Aw man, that was very short and sweet. Very Makoto Shinkai too.
The plot was a little bit convoluted but I enjoyed the romance aspect of it and the animation quality was amazing.
/wince
S2 has been a step up so far, mainly due to the AB cast and their constant attempts to disrupt things :D
Also there is just something quite funny and cathartic about Key making fun of so many iconic scenes that were heartbreaking back in the day.
It's great to finally see LH come back, although it is definitely a slow start here. A little distracting that some of the character VAs have changed too (although maybe not a huge surprise after the gap between seasons).
The OP isn't great sadly, I mean they couldn't get away with just doing Database a third time but it would have been nice if they had got another Man with a Mission song instead. Oh well.
I normally give these edgelord shows a wide berth but I decided to amuse myself watching the first 2 episodes of this one. Somewhat entertaining with how ridiculous it gets. Someone used the term "soft hentai" to describe shows like this, which I'd definitely agree with. Certainly blurring the lines and testing the limits of what can be broadcast on TV (I mean, AT-X is cable but even they presumably have some limits and won't show full on porn).
Not sure if I'll keep watching and if I do it'll just be to see if they keep this level of edginess going. Fingers crossed they do!
Really enjoying this so far. Very light hearted and fun.
Also is it just me who wants Katarina to conquer everyone and just have a massive harem with all the boys and girls?
Hurray! It's finally back! Can't believe how long they've made us wait for S3!
Having only recently re-watched the first 2 in preparation, we very much do continue immediately from where S2 left off.
Absolutely great to see the cast back again (I did notice some VA changes, like Harada-sensei now being voiced by All Might?! But I guess that's somewhat inevitable when you've been off air this long) and we waste no time getting straight into the intense Karuta.
I APPLAUDED IT FOR BEING DIFFERENT
Weird that they're delaying the final episode for an entire month. God Eater style delays or a deliberate decision I wonder?
Sadly my enthusiasm for the series has waned a bit in the second half. At first I was glad to see them deviate from the game's plot a bit as it meant not necessarily knowing what to expect, and of course it makes sense for it to be tied more into Berseria's storyline now that the game is out and all. But the second half does feel pretty rushed, like they suddenly decided they needed to sprint to an ending after a wasting a bit too much time on Rose's angst past (which sucked) and Alisha's conflict (which wasn't as bad). Dezel's sacrifice seemed a bit hasty and in the context of the plot unnecessary too (I know he dies in the game too but it made a bit more sense there).
Ah well, it wasn't terrible - and ufotable's animation quality made it an enjoyable experience. Just didn't end up being something groundbreaking or anything. Definitely better than a lot of game/VN adaptations end up though.
Of course one thing that really hurt was the series showing Alisha armatizing. I feel like it's mocking players of the game there :P
A surprisingly measured and calm finale considering all the horny angst up to this point. Can't say I cared massively about anyone by the end but I did think it was handled reasonably well in the end.
Picked this one up on a whim. People have compared this to Amagami a lot and I can see why.
Whilst I don't think it's necessarily on the same level as that, it's been entertaining and cute so far. Wouldn't go as far as to call it great but then Amagami was no masterpiece either.
Quite enjoying this one so far. A rather low-key affair and a pretty unconventional subject matter. So far the characters have been quite charming and it'll be interesting seeing what this one does with itself.
Definitely a strong final episode. I think it was pretty obvious we'd be finishing the series with her first dive, but it was very well done in terms of animation, music and mood. Made up for what felt like a few meandering episodes before that (I mean I know it's SoL, but even considering that some of them felt a little pointless).
Well, we ended the first series roughly where I expected it to. Once again I actually liked the way events played out in the anime better so good job Ufotable!
Looking forward to the continuation.
This week: A Macross history lesson!
Thus begins the Tales of Berseria crossover! It'll be interesting to see how and when this intersects with the main story of Zestiria, and how it affects it compared to the game. I'm hoping the events in this series don't spoil the plot of the actual Berseria game too much, since EU/US people won't be getting the game until next year at some point.
I also think Lailah's new VA does a very good job at portraying the character. I was quite worried that her replacement wouldn't sound at all like her (her VA in the game was Matsuki Miyu who sadly passed away recently), but I think she gets her tone and mannerisms spot on!
Despite playing the game and kind of knowing the story already, I'm actually really digging the series so far. Certainly more so than other game adaptations I've watched in the past (Persona comes to mind, which while enjoyable felt rushed and lacking like so many of these things do). Maybe it's partly because they've said the story won't be exactly the same as the game (main char from Tales of Berseria being in the OP is a good indication of that). Maybe some of it's also the top quality animation by Ufotable (a lot of these adaptations look cheap as well as everything else), but so far I'm having a great time. The story thus far actually feels well paced too.
Not a bad episode, probably the best of the lot, but too little too late really. They'll resolve this non-story next week and then it'll be over, thank god.
I mean, I guess it's a bit better than the previous episode. Still terribly uninspired though.
Ugh, this episode sucked. I'm really not enjoying this series so far. The pseudo-science about memories in this one was way too unbelievable and badly handled. It's also one of those episodes that only thinks to start foreshadowing something just before it happens (e.g. Mai's flashback to when she was a kid, just before she happens to meet them again). Even KyoAni's normally above-average direction and visual prowess aren't enough to make this one engaging, it seems. If this was done by any run-of-the-mill studio nobody would bother watching it.
It doesn't help that thus far, none of the characters have been particularly likable or show any level of character depth. Really, the only thing this series has going for it is the fanservice and that's not really enough. One more dud episode and I think this one is dropped.
Probably KyoAni's most "fanservicey" anime... ever? Certainly tops Amagi Brilliant Park for that. As for the plot? Not really sold yet. We'll see how things progress. Not sure I'm going to enjoy this one as much though.
This ED should ring a bell to anyone who's seen AnoHana :O
http://goo.gl/s560vs
Really like the ED for this one:
Bit of a shame that the TV version has quite a different animation style from the OVAs. The seiyuu are all completely different too. Think I preferred the style of the OVAs although maybe this one will grow on me.
Also quite surprising (considering it's XEBEC doing this version) that the content actually seems tamer than the OVAs. Since some of the skits are repeated from the OVAs you see two different versions - the OVA ones were definitely more risqué.
Anyway, I enjoyed the OVAs because it had a certain charm for it beyond just the fanservice and usual ecchi comedy. Hopefully the TV series will still have some of that.
This is probably the series I've watched the most passively this season. There was some humour to be gleamed from the first season but this one has just been so boring. Maybe the novelty of the setting has just worn off but it just felt like watching a whole load of nothing.
Can't believe there will be another season...
Lol, is every cour going to end with poor Izaya getting his ass kicked? :D
Can't think of any other character I'm so glad to finally see get the shit kicked out of them. Just a pity he's still alive really.
I actually kind of dig that they're taking their time with things, but if this is only 12 episodes long then we're going to be nowhere near the end of the story by that point. Hopefully there's more planned, because I'm quite enjoying this one.
