anime

[Twig]

log horizoooooooooooon

[N1njaSquirrel]

Huh I actually remember that bit too, Ucantalas. Maybe I've watched more of that trudge than I remember. The boss fight was pretty cool, but I got the feeling that they more wanted to push along the love lines than any fighting. Coz who wants to see fighting right?

 

Also I suspect that as it's from a light novel, the fighting probably doesn't play a major role as combat is pretty dull on paper. And as the guy's so good why spend budget on a fight people know he's going to win when they can spend it on making fan service scenes with Asuna? (Conversly, I assume that's why it gets shit. The second half apparently has some pretty rapey shit in there, or at least what I can gleam from posts in Sankaku Complex) also from what I can gleam of the second half

why the fuck do they go back into an MMO straight after getting out of one? Sounds fucking stupid to me.

 

And screw Log Horizon, we all know the best MMO is the Greed Island arc in Hunter x Hunter.

[Twig]

I honestly don't like Greed Island all that much. Way better than York New or whatever it was called, though.

 

anyway log horizooooooooooooooooooooooon

[Gormongous]

So please, lords of anime, recommend me something good. There is just so much stuff out there and I'm kind of lost. I would prefer something that has a tone similar to AOT, but I would be happy to watch pretty much anything that comes with a strong recommendation. Also, it would be ideal for it to be available on Netflix or Hulu since those are the only services I currently have and I'm not sure of any other easy way to watch anime on my TV without going and buying a bunch of DVDs or Blu Rays.

 

I can't believe this question gets asked when I take a week-long trip to England for an academic conference. I also can't believe it took five posts for someone to recommend Berserk to a fan of Attack on Titan. Even Claymore would have been an acceptable substitute, if suboptimal.

 

The rest of my picks have already been said. A fan of Trigun is going to want to watch Cowboy Bebop and maybe Outlaw Star. Fullmetal Alchemist or Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is another easy recommendation, though I think the latter's more tightly written and you need that in a sixty-four episode series. I often think of the two seasons of Ghost in the Shell: Stand-Alone Complex as the perfect anime, because it's a consummately watchable police procedural, except in the future and with some decent philosophy/psychology woven in. I'm also going to risk the wrath of Tegan to say that you'll like Death Note, Zeus. It's a trashy and pulpy suspense thriller with a heavy supernatural label and the most scenery-chewing antihero ever. You can't help but have fun watching it. I also watched Porco Rosso for the first time last week and I just have to say that I'm stunned that I keep diving into the so-called "dregs" of Miyazaki's filmography and finding them all to be gems on par with at least Nausicaa.

 

Also:

I'm not sure of any other easy way to watch anime on my TV without going and buying a bunch of DVDs or Blu Rays.

 

I really don't mean to be glib, but there's these things called fansubs, you get them through torrents, and in most cases they're as good or better than the streaming offerings, though I only usually bother for unique translations rather than Crunchyroll edits.

[Zeusthecat]

Thanks for the recommendations Gormongous. I'll be sure to add those to my list.

 

I've continued binge watching Steins;Gate and it finally just got really really good. Even after half a dozen episodes, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of interesting stuff going on but it was enjoyable enough for me to stick with it thanks to the goofy humor and interesting characters. Then last night I got to the part where

 

Mayuri is killed by Moeka. Everything following that moment has just been amazing. Seeing Rintarou's goofiness and overall mental sanity fade away as he time leapt over and over to try to save Mayuri really drove home how desperate and hopeless his situation was. I don't think they mentioned exactly how many times he time leapt but I get the sense it was dozens if not hundreds of times. Because of this, it was a surprisingly emotional and touching moment when he finally reached out to Kurisu because it looked like that interaction with her was the first new experience he had had in a long time after going through the same loop so many times. I also saw the reveal that Suzuha is from the future and that her and John Titor are one and the same. I left off at the point where Itaru has almost finished repairing her time machine.

 

Also, I strongly suspect that Rintarou is Suzuha's father.

 

I'm glad I stuck with this show and at this point I'll probably have it wrapped up in the next 2-3 days. The only minor complaint I have is that I am having a really hard time learning all the characters names because they all seem to be referred to by multiple names. I had to Google the various names as I wrote this post because I just can't seem to lock them down in my memory.

 

Also, what's up with the weird cat girl who keeps saying 'meow'?

[Twig]

Also, what's up with the weird cat girl who keeps saying 'meow'?

Anime.

[Codicier]

 

I can't believe this question gets asked when I take a week-long trip to England for an academic conference. I also can't believe it took five posts for someone to recommend Berserk to a fan of Attack on Titan. Even Claymore would have been an acceptable substitute, if suboptimal.

 

 

Wow I utterly forgot about Claymore during this whole conversation.  I remember it being incredibly popular for a while but it seems like its audience figures just dropped off a cliff at some point and everyone (inc myself) had forgot that it was ever a big deal.

 

It's good that gormongous brought that up though because if he hadn't i would never have I looked up Claymore on TV tropes and found this wonderful catalogue of the most hateful worlds in anime http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/CrapsackWorld/AnimeAndManga

[Twig]

I remember reading the first volume of Claymore manga a long time ago. I probably still have it in a box somewhere. I don't know why I didn't continue. Is it... finished? Also is it worth watching? I mean, I know forgetting that it existed isn't a good sell, but I'm still curious.

[N1njaSquirrel]

I watched the claymore anime and thought it started off well, but then went downhill sharply. The ending was rubbish. A couple of my friends have read the manga and they say it's much better though.

[Gormongous]

I remember reading the first volume of Claymore manga a long time ago. I probably still have it in a box somewhere. I don't know why I didn't continue. Is it... finished? Also is it worth watching? I mean, I know forgetting that it existed isn't a good sell, but I'm still curious.

 

I think it's worth watching. It's got a dark medieval veneer that holds up really well, and the action's really good. Plus it's all beefy chicks swinging huge swords, which is great.

 

Like NinjaSquirrel said, though, the ending is terrible. They basically ran up to the end of the manga that had been written and slapped together a cliffhanger that resolves absolutely nothing. The manga suffers no such drop in quality, since it didn't need to improvise any sort of conclusion.

[Twig]

Maybe I'll hunt down the manga instead, then.

 

I've been slowly watching Kuroko's Basketball. I just finished watching the first game of the Winter Cup. It's fucking intense and even the typical sports anime training camps last only about an episode at most THERE'S NO COOLDOWN PERIOD BETWEEN GAMES it's too much for my weak heart to handle.

 

I need a nice lighthearted anime to cool off with. I'm looking with bright eyes in the direction of Glasslip... because it's an anime about fucking glassblowing and that's awesome. But I dunno how lighthearted it'll be. I will probably start it soon enough.

 

Side complaint: As much as I love sports anime for what they are, one thing I absolutely can't get over is the tendency to give an almost supernatural edge to prodigies in the sports (HOW IS HE DOING THAT OH MY GOOOOOD), along with ridiculous names like "Ignite Pass" and then upgrading it to "Ignite Pass Kai" I mean c'mon. Yowapeda's actually really good about this, and so far so is Haikyu!!, which I very much appreciate.

[N1njaSquirrel]

My main irritation of sports anime is the telepathic communication that everyone seems to have about what's going on. Kuroko does it really bad, where they switch between like 10 different people who are supposedly all having the same train of thought at the same time, as well as the people on the court. It gets even weirder when there's like an argument thrown in there, like 'oh man they can't do this coz this guy is like the best' 'sure, the guy is the best, but he is only the best at winning. He hasn't felt the thirst and need that people need to win and therefore the underdog will win because he's the best at wanting to win' 'Hahahaha fools! Merely wanting to win is not enough to win! You must be the best!' and so on.

 

 

I need a nice lighthearted anime to cool off with. I'm looking with bright eyes in the direction of Glasslip... because it's an anime about fucking glassblowing and that's awesome. But I dunno how lighthearted it'll be. I will probably start it soon enough.

 

The first episode of glasslip felt more like a romantic thing than just about glass blowing. I mean, there was a bit where people blew some glass, but it was just a cut-between scenes. There was no actual mention of the glass blowing, just that it happened. If you want something lighthearted, I'd suggest Love Lab, it's moe shit, but it's fucking funny. I laughed so hard at this anime. And the yuks just keep on coming. I really hope for a S2 because it's great.

 

 

Side complaint: As much as I love sports anime for what they are, one thing I absolutely can't get over is the tendency to give an almost supernatural edge to prodigies in the sports (HOW IS HE DOING THAT OH MY GOOOOOD), along with ridiculous names like "Ignite Pass" and then upgrading it to "Ignite Pass Kai" I mean c'mon. Yowapeda's actually really good about this, and so far so is Haikyu!!, which I very much appreciate.

 

Oh man Kuroko goes all out on the super-powers in the Winter Cup. The match with Murasakibara (I think that's his name, the purple one) has that kinda shit all over the place and it's so ridiculous but it's so darn great.

Haikyu is pretty normal, but idk about Yowapeda. Have you forgotten Abs? And the ability to have more energy by taking a deep breath? I mean, sure, you'll have more oxygen to use, but you won't have the same surface area. It won't generate more energy. What bullshit science is this! I mean, it's not on the level of Kuroko but it's getting there.

[Twig]

Pretty much every genre of anime suffers from that dumb telepathic nonsense, but yeah Kuroko is especially bad about it.

 

Oh. I have nothing against romance stories but that's not what I was hoping it was. ):

Abs was more for the laughs than anything else, and I'm pretty sure it's true that cardiovascular exercise benefits from larger lung capacity. It may be exaggerated in Yowapeda, but it's way more grounded in reality than The Zone in Kuroko.

[Tanukitsune]

I'm kinda getting sick of re-watching Ranma, it really does not hold up, Ranma and Akane constantly treat each other like crap, but the moment someone else shows interest in the other, they get all offended.

 

And while I'm still re-watching this, I'm pretty sure by the end of the series they STILL haven't admitted their true feelings! What's the point of having two "tsunderes" as main protagonist if they don't even warm up to each other in the end? 

 

I'm not sure if I should call it a terrible show, but it's the worst relationship ever... I'm going to say it.... Still better than Twilight? NOPE! For once Twilight is better than this... as least romance-wise.

 

As for action. They make up stupid martial arts techniques, which is just hitting them with the item of what ever the knew character of the day uses.

[Gormongous]

I'm kinda getting sick of re-watching Ranma, it really does not hold up, Ranma and Akane constantly treat each other like crap, but the moment someone else shows interest in the other, they get all offended.

 

And while I'm still re-watching this, I'm pretty sure by the end of the series they STILL haven't admitted their true feelings! What's the point of having two "tsunderes" as main protagonist if they don't even warm up to each other in the end? 

 

I'm not sure if I should call it a terrible show, but it's the worst relationship ever... I'm going to say it.... Still better than Twilight? NOPE! For once Twilight is better than this... as least romance-wise.

 

I felt this way about the first twenty episodes of Urusei Yatsura, which was all that I watched. Flatly put, there is no reason for Lum to be interested in Ataru, besides the confusion that sets up the premise of the show, because Ataru is relentlessly cruel to her and to everyone else as well. The show really thinks that we ought to care sincerely about Ataru's so-called "bad luck" in having a beautiful alien want to marry him, denying him the purely hypothetical to creep on his shrewish girlfriend, if we can even call Shinobu that, but it's a terrible premise and I can't believe it lasted a hundred and ninety-five episodes. I think I just don't get Takahashi Rumiko.

[Tanukitsune]

Ugh, I had forgotten how terrible Ataru is... Doesn't he spend the whole series trying to get with every woman she meets? He's like a young Happosai. At least in Ranma, Ranma isn't trying to sleep with all his suitors.

[Codicier]

Maybe I'll hunt down the manga instead, then.

 

I've been slowly watching Kuroko's Basketball. I just finished watching the first game of the Winter Cup. It's fucking intense and even the typical sports anime training camps last only about an episode at most THERE'S NO COOLDOWN PERIOD BETWEEN GAMES it's too much for my weak heart to handle.

 

Side complaint: As much as I love sports anime for what they are, one thing I absolutely can't get over is the tendency to give an almost supernatural edge to prodigies in the sports (HOW IS HE DOING THAT OH MY GOOOOOD), along with ridiculous names like "Ignite Pass" and then upgrading it to "Ignite Pass Kai" I mean c'mon. Yowapeda's actually really good about this, and so far so is Haikyu!!, which I very much appreciate.

 

Twig, just watch Ping Pong. Using fair means or foul get your hands on it.

 

It's just transcendently good

[Tanukitsune]

I just watched the first two episodes of Ping Ping Club on YouTube and... I didn't find it funny, so far it's farting and looking at panties. It's perversion and puerile humor... :|

[Codicier]

I just watched the first two episodes of Ping Ping Club on YouTube and... I didn't find it funny, so far it's farting and looking at panties. It's perversion and puerile humor... :|

 

Are you watching http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping-Pong_Club as opposed to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_Pong_(manga)#Anime ? because what you describe doesn't sound like the series i watched

 

Here's the OP

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3vAXOLaMpY

[Tanukitsune]

Yeah, I was watching the wrong show, the other show feels like Japanese Revenge of the Nerds... only worse.

[Codicier]

Yeah, I was watching the wrong show, the other show feels like Japanese Revenge of the Nerds... only worse.

 

I'm almost tempted to watch the other one because of how bad you make it sound, any potential in it to reach "so bad it's good" territory?

[Tanukitsune]

Hmm, I thought Highschool of the Dead was gloriously cheesy and laughed all the way through it, but I just face palmed and quit after a few episodes of this show.

 

The episodes are on YouTube and only 10 minutes long, so it's worth a shot if you think this kind of humor is funny... or so unfunny it's funny all over again. Like I said before, I can only describe it as "Japanese Revenge of the Nerds" only terrible.

[Codicier]

Hmm, I thought Highschool of the Dead was gloriously cheesy and laughed all the way through it, but I just face palmed and quit after a few episodes of this show.

 

The episodes are on YouTube and only 10 minutes long, so it's worth a shot if you think this kind of humor is funny... or so unfunny it's funny all over again. Like I said before, I can only describe it as "Japanese Revenge of the Nerds" only terrible.

 

 

I know I bailed after a few episodes of HotD, it went from so bad I could laugh at it, to so bad i felt embarrassed watching it. So perhaps this would also be too much for me, if you were built of sterner stuff than me & able get past the cringe factor in HotD that I couldn't .

[Twig]

Twig, just watch Ping Pong. Using fair means or foul get your hands on it.

 

It's just transcendently good

I will, but I'm not in any rush. Also it's not really comparable to what a typical sports anime is like, so you know, it doesn't solve any problems. It's its own thing.

 

I haven't actually downloaded any anime since I subscribed to Crunchyroll, except the first few episodes of Space Dandy, which I eventually gave up on because I wasn't interested enough to keep hunting down torrents.

[Tanukitsune]

The guys in Ping Pong Club keep showing off their... "paddles" and... Wait.... wait... I just realized a better comparison, Ping Pong Club is like Porky's, which I already find unfunny, only worse. This is like one of those campus comedies from the 80's which a bunch of perverted losers, only they're Japanese.