The Anime Thread

[Monoriu]

The Winter 2016 anime season just ended, and these are the shows that I plan to watch in the Spring season.



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

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.  This has all the markings of a big budget action anime series.  Impressive artwork in the previews.  Anime original, meaning it isn't adapted from a successful novel or manga.  The producers have more creative freedom but they have to take more financial risks.  From the director of Death Note and Attack on Titan, the script writer of Code Geass and Guilty Crown, the music composer of Attack on Titan and Guilty Crown.  As far as pedigrees go, this is hard to beat. 

Story takes place in the industrial revolution era.  Huge zombie-like creatures have appeared and attack humans.  Humanity survives in fortresses and trains serve as the link among settlements.  A bit like Attack on Titans with trains.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0L1YC9YgxM

My Hero Academia.  Based on a popular manga and is said to have a shot as the next successful shonen fight/action series.  In this world, a lot of people have quirks, or special powers.  Except our main hero.  He enrolls in the hero academy anyway.

[Monoriu]

These two are "if I have time".




Big Order.  The biggest selling point of this show is that it shares the source manga author as the one who made Future Diary, and the similarity shows.  It is basically the spiritual successor of Future Diary, a story that popularised the pink-haired, crazy obsessive, melee weapon-wielding, psychopath "girlfriend" who murders children, takes torture tools to see her future in-laws (just in case), leaves a mountain of bodies on her trail, and charges special police head on.  Big Order seems to copy the same character designs, except this time, the girl seeks revenge from the guy, not fall for him on first sight.   

The introverted male protagonist once wished destruction of the world, and it partially worked.  Since then, he has kept a low profile and avoided using his powers.  Until other people with magical powers also appear and they start going after him. 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc2JV9n741U

I'm Sakamoto.  Everything Sakamoto does is cool.  He attracts everybody's attention, he is a genius, all the girls fall for him, he is good at everything under the sun etc.  The boys hate him and they try to pull pranks on him, but every time Sakamoto responds with ease and grace.  Based on a best-selling manga. 

[Valmy]

So Sakamoto is that amazing guy who you want to hate but he is too damn nice.

[Monoriu]

So Sakamoto is that amazing guy who you want to hate but he is too damn nice.

I'm not sure as I have only read various synopsis.  But it does appear that he isn't the arrogant type.  Honestly the description doesn't interest me too much, but everybody says the manga has racked up huge sales, so the author must have done something right.  I also need something light and funny for psychological balance, as I watch too many dark, serious and tragic shows. 

[Monoriu]

The Town Where Only I am Missing / Erased.  When tragic events happen around the 29-year old male protagonist, he is often sent back in time to before the incident, and he has to look for clues to prevent it from taking place.  One day, he and his mother prevented a kidnapping case from happening.  This resulted in the kidnapper killing her, and framing him for the deed.  The next moment, he found himself sent back 18 years as a primary school student.  At that time, a number of kidnapping incidents haunted the town. 

This is a mystery thriller, and I haven't seen something this good in a while.  I was glued to the screen every time I watched this.  They got most things right in this gem.  There is always a goal hanging in front of the protagonist, but it is an uphill battle for him and he doesn't achieve it very often.  Although he retains his memories as an adult, he only has a small slice of the whole picture, and it is tough for him to sell his story to allies.  It is also very interesting that the story takes place in both the past and present.  It isn't as straightforward as "going back in time to fix things, beam back to the present in the final episode".  Even the title is very cleverly chosen.  The meaning of "the town where only I am missing" is explained very early in the story.  But the same phrase takes on a totally different meaning by the end of the tale. 

Clearly my favourite show of the season by a wide margin and I think it has a decent chance of being the best anime of 2016. 

[Lettow77]

Boku dake ga inai machi was alright, but the ending was too cheesy, the villain too telegraphed, and Airi never had a point for existing from start to finish, except for a highschool girl for the protagonist (and viewing audience) to lust over.

Anime of the Season goes to Shouwa genroku rakugo shinjuu.


For the next season, I'm expecting the most from Flying Witch and Kuma Miko. I hope for good results from Mayoiga and Phoenix Wright.

[Siege]

Ajin.
Best-shit-evah

Incredible. Revolutionary.

[Admiral Yi]

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

Word.

[Monoriu]

Full Metal Panic.  Sagara Sousuke is a 17-year old sergeant of Mithril, a secret anti-terror mercenary organisation armed with technology that are years ahead of the world governments.  His mission – to go undercover in a Japanese high school and protect one of the female students.  The problem is that, while Sousuke is a highly-skilled mecha pilot, he has zero social skills whatsoever, as he grew up as a child soldier in Afghanistan.  He sees everything in his military frame of mind.  His reaction to somebody putting a love letter in his school shoe-box is to blow it up. 

This is somewhat of a classic released in the early 00s.  The biggest selling point of this show is that it is a mecha show and at the same time a high school romantic comedy.  The focus shifts back and forth between the two genres and it does both jobs well.  The bodyguard chemistry of the main pair is a joy to watch.  He does what he can for her, and she appreciates his well-meaning if extreme actions.  It clearly drives the plot forward and the show avoids the harem trap.  Most of the humour makes fun of Sousuke's social ineptness.  Although after a while it is difficult to believe that he remains as socially stunted as he started, the jokes really cracked me up. 

It is reasonably good, although no where near the quality of true classics like Death Note.  It does require the audience to believe a lot of unbelievable things.  Like a 16 year old cutesy and girly submarine captain.  Or Sousuke repeatedly blowing up the school shoe boxes yet suffering no consequences.  But the jokes work, the mecha battles are intense, and the love story is heartwarming.

Show is divided into 3 seasons –
Full Metal Panic (24 episodes)
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu (12 episodes)
Full Metal Panic Second Raid (13 episodes plus an OVA)

The amazing thing is that, more than 10 years after the last season was aired, it has been announced that a "new production" is underway.  It remains to be seen if this is a sequel or a remake. 

[Josquius]

I've been watching Ajin.  Odd animation style. Pretty good story.

[Agelastus]

The amazing thing is that, more than 10 years after the last season was aired, it has been announced that a "new production" is underway.  It remains to be seen if this is a sequel or a remake.

I'd imagine that it'll be a continuation now that the Manga adaptation of the novels has finished as well. The source novel series is complete after all (and has a successor series with different characters in progress as well,) and the original series and the Second Raid series were done by two different studios anyway (so there's slight differences in character and style already across the anime part of the franchise.)

[Eddie Teach]

the love story is heartwarming.

[Monoriu]

the love story is heartwarming.

Have you watched it?   

[Eddie Teach]

No. It was a commentary on heartwarming love stories.

[Lettow77]

 About a third of the way into this season, Kuma Miko and Flying Witch have both been outstanding. It's a tossup which is the season's overall best show, but i'll give the nod to Flying Witch since it is the more relaxing and peaceful of the two. Kuma Miko suffers from yankee infiltration.

Mayoiga has been much better than anticipated, while Joker Game, Haifuri, and Anne-Happy have all been very disappointing. Sakamoto Desu ga? lives up to its hype and is a fine show.

Uchuu Patrol Luluco continues INFERNO COP's tradition of excellence.

This is a very strong season in general. I would've been happy with just Flying Witch.