Started watching Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit.
Set during an AU feudal Japan (and if we ever tire of AU feudal Japan, you’ll know that the upload you have of paper machine is not genuine), Moribito tells the story of the epic-level bodyguard Balsa and her quest to save the life of the Emperor’s second son, Chagum, who has been possessed by the egg of a water spirit.
So far, Balsa is an exceptional strategist with a wide utilitarian streak. She’s slightly reminiscent of Mokoto Kusanagi (and is animated by Production I.G). Chagum is slightly whiny but is growing on me. We often moan about the lack of strong female leads in anime, but hopefully Moribito continues to break the mould.
There’s also some underlying Mononoke-esque humans vs. nature going on, so if you like that, you’ll probably like this too.
Rage of Bahamut Genesis: Much better than it had any right to be; a lot of fun, plenty of flashy visual effects (perhaps too flashy in the last couple of episodes, but even so). Not something with any real depth or ambition; nothing the genre hasn’t seen before (though it’s been a while since I saw a protagonist with this particular level of… not exactly evil, but cowardice and shadiness—and the snarky zombie sorcerer is very fun). But I enjoyed it from start to finish—last month ISTR someone was unhappy with the gods and demons at the end, but that’s de rigeur for the genre and the cast needed new factors IMO.
Psycho-Pass 2: Nowhere near the quality of the original; very inconsistent pacing, too little characterization, too heavy-handed with the ultraviolence, gaping plot holes. I still enjoyed it, but on a Guilty Crown level where I sat back and let the craziness play out.
Nobunaga Concerto: managed to keep a simple premise interesting throughout its run, along with plenty of basic comedy staples and a surprisingly good ending theme. Not one for the ages, but diverting enough if you can put up with the very basic animation.
Mushishi (first series): very much a work of art, very understated, with real moral ambiguity at times. But I grew frustrated with the way the world made no sense (or rather, followed storytelling logic rather than any internal logic of its own) and the very strictly episodic nature of the show; nothing ever changes or matters to characters we care about. I don’t think I’ll be watching any more.
Amagi Brilliant Park: plenty of good parts (and KyoAni production values), but never manages to fit them together into a decent whole. The comedy works well, but the dramatic plot manages to be both horribly forced and borderline-irrelevant. The overarching plot makes very little sense, and virtually disappears for the middle of the series. Even with all its flaws I can’t call it a bad show, because it was still fun to watch, but it could have been so much better.
TV and Movies (Animation) Thread
Started watching Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit.
Set during an AU feudal Japan (and if we ever tire of AU feudal Japan, you’ll know that the upload you have of paper machine is not genuine), Moribito tells the story of the epic-level bodyguard Balsa and her quest to save the life of the Emperor’s second son, Chagum, who has been possessed by the egg of a water spirit.
So far, Balsa is an exceptional strategist with a wide utilitarian streak. She’s slightly reminiscent of Mokoto Kusanagi (and is animated by Production I.G). Chagum is slightly whiny but is growing on me. We often moan about the lack of strong female leads in anime, but hopefully Moribito continues to break the mould.
There’s also some underlying Mononoke-esque humans vs. nature going on, so if you like that, you’ll probably like this too.
Anime:
Hozuki no Reitetsu
Futakoi Alternative (review)
Quarterly groupwatched anime batch:
Rage of Bahamut Genesis: Much better than it had any right to be; a lot of fun, plenty of flashy visual effects (perhaps too flashy in the last couple of episodes, but even so). Not something with any real depth or ambition; nothing the genre hasn’t seen before (though it’s been a while since I saw a protagonist with this particular level of… not exactly evil, but cowardice and shadiness—and the snarky zombie sorcerer is very fun). But I enjoyed it from start to finish—last month ISTR someone was unhappy with the gods and demons at the end, but that’s de rigeur for the genre and the cast needed new factors IMO.
Psycho-Pass 2: Nowhere near the quality of the original; very inconsistent pacing, too little characterization, too heavy-handed with the ultraviolence, gaping plot holes. I still enjoyed it, but on a Guilty Crown level where I sat back and let the craziness play out.
Nobunaga Concerto: managed to keep a simple premise interesting throughout its run, along with plenty of basic comedy staples and a surprisingly good ending theme. Not one for the ages, but diverting enough if you can put up with the very basic animation.
Mushishi (first series): very much a work of art, very understated, with real moral ambiguity at times. But I grew frustrated with the way the world made no sense (or rather, followed storytelling logic rather than any internal logic of its own) and the very strictly episodic nature of the show; nothing ever changes or matters to characters we care about. I don’t think I’ll be watching any more.
Amagi Brilliant Park: plenty of good parts (and KyoAni production values), but never manages to fit them together into a decent whole. The comedy works well, but the dramatic plot manages to be both horribly forced and borderline-irrelevant. The overarching plot makes very little sense, and virtually disappears for the middle of the series. Even with all its flaws I can’t call it a bad show, because it was still fun to watch, but it could have been so much better.