The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

She looks like Azusa Nakano from K-On.



(second girl from right hand side)

[Agelastus]

Not really worth your time, imho.

Seconded. I'd given up the Manga after 6 or 8 chapters or so considering it as one of the biggest wastes of space I'd ever seen or read so I had no intention of watching the anime.

I do, however, frequent a couple of blogs where it seems to be getting rave reviews though. There really is no accounting for people's tastes.

[Monoriu]

Not really worth your time, imho.

Seconded. I'd given up the Manga after 6 or 8 chapters or so considering it as one of the biggest wastes of space I'd ever seen or read so I had no intention of watching the anime.

I do, however, frequent a couple of blogs where it seems to be getting rave reviews though. There really is no accounting for people's tastes.

No comment on the manga, as I am anime-only.  I've read that the manga is ongoing, but the anime has been concluded with an anime-original ending that wrapped up everything.  The anime is 6/10 at most. 

[Monoriu]

As a fan of the Haruhi Suzumiya series, I have long given up on getting any new anime on this international blockbuster.  I've read that one of the biggest problems is that the writer of the source novels has not been able to produce any new material for years, so there is little incentive to make more anime. 

I am extremely happy to note that a new spinoff series, the Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan, is in the pipeline.  ETA: April 2015.  Yes, the entire original Japanese voice cast will return. 

[CountDeMoney]

Report: 58% Of World's Japanese Speakers White 23-Year-Old American Males

WASHINGTON—Following a comprehensive two-year linguistic survey, a report published Wednesday in the academic journal Language revealed that 58 percent of Japanese speakers worldwide are 23-year-old white men from the United States. "Our findings indicate that a majority of individuals who can fluently speak and comprehend Japanese are actually Caucasian post-collegiate American males, many of whom order in Japanese at sushi restaurants and were one of the few white members of their universities' Japanese clubs," read the report in part, which noted that American-born 23-year-old men who taught English for a year in Kobe or Sapporo after graduation currently outnumber all other speakers of the Japanese language, including the entire population of the East Asian island nation and its millions of emigrants living throughout the world. "Though the Japanese dialect was spoken almost exclusively by individuals of Japanese origin until the mid-18th century, it is now largely a vernacular utilized by young white men who decorate their apartments with traditional Japanese prints and are devoted fans of manga artist Hayao Miyazaki. In fact, if present trends continue, we predict that within several decades the Japanese language will be spoken almost exclusively by fair-skinned twentysomething U.S. citizens who regularly purchase packaged seaweed snacks from small Asian markets and watch Akira Kurosawa films several times per month." The report further confirmed that virtually 100 percent of this demographic is either currently dating or recently broke up with a woman named Miku.[/b]

[Monoriu]

There are like 100 million Japanese in Japan alone.  So there are more than 100 million 23 year old Caucasian post-collegiate American males 

[Siege]

Learning languages is stupid.
In 20 years we will be able to speak any language in thw world using Google's neural translator.

[Josquius]

Learning languages is stupid.
In 20 years we will be able to speak any language in thw world using Google's neural translator.

That was my attitude during French class at school.
It was wrong.

[Monoriu]

Psycho Pass Season 2, just finished airing in Japan last week.  In the future, Japanese society is ruled by the Sibyl system, which assigns a psycho pass rating to each person based on things like stress levels and tendency to commit crimes.  People with high ratings are dealt with by police before they cross the line, and the show focuses on a police team.  Or Minority Report the anime. 

Season 2 features Akane Tsunemori as the undisputed protagonist, and there is a new antagonist who cannot be detected by the system at all.  For those who have watched season 1, no, Kogami does not return.  Gen Urobuchi is no longer the script writer, but he still has some high level involvement.  It is a tough act to follow, as season 1 did not leave too much material for a follow-up besides the fact that Akane got a new inspector partner.  The show still follows the spirit of season 1 in having violent plot twists and gory shots, and asking questions about the basic nature of the Sibyl system.  It is still enjoyable in its own right, but I can't help but feel the quality if a notch down from season 1.  The script is not as tight, with too many "how did she figure that out?" and "WTF" moments.  The show is supposed to be dark and gory, but I sometimes wonder if some of the most graphic scenes are there to make a valid point for story progression, or if they serve no purpose other than shock value. 

It is still better than most shows out there, but it doesn't live up to the extremely high standards set by its predecessor. 

A movie version is coming up next year. 

[CountDeMoney]

In the future, Japanese society is ruled by the Sibyl system, which assigns a psycho pass rating to each person based on things like stress levels and tendency to commit crimes.

Ha.

[Monoriu]

Sword Art Online Season 2.  The sequel to the anime with a trapped-in-a-game premise.  Kirito, the hero of season 1, returns to investigate incidents where real people are killed from shots fired in a virtual reality game.  Like season 1, this season is divided into distinctive arcs.  The first major arc is on Kirito and new heroine sniper Shino (yes, it is a new online game with guns, in an anime titled sword art online).  The second major arc features season 1 heroine Asuna as the protagonist. 

This is a love-it-or-hate-it anime, and I belong to the love-it crowd.  I consider Sword Art Online to be the best anime with a virtual reality setting.  I love the tear-jerking moments, the emotional impact, the focus on a few major and well-developed characters, and the music.  Haters may point to Kirito gathering a large supporting harem at every opportunity, the inconsistent quality among the different arcs, and the presence of supposedly superior shows with a similar premise (Log Horizon for example).  The show is not without its flaws and I won't call it an all-time classic, but it is good enough to be one of the best 5 shows I have watched in 2014.  If you want a huge cast, a focus on the multi-player party tactics and game world mechanics, a lighter and softer tone, Log Horizon is the way to go.  But if you don't mind nightmares after seeing an anime, want to cry your heart out, or want to see loners pulling off heroic antics, Sword Art Online is better. 

Since the BDs and figures of the show are selling like crazy, and there are plenty of novels yet to be adapted, I fully expect season 3 to be ready within 2-3 years 

[Monoriu]

Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace.  Movie of the light space pirate anime.  In the future, some space ships are issued legal letters of marque to engage in space piracy, and these can only be passed on to direct descendents.  That's how a highschool girl became a space pirate ship captain.  Space piracy in this world involves no violence, as they are really entertainment shows pre-arranged among the space pirates, the shipping and insurance companies.  Passangers welcome them as adventures.

This isn't a sequel to the anime, but more like a side-story comprising anime-original material.  The story is about the protagonist space pirates helping out a boy who is being chased by the bad guys.  The boy is the son of a hyperspace travel authority who disappeared years ago. 

To be honest, the movie is so-so.  The show makes sure that almost every recurring character from the TV anime makes a reappearance and has at least one line.  The space pirate crew, the highschool space yacht club, the maid cafe co-workers (yes, our space pirate captain is extremely busy), the lesbian couple who eloped, the princesses of another planet, other space pirates, the kickass mother, they're all there and that's the best part of the movie.  Otherwise, the story is forgettable and unoriginal, the fights don't serve any purpose other than showing off the fireworks, and the animation is not the best given that this is a movie.  If you like the original TV anime, the movie is the only thing left to see.  If you haven't seen the TV version, this is a poor place to start. 

[Tonitrus]

I always wonder why Anime goes crazy with the title translations.  Is "bodacious" really the proper translation in that case? 

And if it is, just more proof that the Japanese anime creators are weird. 

[Monoriu]

I always wonder why Anime goes crazy with the title translations.  Is "bodacious" really the proper translation in that case? 

And if it is, just more proof that the Japanese anime creators are weird. 

This is a point that is frequently made.

The title of the source novel is "Miniskirt space pirates".  The anime producers changed it to "Moretsu space pirates".  If I input the original Japanese characters "moretsu" into google translate, the result is indeed "bodacious" in English.  "Moretsu" translated into Chinese is "popular around the world", but the formal Chinese title of the show is "Violent space pirates".  I think the intent of the anime creators is to avoid giving the impression that the show is yet another fanservice and harem show, so they have to drop the "miniskirt" name and find something else.  Indeed the show is quite fanservice free by anime standards.  The girls do wear miniskirts but that's it.  No boobs and no panties.  The anime producers want to make it sound like the protagonists are energetic and able to get through the universe, but the translations in both English and Chinese are screwed up. 

[jimmy olsen]

Bodacious Space Pirates: Abyss of Hyperspace.  Movie of the light space pirate anime.  In the future, some space ships are issued legal letters of marque to engage in space piracy, and these can only be passed on to direct descendents. 

Then she's not a pirate, she's a privateer!