The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

Princess Tutu.  Once upon a time a man died.  He was a writer of fairy-tales.  In his story, a prince battled a giant raven.  The battle was effectively a draw, until the prince shattered his own heart and sealed the raven away.  The heartless prince is now enrolled in a ballet school, protected by a knight.  The writer, unable to continue the story (surprisingly, not due to his apparent death), decided to bring in a duck.  He bestowed upon her a pendant that could transform her into Princess Tutu, with the power to gather the shards of the prince's heart. 

This is a classic broadcast in the early 2000s.  The "entry barrier" to this anime is quite high.  The title sounds like a children's show.  The art style is dated.  The premise makes it feel like a typical magical girl show.  The pacing is slow, and a lot of the early episodes feel like filler at first.  Everything is fluffy, pink, girly, the teacher is a cat that talks, etc.  The majority of the "battles" are resolved not by flashy moves or magical attacks, but by ballet dancing. 

Get past all that, and the show proves to be a dark, mature, and well-written deconstruction of the magical girl genre with a unique plot.  It is very well-researched, with beautiful classical music, a ballet and dancing theme at its core, and a story with lots of surprises.  The show successfully creates a fairytale atmosphere that will make Tchaikovsky proud.  At times, I feel like I am watching a theatre production in anime form.  What seem like filler episodes at first actually slowly but steadily build-up the broader narrative.  Fans of classical music, ballets and Tchaikovsky will love this one.   

[Monoriu]

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled.  This is a series of five one-hour mini movies, and is a spin-off of Code Geass, one of the most celebrated mecha shows ever released.  In the Code Geass universe, Britain never lost the 13 Colonies.  It went on to become Britannia, a social Darwinist autocratic feudal empire that uses mechas to conquer entire countries across continents.  Japan is a province of Britannia, and has been stripped of its name to become Area 11.  The original Code Geass story is about a rebellion to reclaim Japan, assisted by Geass, a form of super power (e.g. the ability to see several seconds into the future etc).  The Akito story takes place in Europe and features a new cast.  Exiled Japanese soldiers serve the European Union armies to battle the Britannian forces. 

The show is inevitably compared with the original Code Geass story.  Code Geass is such a masterpiece that it is almost a prohibitively high bar to reach.  Akito is good, but isn't as good as Code Geass.  The focus of the original story is on the plot twists and complex character relationships, while the mecha battles take a back seat.  Akito does the reverse.  It features extremely well-animated, exciting and flashy mecha battles.  The story, while decent, isn't its strongest point.  It is somewhat predictable, and some of the plot holes are difficult to miss.  When given the choice of whether to go along with "dramatic but on second thought ridiculous character decisions", the show unfailingly says yes. 

This is primarily for Code Geass fans who want more.  While the story is mostly self-contained, only those who have completed the original story will get the most out of it.  That's because a major selling point of Akito is the return of some of the main Code Geass characters.  As there is a definitive conclusion to Code Geass, Akito is probably the last chance to see them in action.  I can say that CC and Suzaku have speaking roles in the story, and leave it at that.   

[Savonarola]

Princess Tutu.  Once upon a time a man died.  He was a writer of fairy-tales.  In his story, a prince battled a giant raven.  The battle was effectively a draw, until the prince shattered his own heart and sealed the raven away.  The heartless prince is now enrolled in a ballet school, protected by a knight.  The writer, unable to continue the story (surprisingly, not due to his apparent death), decided to bring in a duck.  He bestowed upon her a pendant that could transform her into Princess Tutu, with the power to gather the shards of the prince's heart. 

This is a classic broadcast in the early 2000s.  The "entry barrier" to this anime is quite high.  The title sounds like a children's show.  The art style is dated.  The premise makes it feel like a typical magical girl show.  The pacing is slow, and a lot of the early episodes feel like filler at first.  Everything is fluffy, pink, girly, the teacher is a cat that talks, etc.  The majority of the "battles" are resolved not by flashy moves or magical attacks, but by ballet dancing. 

Get past all that, and the show proves to be a dark, mature, and well-written deconstruction of the magical girl genre with a unique plot.  It is very well-researched, with beautiful classical music, a ballet and dancing theme at its core, and a story with lots of surprises.  The show successfully creates a fairytale atmosphere that will make Tchaikovsky proud.  At times, I feel like I am watching a theatre production in anime form.  What seem like filler episodes at first actually slowly but steadily build-up the broader narrative.  Fans of classical music, ballets and Tchaikovsky will love this one.

I liked the writing in this one, the whole story within a story, I thought, was well done.

[Lettow77]

 Yeah, Princess Tutu is great stuff.

If I had mono's gumption i'd do a summary of the upcoming season. For now, Flying Witch and Kuma Miko are the two most assured to be worth watching. Haifuri and Phoenix Wright definitely merit a look as well.

Joker Game is the most likely to completely disappoint, but I'll at least give it a cursory glance.

[Siege]

Lettow, crawl back under your rock please.

[Siege]

This weekend I watched Halo Fall of Reach.
Is that considered anime?

And still going through Aldnoah Zero.
I like the medieval politics with Mecha technology.
SuperMecha, actually. They are far beyond Gundam, Voltus V, or Mazinger.

[Monoriu]

This weekend I watched Halo Fall of Reach.
Is that considered anime?

Anime is simply "cartoons produced in Japan".  So if it is not produced in Japan, it doesn't fall under the definition.  Quick search indicates that it is not. 

[Lettow77]

Lettow, crawl back under your rock please.

The Anime Thread is exactly the sort of rock under which I scuttle and scurry.

[viper37]

And still going through Aldnoah Zero.
I like the medieval politics with Mecha technology.
SuperMecha, actually. They are far beyond Gundam, Voltus V, or Mazinger.

it looks interesting.  Has this been dubbed in English?

[Monoriu]

And still going through Aldnoah Zero.
I like the medieval politics with Mecha technology.
SuperMecha, actually. They are far beyond Gundam, Voltus V, or Mazinger.

it looks interesting.  Has this been dubbed in English?

I think so.  At least I saw there is an English voice acting cast. 

[Malthus]

I still think you guys would enjoy Gravity Falls.

It's western animation, not anime, but they do make fun of anime tropes a lot. Particularly in one episode, where a character interacts with a Japanese schoolgirl dating simulator (that later achieve sentience and goes crazy). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xliSzFTUbtA

"anthyding can hadplen" 

Edit: also note the reference to "Squids"! Ewww Disney. 

[Monoriu]

I still think you guys would enjoy Gravity Falls.

It's western animation, not anime, but they do make fun of anime tropes a lot. Particularly in one episode, where a character interacts with a Japanese schoolgirl dating simulator (that later achieve sentience and goes crazy). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xliSzFTUbtA

"anthyding can hadplen" 

Edit: also note the reference to "Squids"! Ewww Disney. 

Well, to be fair to anime, there are also lots of anime that point out the silliness of anime   Puella Magi Madoka Magica shows why being a magical girl may not be all that great.  Fate Zero is about deconstructing the entire honour before reason, idealistic and righteous king concept.  Revolutionary Girl Utena shows a very twisted version of the fairy tale prince and princesses.  Neon Genesis Evangelion gives a bit of a reality check of what will likely happen to teenage pilots with psychological issues if and when they pilot huge mechas.  Even some of the One Piece arcs (Impel Down and Marineford) deconstruct itself by showing that willpower alone doesn't cut it any more.  School Days points out why harems don't happen in real life. 

[Siege]

And still going through Aldnoah Zero.
I like the medieval politics with Mecha technology.
SuperMecha, actually. They are far beyond Gundam, Voltus V, or Mazinger.

it looks interesting.  Has this been dubbed in English?

There are two seasons available on Netflix.

[viper37]

allright, I'll look for it, thanks

[Monoriu]

Your Lie in April.  (Japanese school years start in April.)  Kousei Arima is a former child piano prodigy.  He used to win every piano competition, until his mother died and he, for psychological reasons, could no longer hear the sound of his own piano playing.  He had given up on piano playing until he met Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited female violinist.  Kaori has announced her love for Watari, one of Kousei's closest friends.   At the same time, the girl who is in love with Kousei's best friend is doing everything she can to get him to play the piano again. 

This isn't the first attempt to do a love story in a classical music competition environment.  Nodame Cantabile is the other noteworthy example.  But whereas Nodame Cantabile is known for its goofiness, sense of humour and quirky characters, Your Lie in April is a tearjerker.  It starts off as an apparent romantic comedy, but enough hints are dropped on the audience early on that it is one huge tragedy in waiting.  It also explores difficult issues like child abuse, post-traumatic stress, the price one pays for being a child prodigy, and chronic illness.  If you are looking for a light and relaxed show, look elsewhere. 

It does a splendid job.  One of those stories that is memorable and makes the audience think.  The narrative is compelling and the characters are fleshed out to the point that I care about them and find the show difficult to watch at times.  The show is also aurally and visually a joy to watch.  There is also a definitive conclusion, one that is cleverly presented and makes the audience rethink the perspective of the entire story.