So far a very enjoyable romance series. A good combination of slapstick, romance and likeable characters.
I did enjoy this series and visually it is probably the most gorgeous work by KyoAni to date (and that's saying something!), but sadly there were a few things preventing me from rating it higher.
I'm not a big mystery fan, perhaps if I was then I would have appreciated some of the mysteries they solved a little more. That's not to say most of them weren't somewhat interesting, but I wouldn't say I was massively engaged in them and I certainly wouldn't want to watch most of them again. I did like the 4 main characters which is why I wish I could have seen them develop a bit more alongside all the mystery solving and shenanigans. This is probably why Gosick (http://trakt.tv/show/gosick) rated higher with me personally, because whilst it also had mysteries to be solved, enough time was also spent developing the characters and their relationships.
Overall I found the series to be a visual treat and a worthwhile watch, but lacking in areas important to me and leaving me with a slight sense of unfulfilment at the end. It's not a series I can see myself ever watching a second time.
Oh my god, it's happening! Rewrite is one of my favorite Visual Novels and for me ranks a VERY close second to Clannad in terms of Key works! The VN starts off fairly standard, slice of lifey (as is the norm for Key really) but later things go off the rails and get pretty epic in scale. It was co-written by a few authors, including Romeo Tanaka (known for many weird and interesting VNs, Cross Channel being my favourite) and Ryukishi07 (mainly known for the "When They Cry" series).
It looks like Tanaka Romeo will be involved in the creative process, which is quite reassuring. My only concern is that it's studio 8-Bit animating it. I guess they've done a passable job with Grisaia (they'd better not employ as much needless fanservice here...), but It's a shame it didn't go to P.A. Works or White Fox (who did the 2nd OP) :(
Regardless, I'm very excited about this one and really hope it will rank among the sadly small list of "good VN adaptations".
VN openings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne-4_Bz0wAg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yegE5ai9abQ
That was quite an interesting series. I rather liked the jarring tonal shifts between cute slice of life and zombie horror. The series also did a pretty good job at not playing its hand too soon either. The first episode does a good job of just enough hinting that things aren't quite right, before the reveal at the end. To be honest I initially did think Megu was already dead because of how the rest of the group "ignored" her, but because some of the episodes flashed back to when she wasn't, I wasn't so sure, so the reveal was still pretty effective.
I really liked how the OP "decayed" more and more each episode - it made the cute J-poppy song more and more jarring to the tone of the series.
I wasn't too keen on the rather poor CG, but sadly this is pretty standard these days for most series without a budget. The series had some pretty effective horror moments but it didn't always hit the mark, and some episodes felt like they meandered around a bit.
Still, I definitely enjoyed it. A rather strange series where you're not really sure what to expect.
This series seemed to get a LOT of hate from people and some pretty low ratings too, but I honestly don't see why. It's not groundbreaking by any means, and certainly not as good as the original Haruhi series, but I found it to be a pleasant enough watch anyway.
Personally I think a lot of the hatred comes from the fact that it's been years since KyoAni's last Haruhi adaptation and people wanted more of that, rather than this which is more of a retelling by a different studio without the Sci-Fi elements that elevated the original above just being a simple slice-of-life show. And I suppose looking at it that way explains the negativity.
Personally, as a big fan of the original Haruhi series, I too, would have preferred some more material in the original universe by KyoAni. But I still enjoyed this one. It was nice to see the cast again, even if they were a little watered-down compared to their original counterparts. I liked the nods and callbacks to the original series and the romance was cute enough. It didn't look as good as KyoAni's version either but I wouldn't call it bad looking. It was competently animated and looked pretty decent.
I'm not sure I could outright recommend this to everyone. If you're new to the series, the original Haruhi (http://trakt.tv/shows/the-melancholy-of-haruhi-suzumiya) is definitely better (but maybe skip most of Endless Eight :P), but if you like the Haruhi series and wanted a bit more... well it's not the sequel we necessarily wanted, but it wasn't terrible either and is probably worth a watch, in my humble opinion.
sp1ti sums it up quite well. This series is overhyped to hell and nowhere near as good as it should have been. So much could have been done with a premise like this but sadly it ultimately fell way short of greatness and wandered into very standard Shounen cliche territory.
It wasn't without it's good points. Despite all its faults I did genuinely enjoy the first half of the series (the Aincrad arc), I just really wish the entire 25 episodes had been spend on this, instead of abruptly ending it at the halfway mark and moving onto Alfheim, at which point all the redeeming qualities of the series fall away one by one and we're left with... well, not much.
Judging by the popularity of the series and the fact there are, to my knowledge, 2 more arcs to go, I'm guessing it's only a matter of time until this gets a second season. I'm not really sure I'll be watching it though.
This is a bad series for bad people. Anyone who watches it should be ashamed :D
A pretty decent watch. This series didn't feel particularly original, in fact it felt like a grab bag of tropes and elements from several other shows over the past decade (in particular I got quite a "Code Geass" vibe), but it was entertaining and for the most part, well executed. Some interesting, if somewhat one-dimensional characters, pretty decent action scenes and an awesome soundtrack by Sawano Hiroyuki (See also Guilty Crown, Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill).
The series seemed to play a lot of things safe but there was the occasional curveball to surprise you (in particular the final episode). Definitely worth a watch if you're a fan of the genre, but if it feels like you've seen a lot of it before, you probably have.
And on the subject of Geass, is it just me or is Slaine essentially this guy?
http://i.imgur.com/4NUHFY3.jpg
My thoughts on F/SN:
Loved the original series when I first watched it. And it's thanks to the series that I eventually played the (far superior) Visual Novel. For those less familiar with Fate, this series essentially covers the first of three arcs from the F/SN Visual Novel (with sprinklings of elements from the others, but essentially its the first route). Studio DEEN later produced a movie too, which more or less covers the second arc, Unlimited Blade Works.
A problem a lot of people will have with this series now is that the prequel series, Fate/Zero (animated by studio ufotable rather than DEEN), is just so much better. I recently tried re-watching this series and just found it painful. The mood and pacing just don't seem well conveyed. The animation quality, while not terrible, isn't amazing either, and a lot of key scenes that are supposed to be pretty epic just aren't. It doesn't help that the Fate arc is generally agreed to be the worst of the three as well (A lot of people find Shirou very annoying, which he can be, but he's at his absolute worst in the first arc. He's not too bad in the other two).
In short, I don't think F/SN is a bad series and had it not been overshadowed by the far superior adaption of F/Z I doubt many people would think so either, but ufotable have shown us just how good this particular franchise can be if put in the right hands.
ufotable have said that they will be working on a new Fate project in 2014. Whether it's a full reboot of F/SN or someone finally animating Heaven's Feel (the third arc) remains to be seen, but regardless I'm excited!
Incidentally, the F/SN Visual Novel was recently released on the Vita, and each arc has a new opening video animated by... ufotable! Maybe a little teaser of what's to come...? ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biL1Dbe6BC0 (Fate)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGSRdtExzkw (Unlimited Blade Works)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp3EfuYJ9d8 (Heaven's Feel)
Hi guys, just FYI F/SN and F/Z are now separate entries.
F/Z can be found here http://trakt.tv/show/fatezero
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.
I really enjoyed this series. It reminds me of Sakurasou (http://trakt.tv/show/the-pet-girl-of-sakurasou) but I enjoyed this one more. Visually it reminds me of a Makoto Shinkai film (http://trakt.tv/movie/5-centimeters-per-second-2007) and that's a good thing!
In terms of the humour and the characters, I really enjoyed both. Kawai is adorable and Mayumi/Sayaka make for some very funny and likeable support characters.
It's a shame this was only 12 episodes long. The final episode isn't terrible but it could easily have continued for another cour. Hopefully we'll get a second season at some point!
No-one was more excited than me to see the return of FMP after so long. The first warning sign was seeing studio Xebec, not exactly known for high-quality animation, attached to the project. And the fact that there were not only 2 intermission episodes but also the last 2 episodes being delayed suggests they may have struggled to deliver on this one.
That's not to say it was all bad, hell I can think of several studios who would probably have done an even worse job, but it's still a shame to see it not fully live up to its potential. Scheduling issues aside, there are definitely significant drops in animation quality noticeable throughout the series (more so in the last few eps).
The plot itself was compelling enough and it was just great to see the characters back after all this time. However the ending is going to suck if there isn't any more material planned after this. Overall I'm glad I watched it, and I'll still take this over no more FMP, it's just a shame as it could have been better.
Woah, is this confirmed as coming this Summer (@sp1ti? :P)? All I can find is early indications that it's coming "soon".
I'm eagerly anticipating this series. The Visual Novel it is based on was really, really good. Of course, the anime adaption could turn out to be terrible, but I'll be watching it anyway :P
Prepare yourself, Key fans! Charlotte is coming soon! This will be a Key x P.A. Works project, like Angel Beats was. I'm hoping for good things here!
If you enjoyed the series, the following Kickstarter link may interest you:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sekaiproject/the-grisaia-trilogy-three-huge-visual-novels-for-p
Grisaia, as with quite a few other VNs recently, will be getting an official English release. If you liked the anime series and want to see more, you can either pledge to the KS now, or wait for the steam release. It should probably go without saying that the Visual Novels cover the material shown in the anime in a far more detailed way.
Coming this Autumn then!
Please don't be shit!
While this wasn't a bad series in itself I have to say I much preferred the original 2003 version. It's not that this one does anything wrong per se, it's just that it does fall short of the original in my opinion. It doesn't help that half of the episodes were also in the original series too (and often worse versions, again in my opinion).
The funny thing is the animation quality is arguably better this time around (minus the usual dodgy CGI), but I think the original series just nailed the tone and pacing far better.
Whilst Season 2 (or Eureka Seven AO) is technically a sequel, I really wouldn't recommend watching it. It's well animated which should be a given from studio Bones, but the story is just all over the place and nigh-on incomprehensible. None of the new cast hold a candle to the previous series and by the end you'll just be left scratching your head as to exactly what happened, and what the point of it was.
Started off interesting and with some promise, but really went downhill in the second half. I was bored out of my mind for some episodes. And that last arc was so short and anti-climactic you have to wonder what all that build-up was about.
The animation quality is definitely above-average and there were some good scenes (mostly in the first half), but overall a waste of time really.
Relaxing and "fluffy" for lack of a better word, but ultimately not massively memorable. The characters were charming and I liked the softer art style but it's probably not something I'll remember for long. Still, an enjoyable distraction and relaxing while it lasts.
A cute show with some likable characters, but to me it felt too short and insubstantial. Whilst I get that the idea of the show is to show off many different couples, this along with the shorter length of each episode ends up not really giving you enough time with a lot of them. It also doesn't help when you like some of the couples but not others as it can mean an episode that heavily features the latter is just not a fun watch.
I guess I wouldn't mind seeing more at some point. It's enjoyable in a "put it on and just relax/forget stuff" kind of way, but not a lot more than that.
Mmmh. I didn't hate this one, and I quite liked the softer art style, but overall I was a little underwhelmed by it. It was cute and charming at times but the melodramatic parts were just annoying and Hase really needed to man up, especially towards the end.
Not a terrible series, but pretty forgettable. Which is amusing considering the subject matter :P
Dark, suspenseful, scary, impossible to put down.
Be warned, this contains some nasty stuff, but it's a truly excellent drama.
This series was such a let down for me. I found it quite enjoyable almost all the way through. The opening and ending themes really conveyed the mood of the show (when it got serious, at least) and the art style was pretty nice too. I really was a fan of all those beautiful scenes being lit by the sunset etc. I also really liked the eventual climax with Yuuko finding her lost memories and until literally 5 minutes before the end of the last episode, I was ready to rate this an 8 or 9 as a very good series. The ending was all set to be bittersweet and actually quite beautiful...
But then, with literally a few minutes to go, the series does a 180. She didn't actually disappear, all that stuff that just happened meant nothing, now back to the messing around. It's not that I thought the show had to end with Yuuko disappearing, but the series itself was going in that direction and made what was actually very moving and emotional "final" scene... only to then chicken out, bring her back and return the "status quo" for the presumably inevitable series 2. Which I will not be watching.
Started off very strong. Likeable, kickass anti-heroes, cool action and music, decent quality of animation. Unfortunately the last few episodes drop in quality quite a lot (they even took a week off at one point which is never a good sign) and the last episode just kind of... stops. It's hard to even describe it as a cliff-hanger, it's like someone just pulled the plug mid-action scene.
Unfortunately as of yet there is no continuation announced. To make matters worse, the studio who animated the first season (Manglobe - RIP) has filed for bankruptcy.
I do hope that another studio picks this series up and continues it but who knows at this point. As it stands at the moment I can't really recommend this due to the abrupt non-ending. Not unless you're okay with picking up the manga where it leaves off.
A surprisingly engaging and emotional drama. Despite appearances, this really isn't just another standard "high school romance" and I would recommend giving it a few episodes before deciding if it's for you or not. The story is a little "soap opera"-ey but I still found myself caring for all the characters involved and hoping for a happy resolution. I won't spoil how the series ends, but personally I was satisfied.
After a fairly incomprehensible start, it does settle down a bit and explain itself. The plot is still rather all over the place, but so far I'm finding it to be quite an enjoyable watch. Certainly not SHAFT's best series by a long shot, but entertaining enough to keep watching to the end.
This was a series I found very polarising personally. There were times when I sympathised with Tomoko and times when I cringed with embarrassment on her behalf. I'm not sure I've seen any other anime that invokes "cringe humour" so well.
Overall I liked it, although it was a bit trying at times. I liked the random art shifts and some of the BGM. And the wonderful Imae-san with her late entrance in eps 11 and 12. I hope she and Tomoko become friends.
Overall a very confusing story that probably doesn't make a lot of sense. I enjoyed the show for the characters more than anything. The plot was just all over the place.
