[Maark Abbott]

Dolmen 2.0, on 13 September 2017 - 09:10 AM, said:

I stumbled onto a new anime last night called bride of the ancient magus.

Has anyone seen this? It's good, artwork and animation is brilliant but the story caught my attention the most. Nothing is told. You fill it all in and it's subtle in a very dark heavy way...

I'm liking it a lot. Sort of a princess mononoke meets howls moving castle vibe.

Mate. Maaaaaate. The Ancient Magus' Bride is legit. The three episodes up just now are an OVA that set up Chise's story. The actual series starts very soon indeed, is 24 episodes in length or so I recall, and is very high on my priority list to watch. General summary is ST'd below, nothing major but if you want to go in totally blind, don't clicky.

Spoiler

The main story is how Elias is trying to prevent Chise from dying young as her magic requires her to sacrifice her life essence to cast, hence why she's engaged to him.

To say it's my most anticipated anime of the next season is an understatement: it's the only next season anime I even know anything about!

[Dolmen 2.0]

Maark Abbott, on 13 September 2017 - 12:53 PM, said:

Dolmen 2.0, on 13 September 2017 - 09:10 AM, said:

I stumbled onto a new anime last night called bride of the ancient magus.

Has anyone seen this? It's good, artwork and animation is brilliant but the story caught my attention the most. Nothing is told. You fill it all in and it's subtle in a very dark heavy way...

I'm liking it a lot. Sort of a princess mononoke meets howls moving castle vibe.

Mate. Maaaaaate. The Ancient Magus' Bride is legit. The three episodes up just now are an OVA that set up Chise's story. The actual series starts very soon indeed, is 24 episodes in length or so I recall, and is very high on my priority list to watch. General summary is ST'd below, nothing major but if you want to go in totally blind, don't clicky.

Spoiler

The main story is how Elias is trying to prevent Chise from dying young as her magic requires her to sacrifice her life essence to cast, hence why she's engaged to him.

To say it's my most anticipated anime of the next season is an understatement: it's the only next season anime I even know anything about!

I genuinely enjoyed the 3 Episodes.

Beautiful stuff. Cant wait to see the main show.

[Maark Abbott]

Midweek:

SQ: I thought this was the last episode but apparently not! More goodness to come. It would have been an open, bittersweet but hopeful conclusion otherwise.

HnG: Ahahahahaha. Hahahahaha. Haaaah. Who would have thought that THIS would turn out to be the purest love story ever? And that the whole story is essentially Junichi learning to respect women, and that the entire series carries that message? His defense of his lady against the thugs chatting shit was great. Very good show, well wrapped up.

TDC: I'm hoping the last ep gives us more Chiaki x Kana, it's the main draw of the show. Decent episode this week. Lots of setup.

Smartphone: it was a fanservice EP with a lot of... Jiggles. A bit disappointed tbh. When it's not doing that it's pretty good.

I've also picked up Saekano.

[Traveller]

Finished Tokyo Ghoul.

I think the criticism of S2 comes from comparison with the manga - which I can't do. My only gripe at the beginning with Konekes decision, actually had a decent explanation. The quality on a couple of eps was sub par.. but it picked up towards the end.

Overall, I really thoroughly enjoyed it. They really did a great job of having two opposing sides that had likeable characters to root for, making the fights between them a grey area as you don't want either to lose. It was a bit odd to completely lose all focus on the ghouls nature and man eating in the second season when it made up the bulk of S1.

It left on several cliffhangers, which I'm ok with. I dont think S3 is likely after the reception of S2 and apparently a live action movie, which is a shame but doesn t detract from two solid seasons.

Cowboy Bebop next!

[LinearPhilosopher]

Traveller, on 14 September 2017 - 08:21 AM, said:

Finished Tokyo Ghoul.

I think the criticism of S2 comes from comparison with the manga - which I can't do. My only gripe at the beginning with Konekes decision, actually had a decent explanation. The quality on a couple of eps was sub par.. but it picked up towards the end.

Overall, I really thoroughly enjoyed it. They really did a great job of having two opposing sides that had likeable characters to root for, making the fights between them a grey area as you don't want either to lose. It was a bit odd to completely lose all focus on the ghouls nature and man eating in the second season when it made up the bulk of S1.

It left on several cliffhangers, which I'm ok with. I dont think S3 is likely after the reception of S2 and apparently a live action movie, which is a shame but doesn t detract from two solid seasons.

Cowboy Bebop next!

see you space cowboy

oh and you're gonna carry that weight

[Maark Abbott]

Cowboy Bebop is legendary and beloved with very good reason. It's fantastic. For how old it is, it holds up incredibly well, the story is great... Hell, just watch it. Now. Go home from work sick and binge the season.

[Traveller]

Watched first two... great stuff, with some genuinely funny bits. My first thought was 'Firefly!' followed by a sudden desire to see Iain Banks culture novels in anime form.

I also really like the way they make each episode like a mini movie.

[Silencer]

Traveller, on 15 September 2017 - 07:54 AM, said:

Watched first two... great stuff, with some genuinely funny bits. My first thought was 'Firefly!' followed by a sudden desire to see Iain Banks culture novels in anime form.

I also really like the way they make each episode like a mini movie.

The funny thing about really good anime is how they have a tendency to make you want to see other cool things you like made into anime. XD

[LinearPhilosopher]

Just finished Re:Creators.

That ending was just spot on.

Re creators gets my vote for best show of the year (since MHA started in 2016)

Its deliver on pretty much every aspect I like in a show

Good characters
Good Character dvpment
Solid character interactions
Good action sequences and fights
Good music.
Occasional thought provoking moment
and of course a light touch of the feels.

Finding gems like these keeps my faith in the medium

[Traveller]

Cowboy Bebop is awesome on so many levels.

Looking forward to tonights already!

This post has been edited by Traveller: 19 September 2017 - 06:46 AM

[Maark Abbott]

Mini roundup:

PP11:

Spoiler

Yikes, this whole 'assassinate Princess' thing is picking up steam awfully quickly. I foresee two outcomes: a) Charlotte sacrifices herself so that Ange can reveal that she's actually the Princess, or Ange reveals the same and dies so that Charlotte can live on as the Princess. I'm struggling to see the happy ending in this one now.

Aho-Girl: This ended more thoughtfully than I'd anticipated, with the last episode basically detailing how Akutsu and Yoshiko met. It was still bloody funny, but nowhere near as frenetic as the penultimate one.

Tsuredure: Awww, this was cute. Best ship was always going to be made seaworthy again, but the handling of it was really nice. The ten minute episode runtimes helped this one out quite a bit, I think.

KHAM: I suppose it wouldn't be a coming of age other-world story if the hero didn't fail once every so often. But the next episode is looking good, two mad scientists actually and actively fighting each other with plagiarisms of the other's methodology.

CW: Having read how the underlying subtext about the human condition this one portrays is causing controversy, this week's episode seemed focused around the concept of self-worth and valuing the individual. I'm impressed at how this is done, truth be told.

Smartphone: I'm disappointed and can't reasonably bail now because I'm at the very end of the season so I may as well finish it, but it went from an acceptable but generic issekai with harem tendencies to a full harem let's all marry the hero setup and I don't dig that.

Saekano continues to be entertaining when I'm not doing seasonal runs. I can't remember if SQ is 25 or 26 episodes but we're so near the end that it makes me a bit sad.

[D'rek]

I've been busy and/or travelling so not a lot of watching or posting from me, but I did just catch the last two episodes of PrinPrin. Holy hell, what a rollercoaster and I do not want to get off. I really like how the whole situation has very abruptly changed - I was feeling like the girls were all liking each other too much for there to be a satisfying clash between them, so this is a much better alternative climax. Next episode is going to be BANANAS.

Spoiler

Princess walking into the room all confident like Ange was awesome, but she's not a trained spy... is Zelda et al really going to believe she's just Ange acting? I guess if they never think to "test" she can pass as Ange-acting-as-Princess the whole time... but I am skeptical.

No way Ange is out of the game. She'll find a way off the airship. Actually, what is even the plot of the next episode going to be? The girls are split up but no one is currently in danger. Either Zelda's going to figure out it's Princess pretending, or they're going to send a hit squad into the airship after Ange, and the rest are going to have to come to the rescue.

Dorothy can't be dead. I won't believe it. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Maark Abbott, on 15 September 2017 - 07:42 AM, said:

Cowboy Bebop is legendary and beloved with very good reason. It's fantastic. For how old it is, it holds up incredibly well, the story is great... Hell, just watch it. Now. Go home from work sick and binge the season.

^^^this!!!

Also, Traveller, you're watching the English Dub right? RIGHT??!!



@LP & Re:Creators - I'm still planning to get to this before the end of the year! I promise!!!

[Traveller]

Yep English dub. They're showing one ep each evening so i can't binge watch, but this is a good thing as I've got something to look forward to each day. Loved the Convoy ref in last nights. And the zero gravity cat...!

[Maark Abbott]

D, on 20 September 2017 - 09:50 AM, said:

I've been busy and/or travelling so not a lot of watching or posting from me, but I did just catch the last two episodes of PrinPrin. Holy hell, what a rollercoaster and I do not want to get off. I really like how the whole situation has very abruptly changed - I was feeling like the girls were all liking each other too much for there to be a satisfying clash between them, so this is a much better alternative climax. Next episode is going to be BANANAS.

Spoiler

Princess walking into the room all confident like Ange was awesome, but she's not a trained spy... is Zelda et al really going to believe she's just Ange acting? I guess if they never think to "test" she can pass as Ange-acting-as-Princess the whole time... but I am skeptical.

No way Ange is out of the game. She'll find a way off the airship. Actually, what is even the plot of the next episode going to be? The girls are split up but no one is currently in danger. Either Zelda's going to figure out it's Princess pretending, or they're going to send a hit squad into the airship after Ange, and the rest are going to have to come to the rescue.

Dorothy can't be dead. I won't believe it. No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

Maark Abbott, on 15 September 2017 - 07:42 AM, said:

Cowboy Bebop is legendary and beloved with very good reason. It's fantastic. For how old it is, it holds up incredibly well, the story is great... Hell, just watch it. Now. Go home from work sick and binge the season.

^^^this!!!

Also, Traveller, you're watching the English Dub right? RIGHT??!!



@LP & Re:Creators - I'm still planning to get to this before the end of the year! I promise!!!

Spoiler

Yeah, my impression was that Dorothy got whacked, but we'll see. That, or she's the double criss cross in the whole thing.

SQ Finale:

Spoiler

The gratuitous English was terrible in this. Still, a very satisfying conclusion, though I did sort of expect Yoshino to stay in Manoyama. There was a lot of character growth over the year that the series covers, and I will seriously and genuinely miss this one. It resonated with me on a lot of personal levels.

[D'rek]

Well, that's Princess Principal finit. Last episode had a suitably big bang action finish, yay! Though some parts of the ending maybe weren't as climactic as they could/should have been... have to wonder if it's just not the best ending, or are they planning a season 2?

Meanwhile, though, I also caught Sakura Quest's finale and wow! That was a truly excellent ending. Great resolution of all the characters' choices, great sense of finality but also continuation, and definitely emotionally touching. Loved it!

Maark Abbott, on 21 September 2017 - 07:47 AM, said:

SQ Finale

Spoiler

The gratuitous English was terrible in this. Still, a very satisfying conclusion, though I did sort of expect Yoshino to stay in Manoyama. There was a lot of character growth over the year that the series covers, and I will seriously and genuinely miss this one. It resonated with me on a lot of personal levels.

Spoiler

I thought the English was pretty good for an anime. Didn't mind at all.

And nope, Yoshino definitely had to depart, all her long-term desires wouldn't be satisfied by just becoming another Manoyama denizen. But having her become a repeat-professional small town promoter is a fantastic place for her character to go that satisfies her finding her calling and building on all the things she does love about being in Manoyama. It just fits so perfectly, I love it!

[Maark Abbott]

Spoiler

I can see the fact that for her character to progress, she'd have to move on, but it was still a little bittersweet. Beautifully done though, and it rather nicely fits with expecting to go into one line of employment, and finding yourself by accident on a totally different career path (again this resonates with me as a trained in sound engineer and am now in law). I actually miss this one being on my weekly list already. Cri cri.

Haven't had a chance to watch PP12 yet. Soon.

Meantime, I've been re-watching BlazBlue: Alter Memory, half for fanboyisms, half for the fact it's now on CR, and almost all for the fact that it's so bad that it's good. I genuinely love it, even if I recognise how gimpy the animation is, how poorly drawn some of the characters can be at times, and how 95% of the animation budget went into summoning Bolverk. Beautiful.

[Maark Abbott]

Seen PP12.

Spoiler

I actually felt it was kind of weak as an ending, but there's a big sequel hook so... Meh. Conflicted. Too much quiet hostility, too much left unsaid.

[D'rek]

Maark Abbott, on 25 September 2017 - 06:18 PM, said:

Seen PP12.

Spoiler

I actually felt it was kind of weak as an ending, but there's a big sequel hook so... Meh. Conflicted. Too much quiet hostility, too much left unsaid.

Spoiler

I like Charlotte's plan not fooling Zelda and then her attempt to get the key but it failing. I like Ange/Dorothy/Beatrice trying to come to the rescue but hitting challenges, and Chise joining up, as well as how tough the Marquis' counters are (they say the revolution has only a 10% chance - the Marquis does indeed look to be prepared enough to have that 90% or more). I like the fight with Zelda, and I like the surprise that she has a C-ball, too.

But after that, yeah it's weak. If this were the sole ending there's no reason for Zelda to escape instead of the final fight with her killing her. Likewise for the Marquis and his enforcer lady. But if there's going to be a second season I don't mind those two still being around to keep being antagonists and hopefully a build up to a bigger showdown later.

[D'rek]

Interesting news today. The staff for season 2 of One Punch Man (announced a while back, slated for next year) was revealed today and it's an entirely different studio and staff than season 1. Instead of Madhouse producing, Shingo Natsume directing, and a ton of known animators being brought on as freelancers by Shingo, season 2 will be produced by J.C. Staff, with a not-particulary-known at all director Chikara Sakurai (has directed one show before, though does have a lot of animation director credits).

[Maark Abbott]

D, on 25 September 2017 - 07:45 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 25 September 2017 - 06:18 PM, said:

Seen PP12.

Spoiler

I actually felt it was kind of weak as an ending, but there's a big sequel hook so... Meh. Conflicted. Too much quiet hostility, too much left unsaid.

Spoiler

I like Charlotte's plan not fooling Zelda and then her attempt to get the key but it failing. I like Ange/Dorothy/Beatrice trying to come to the rescue but hitting challenges, and Chise joining up, as well as how tough the Marquis' counters are (they say the revolution has only a 10% chance - the Marquis does indeed look to be prepared enough to have that 90% or more). I like the fight with Zelda, and I like the surprise that she has a C-ball, too.

But after that, yeah it's weak. If this were the sole ending there's no reason for Zelda to escape instead of the final fight with her killing her. Likewise for the Marquis and his enforcer lady. But if there's going to be a second season I don't mind those two still being around to keep being antagonists and hopefully a build up to a bigger showdown later.

Spoiler

Agreed. Hopefully this means we get a season two because there were too many open ends that can be expanded upon. We'll see.

.