Giving thanks for our bountiful [Fall 2011] anime

[ShiroiHikari]

Haha, Stroller Gundam.

The art style of Gundam AGE looks a lot better in motion. All the concept art looked like Digimon or something, but in the actual show it doesn't look nearly as "kiddie". I'm digging the show so far as well.

[blkmage]

Flit is okay as far as Gundam protagonists go, but my favourites are Woolf and Grodek. That kid they introduced last episode, though, that did not help.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Flit is okay as far as Gundam protagonists go, but my favourites are Woolf and Grodek. That kid they introduced last episode, though, that did not help.

Flit is better than many AU mains (Heero, Setsuna), but, of course, he isn't in the league of the likes of Kamille or Amuro.

More Woolf and Grudek (and the newtype girl) please, show.

[MasterDias]

So, Gundam AGE was doing pretty weak in the ratings in episode 3(2.5%), but it suddenly shot back up again for episodes 4 & 5(4.1% & 4.8%). At the same time, it doesn't appear kids are actually watching this. Episode 3's rating for kids was 0.4. So if they thought kids would actually be attracted by Level 5 and that artstyle, I don't think it's working. The main people who appear to be watching this are...traditional older Gundam fans.

So, who said that Fam the Silver Wing wasn't a sequel? I know that info is everywhere, but I'm just wondering if the original source was from Gonzo or someone else who is actually working on the project. After seeing a third character from the original (and hearing a fourth referenced), I pretty much don't believe that anymore.

I don't think anyone said it wasn't a sequel. The staff was just being pretty tight-lipped about returning characters outside of Dio and connections to the original.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I don't think anyone said it wasn't a sequel. The staff was just being pretty tight-lipped about returning characters outside of Dio and connections to the original.

I read several preview guide type things (here's one) that unequivocally claimed it was not a sequel but an alternate universe (a possibility I rule out due to Dio's reaction to Millia and his mention of Lucciola). I think the "anime press" was pretty universal in that description. They were either guessed wrong, were intentionally led astray or Gonzo changed their minds about what they wanted to do. None of these would surprise me.

Unrelated question: Taichi or Arata?

[blkmage]

One show that I've kept after weeks of expecting to be compelled to drop it is Ben-To. It has a really dumb premise that seems impossible to stretch beyond a short story. Of course, it's only halfway through the season and it seems to have wrapped up the first book, so it could still flop.

The beauty of Ben-To is that it plays this ridiculous premise completely straight and is serious business about the entire thing. There's this entire mythos built around fighting for these half-price bento, with all of the etiquette and unspoken rules and pride of the wolf stuff, complete with emotionally charged fights that are proxies for a clash of ideals. It's all so absurd that it wraps around to being entertaining.

Also, Japan has really good convenience store food, wow.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

I thought about trying that one but ultimately decided against it due to time constraints. I may pick it up later on. You'd probably argue that it should slot into my schedule instead of, say, Toriko or Last Exile: Fam Fan Fan. To that I say: no.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Taking CAA's pulse on Guilty Crown: opinions?

The last two episodes have done a lot to wreck any goodwill the characters had with me, especially Inori. Shou is also awful. Gai is OK, I guess.

All the PERVYPERVY nonsense is just so played out, as is the response: "BOYYOUARESOPERVY, but I kinda like you...tee hee."

The action scenes are keeping me watching, though. As long as this show keep giving me grand spectacle, I'll likely still watch it once a week. By no means is it a great show, however.

[Neane]

Taking CAA's pulse on Guilty Crown: opinions?

The last two episodes have done a lot to wreck any goodwill the characters had with me, especially Inori. Shou is also awful. Gai is OK, I guess.

All the PERVYPERVY nonsense is just so played out, as is the response: "BOYYOUARESOPERVY, but I kinda like you...tee hee."

The action scenes are keeping me watching, though. As long as this show keep giving me grand spectacle, I'll likely still watch it once a week. By no means is it a great show, however.

You mean the Code Geass Remake? I saw a few episodes.

This is what I put down on Animeplanet's Recommendations page for it:

The Only Differences between Code Geass and Guilty Crown are:

Guilty Crown: You've been given the Power of the Kings. You can now do by your lone self what a thousand men could never hope to accomplish. Also, here's your hot magic girl.


Shuu: Ah, um, ow... *sob* I miss my boring, ordinary life.

Code Geass: You've been given the Power of the Kings. You can now do by your lone self what a thousand men could never hope to accomplish. Also, here's your hot magic girl.

Lelouch: Oh? Then please bear with me as I CONQUER THE WORLD. All those who wronged me, yes, they shall pay.

[blkmage]

Ugh, it's like, at first I thought it was just really anime, but I realized that it's that entire strain of bad writing: anime, video games, comics, etc. I realized this when I remembered I had the exact same reaction to this episode as I did at a certain part in Starcraft 2. Slightly related is that I also have some of the same reactions as I do when watching the more recent Gundam AGE episodes. It's just full of things that break my suspension of disbelief because it's so amazingly stupid.

At this point, the episode I genuinely enjoyed the most (and I actually liked it) was the one where Inori showed up at school and they ran around checking out everyone's voids. The conspiracy/sci-fi/terrorism stuff and the associated characters just makes me roll my eyes and sigh.

[MasterDias]

My thoughts haven't really changed much. It's still very much a style-over-substance show. No way it will hold up to any great analysis (and it really shouldn't be over-analyzed/picked apart), but it's pretty fun and flashy enough to watch. Mostly indifferent to the characters. I do wish Shu had more of a personality though. I guess the ANN review is closest to my opinion.

At this point, the episode I genuinely enjoyed the most (and I actually liked it) was the one where Inori showed up at school and they ran around checking out everyone's voids. The conspiracy/sci-fi/terrorism stuff and the associated characters just makes me roll my eyes and sigh.

That's actually interesting. A lot of opinions I've seen online really didn't like that episode.

[blkmage]

I imagine that's because a lot of people tend to just hate school life episodes on principle.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

People still love Inori, which absolutely baffles me. Their feelings likely stem from the fact that they watch the show for, ahem, different reasons than I do, but I can't really get past the fact that she is just so manipulative. If Shou could handle it, that would be one thing, but that silly, whiny boy's world revolves around her at the moment. It's just anger-inducing to see, for me.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

While I'm with Doc on hating pretty much every character but enjoying the action, I have to ask the most important question.

Am I the only one who things the mecha designs are ugly as sin?

[TheSubtleDoctor]

Am I the only one who things the mecha designs are ugly as sin?

You know, if I'm honest, I haven't actually noticed them much. Guess that doesn't bode well for their quality. Ghostlightning effing loves them and claims that they're "the success story of the season." Not too sure I'd go that far.

On a related note, the mecha designs for the UE in Gundam AGE are really underrated. I think they're pretty amazing, myself.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

To be honest, while I really liked the Geass roller-skate mecha, because they had some neat stuff like the cable-weapon-thingies, I think what I really hate is that in trying to make the mecha look real, they just look kind of skinny, like they should fall apart any minute now. It might be that way because they don't have a cockpit (and thus don't need to be as bulky as most other mecha) but they just look terrible to me, which killed the fight between wheelchair girl and Daryl. It's kind of like watching a fight between two people who've been so starved they can't really do much.

[TheSubtleDoctor]

To be honest, while I really liked the Geass roller-skate mecha, because they had some neat stuff like the cable-weapon-thingies,

Yeah, me too.

The moments in GC I have found most exciting don't usually involve mecha directly. Except for the ending of episode 4, but, now I am also remembering that they looked terrible.

[MightiMidget]

I haven't seen Code Geass yet (feeling more and more that should be bumped to the top of my priorities list), so I won't contribute to that part of the conversation. But...I do, however, agree with the summary that Guilty Crown is shiny but lacking in likeability with characters and depth of plot. I may or may not have felt a smidgen of dismay when I saw it was 22 episodes instead of 11...but. Maybe it will get better?

[Neane]

I have one question, does anyone know about Kyousogiga? It seems to be a Movie that is coming out? I posted this in the Fall because:

January to March is winter, April to June is spring, July to September is summer, and October to December is fall. Each season is approximately 13 weeks.

it will be airing in Dec 1, 2011 according to Myanimelist. Any info about it?

[blkmage]

It's an ONA and has a snazzy trailer, that's about it.

[blkmage]

I think I found the interview about noitaminA that MasterDias was referring to in the Winter 2012 thread. It also touches on Guilty Crown and I think it's interesting that the show that they wanted to compare it to was Shiki and the show that they absolutely weren't aiming for at all was Geass.

[blkmage]

Early sales for fall shows have P4 leading at 33k and Working'!! at 18k, both fantastic numbers. Keep in mind most shows don't start getting releases until after the season is done.

[MasterDias]

I think I found the interview about noitaminA that MasterDias was referring to in the Winter 2012 thread. It also touches on Guilty Crown and I think it's interesting that the show that they wanted to compare it to was Shiki and the show that they absolutely weren't aiming for at all was Geass.

The ANN interview, right? That was newer than the one I was looking at, but I think it was implying basically the same thing. The Shiki reference was new to me, and gave me pause...but I guess it made sense once I thought about it.

Those Persona 4 numbers are insane. I think it's better than most video game adaptations usually are, but it probably doesn't really deserve sales numbers that high. Although I'm happy for Atlus I guess.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

The most interesting thing about that interview to me was that they're trying to avoid appealing to adults and instead are trying to get teenagers into anime. I wonder if as of late there hasn't really been any sort of anime, especially an original one, that is a show teenagers are watching.

[Neane]

I just read the interview, my reaction.

[blkmage]

I have a query that is related to this week's episode of Guilty Crown:

Which episode was Sacred Seven's beach episode?

[Neane]

Episode 5?

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

I was unaware that Funimation was no longer a North American company.

[MasterDias]

Clear your browser cache and try again.
That worked when The Anime Network thought I was Polish or something.

[Neane]

I think we need to create a guilty crown thread.