ON YOUR MARK [Studio Ghibli]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Your_Mark
A short music video about two police or soldiers rescuing a winged (angel?) girl from a religious cult. The girl is then transfered to a lab where she is held captive. The two men that rescued her from the cult then plan to release her from the lab. They get some hazmat suits, immobilize the lab staff and carry her into a truck. A chase ensues but they manage to escape. Later, they ride in a convertible and she flies into the clear blue sky.
Great animation, no dialogue and quick; there is so much packed into this short clip. A masterpiece to any animation fan. If you haven't seen it, watch it. If you have seen it, it makes for a good reminder on the power of sublime anime.

I re-watched Parasyte over the last few days. It's one of my favorites and this is my third full viewing. That said, there are things I can criticize about it.

First the stuff I like. It's one of the most engaging anime for me. I can easily pick it up at any point and rewatch part of it. Death Note is also like that. I think good pacing is responsible. The soundtrack is pretty good, but gets repetitive. Binging Parasyte will get a few tracks stuck in your head. The philosophical stuff is interesting enough.

The animation is serviceable, although inconsistent at times. The CGI used in crowd shots has aged very poorly, though I doubt it ever looked good. The atmosphere can be weak at times and although I haven't read the manga, I bet going from black and white to color didn't help.

The romance love triangle thing sucks. Pretty much every(human) female character is kinda annoying, but glasses girl and Kana especially take it up a notch. Kana is confusingly stupid to the point where I wonder what the writer was going for with her.

I felt like the "scope" of the story wasn't decided upon in advance, and was going in a larger direction, but at some point the mangaka decided to greatly minimize it. The second half feels weaker than the first and the resolution is somewhat anti-climactic.

I would recommend Parasyte is you like thrillers or stories about inhuman characters learning about humanity.

Hinamatsuri is a comedy anime adapted from a manga. It is pretty funny, so it serves its main purpose. There's also continuity and something of a story, but it's messy and not really important. The psychic power gimmick of the show also rarely comes up. Apparently a lot of manga chapters were skipped, so that probably doesn't help matters. The emotional moments were pretty well done. The animation is really good.

I'd recommend Hinamatsuri if you want to watch something light. It's a shame the blu-rays didn't sell well, so a season 2 isn't likely.

I'd like to recommend a show that recently finished airing, Mayonaka Punch. I saw it without too many expectations but it surprised me a lot. It's an odd show that's hard to define. The basic premise is that it's about vampires who form a youtube channel, but that doesn't do justice to how lively and odd it can get. Without overexplaining the story, what I enjoyed about it is that the cast is memorable and full of life, and the show itself is really well directed and drawn.

>>33365
Stopped reading at "Felt very real and human." I don't know why would anyone on a place like this care about "realism" and 3DPD resemblance.

>>38432
Yay someone else watched this show! I posted about it a bit on the season thread >>38431. I still have several episodes left to watch, but yeah I was expecting some sort of standard comedy trope show, but many of the episodes were really sincere and heartfelt. (Of course the best comedy shows will always have touching moments, but mayopan has an almost inverted balance: it's not an intentional comedy show which happens to highlight friendships but rather a show about friendship with wacky characters that naturally results in comedy).

On that thread there was also a behind-the-scenes with some of the cast.

Post edited on 27th Sep 2024, 6:23pm

>>38433
Not that anon, but that's not how I interpreted it. Saying that characters "feel human" is another way of saying that they "feel authentic". This is not taken to mean "authentic" in the sense of "true to real [3D] life" but rather "authentic as rich characters with their own depth and personality" rather than "cardboard cutouts" that have no life.

ReLife is not my cup of tea, but speaking instead of a genre I know well, in SoL/CGDCT characters that "feel real" is the principle aspect that can make or break a show. And it is particularly difficult to get right because what you're portraying is not a sense of "authenticity" to real human life but rather authenticity to an idealized human one. I don't really know how to define it well, but just look at almost any kirara show: they have the "kirara magic/charm". It's not solely about moe (although they tend to correlate well), but it's about exhibiting the most positive and pure qualities of mankind. And doing so in a way that still feels believable rather than an idealized sugar-coated fairy tale.

See the posts somewhere on /an/ that take Hoshikuzu Telepath as an example. The characters are not perfect, they have faults, but they are not irredeemable ones. Unlike real-life, characters give each other second chances. While things may go wrong, they never go tragically wrong. Trust, friendship, and sincerity are ever-present pervading themes, while it is not so in real-life.

>>38434
I'm glad you saw and enjoyed it, it feels like not a lot of people did. The youtube uploads have low views and there's not much art out there. What caught my eye initially is that this is the first anime since Dennou-Gumi that Kotobuki Tsukasa has done character designs for.
>it's not an intentional comedy show which happens to highlight friendships but rather a show about friendship with wacky characters that naturally results in comedy)
Very good way to put it.
>On that thread there was also a behind-the-scenes with some of the cast.
I liked seeing those, they were fun and interesting. There's also some short extra anime episodes on youtube.

>>38436
> The youtube uploads have low views
Could you link/clarify what you mean by youtube uploads here?

>>38437
The OP/ED and supplementary materials like the short anime, behind the scenes stuff and drama shorts.

>>37236
>dreadful childish comedy that is usually crudely sexual in nature – it's barely a step above toddler-tier toilet humour
>crude sexualization in this, mainly in the form of tits and ass prominently featured
>Most of the female characters have huge bolt-on gattling-gun tits that are borderline comical
A fellow 同性愛者, I see.... Hehe... Not much of us around here.... Isn't it? It can't be helped...

>>38436
>>38432
Ah I just finished the last episodes, what an ending!

Given that we had development of the other characters, it's only fitting that at the end Masakichi's issues were revisited as well; after all, that's what started the whole thing. With this theme, it also very closely parallels YoruKura – and I think the two pair together nicely, with slightly different takes on the same topic.

But man does this just reiterate how much I hate online "engagement baiting" culture.

SPOILERS FOR SHOW BELOW...

So as mentioned, one of the major underlying themes (esp. in the first/last few episodes) is the effect of incendiary online comments and "trolling" – "enjou suru" I think it was called in Japanese, aka attracting the attention of the internet pitchfork mob – has on the person receiving them. Both in YoruKura and MayoPan, they serve as a sort of trauma that prevents the respective MCs from re-engaging with the medium they used to love.

Now the show makes it clear Masakichi isn't a saint. She's definitely an asshole who's the worst possible big sister and has a short emotional temper. But she's not _evil_ (well maybe modulo stealing her sister's otoshidama money). She is earnest in the sense of hard-working and dedicated; time and time again she does eventually do the right thing with regard to helping her newfound friends. And while she's not opposed to stretching the truth a bit with some white lies, she's sincerely opposed to actively misleading the viewers.

But becoming part of the "youtuber" sphere is a bit dangerous, especially if you intend to use your own identity rather than hiding behind a (possibly pseudonymous) facade. It's one where you actively attract attention both good and bad. Online netizens have no stake and while the bulk may not be actively malicious (e.g. to the extent of stalking and harassing users), the information asymmetry makes it easy for netizens to raise pitchforks from a safe position. Or some just like stoking the flames.
The fact that Masaki doesn't approach it dispassionately but is rather emotionally invested in "want[ing] to feel wanted" and "want[ing] them to enjoy watching [her]" makes this a risky endeavor though, given that she's easily affected by the negative comments.

While the last episode has this neat visual moment where she cathartically "overcomes" the effect of those negative comments, in reality I think the situation would be a bit more nuanced. While it's easy to brush off negative online comments when both the commenter and target are anonymous, the less of a facade you have to hide behind the potentially greater effect those comments can have. Becoming an "online personality" as it were, would then seem to require a dispassionate attitude coupled with strong mental fortitude (e.g. Tokage) or a strong support group of friends/colleagues. Without either, it might be easy to get swept away by those comments.

While one can't really _blame_ the online netizens who engage in this behavior – trolling and gossipping has basically been there since usenet – it is of course quite rude and certainly at least in bad taste. But by itself though I don't think it would be too much of an issue, as individual comments usually don't gain too much mass. What should be scorned is the "engagement farmers" who prey upon such drama like vultures to really throw gasoline into the fire.


In the show, we have the Harikiri Sisters. While we don't know the exact circumstances under which the group split, it's clear that they have no qualms about milking the situation and painting Masaki as a villain. (I'm sure such acts have been orchestrated on the real-life (3D!) YouTube as well). What's notable though is that they don't even _realize_ how this could affect Masaki – that is, they're not actively malicious, but rather just seem to consider such drama fanning as part and parcel of the youtuber game. That they seemingly apologize in the ED credits doesn't negate any of the above, since for all we know they may just consider it as an opportunity for more views.

I do wonder whether the fact that we had two shows about the same topic aired in back-to-back seasons means that this is a theme which happens to resonate with people in the real-world. I.e. that with the shift to more attention-bait dominated forms of entertainment we're seeing people increasingly hurt in crossfire....

Anyway I am happy that Masaki found a group of true friends that will support her.

>>38459
Masakichi is such an interesting character because of her disposition. The show really makes you sympathize with her even if she causes some of her own issues. I'm glad it all worked out for them.

>>38462
Yeah I really liked Masaki as well. I posted upthread on >>38435 about what it means to have characters be "human". I think Masaki's a good example of a "human" character who's a bit rougher than the usual innocent kirara one.

She has sharp edges, but she really does care about her work and it's just painful to watch her trying to take everything on herself instead of reaching out to her friends (who very much want to help). She keeps everything bottled up, and when things reach a breaking point she always ends up lashing out at her friends and becoming isolated [in that way she's a bit like Raimon from Hoshikuzu Telepath].

But you can tell she does care about them, because she goes back to make amends. And she does have personality flaws (e.g. her relation with her sister), but she does slowly progress throughout the show, and by the end she has at least recognized those as issues.

>>38466
I agree and I'm really glad to see someone share this perspective. Her character flaws are also part of what makes her so funny to watch.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto is a 2-cour anime about a poison-loving apothecary fixing problems and solving mysteries within the Chinese imperial palace. She does so while working under the beautiful head of the inner palace, who finds her distaste for him refreshing. Everything about it is good. I don't need to belabor that. Watch Kusuriya no Hitorigoto if you want to watch a good anime.

Terminator 0 is an anime addition to the Terminator franchise. The setting is the same, but none of the characters are. This time, it's about a guy in Japan who created an AI to compete with Skynet, a terminator being sent back to stop him from releasing it online, and a human from the future being sent back to... also stop him, or something. It's not great.

The production value is serviceable. There is some bad CGI at times, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. It's Studio I.G., so that should give you a good idea of what to expect. The writing is messy and strange. There's lots of hokey stuff you would expect from a Hollywood action flick. Dumb things the characters do to move the plot in a certain way. Then there's all the baggage of the Terminator series and how it doesn't make that much sense.

Nonsensical character motivations, like I have no idea what the Terminator is actually trying to do. How threatening the Terminator is, is also inconsistent. The scientist guy does nothing the whole time, except try to convince his own AI to help humanity through philosophical debate, which was kinda funny. On top of all that though, there's weird "twists" I guess. And the atmosphere is pretty depressing, and not in an interesting, artsy way. Not unusual for Terminator, but those are contained within a movie-sized time slot. This is 8 episodes of that.

I've only seen the first two Terminator movies, but I've heard this is the best thing to come out of the franchise since the second film. I buy that. I don't recommend it though unless you love the Terminator franchise, or think the idea of an anime based on a western ip is interesting enough on its own. The animatrix did that better.

Side-note: the official subs aren't the most accurate. Expletives are randomly added in, so I guess they're based on the dub, even though the upload I picked had a separate track for "dubtitles"

Post edited on 27th Oct 2024, 12:27pm

>>38528
I hope he says "sayonara baby" instead of "hasta la vista"

10/10. This is an incredible gem and I regret missing it for so long.

This is one of the most, if not the most, cruel, soul touching and soul crushing anime I've ever seen in my life, where drama is not some petty ridiculous stuff sucked out of thin air, but a real, tangible and extremely touching drama. This is one of the best of the best I've ever watched.

This is story about ghosts, phantoms, people with a terrible fate, but without destiny, hope, meaning, choice, future, purpose. Openings and endings are top notch and unlike in many other anime strike right in your hearth by being so very relatable to what is happening in the anime itself. These lines "Transparent... Transparent... Transparent" in the end still have my head spinning and hands shaking. There was never anything but an illusion. Illusion of life of people that never really existed, who have not left anything behind, except blood. Letting them alone, not even blood they shed will be remembered. All in an unforgiving, merciless and defiling environment, where good memories are counted on one hand, and half of them you made up yourself, just to cope.

This anime is godly. From the very beginning to the very end. This so rare, almost non-existent. Even if I could remember everything I've ever watched I wouldn't remember 10, heck, 5 stories so strong as this one. Maybe none at all. There isn't a point of failure. There isn't a hasty or jammed or spoiled ending. This story tells everything it wants to tell and is entirely complete. This story touched my core. My applause.

Post edited on 28th Oct 2024, 6:28pm

I can't rank this because I don't know how. After phantom (Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom :') I watched this more or less "forcibly" just to hold onto remnants of my sanity. Slice-of-life therapy, you know...?

This is very warm slice of life anime. Very comfy atmosphere. I find it to be better than Girls' Last Tour, because of how characters interact with each other and how their personalities manifest. And the general impression about the atmosphere is just as peculiar. The girls have typical (standard, cliche, you get the meaning) personalities, but somehow here it was exactly the right decision and everything looked perfectly in place.

Also reminded me of Haibane Renmei, though there isn't that enthralling atmosphere of isolation, still interactions between the girls somehow reminded me of Haibane.

This is a cheerful and reassuring story which you might use to cure your soul after the phantom whatever has made you feel uneasy or disturbed.

>>38535
I need to watch it someday, it seems up my alley. Thanks for the review, for some reason in my mind I had it confused with girls und panzer.

I am not sure how to rate this. It is the kind of show that appeals depending on your tastes, but all in all it's pretty good.

Somehow my expectation was to see a paced story that drives needles under your nails, setups up a scene, develops a play and then blasts the hell out of you, but no. It does have a darkish feel to itself, because kawaii girls kill people and are happy to kill people, but it's not oppressive or indulging like phantom.

First season does not have a story line at all, it just develops characters, exploring the relationships inside fratellos, depicting internal struggles of the girls and of their Handlers. It somehow manages to set an easygoing pace and I stayed relaxed during the entire time. I have a strong impression that this season quite appeals to people, who are not above fantasizing being a goshojin-sama to an obedient loving loli.

Second season continues the job of further developing characters and bringing on surface their hidden feelings, though it explores characters that were mostly off screen in the first season. I like it more, because a lot of screen time is dedicated to Triela, and she's the only girl that I felt attracted to (she is a cutie!). On the other hand, second season actually has a story line and even sets up an unexpected drama! The idea of confronting two evils is a very good one and I honestly appreciated what they did, unfortunately, I didn't feel anything, because after phantom you're doomed to be left somewhat dead inside. It is amazing that there is an anime where the antagonists are not some opaque hit boxes that induce absolutely no feelings at all, but have a strong backstory and you can actually emotionally connect to them.

OVAs continue the second season and explore Jean and Giuse more thoroughly and I discovered them to be very insightful and useful to the setting and story.

In summary, I found it to be somewhat easygoing with a bit of creepiness that stems from unabashed ruthlessness of the girls mixed with their genuine tender feelings and cuteness. It is not an action, it is about relationships. It is good on its own, but you will find it especially appealing if you're fond of petting kawaii shoujos.

Mattaku it's unfinished... Watching this has been a mistake and a surprise at the same time. Mistake because I got baited by some cute screenshots. Surprise because it turned out to be interesting, in a way.

If Saya no Uta wasn't enough of a mindthwack, you can safely give this anime a try.

On one hand, it is very twisted and ugly. It takes depiction of mental illness on a new level. It shows the disgusting side of humanity in an unhinged and abominable way. It is not unrealistic, but at moments I wondered why I keep watching.

On the other hand, characters somehow resonated with me. There were some small details I found very cool and the general atmosphere felt not-so-alien. I guess watching other mentally ill people has its appeal when you're in the mood.

One of the details I liked is how Asagiri has her magic shaped as heart because she missed love, Yatsumura stopped time because she spent her life living through fear, Nijimin controlled people because she's mentally an idol, Shioi changed appearance because she's a hypocrite and so on...

It's not all dark and gloom, by the end some brighter landscapes emerge and the ending somehow felt "right" for a mahou shoujo anime, even if it wasn't anything impressive. Too bad it's unfinished. It's not bad, but I can imagine why it's unlikely to get a continuation.

I'm not into the mahou shoujo genre, so I can't compare it to anything. I see some people compare it to Madoka. Not sure. Madoka had an altogether different feel to it.

In summary, careful with this one, but don't shun it needlessly.

This reminds me I wanted to watch flip flappers the other day, huh. But they say it's complex to understand. Not sure if I enjoy mahou shoujo.

>>38568
>This reminds me I wanted to watch flip flappers the other day, huh. But they say it's complex to understand.
Ooh even just reminiscing about flip flappers makes me instantly warmed inside. I could write 10 entire theses about it, (and I'm probably responsible for all the TC posts about it here). It's not really a mahou shoujo anime, if I had to summarize it in one word I'd say it's about "perception" in all forms. Just the most thought-provoking show I've watched.

As to whether it's "complex to understand", actually I'd say on one level the story is quite straightforward if you take it for what it literally is. But leaving it at that surface level would really be a waste, most of the beauty and core of the show is in those deeper layers. If you were ever interested in psychology, psychodynamics, spirirtuality, occult, shamanism, etc. then Flip Flappers is the show for you. If you just want a mahou shoujo or a yuri, then Flip Flappers probably isn't it.

>>38569
> If you were ever interested in psychology, psychodynamics, spirirtuality, occult, shamanism, etc.
Or rather, if I could understand a thing... I make the entire post a spoiler because it reeks of frustration and self hatred. The webm is from Magical Girl Site and spoils some of its plot!

I don't know if it shows in my reviews, but I really have to try very hard to find any "deeper" meaning in what I watch. Most of the time I omit 90% of details others would notice and discuss. It will sound very lame, but even with Requiem for the Phantom, which impressed me very very much, I was only able to understand and enjoy it because another person "pre-warmed" me with a brief explanation "how I should watch it". Otherwise I can imagine myself being disappointed with it, as many other people were. I'm a really dense person, and mostly emotionally blind. I can't enjoy most of the things unless somebody tells me what exactly is enjoyable there and only if I find the what enjoyable as well. It's hard to explain. My understanding usually always stays on a very surface level.

It is a miracle I could somewhat enjoy Magical Girl Site, but even such it felt a bit forced. I don't know how to explain. If the value of Flip Flappers is in finding hidden meaning, it is likely I will never understand it unless somebody spoonfeeds me.

>>38570
>I'm a really dense person, and mostly emotionally blind. I can't enjoy most of the things unless somebody tells me what exactly is enjoyable there and only if I find the what enjoyable as well.
Hmm I find this a bit sad, because to me what makes anime a form of art is its subjectivity. Someone else telling you what to enjoy means you're not really making the show _your own_. As you watch anime, have you never resonated with any of the themes or plot elements? Felt that some characters or plat was "relatable", because it reminded you of facets of your own life?

You mentioned that you're "emotionally blind": that might well be (there are surely some mental "disorders" which might prevent one from introspecting or analyzing things at an emotional level). And as for denseness, I think it's something that can be trained over time if you want to. Although if you've accepted it as an immutable fact, is it also possible that you've never really tried?

I am not you so I cannot say, but to me being told "how to watch" something would be insulting, I like adopting anime as my own and I see what I want to in it. There are some objective themes in most shows, but the beauty in shows is how you adopt those themes as your own: what you see about yourself in them, and by merely watching the show and adding it to your collective knowledge how the show in turn shapes you.

>is in finding hidden meaning, it is likely I will never understand it unless somebody spoonfeeds me
With Flip Flappers in particular, there isn't one specific hidden meaning. I think there is some "analysis" doc somewhere which calls it a rorschach, and I think that's a great metaphor. You can see in it want you want to see, explore it however you want to explore it, and relate to whatever is relatable to you. And in fact (at least in my interpretation) that's the _point_ of Flip Flappers. If it's a show about perception, could you really have one objective way to "view it"? The whole thing is delightfully meta, in a way that would take me pages to properly articulate my thoughts.

Someone who's really into Yuri will interpret all the events of the show through that lens, and that's a valid interpretation. Someone who likes Mahou Shoujo will see mahou shoujo references and homages everywhere, and that too is valid. Someone who has deep roots as a Christian is going to see biblical metaphors all over the place. Someone who has had childhood issues of abandonment, or a feeling of inability to express emotions will see themselves in Cocona. So at least in my (meta) interpretation of Flip Flappers as fundamentally about perception, where the underlying theme is about narratives and the interplay between art, ideas, and the psyche – then it's not something that someone else can convey to you. By virtue of watching the show and adopting it as your own you create your own "pure illusion".

You can read about how other people interpret the show, but that's like traveling to other people's "pure illusions". And those interpretations can again influence your own, but it would be mistaken to simply adopt that as your own.

Post edited on 10th Nov 2024, 12:23pm

>>38571
>Felt that some characters or plat was "relatable", because it reminded you of facets of your own life?
Yes, but I could never put it in words unlike many other people on the wired.
>You can read about how other people interpret the show
But I won't because it will only make it worse.

Though I've seen a Flip Flappers paper somewhere, in PDF format, but I probably did not save it.

Anyway I don't feel ready for it.

>>38569
>I'm probably responsible for all the TC posts about it here
You're not, because I'm responsible for all the posts criticizing it. I don't hate it, but it's neither a character driven nor plot driven show. It's like a colorful, nicely put together vegan dish. It's sorta enjoyable and there's things to appreciate about it, but it can't compete with steak or sushi imo.

edit:
About the whole yuri thing; I'm not into it, but if I was, I think this is how I'd feel if I went in expecting yuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLoRO87lu_8

Post edited on 10th Nov 2024, 12:52pm

We need an offtop thread in /a/ that would save threads like this one from being cluttered. How is a visitor supposed to read reviews when half the thread's contents are irrelevant?

>>38572
>Yes, but I could never put it in words
That's almost certainly a skill that can be trained. I think most high schools in the US do a terrible job at actually cultivating a skill for artistic analysis. Most times people are reading about stuff they don't care about, already have a predisposed point they have to arrive at to please the teacher, and thus most "analysis" is reduced to the point of writing down pages of bullshit. If there's even a chance that you can get a "bad grade" for an "incorrect interpretation" of a novel/show, then true exploration isn't being encouraged.

>in PDF format, but I probably did not save it.
I think it's in /ddl/.

>>38573
Ah we've probably conversed before. To me flip flappers is one of the slowest-burning shows, unique in that most of the enjoyment from the show is only realized years after you actually watch it. I do agree that in the short-term it's not the most interesting show in terms of making an impact. It necessarily requires you to go "wait hold on what exactly did I just watch", realize there's more than meets the eye, and to reconnect the dots yourself. This requires one to be interested and to put the effort on your end to dig up what others have said, and effectively "rewatch" the show with these interpretations in mind. And that's just the beginning, then you let those ideas simmer for years until you've distilled down what the show means to you and sorted out your own interpretation.

I do accept that not many people are really excited by or interested in doing this, it's a show mainly for people interested in playing with the world of ideas for its own sake, without any end to the means

>>38574
>How is a visitor supposed to read reviews when half the thread's contents are irrelevant?
ctrl+f?

>>38574
>Half the thread's contents are irrelevant?
I apologize if my post is deemed irrelevant. But I thought it was on topic, it's a continuation of upstream dialogue on Flip Flappers review, and more generally shouldn't discussion be welcomed, if one solely wanted to read/write reviews without the ability to invite a conversation and go back/forth, one may as well just post on MAL or something.

>>38577
It would be better if reviews were in one thread and discussed in another. It would be easier to navigate and people could discuss reviews more freely without fearing to derail the reviews thread unto offtop.

I say this mainly because I think of the reviews thread as a of a place to find something to watch and also get some honest opinion on it.

>MAL
That's the problem, reviews on MAL are unusable garbage. I tried reading them a million times but there is never anything useful in them. They're absolutely useless for deciding whether I want to watch it or not. Imageboards, tohno in particular, are far superior to MAL in this regard.

I just don't like when reviews get swiped away by discussion and it's even worse when the discussion itself is actually a good and insightful one. Though maybe it's not an issue since this thread is not very active anyway. Just thoughts.

Great Pretender is an organized crime anime about con artists going around the world, deceiving the morally bankrupt through convoluted plots that probably cost almost as much as they make. The main character is a naive, wannabe crook who gets roped into these plots against his will.

Great Pretender is good at creating a sense of suspense and surprise. A lot of the time, you don't have much more idea of what's going on than whoever is getting scammed. The character dynamics are also serviceable, but lack a satisfying conclusion. Abigail, who's kind of a more down to earth Revy, especially could have had more in this department. The main character's arc though is good.

The art style is a little unique and the production value is decent.

This is a Netflix licensed anime. I don't know how much, if any influence that had on creative decisions. If you look for it, maybe you'd get that sense from a few things. It didn't affect my overall enjoyment and nothing was egregious. I would recommend Great Pretender if you liked Black Lagoon, or anime with multiple, mostly self-contained stories.

Post edited on 10th Nov 2024, 4:14pm

Last anime I saw was Magical Canan.
I feel like there's not a lot to say about it. It's an extremely cliché magical girl anime with every trope you can imagine, and what seemed to be a low budget. So low they didn't even have an OP done till the show was half way aired. I checked it out after seeing the art which gave me some nurse witch and pop-tan vibes, and sure enough Watanabe, Akio was attached to it. That and I've seen a lot of older magical girl anime, and this one some how slipped under my radar.
It's a bit of a monster of the week with seeds infecting trouble making people, turning them into monsters. Like with Nanoha it's got a mascot that turns out to be humanoid, but not before the protag does some embarrassing stuff with the mascot.
One thing I didn't really see coming is that they actually kill one of the girls.
For the most part it does follow pretty typical formulas and patterns. There's an ojou-sama type magical girl who was pretty fun and a nice reveal.
It was a bit more pervy than I expected with panty shots all over the place, but for the time it comes from it isn't really abnormal.
...I'm really struggling to think of anything mention worthy from this.
Can't say I'd recommend it, it's really dull. It might be a magical girl anime but it isn't particularly cute and can look down right ugly at times. It's also not much fun either, with a lot of it revolving around family drama. I'd say watch literally any other magical girl anime and you'd probably have a better experience.

>>38581
>I'd say watch literally any other magical girl anime and you'd probably have a better experience.
Even Meguca?

>>38582
No. Being Meguca is suffering.

This turned out to be psychological horror. I haven't slept properly in days so I'm not exactly thinking straight right now, but watching this made me shaky by the end. I guess it tells all you need to know about my personal impression.

It feels a bit strange, some 5-6 years ago I would probably dismiss it as an "inane attempt at impressing viewers by shallow drama". Now I felt through their trauma so deeply that the feelings themselves are somewhat unsettling to me. I might have even watched it someday, somehow, because Amane and especially Makina seemed familiar in a very weird way. Maybe it's just sleep. In any case it felt like a fresh new watch and I didn't remember a thing about the actual story.

Anyway it nails its peculiar atmosphere perfectly. The story is classic in my opinion. Since it's an adaptation of an eroge, it follows this eroge specific storytelling. A powerful MC, isolated place, five unbelievably cute girls (Akio Watanabe is a genius I swear), very creepy mental health issues backed up by even more creepy backstories. And all of them developed one by one. It's something that has been done many times before, but the point of classics is not to invent something new, but to reiterate the old in a good way. Well I enjoyed watching, I think Grisaia no Kajitsu does its job perfectly. Enjoyed not as in had actual joy, but I certainly felt emotional connection to every character. It felt alive. Very good.

I want to take this chance to remember anime like Angel Beats for example, that use a similar technique. This way of storytelling, where everything happens in a school with main characters being isolated from society and trying to live everyday life while facing their issues, for some reason it imprinted on my mind as one of the most anime thing you can see in anime. For some reason I like it very much. There doesn't seem to be a lot of stuff like this, but then, if there was, I'd probably not enjoy it as much. But suggestions are always welcome.

Post edited on 8th Jan 2025, 3:35pm

>>38657
Maybe you'd like Gakkou Gurashi?

>>38657
>where everything happens in a school with main characters being isolated from society and trying to live everyday life while facing their issues
I love stories like this, it forges the closest bonds. As other anon mentioned, Gakkou Gurashi and Haifuri are ones to check out. And of course SSR. Perhaps even Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku or Urasekai Picnic. Everything I've mentioned leans closer to slice-of-life rather than anything psychological or horrifying.

>>38658
>Gakkou Gurashi
>genres: horror
Please warn next time, I'm not very attentive and can miss such things. I was about to mentally mark it as a slice-of-life for emergency mental illness treatment. Same as I did with Grisaia, now I reap the mental impact it did to me in a most agonizing way. Added to the list, though.
>>38659
>Haifuri
Added to the list. I for now register it as something congenial to overall mental health I hope you warn me if I'm wrong. For example, Grisaia no Kajitsu doesn't list horror as its genre, only Drama, Romance, Suspense. Probably because MAL admins are dumb. Maybe socially active people just don't recognize the psychological horror of a trauma's aftermath.
>SSR
Nani?
>Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku
I don't remember why but I didn't watch even though I am aware of it.
>Urasekai Picnic
This one sounds good. Though I'm not sure how soon I get back to your recommendations. Thanks anyway. They might well keep me alive one day. I only hope to scrape some money and buy some decent amount of storage.

>>38661
>>SSR
>Nani?
Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō / Girls' Last Tour.

I just noticed that those Grisaia screenshots are in a fancy aspect ratio, makes me want to watch it...

>>38657
I quit this anime after the first season. I wouldn't say I hated it, but there were some things about it that bothered me a lot. I never read the VN but from what I remember, it was pretty clear to me that the anime rushed a lot of things. The main things that made me drop the show is a scene where one of the girls pisses themselves, one where one of the girls wants to stop living so the MC buries her alive for several days to show her how terrible death is, and that somehow makes her want to live (even though that's obviously not what death is like, but the anime still acts as though it delivered a very powerful message about how great life is).

Ultimately what made me really drop the show is the Kazuki arc which was almost traumatizing because of how disgusting and unnecessarily edgy it was. The scene at the end where Kazuki throws her life away to save Amane even though they could have both escaped bothered me for a long time. I dislike seeing 2d characters hurt in general, especially if it's done in a cheap way. Maybe I'll finish it one day when I have the guts for it because I did like some of the characters.

>>38662
>Shōjo Shūmatsu Ryokō / Girls' Last Tour
I have watched it already. Good overall but it felt somewhat too passive. And there is no character progression, just this perpetual atmosphere of a lost civilization. I liked it though. Girl's Last Tour should be watched slowly in my opinion, rushing it will make the impression bleak and short lasting.
>I just noticed that those Grisaia screenshots are in a fancy aspect ratio
Yeah they did cinema aspect ration for some reason. The latest installation which I have postponed (see seasonal thread) is unfortunately mostly webrips or whatever on nyaa, so they have black bars encoded in the video stream, which is very stupid and irritating. Couldn't find anything that wouldn't have those black bars. Maybe there are raws but reencoding them will take weeks on my hardware.
>>38664
>first paragraph
That's no way to watch such anime. What I learned needs to be done here is to stop seeking some "powerful messages" or "deep meanings" and pay more attention to the emotional aspect. Traumatic experience isn't something that pairs well with rationality.
>where one of the girls pisses themselves
I found this scene very intimate instead. She cared for others so much and yet her trauma didn't let her act contrary to their wishes, so she ended up embarrassing herself even more.
>one where one of the girls wants to stop living so the MC buries her alive
This one was interesting. I don't care how realistic it was, and the burying itself didn't concern me much. But her emotional suffering for what has happened and the insight into her past touched me probably the most of all characters. I view that edgy aspect with the grave more as a garnish to the overall story.
>Kazuki arc which was almost traumatizing
Yes I did not notice just how wicked it was until it was already too late for my poor mental health. If you go so pedantic, everything about it is unrealistic. Japan is very small, just go east or west guided by the sun and it won't take a week to get out. There will be roads or something. But there is truth in it. Fear does things, you know? It's totally possible to freak out and drown yourself in a puddle. I don't know why that had to do it like that, but I feel this arc was in line with the overall story and it only strengthened my affect.
>I dislike seeing 2d characters hurt in general
I wouldn't watch it too often myself. Sometimes though it sort of makes up for self harm but it's a totally different story right?

>>38665
>That's no way to watch such anime. What I learned needs to be done here is to stop seeking some "powerful messages" or "deep meanings" and pay more attention to the emotional aspect.
That's a weird thing to say. Each individual can watch anything however they want. And in regards to the burial scene, I didn't personally interpret it as deep, and it's not what I was looking for specifically either. I just feel as though that's how the anime tried to portray it and it ended up looking silly and hypocritical instead.

>If you go so pedantic, everything about it is unrealistic.
It's the finale of the season. It's like one of the most major things to look at and potentially criticize. I hardly think that counts as being pedantic.

Also no offense, but is it really necessary that you talk about your depression in every post you make?

>>38666
>That's a weird thing to say.
Sorry, you saying this to me somehow seemed funny. I didn't mean to "teach" you how to watch anime, just shared a way I found to enjoy such shows better. Didn't imply it will necessarily work for everyone. I often have trouble paying attention to the proper aspect of a story, ending up criticizing it for doing things which actually were heavily rudimentary to the actual import. It often leads to me not enjoying a story even though if I did pay attention to the right thing my opinion would be completely opposite. It's not anyhow a strategy to enjoy everything, though. It's merely a tool I found that helps to miss fewer stories that I find enjoyable.
>I just feel as though that's how the anime tried to portray it and it ended up looking silly and hypocritical instead
I agree on silliness, but not on hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is pretending to be one thing, but actually being something else. The message was pretty straightforward in my opinion, and the grave was simply a setting element meant to escalate the emotional impact. I didn't pay it nearly as much attention as you did, for some reason. Her personal trauma held most of my attention. I wouldn't actually even think about that little burial twice if you didn't bring it up.
>I hardly think that counts as being pedantic.
I don't believe we'll ever converge, it's become too subjective. You were irked by unrealistic decisions, but I didn't even want any realism in the first place, so our perspectives are way too different here.
>Also no offense, but is it really necessary that you talk about your depression in every post you make?
Yes it's absolutely necessary! If I stop doing that I won't even be able to feel myself as a hollow shell and that would be too much to bear. And actually I don't talk about it in my every post, only when it gets acute. And when it's not acute I actually don't talk that much either, so yeah. I know what you mean. Sorry if that irritates you, but I can't help it either.

>>38661
>Gakkou Gurashi
>mentally mark it as a slice-of-life for emergency mental illness treatment
It's not exactly horror though. I'd say it's more bittersweet. Definitely more tonal than other kirara shows, but it's almost certainly not going to harm your mental health. Without spoiling things, the best analogy I can have is to the ED of Kemono Friends. The whole show is like that, bittersweet and mono-no-aware. You will almost certainly feel sad, but in a "positive" way that reminds you of the warmth and pleasure of friendship. Any mild shock only comes from the shock of expectations, a sense of "I can't believe my cute wholesome kirara is actually so tragic." And really such mild shock is only in the first or second episode.

You should be prepared for loss of life, but it's again framed in more of a sad rather than horrifying way. It's like the graduation scenes of SoL dialed up to 11. I really didn't mean to sneak anything by you, and I can in fact deeply empathize with how things can harm you psychologically in a way that leaves a lasting impact and makes you nervous. Maybe even "priming" you in a way that innocent things are tinted with a negative association.

Gakkou Gurashi is one of my favorite shows just because of how strongly it captures that mono-no-aware feeling and shows how closely friendship can bond people together even in the worst of times. Feel free to ask any more questions if you're still nervous, and I can help you make a decision as to the state of mind you'd be OK watching it in. I wil say that watching it will put you into a melancholic/saudade state of mind, pining for something greater. So if you're already feeling lonely or isolated, it will resonate hard. Whether that is a good or bad thing is up to you: whether you're the kind of person who listens to sad songs in such times (in order to transcend those feelings and cherish the girl's bonds as your own), or whether you prefer watching sweet stuff like K-On to drown out those sorrows.

>Haifuri
Yes I would say this is favorable to mental health. I even remember it being rather humorous at times, and I don't recall there being any strongly "bitter" or "sad" parts to contrast the sweetness (e.g. unlike Gakkou Gurashi which definitely sticks in my mind as the definition of bittersweet). I do remember there is this weird subplot near the end like a science-fiction show gone wrong, but it's basically not taken seriously.

>Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku
To me it was sort of average. I don't have anything really good or bad to say about it, nothing stuck out to me.

>Urasekai Picnic
Warning that I'd say this is closer to my idea of "horror" than Gakkou Gurashi. Everything that takes place in the urasekai (otherworld) is the stuff of creepypastas come to life (that's quite literally the premise of the show). That being said even as someone who avoids all horror and has never read creepypastas for similar reasons, the situations were really more absurd than horrifying (I even have a review of it somewhere on the review thread I think). It's almost like they wanted to make a horror show but actually failed at doing so.

But it's worth a warning that it might possibly cause nightmares if you e.g. are someone who is scared by supernatural things like ghosts or spirits, or otherwise primed in a way that your emotions might catch onto those things. At least to me, "more absurd than horrifying" is how it felt, but everyone is influenced differently. The show also wasn't that memorable (though I really like the ED).

>>38665
>Should be watched slowly in my opinion
Yeah I'd classify it as an atmospheric/tonal/thought piece. You're less interested in the characters themselves than the setting, the characters are almost just a vessel for a post-apocalyptic "feeling". Something you watch an episode of then just sort of reflect on the emptiness a bit.

Hopefully this helps, if you liked those suggestions and your preferences are similar to mine I can dig up other shows I've liked with such feeling.

>>38668
>Feel free to ask any more questions if you're still nervous, and I can help you make a decision
It's not a matter of decision, it's on the list so I'll watch it, the question is when. I don't watch anime very often, so there is no telling when I get back specifically to your recommendations. It's not just about opening my video player, I need to catch the right mood or I won't be able to enjoy a thing. Anyway, your post is sufficiently detailed, thank you.
>I can dig up other shows I've liked with such feeling.
Thank you. Hopefully you're a tohno regular too, so I'll get back to you sooner or later if I need it. My reviews aren't hard to recognize in my opinion, so hopefully you won't miss it either!

As for my tastes, I don't really know. I'm not so well established/settled in my opinions about anime that I can confidently articulate my preferences. I can't know whether I like it or not until I see it. Sometimes title/description are enough to know I don't want to watch it, but all of your recommendation passed that filter! Thank you again.

After Grisaia no Kajitsu teeth clenched I decided today is the day to go for it. I expected it to do further strides in violating the remnants of my psyche, but turned out to be quite otherwise.

Finally there are no more of these deviously wicked psychological horror stories to kick you out of the saddle, but still I really struggle to make this post sequential.

Since all the girls have been well developed, naturally this installment went for developing Yuuji and his backstory. To his past they dedicated the first half, and to be honest I thought it very good. Most of the things had been foreshadowed, but still it did a great job of "getting me in". At this point the story goes as realistically as it gets in anime with cute girls. As a side note I can see what they did there, the storytelling technique was anything but unique, yet they made a clear point in this anime specific way, so I enjoyed it.

After they tell about his past they commence a massive pure maiden epic action adventure. Realism? My butt. They blast the realism to ashes. The action goes so rampant here it bores through the sky and beyond. And all the while they manage to maintain the peculiar atmosphere of the first season, constantly keep up subtle meta (meaning specific to Grisaia) humor, and characters actually preserve their true selves to the very end, unlike in many other anime where by the end most of the cast becomes furniture for the main character to shine in front of. It takes its own absurdity in a manner that actually makes it feel plausible and enjoyable.

It is vastly different from the first season in nearly everything, yet it manages to preserve the general feel of Grisaia no Kajitsu so well, I'm compelled to say it's an example of a good continuation, at least for me. The plot is at times so straightforward, yet so in a manner I'd like to see it, that I actually enjoyed the thing.

Conclusion: cute girls do magic.

Post edited on 15th Jan 2025, 1:12pm

>>38666
>That's a weird thing to say. Each individual can watch anything however they want
Anyone can watch anything as they want, but it's not weird to say that certain contents are produced with specific intentions and for particular types of public. A person watching a historical documentary shouldn't be disappointed by excess of realism, as an extreme example. Each production has a way to be properly appreciated.