yu is the main character. Anyways, I still like it, plus it's a good way to rewatch earlier portions of the game without restarting your game.

[BenLuke]

I love Persona 4: The Animation!

 

Problem is, it's making me wish I had the system to play the game one, which is the opposite of what why I started watching it.

[-Golden Knight-]

I feel like the quality of mecha anime has been declining following the peak of Gurren Lagann. Eureka Seven AO and Aquarion Evol left a bitter taste in my mouth after I watched their endings. I'm just hoping Valvrave the Liberator and that Urobuchi Mecha Anime end up being really good. Not sure if I'll watch Majestic Prince, tired of the 5 or 6 faces that character designer keeps reusing (Gundam Seed, Heroic Age, Fafner...).

[Hodor]

I feel like the quality of mecha anime has been declining following the peak of Gurren Lagann. Eureka Seven AO and Aquarion Evol left a bitter taste in my mouth after I watched their endings. I'm just hoping Valvrave the Liberator and that Urobuchi Mecha Anime end up being really good. Not sure if I'll watch Majestic Prince, tired of the 5 or 6 faces that character designer keeps reusing (Gundam Seed, Heroic Age, Fafner...).

I wouldn't really call Gurenn Lagann a peak, personally (what with Shin Mazinger shortly following- fantastic show, Imagawa at his best, great-hen when, etc), but I do have to agree mech anime has been a bit strained lately. Aquarion EVOL was apparently even worse than the original, with the down right stupid plot twist and the very apparent 'Kawamori don't care, go watch AKB0048' second half. And Genesis of Aquarion waan't exactly a good show either. I haven't seen the original Eureka 7 to completion, so I haven't bothered with AO. But it's giving Studio BONES a sequel, and as much as I adore them and all they make, they cannot into sequels (or, really, movies).The fact Evangelion: Q is apparently a massive disappointment doesn't help matters. The same applies to GothicMade, which along side poor animation, apparently only makes sense to die-hard fans of Nagano's The Five Star Stories. And don't get me started on how disappointing Code Geass: Akito the Exiled's first episode was- how a spin-off of a franchise so incredibly over the top and generally campy (to the point of being fabulous, even) managed to be so... bland is beyond me.I'm actually really hoping Sameface Hirai doesn't damage Majestic Prince too much- I'm told shows like Infinite Ryvius and Heroic Age aren't terrible, even if the sameface is really bad (though it seems the modern digital painting that makes it really bad). I have little hopes for Valvrave, since it kinda seems like a Gundam show with the names sanded off, and to be perfectly honest, the last Gundam show I enjoyed was Turn A (though I haven't seen anything made after the trainwreck that was SEED Destiny). Urobuchi holds a slight amount of interest from me- given Madoka was a solid upper 7/10- but at the same time, I hold a hesitation in that Urobutcher's typical 'and everything is dark and suffering' writing style will cause the same major issue I had with PMMM. Mainly in that the story's ambition was... not matched by the episode count. Hopefully Gargantia won't be suffering from these issues.Still, the future does look bright- after all, we still have Tomino's G-Reko coming up, and Gyrozetter has been almost like a revival of the Braves series. There's also the fact old shows, such as Heavy Metal L-Gaim, Fang of the Sun Dougram, Panzer World Galient, and the first part of the J9 trilogy, Galactic Whirlwind Bryger, have all been finished being subbed with shows such as SPT Layzner (albeit slowly) and (very, very, very slowly) NG Knight Lamune & 40, are soon to follow. So even if this season is disappointing for mecha, it'd be a great time to get to your backlog.