The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

Akame ga Kill (literally, Akame slashes).  An upcoming Summer 2014 anime show.  Not sure what the show is about but there seems considerable interest in it.  If I understand correctly, there is a corrupt medieval fantasy empire.  The protagonists form a resistance group that fights the ruling class.  The empire forms special military units to fight back.  The whole thing looks serious and dark enough for me.  It also looks like a big budget production, with an impressive voice acting cast. 




Aldnoah Zero.  Yet another upcoming Summer 2014 anime show that is due to start this week (or next, not really sure).  Once again, the entire reason to watch this show is based on one person's involvement, Gen "Urobutcher" Urobuchi, of Fate/Zero and Puella Magi Madoka Magica fame.  He isn't even scriptwriter, just a "concept writer".  But he has reached demi-godhood within the anime industry that the mere mention of his name will attract viewers.  An anime original (i.e. not based on any manga, game or novel) mecha show.  Therefore not much is known about it, other than Mars is involved.  The director is the same one who produced the Fate/Zero show.  Yuki Kajiura, Fate Zero and Madoka Magica's music composer, will supply the first opening song. 

[Monoriu]

Black Bullet.  Attack on Titan meets battle lolis.  In the future, monsters called gastreas have taken over the countryside, and humans are confined to live in major cities behind walls.  Gastreas can infect humans and turn them into their own kind.  If a pregnant woman is infected, the child will become one of the cursed children.  These children are always female, have super combat and regenerative abilities just like the gastrea, but their bodies will slowly be corrupted into gastreas over time.  To take advantage of their combat abilities, some cursed children are paired with adults to form "civil security" pairs that augment the military to fight the gastreas. 

I consider this the second best show of the Spring 2014 season that I have watched after No Game No Life.  But it is still a somewhat mixed bag.  The good:

- very interesting setting, with a serious and dark tone.  An Attack on Titan wannabe that is quite enjoyable.   

- although there are many cute lolis introduced, the fanservice is kept to a minimum and the lolis aren't sexualised.

- good battle and action scenes.  Decent production quality.  All-star voice cast. 
 
- explores some deep questions like the plight of minorities, and discrimination.  The lolis are put in utterly pitiable circumstances.  They inevitably die young in their early teens.  Although they help fight the gastrea threat, the people that they help protect fear and hate them, because sooner or later they will turn into monsters themselves. 

- one of the best and most memorable joker type villains in recent memory.

The bad:

- the execution isn't the best.  The cute lolis die left and right and there are supposed to be a lot of emotional scenes.  But there are too many lolis introduced and there is not enough time for the audience to invest in them emotionally.  The author seems to have a habit of killing off a loli soon after introducing her.  So the death scenes don't have as much impact as there should be. 

- the pacing is problematic.  Sometimes things happen too fast with too little explanation.  Big bosses that are described as almost invincible are killed off in one punch mid-episode as anti-climaxes.  Perhaps it would have been much better if this is a 26-episode series rather than a 13 episode one. 

[Monoriu]

Riddle Story of Devil.  In this special female-only class of 13 students, there are 12 assassins who all target the remaining student, Haru.  One of the assassins, Tokaku, switched sides to become Haru's protector.  There are specific rules governing the assassinations and there is a "game master" to enforce them.  Each assassin only has one chance, and she must inform Haru in writing before the attempt.  Afterwards, the assassin has 48 hours to carry out the killing.  If she fails to kill Haru within the timeframe, it is considered a failure.  If she succeeds, she can have any wish granted. 

The anime is episodic in nature.  There are 11 assassins targetting the main pair and 12 episodes, and each episode largely focuses on one or two of the assassins.  They all have different personalities, skills and colourful backstories.  Each of them even has her own image song performed by their respective voice actresses that is shown at the end of the relevant episode. 

Unfortunately, the good things about the anime end there.  There is too much emphasis on the supporting cast, and the main pair ending up out of focus.  While the premise is intriguing, the show fails to suspend disbelief.  Haru, who knows full well that she is the target and has survived countless other killing attempts earlier in her life, is determined to make friends with everybody from the beginning.  Tokaku, supposedly the strongest assassin, falls for the simplest and most blatent lies, has trouble killing (!), and often  struggles in her fights.  The 11 elite assassins seem to be more interested in playing games with the main pair than actually killing them.  The reason for the entire set up is revealed toward the end of the show, but it is underwhelming and unconvincing to say the least. 

The ending, simply put, is ridiculous.  Without going into spoiler territory, I can only say that the ending is such that everything that happened before is undone.  The relationship between the main pair is finally given focus in the very last episode, but it is handled in a manner that is totally self-contradictory.  Upon seeing what Tokaku does in the end, my reaction is "WTF".  The general production quality is average at best.  The title of the show is "Riddle Story of Devil".  That's because Tokaku's mentor gives her a riddle every episode.  An example of the riddles is "the world is filled with xxx", where Tokaku is supposed to "fill in the blanks".  These aren't really riddles, and in the end the riddles and Tokaku's mentor do nothing in the plot, despite appearing every episode.  If you title your show with something that is meaningless in the plot, I am not sure what to call it. 

[Neil]

There's a Kantai Collection anime coming out.  I would watch that, for obvious reasons.

[Monoriu]

There's a Kantai Collection anime coming out.  I would watch that, for obvious reasons.

Yeah I am going to watch that one too just to see what the hype is all about.  No word on the release date yet.  There were rumours that it is going to be Summer 2014 (July), but obviously it isn't in the Summer line-up.  So the earliest date will be Autumn 2014 (October).  I think 2015 is probably more likely. 

[Monoriu]

Fate Kaleid Liner 2, to be aired in Summer 2014.  Second season of the magical girl spinoff of the popular Fate series.  Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay night are incredibly popular fantasy action shows.  Kaleid Liner focuses on one of the side characters of the story, makes her a magical girl, and gives it a much lighter treatment.  The story happens in an alternate reality and the plot has no direct linkage with Zero or Stay Night.  Only the characters and setting are used.

Season 1 is no masterpiece, but it accomplished what it set out to do - a straight magical girl show using the Fate characters that provided some light entertainment. 



Nobunaga's Concerto (Summer 2014, not yet aired).  Yet another going back in time to the Sengoku era show, just like the successful Oda Nobuna's Ambition anime.  Whereas Nobuna features gender flipped sengoku generals, Nobunaga's Concerto does not.  The premise is that a guy time travels, and finds out that the real Nobunaga is very ill and frail.  Armed with historical knowledge, the protagonist "becomes" Nobunaga (no idea if he killed the real one, impersonated him, or the two worked together). 

[jimmy olsen]

  Attack on Titan meets battle lolis.  In the future, monsters called gastreas have taken over the countryside, and humans are confined to live in major cities behind walls.  Gastreas can infect humans and turn them into their own kind.  If a pregnant woman is infected, the child will become one of the cursed children.  These children are always female, have super combat and regenerative abilities just like the gastrea, but their bodies will slowly be corrupted into gastreas over time.  To take advantage of their combat abilities, some cursed children are paired with adults to form "civil security" pairs that augment the military to fight the gastreas. 

Didn't someone in this thread complain about this trope being so common in anime, and you said it wasn't that common.

[Monoriu]

  Attack on Titan meets battle lolis.  In the future, monsters called gastreas have taken over the countryside, and humans are confined to live in major cities behind walls.  Gastreas can infect humans and turn them into their own kind.  If a pregnant woman is infected, the child will become one of the cursed children.  These children are always female, have super combat and regenerative abilities just like the gastrea, but their bodies will slowly be corrupted into gastreas over time.  To take advantage of their combat abilities, some cursed children are paired with adults to form "civil security" pairs that augment the military to fight the gastreas. 

Didn't someone in this thread complain about this trope being so common in anime, and you said it wasn't that common.

I did say -

Black Bullet (being aired right now) has the same premise.  City under siege and the countryside is full of monsters. 

in my reply to MiM a few pages ago

[jimmy olsen]

Studio Ghibli's next movie

A androgynous young girl makes friends with a ghost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCAjMGl1mJg

[Monoriu]

Studio Ghibli's next movie

A androgynous young girl makes friends with a ghost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZcpGIVbPYrI

Copied the wrong link? 

[jimmy olsen]

Studio Ghibli's next movie

A androgynous young girl makes friends with a ghost
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZcpGIVbPYrI

Copied the wrong link? 

Whoops, yes   

Here we go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCAjMGl1mJg

[Monoriu]

Here we go

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCAjMGl1mJg

Nice song; excellent animation

[Monoriu]

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.  This is a super-power robot show (as opposed to the relatively realistic gundam shows), and Gurren Lagann is the name of the title mecha.  Tengen Toppa means "pierces the heavens and dimensions".  In an alternate earth, humans live in subterranean caves, and the surface is considered a myth.  The protagonists are determined the drill toward the surface.  Although they are successful in the first episode, they soon find that the surface is occupied by beastmen who pilot huge mechas.  Thus begins a war between men and beastmen. 

This is one of the best shows that I've seen, and makes me rethink my top 10 anime.  If you are looking for a deconstruction or a serious, dark and realistic show, you are looking at the wrong place.  This is the other end of the extreme - passionate, idealistic, hotblooded, flamboyant, and crazy awesome.  Everything about the show is in-your-face and exaggerated.  This is a show that proudly and repeatedly states that heroic resolve and overblown bravado can summon weapons out of thin air and fix a badly damaged mecha in less than a second.  The crazier the plan is, the more likely it will succeed.  What do so when your two mechas are no match for the enemy's single one?  Have one mecha drill into the other one, almost impaling the pilot in the process, and call it a good old "combination".  Somehow the combined mecha grow new parts and now have several times the power of the original pair.  There is a mecha the size of a planet, a giant battleship with legs, instantaneous travel to another galaxy, the ability to give extended speeches without lungs, etc.  Forget the laws of physics.  Just watch.

And it is great fun.  I don't mean ordinary good.  This is crazy good.  Sure, every episode is filled with all sorts of awesomeness.  But it isn't just that.  People do die and such deaths have consequences.  The unpredictable plot advances quickly and there are significant developments along the way.  Allegiances change, betrayals happen, new enemies emerge, mysteries are slowly revealed.  The characters, animation, and style are crazy; the plot is well-thought out and carefully executed. 

I think my new top 10 is now:

Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Attack on Titan
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood
Angel Beats
Fate Zero
Code Geass
Clannad
Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Neon Genesis Evangelion

[Monoriu]

First impressions on the Summer 2014 shows.

Sailor Moon Crystal.  It is a remake of the classic, starting from the very beginning.  I think the character designs are much closer to the source manga this time.  It is also easy to tell that they have a much bigger budget.  Story-wise, the first episode is meh.  Kudos to Kotono Mitsuishi who reprises her role as Sailor Moon more than 20 years afterwards, and still does a great job.

Aldnoah Zero.  Probably one of the most intense episode 1s that I have seen.  Gen Urobuchi seems to have taken the criticisms about the slow start of Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Fate Zero on board, and now writes very captivating starts for his new shows (this and Gargantia).  The visuals are very nice.  The show looks very promising. 

Akame ga Kill.  I didn't expect it to be so gory, cruel and sick.  Lots of mood whiplash where they change back and forth between humour and bloody mess.  Looks good so far.

Sword Art Online Season 2.  First episode sets everything up, and provides some background for new viewers.  Looks like the death game is back.  It is now possible to shoot at a virtual character in an online game, and somehow kill the real player behind.  I hope this means a return to form after a less than successful second arc of the first season.

[Monoriu]

Gundam UC Unicorn.  This is an OVA (direct to Blu-ray), not a TV series, with seven mini-movies that are about an hour apiece.  The general rule of thumb is, the animation quality of OVA series is generally slightly better than TV episodes, because you (are supposed to) pay good money for it. 

Scratch the "slightly" part.  This is one of the most gloriously animated anime shows that I have watched.  Seven hours of eye candy and scenary porn.  Crazy amount of details, smooth frames, multiple angles, richly designed machines and ships.  In terms of animation, this is the best that the Japanese anime industry offers.  If you like mecha battles, this is it.  There is a reason why the 7th movie is the second best-selling blu-ray disc in the first half of 2014 (just behind the Madoka Magica Rebellion Story juggernaut). 

The story is basically the Da Vinci Code in space.  Multiple sides are looking for the mysterious Laplace's Box which, if opened, would shake the foundations of the Earth Federation.  The protagonist with his Unicorn gundam is the key to unlocking the box, and he must fight and negotiate with all the usual suspects - the remnants of Zeon with someone who may or may not be Char at its head, the Earth Federation, Londo Bell under Noa Bright, and Anaheim Electronics.

Set in the most popular and well-known gundam Universal Century (UC) timeline, this is the sequel to Char's Counterattack that takes place three years after the movie.  That means, a lot of the popular characters from the original 70s gundam are included in this show, and happily, most of the original seiyuus return.  There is even a sequence showing the most iconic scenes in the original show - remade with 2010s technology and budget.  Imagine this: Big Zam in the Battle of Soloman redone properly.  I watched that sequence 10 times and it still made me drool.  A possible downside is that the viewer needs decent background knowledge of the UC timeline to get the most out of this show, like who the Zeons and Federation are, the One year war, Newtypes, and even some characters from ZZ.  Gundam veterans will find a goldmine with innumerable references to the earlier shows and quite a few cameos. 

Another thing I really like about this show is that, for once, nameless pilots do relatively well.  They put up a decent fight against the named pilots, and have a material effect on the battles.  I am tired of shows where numbers are meaningless and the only people who get any shots on target are the protagonists and the bad guys.  Even battles between nameless pilots on different sides are fun to watch.