General anime/manga/LN thread

[Armos]

Forgot to mention, just finished Log Horizon. IT's an AWESOME ANIME! Can't wait for the second season... Just finished Magi second season also, wanting a third series. And I can't wait for Sword Art Online Season 2. And does anyone know when Date A Live season 2 starts? And if anyone is interested... Durarara!!! get's season 2!!! If there are any fans here.

[alphaheiti]

I have to say that I was a little bit dissapointed by the Winter Season. Anime i was looking forward to turned out to be bullshit...or at least rather bad^^

Chuu2byouRen for example. WTF was that? Seriously? Fanservice bullshit...everywere. The main love story was between Shinka and sanae...xD

Noragami was at first my favourit but the ending couldn´t be more predictable. It was the sterotypical Love-Action anime ending.

And Pupa was compleatly bullshit. 'nuff said. The biggest surprise was actually Golde Time. Golde Time was very very good. Even if i think the main character choose the wrong girl xD

 

---------------------------------

 

The Spring Season looks pretty interesting so far. I'll definitely watch these:

• Black Bullet
• Akuma no Riddle
• Hanamonogatari
• Nisekoi (episode 13-24)
• Gokukoku no Brynhildr
• Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
• Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to
• Sora no Otoshimono 2nd Movie

Especially Mahouka and Gokukoku look pretty good to me I hope they won't disappoint me^^

[Netsrac]

I'm actually reading Nisekoi. It's a great manga. I'm not really sure if I should watch the anime once I'm done though.

[xdaniel]

So I finished four out of five shows I've been watching this past season so far, with the fifth one's final episode waiting on my HDD. All in all, they're D-Frag, Mikakunin de Shinkoukei, Chu2koi Ren, Seitokai Yakuindomo* and the second half of Log Horizon.

 

Log Horizon aside, as a show that had started last season, I think the two shows that weren't sequels are actually the ones I liked the most, thus D-Frag and Mikakunin, and of those two... hrmmm, I am not sure which I like more. I think I like Mikakunin a lot for its coherency and development in general, for how well everything fit together, while I like D-Frag a lot for how its just insanely fun to watch. Also, the respective OPs of each of the two shows are extremely addictive: Mikakunin's is quite cute and meaningful at the same time, while D-Frag's is pure crazy energy. And both are just catchy as hell! Ah doushiyo? ... I never know why! <3

 

Now Chu2koi Ren and SYD* were good as well, but, for better or worse, also were simply more of the same. Luckily it wasn't really for the worse for both of them, although I can understand that Chu2koi in particular could draw someone's ire... I think it was fine overall - ex. regarding character development, including for the side characters (namely Nibutani and even Kumin-senpai kinda) - but it also had some kinda stupid or annoying things to it, like how some of Shichimiya's arc was handled, as well as how Isshiki was even worse off this season than before. Not that I care about him much, but he got totally shafted here, with not a single "good" appearance for him, and I really don't get why they did that. But hey, at the very least, Chu2koi Ren didn't leave you with this awful aftertaste that things like a lot of Oreimo season 2 or Haruhi's Endless Eight left you with...

 

And Log Horizon... well, Log Horizon was wonderful. No, scratch that, it was nyanderful. I have no words for how well this show was made, how well planned, well written and well executed it was. I am a bit concerned about how soon season two is gonna come, in particular considering how most of the novels so far has already made it into season one - there's just not very much material left at the moment, and I don't think Touno-sensei will be able to finish two or so more books in time for the anime's production... I guess I'll just have to have faith in the producers and Touno-sensei. As mentioned before, I guess it's simply going to be a 1-cour season i.e. about 12 episodes instead of the first season's 25.

 

And finally... Takao, Kobeni, Nibutani, Shino and Akatsuki ftw!

 

(Whew... and it's 5 am again already, damn it...)

[john_smith_account]

*REMOVED*

[xdaniel]

Normally I'm not someone who goes back to bygone seasons - even if it was just half a year ago - to watch an anime I missed initially, but sounds interesting in retrospect... yet that's exactly what I did for Non Non Biyori.

 

I have no idea why I missed out on this, when it aired during Fall 2013, not least because I only watched a single show that season (Log Horizon's first half; Monogatari Series 2nd Season had kinda slid to on-hold for me by that point...), so it's not like I was buried under other interesting things to watch. Maybe because it was listed as "Expectation Level: Moderately Low" in Random Curiosity's preview for that season? Whatever the case, I'm really, really glad I picked it up now.

 

It's a simple story, slice-of-life, with a girl who's moved from bustling Tokyo to a small rural town, going to a school with a total of five students of different grades - but all in the same classroom -, where the next bookstore is something like 20 minutes away by bicycle, and more such things. Honestly, that really doesn't sound very exciting, does it? But it doesn't need to be. It's just funny, cute, at times simply heart-warming (or the opposite, in one instance I've seen so far!)... I don't really know how else to describe the show itself, or what I think of it. I'm halfway through it so far, episode 6 of 12, and am already dreading the day on which I'll have watched the last one. There's good news, tho: There's an OVA coming out in July, and even better, a second season has just been announced a few days ago.

 

But Non Non Biyori aside, and back to the current Spring season... although, I don't have much to say about that one. There's pretty much just two shows that sound interesting enough from the previews, that I want to watch the first episode of: No Game No Life, and Mekaku City Actors. And while there's others that seem like they'd be competent entertainment... well, that's the problem, maybe. They don't exactly excite me, I guess? Their premise and such, that is. Maybe it's just me, I guess I might've developed very specific - seldom fulfilled, maybe a bit weird? - tastes in anime...

[punk7890]

Non Non Biyori is probably the only anime I've seen where middle-schoolers and a 1st grader really act their age. It's a fun little show to kick back to after a hard day.

 

Anime this season that might be interesting:

Selector Infected WIXOSS (maybe, not quite sure yet. First episode didn't tell to much)

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei (I can tell I'll probably love this show. Seems like the main protagonist is going to be pretty cool)

Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou (I probably won't get into this that much inless it turns into something like Sakurasou)

 

And waiting on No Game No Life. Hopefully its sorta like Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? Loved that show.

[Agnostic Priest]

shinji ikari is a pussy

[punk7890]

Woot. Looks like CR is getting No Game No Life. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2014-04-08/crunchyroll-adds-no-game-no-life-anime

[punk7890]

That was a cool first episdoes of No Game No Life. I'll definitly be following this show to the end. I like everything about it so far. I'm also a sucker for shows that use gradient and bland colours nicely.

[SoulofDeity]

Has anyone here watched Watamote? Laugh...cry...laugh because you're crying...cry because you're laughing...generally feel like an asshole out of sympathy?

[john_smith_account]

I've been meaning to watch the third Evangelion movie, as a true fan I've got the japanese release.  But was thinking of waiting for the DUB...

 

Ok fanboys, don't kill me for saying Dub.

[punk7890]

I personnel don't watch much dubbed anime. But the shows I have watched aren't bad at all. I don't see why people complain about it most of the time. Though there is some recently that got released that are semi-bad. Mainly Psycho Pass's dub is not really that good (main lead isn't melodramatic sounding, her tone isn't quite right as how her character should be). That being said, I love dubs for comedy shows. Take Highschool DxD's dub. That was a perfect dub.

I plan to watch the Evangelion movies once or near the fourth one comes out.

[xdaniel]

I didn't end up watching Watamote, even though it sounded interesting from the previews. I guess I feared it was gonna hit too close to home for me (loner, antisocial behaviour)? Then again, I know I'm not that bad, plus everything's apparently pretty exaggerated in Watamote anyway, I think...? I also watched Welcome to the NHK while going through some darker times IRL - also not as bad the characters there, but at least similar to Yamazaki? - and ended up loving it; bought and read the English-translated light novel afterwards, too.

 

---

Hmm, I tend to like dubs, if I end up watching something dubbed and they're done well enough. Almost every anime I've ever seen on TV here has been dubbed (standard practice for 90%+ of all content on German TV), with few exceptions, so things like ex. One Piece and Detective Conan I only know the German dub of. I even went back to watch some shows again dubbed into German, that I had already seen in Japanese with English subs, mainly because I wanted to watch them with my mom, who's English is just terrible and who can't follow subtitles - K-ON! season 1 and Madoka Magica come to mind. And if Sakurasou and Non Non Biyori are ever released here, dubbed, I'd like to watch those with her as well.

 

---

...and speaking of Sakurasou, I've watched the first episode of No Game No Life earlier. And while I basically "get it", I did feel a bit like "WTF did I just watch?", in a similar way to some episodes of Sasami-san@Ganbaranai... it was a positive WTF too, mind you, like with Sasami-san, so this is something I'll probably follow. Why'd I get here from Sakurasou, tho? Sora and Shiro are voiced by the same VAs who voiced Sorata and Mashiro, and that's all I could hear during the episode. Hell, even their names are just missing one syllable each!

[punk7890]

Yeah. No Game No Life seems pretty out there. But it a really cool way, sorta getting a interesting vibe from the show. Kinda like Mondaiji in a way. I'll definitly follow this show to the end.

[SoulofDeity]

I didn't end up watching Watamote, even though it sounded interesting from the previews. I guess I feared it was gonna hit too close to home for me (loner, antisocial behaviour)?

 

It doesn't hit home too hard. Generally, you just feel really sympathetic for Tomoko because she tries so hard to change herself and it always bites her in the ass. It's always really funny at first and you're facepalming like hell while laughing hysterically, but then you see how much it hurt her to go through that and it just becomes very depressing... It almost feels like the entire world is out to obliterate her every attempt at having a normal relationship with someone.

 

 

Hmm, I tend to like dubs, if I end up watching something dubbed and they're done well enough. Almost every anime I've ever seen on TV here has been dubbed (standard practice for 90%+ of all content on German TV), with few exceptions, so things like ex. One Piece and Detective Conan I only know the German dub of.

That's the problem right there For native english speakers, dub is just horrible. You feel like you're watching a kiddie show. The voices don't fit the characters, nothing is pronounced right, they stress on the wrong parts of sentences, the translations are screwed up and they censor really dumb stuff.

[xdaniel]

The voices don't fit the characters, nothing is pronounced right, they stress on the wrong parts of sentences, the translations are screwed up and they censor really dumb stuff.

Oh, all that can happen here too... ex. Naruto's German dub was complete and utter bullshit. There's very, very few voices that I think do fit their characters (Kakashi comes to mind), some name pronunciations in particular were way off ("Sasuuuke Uschiha" ugh!), etc. The biggest problem was censorship, tho... For example, I don't think anyone ever died in that dub - like how the Uchiha clan just disappeared or was kidnapped or something. Blood wasn't ever seen, either, or was recolored to something else, unless the censors just plain forgot to edit it. Couple that with all the other factors, and you have a complete trainwreck of a dub.

 

There's one single positive point I can make about Naruto's German version, or its initial broadcast anyway: the station that aired it originally did, for some time at least, use some of the original Japanese openings. Haruka Kanata was used once (pretty sure it was literally for one day), then Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni, GO!! and a few others. I didn't follow the dub, so I'm not sure which other ones they used, I just know that the station that shows reruns of the original series now, uses the really awful "European" OP the European license holder produced. Can't find it on YouTube off-hand, otherwise I'd link to that travesty...

[SoulofDeity]

The biggest problem was censorship, tho... For example, I don't think anyone ever died in that dub - like how the Uchiha clan just disappeared or was kidnapped or something. Blood wasn't ever seen, either, or was recolored to something else, unless the censors just plain forgot to edit it.

Wtf..why even air it....

[punk7890]

Wow awesome news. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.' 2nd season was announced. Gonna be awesome! More Hikigaya.

[xdaniel]

Wow awesome news. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru.' 2nd season was announced. Gonna be awesome! More Hikigaya.

Ooh, I knew they announced an important announcement for Oregairu yesterday, but I didn't know the actual announcement happened yet! That is gonna be awesome, yes. More Hikigaya, but also more Yukinon, more Hiratsuka-sensei...

[punk7890]

HxH 125:

Another epic moment in HxH! I think I rewatched that fight about 10 times now. I literally cannot wait till next Tuesday!

A few interesting this that some people may not know that I deduced myself :

Netro's Nen is of the 7th Chakra (Crown Chakra, has either a purple aura or white). Associated with this is a blooming flower (signaling spiritual awaking). I found this pretty cool how they really did incorporate the Buddha power in this. Just goes to show you the depth of the show even more.

I also like how the choir BGM is chanting Kyrie Eleison (Greek for "Lord have mercy"). Even backs up the epic even more. "Lord" probably referring to Netro since he has that godly aura.

[xdaniel]

Super-quick post about Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin episode 1:

 

So this'll basically be a big treasure hunt, for the treasures amassed by student Nanana Ryuugajou, who was murdered in her room 10 years ago, but can't rest in peace and is bound to the room now as a ghost. Sounds quite intriguing and not exactly like an anime you'd see every day, or at least I think so. Story aside, some scenes were outright gorgeous, animation-/artwork-wise, and the main characters so far seem pretty fun. Also, Nanana has good taste in video games, she's playing the PS3 version of Terraria!

 

More details at MAL and first episode post on Random Curiosity.

[punk7890]

Tamayura More Aggressive.

Ah. I remember picking the first season up last year sometime. Just finished this 2nd season now. The ending to the second season is very heartwarming. The whole show is just full of kindness and heartwarming moments. This is where that show shines; is in it's tenderness of showing how memories, friends and loved ones play a important role in our lives and how we move forward in time. Can even make one tear up abit (in a good way). I recommended picking this show up for anyone who loves happy shows that can even make you reflect upon your life. The ending of the second season is probably one of the most impactful messages I've seen in anime.
 

[xdaniel]

Observation: Either German anime DVDs/BDs are expensive as hell, or UK anime DVDs/BDs are cheap as hell.

 

Take K-ON! season 2, for example. Over here, it was released on 6 DVDs with 4 or so episodes each, each volume retailing for 27 €. In the UK, it was released, on DVD, in two parts with about 13 episodes each, with each part retailing for (converted) roughly 20 €. So, the German DVDs will cost you 162 €, while the UK ones will cost only 40 €. That's... quite the difference. And that's on each country's Amazon; you can get the UK DVDs even cheaper elsewhere - but not the German ones. Of course, the German DVDs are subbed and dubbed, and a dub likely doesn't come cheap, but even then... Maybe it's just one of those "first world problems", but I can't help but feel that they're marking up the price, higher than necessary.

 

I did buy the German DVDs for K-ON! season 1, which was half the episode count and had the same per-volume price, but I really can't see myself getting the second season in German.

[punk7890]

Oh man. These facial expressions in Nisekoi are killer. Laugh out loud each time I see one. I'm quite liking the comical value this show has.