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Post by sadatoni on Dec 15, 2016 19:28:30 GMT
Finally finished Hunter x Hunter (no thanks to Netflix and their penchant of not negotiating to have every episode). Quite enjoyable, though the last dozen or so episodes were really slow. I'd certainly recommend it to anyone that hasn't seen it.
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Dec 15, 2016 22:05:56 GMT
Just watched Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Tears. What an amazing show. Too bad I can't find more movies of it anywhere
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Post by sadatoni on Dec 16, 2016 14:37:06 GMT
Just watched Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Tears. What an amazing show. Too bad I can't find more movies of it anywhere There's a live action movie of it currently in production: www.imdb.com/title/tt1219827/
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 16, 2016 18:56:07 GMT
Drifters was quite good, mixing humor and tension quite well, though the art felt a bit off in spots; that could just be the style mixing with bad angles, since it really only seemed to happen to Saint-Germi. The opening battle that preludes the finale was very well executed and captured just how devastating a volley of gunfire can be against those who've never experienced it before. Plus, Hijikata is watching over the battle and very furious at seeing Toyohisa, apparently carrying some bad blood towards the Shimazu clan. Should make for an enjoyable finale.
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Dec 17, 2016 2:13:06 GMT
Just watched Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Tears. What an amazing show. Too bad I can't find more movies of it anywhere There's a live action movie of it currently in production: www.imdb.com/title/tt1219827/Definitely going to watch that. God I hope they don't mess that one up. The anime has such fantastic concepts to draw from that it would be a tragedy to somehow mess that up. Unless they let M. Night Shamalyn ruin another one
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 17, 2016 18:17:27 GMT
Izetta's finale was really quite something. The battle between Izetta and Sophie was appropriately epic, while Sieg reveals the full depths of his guilt when he distracts some Germanian soldiers so Fine and Bianca can reach the conference after being outed by the pilot who recognized Berkman; he flees down an alley and stumbles upon a young Germanian soldier whom he mistakes for Jonas, the young Eylstadt soldier he shot to protect Izetta's secret, and hesitates for so long that the Germanian (who is revealed to only bare a passing resemblance to Jonas) shoots him. Berkamn, having gone on his own, gets to his stash, only to be caught and shot by the pilot. Fine, gatecrashing the conference, completely shuts down the Germanian stooge and reveals the master plan: Izetta uses the Magic Stone to absorb all magic in the world to defeat Sohpie and become the titular Last Witch (which still works without magic, since "witch" is treated as a race rather than a profession). After that, the war progresses pretty much exactly like it did in real history: D-Day happens, the Volga Federation (Russia) invades, Thermidor (France) and others are liberated, Neu-Berlin gets heavily bombed, and the Emperor eventually takes his own life. Surprisingly, in the end, it's revealed that Berkman survived being shot, minus an eye, and emigrated to the US (likely analogous to this timeline's Operation Paperclip) and so did Izetta, albeit paralyzed from the waste down at the minimum (we don't see anything but her feet and the top of her head). It's probably about as happy an ending as we could expect and far better than the utter tragedy most were expecting.
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Post by Onimusha on Dec 18, 2016 2:42:51 GMT
Definitely going to watch that. God I hope they don't mess that one up. The anime has such fantastic concepts to draw from that it would be a tragedy to somehow mess that up. Unless they let M. Night Shamalyn ruin another one Well, it's Hollywood, so they're guaranteed to screw it up. Also, some things don't translate directly to live action well.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 20, 2016 2:09:49 GMT
So I finally got around to Gundam; I had friends over this weekend for an early Christmas and ended up staying awake for something like 36 hours straight, after which I slept about 17 hours solid, so Gundam got put on the back burner till now.
Anyway. Good episode focusing more on Hashmal, especially with the reveal that the Gundam frames have Safe Modes that act as limiters to prevent the pilot dying from the information feedback necessary to fight a Mobile Armor, so Akihiro and Mika are out of commission for most of the episode. Luckily, Shino and the Flauros don't suffer that problem by being able to use its transformed bombardment form to attack from outside the Safe Mode radius, so they manage to separate Hashmal from its dozens of Plumas. Julietta and McGillis (and his subordinate) both try to take on Hashmal to get the glory from killing it, only to get their asses handed to them; Ride, who successfully lured Hashmal ahead of its Plumas so Shino could separate them, attacks it, but gets beaten pretty badly until Mika and Barbatos enter the fray before Orga can and we get a very interesting visual: Mika's right eye (the one that's blind when not connected to Barbatos) begins crying blood as Mika tells Barbatos that he'll "remove his chains for him" and Barbatos' right eye, normally teal, begins glowing red and even seeming to emit a flaming aura.
In other news, if you haven't seen it yet and still care: Black Lagoon is apparently finally coming off hiatus this spring.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 20, 2016 23:10:37 GMT
Matoi's finale progressed much how I expected it would, with the caveat that Matoi's mother Shiori wasn't just trapped on the other side of the highest dimension's gate, but was in fact merged with it; apparently, that's how it must be closed and forcing it open would cause Shiori to cease to exist. Naturally, Matoi uses her all of her power to take a third option, reunite with her mother, and rewrite reality so that that particular gate potentially can't open again (at least, that's what I got from the Fake Set's dialogue). Clarus, meanwhile, finishes her character arc and completely breaks her limiter; amusingly, I always figured her all black ensemble was a little dark for a magical girl show and figured once the limiter came off, she'd change to white and I was correct. It's a shame it only appears for a few minutes, because it looks a lot better on her, as well as more natural. Once the dust settles, Matoi's a little annoyed that her parents are as lovey-dovey as newlyweds, with all the cringe of a teen seeing their parents flirting. Hilariously, though, Matoi believed she used all of her power to make this wish come true and was parted from her god (complete with thumbs up)... Until Yuma told her there were demons to be exorcised and asks Matoi's god to transform her, which it does. All Matoi can do is cry in indignation that, after all that, she just can't seem to be normal.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 23, 2016 20:32:32 GMT
Thus ends Drifters, my last show of the season (since Gundam's continuing to next season, I'm not counting it). Pretty good finale, though the fight between Toyohisa and Hijikata wasn't as good as I'd hoped; it was still good, mind, but it left something to be desired. Was interesting to see Mitsuhide as an End and I got a kick out of the announcement of a second season premiering "20XX".
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Dec 23, 2016 23:06:44 GMT
Watched it. I agree. Not a terrible fight, but not all I was hoping. I am glad that there will be a 2nd season, rather than the Gangsta treatment. I also liked that it looked like they are going to add to the ranks in the next season.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Dec 25, 2016 16:16:58 GMT
Gundam was quite good, but it psyched me out for a minute, which very nearly pissed me off. It starts with Mika repeating his line about removing Barbatos' chains before charging at Hashmal, at which point it goes to the OP, because of course it does; when it comes back, all of a sudden it's one month later and Orga's talking to Teiwaz's boss and I nearly screamed in frustration thinking we weren't going to get to see the fight. Luckily, they didn't do that to us and we got to see it in all its glory. It lasted all of about 4 minutes tops, but it was one of the most epic fights I've seen in a recent Gundam series (one or two from Build Fighters comes pretty close) and it gave me chills throughout. Just the way Mika fights has to be seen to be believed. In the end, Mika destroys Hashmal, but very nearly dies in the process and Barbatos takes a lot of damage, including a nearly destroyed right arm and its cockpit pierced by Hashmal's tail. As a result of the feedback overload, Mika loses the use of his right leg; interestingly, most viewers believed he would lose both legs, since that's what the OP's been implying, so it's a bit of a surprise. Then, after a brief moment of Atra and Kudelia lamenting Mika's lack of change despite losing the use of half his body, things take a turn for the hilarious when Atra begs Kudelia to have a kid with Mika. Afterwards, we get another look at McGillis' machinations and even a glimpse of what I suspect is Gundam Bael (aka Baal, first king of hell). Meanwhile, Orga is more torn up about Mika's condition than Mika (he's having Hush carry him everywhere and there's just something amusing about seeing Mika tossed over his shoulder and acting like everything's cool) and is also pretty confused about his own ambitions and purpose, but can't really decide on anything other than what Mika propels him into.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Jan 3, 2017 5:36:22 GMT
So I finally, finally got to finish all the shows that I am watching, with the exception of 3 Gatsu, since it is still going. I think Drifters was my favorite, with Izetta coming in pretty close as 2nd and Bungo Stray Dogs coming in last, but not by a large margin. All three were good. Poco was decent, though not amazing. I also watched a show called Hibike Euphonium that was decent.
There are a few shows that look okay coming up. Not a bunch, but a few.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 3, 2017 10:39:25 GMT
We have lagged so badly on our anime, what with the retail holiday season jacking up our schedules. Finished off Keijo a few days ago, that was a fun show. Nothing of real substance, but amusing. Shed a tear or two at the end of Udon no Kuni, that was a really good one for us. She's finally coming around and starting to appreciate good slice-of-life; I credit Amanchu last season with that. That was a really nice show, too. We're still waiting to finish off Izetta, and may or may not get back into Sangatsu no Lion; we'll see what the new season brings and go from there. I can't remember what else we started watching, but we dropped quite a few this time around, too. Adrian: I hope you watched the first season of Hibike before the second. I want to pick that one up, but she was so-so on the first, and hesitant on the second...
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 3, 2017 11:25:22 GMT
Hibike always struck me as just being a more serious K-On, so I've never bothered; it may not be one of those all-female cast moe blob shows (that I know of), but it certainly reminds me enough of them to be off putting. In other news, first series of the new season debuts tomorrow and the Winter season certainly seems to be more densely packed compared to Fall (at least, my list is), so maybe this thread won't be quite as dead as we all just kinda meh our way through the season. adrian: I meant to mention it awhile back, but got distracted by the holidays, but I read the Drifters manga and the anime is very faithful to it; that I can remember, the only thing it left out was the rather amusing implication as to Saint-Germi's companions' identities (based on quick dialogue, they're likely Aleister Crowley and Nicholas Flamel) and they moved up Mitsuhide's introduction slightly to serve as a sequel hook. The anime adapts up to the beginning of chapter 45 (of 63 currently), so depending on how the manga plays out, we may actually see the sequel in a couple years.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 3, 2017 14:40:56 GMT
I enjoyed the first season of Hibike, though I admit the pacing was a bit sluggish.
It's far from the likes of K-On, though.
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Post by Adrian Jordan on Jan 3, 2017 17:23:55 GMT
Yep, I watched the first season first. Hibike is more serious than K-On, with much less of a comedy aspect.
That's cool, Vincent. I especially hope that the companions theory is correct.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 4, 2017 21:28:45 GMT
So... I watched Akiba's Trip, first series of the new season. I can say fairly easily that it was quite enjoyable in a big, dumb fun way; if you're expecting any kinda deep plot or the like, this is definitely not for you. It's adapted from a fighting game about stripping your opponent to defeat them and is apparently pretty famous in certain circles for its tongue-in-cheek tone. Having watched the first episode, I can see their point. This looks to be a show that knows exactly what it is and doesn't apologize for it.
It's just so over the top and ridiculous that it may just put a stupid grin on your face while you watch it; I got a particular kick out of the final scene where Matome, the main heroine, is explaining to Tamotsu, the hero, about how now that he's seen the paranormal, he can no longer live a normal life, yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile, Tamotsu is messing with his phone (presented as some kinda odd hybrid of smart phone and WWII-era radio that he hides... Somewhere) looking up clothing stores to replace her torn clothes, giving absolutely zero sh*ts about the whole situation because he's a NEET, otaku, and a writer all in one, so this is basically a daydream come true.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Jan 6, 2017 20:30:04 GMT
Today's premiers for me consisted of Schoolgirl Strikers and Youjou Senki, the latter of which I've been looking forward to for some time. Schoolgirl Strikers was pretty meh and got turned off a few minutes in for feeling like it was trying to be some kind of moe-blob battle anime; no big loss as I only put it there to pad the list after Granblue Fantasy was delayed. Plus, I kinda figured what it would be like, but you never know, maybe it'd surprise me and it'd at least be good for killing time.
Anyway, Youjou Senki (Little Girl's War Record, dubbed as "Saga of Tanya the Evil") actually turned out better than I was expecting. Given that it's coming on the heels of Shuumatsu no Izetta, which had a relatively similar setting (alternate history world war with magic), comparisons are inevitable, but the vague setting is about all they have in common at the moment. Youjou Senki, as implied by the dub title, is going for a much grimmer, somewhat more realistic, depiction of the war; the first episode also implies that this world's WWI went on for far longer, as they're in the thick of the war in 1924. Another main difference is that Tanya, the protagonist, isn't the only mage, but one of many. Mages here are treated as a combination of pararescue, artillery, and bombers. Basically, every single one of them is like a magic Iron Man, but Tanya certainly leaves them all in the dust, being the Mk. 3 to their Mk. 1.5s. Beyond that, the show has some good visuals, music, and the like, though the art style creates a bit of a disconnect that, strangely, works for me; it also provides some excellent facial expressions. Really looking forward to the next episode.
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Post by randomnobody on Jan 6, 2017 23:05:27 GMT
We checked out Akiba Strip last night. That was amusing. I'd say we enjoyed it, but we spent most of the episode ragging on it, sooo...
We're not gonna be able to see each other this weekend, snow falling and all that. Pretty upset about that, but we're better off safe in our respective homes. We'll catch up on whatever we're missing later.
Latest Amiami batch came in yesterday. A few figures, one being of Ako from Netoge which is pretty nice, except the sculpt of her belly is weird...
Bunch of CCS stuff, too, because reasons. Keychains, mostly, but little hand towel thingies, too.
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