The first few episodes start off a bit shakey and a lot of the characters initially start off a bit dense and/or one dimensional. I would urge you to give it another go and get through a couple of episodes. After that, this show proves it is entirely worthy of the score and praise it gets.
Possibly Shinkai's best work so far, and as a massive fan of both 5cm and Garden of Words I do not say that lightly. The animation is breathtaking as always but some scenes go beyond mere visual splendor and are just mesmerizing. The characters are so fun to be around and you'll find yourself rooting for them and hoping it all works out. I was slightly concerned when I saw the "boob fondling" scene in the trailer but even that becomes a genuinely charming gag throughout the movie, believe it or not!
As to be expected of Shinkai, the film also takes you on a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows and keeps you guessing how it will end until pretty much the last minute.
I cannot recommend this enough.
Ending felt a bit abrupt with a few things still unanswered, but it was a good ride overall. Ended up liking Mai a lot more than I expected to at first and the different arcs and character interactions kept things interesting.
Definitely not a masterpiece but it was engaging and interesting throughout.
Okay, I'll admit the last couple of episodes have been a lot more compelling. Consider me engaged again... unless they crash out on a bad/non-ending.
Having finally finished my slow burn of this series all I can do is agree with other comments here. This series offers a sense of tranquillity when watching that I have rarely seen anywhere else. You just get absorbed into sometimes dreamlike atmosphere of it all. Each episode is somewhat self-contained and you really never know how it will end. Some end on a happy note, some on a sorrowful one, some are more ambiguous or bitersweet.
The message throughout is very much that Mushi are not malevolent or evil, they are just like forces of nature, and can be harmful or helpful to humans. Each story is more about how people deal with these things, with Ginko travelling around and helping where he can.
With a second season just around the corner all I can really do is repeat other people's recommendations - if you haven't already, watch this series.
Hooray! The lovable idiots are back! Let's hope this season stays strong throughout (I enjoyed the first season - the first half was a bit slow to build up but the second half more than made up for it) and we get to see more of Deku and his classmates kicking ass in fun and hilarious ways.
This is a bad series for bad people. Anyone who watches it should be ashamed :D
For a moment there, I was really worried the whale wouldn't turn up. Subaru would have some explaining to do then!
Very good first episode. Well-paced and intriguing, interesting characters. Excited to see where this one goes.
Please let this one stay good, A-1!
The second season of Noragami has just finished and it surpassed the first in every way. I remember really enjoying the first season but finding the final few episodes and confrontation a bit underwhelming. Well, the second season doesn't have that problem. It hits the ground running and remains consistently good throughout. Deciding to animate two arcs back-to-back with little-to-no filler in between was definitely a wise decision by Bones.
As others have already said, this series really does stand out from other more generic action/comedy shows, thanks to a likable and well-developed cast, good quality animation and of course a godly soundtrack by Iwasaki Taku (also responsible for the soundtrack in Katanagatari).
All in all I have really enjoyed Noragami thus far and I hope we get more in the future.
Really enjoying this one so far. When I first read the plot, I rolled my eyes, but gave it a go anyway. The comedy is well executed and actually funny, the animation quality is decent (as expected of White Fox) and I'm enjoying the interaction between the characters. Not sure how far you can go with a short series like this, but at least it promises to be entertaining.
Well, this episode was certainly a deparutre from the norm. Nice to see Ishigami's characetr fleshed out a bit though. And nice to see him actually finding a place to belong with the Cheerleading club, especially as initially it looked like just another gag about him joining something he was completely unsuited for. Colour me surprised!
Definitely back on track now. I do think the episodes in the past are a lot stronger than the present ones. Feels like there's more at stake and the emotional impact is greater. We're back to that underlying feel of unease and dread, even when it feels like things are going well. The series does a great job at having you care for Kayo and hoping she will be saved.
5 episodes in, having started late and blasted through all 5 in a single night, and so far this series is excellent. Utterly crazy, awesome action and very funny - it doesn't take itself seriously for a second and seems to be having a lot of fun doing it. I've found myself either cheering or laughing every episode so far.
Holy crap. Awesome first episode. This is definitely going to draw comparisons to Attack on Titan. Same studio, art style and "humanity is screwed" themes. But zombies and steampunk!
We even have Sawano Hiroyuki doing the soundtrack again.
The first episode really hit the ground running with the action and introduction to this world and the characters. Definitely can't wait to see more.
"I'm leaving!"
"Okay then, that was always allowed!"
A brilliant anime with a very different art style and presentation. The story, as it were, is narrated to us by the nameless protagonist, as he agonises over how to pursue his "ideal campus life". Along the way he meets several other unusual characters, including his demonic-looking partner-in-crime Ozu and the mysterious Akashi, both of whom he seems to share a strange link with.
One complaint some people have with the series is that the narration from the protagonist is very fast and it's very difficult to read the subtitles in time. Whilst the dialogue is indeed quick, it is possible to keep up if you concentrate enough. Even if you find yourself needing to pause occasionally to digest a particularly verbose line, I would still absolutely recommend everyone give this series a go. Amongst a myriad of other, more "standard" anime, this one definitely stands out.
So far this is still exactly my cup of tea. Some nice relationship growth between the main girls, with no ridiculous over-the-top drama to speak of. Just nice, down-to-earth stuff that makes sense, and some nice "aww" moments too.
"Doesn't look like anything to me". Be very afraid when you hear that phrase.
Very good reveal. Whilst it doesn't surprise me that some of the park staff are themselves hosts, they did a lot to misdirect you from (but still sort of hint at) thinking Bernard was one of them. As soon as he said "what door?" shortly after explaining that hosts are programmed to not see the house at all, I think we all knew this wasn't going to end well. And with the first (or maybe second?) human casualty now confirmed, I think we're about to see things go very, very wrong.
I enjoyed the last episode and was happy to see Oga and Kariyu get together, but it was painful to see Kaizaki and Hishiro get SO close to ending up together, but not quite. I do get why they did this and it does show that Kaizaki is doing the noble thing by not taking advantage of (as far as he knows) a high school girl, but god did I want their supporters to step in and let them know.
I suppose you can just hope that when their ReLIFE period comes to end they maybe to find out about each other, as there was clearly an attraction there.
Still, overall I really enjoyed this series. I had to slow myself down or I could have easily binged the whole thing in one night. It would be interesting to see if they start showing more anime in this format, since Netflix et al are doing it more often these days too.
Harsh end to that story, but we kinda knew that was going to happen based on the fact the other two weren't in the series proper.
Still, a decent couple of OVAs about Levi the badass. Makes me want S2 all the more now.
Yeah, I love this series. I've always been a fan of Key anyway and I remember being so stoked when I heard about this new project. For what it's worth this ranks in my top 3 Key works (along with Clannad and Rewrite, the latter of which sadly doesn't have an anime adaption(yet...?))
If you've seen other Key works like Clannad, Kanon or Air, you probably already know that they tend to enjoy mixing comedy with tragedy, often whiplashing you between the two very quickly. Whilst these elements are certainly present in Angel Beats, and whilst the pasts of some of these characters are still pretty horrible and tragic, I don't think the series generally wallows in it as much as other Key works perhaps did.
The series has a nice mix of action, comedy, music and drama and it works really well. It also has TONNES of characters (A trait it shares with Little Busters I guess) which sadly, due to the series only being 13 episodes long, don't all have time to be developed to their full. Still, they are all a fun and silly bunch generally, and watching their antics is very enjoyable indeed.
Finally some good news for anyone who wanted more. Key have finally announced that an Angel Beats Visual Novel will be released in 2014. By the looks of it, it will be released in separate chapters (or beats), but hopefully this will give people a chance to learn more about the characters that didn't get much screen time in the anime (well, assuming it ever gets translated :D)
http://key.visualarts.gr.jp/angelbeats/index.html
Pretty sweet for a first episode back. Reminded me why I like Mob as a character so much :)
As sweet as this episode was (loved their Aquarium date), I hope there is more planned, even if it's just a couple of OVAs, as it does leave a fair amount unresolved. Even so I still loved this series and will be buying the manga to hopefully find out what happens next!
I guess Yuu is starting to notice senpai :)
And so the season comes to a close again. Yet again, this was a ride of emotional highs and lows. It was both heartbreaking to see poor Hina being bullied and heartwarming to see Rei and others being there for her and helping her through it. It was good to see some of the other shogi players being fleshed out more too and their stories were also very gripping to watch.
Season 2 has been at least on par with, if not better than Season 1. It has reaffirmed everything I love about the series - the bittersweet moments, the heartbreaking moments, those warm fuzzy moments when you could just happily melt into the warm atmosphere some of the characters seem to naturally exude. I love this series and I really hope we get a season 3 very soon.
And don't listen to the haters, Hina. Your new haircut is adorable!
And so the story ends. It's been a long ride.
A great series and an expertly told story. I still can't believe Studio DEEN did this one. Bravo to them for crafting such a unique and compelling story.
Who would have thought a retro super-gory fun-fest would be so sweet!
I was prepared to groan about them milking the paintball gag again, but it turned out to be an excellent episode!
