# Winter anime season 2012



## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 16, 2012)

OK the season has already started but  i'm not going to review anything  till next week as i want at least two episodes of everything  to watch before i say anything







stuff i'm probably not going to watch

*lupin III* - sorry but i never really got into lupin...  and if i was to watch it i wouldn't start here
*gundam seed HD* - see above but replace lupin with gundam. i kinda got into wing  but that was about it.  i did try and watch all the original (original gundam not original seed) but  it was't  doing it for me
*shin tennis no ouji-sama* - i'd want to watch the original prince of tennis first. i never watched it  but i saw clips and it looked ok.
*tantei opera milky holmes 2* - i need to  watch the first series
*danboru senki W* - second part to a first part i never saw
*smile precure -* ninth part to a first part i never saw


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*Recorder to Randoseru*
because it was the first to download. this one is a series  of shorts  only lasting  3min with half of that being the credits.
the basic premise is  a brother and sister  who  look opposite to their age.  the young boy looks  like  an older teen  and the older sister  looks  like a little kid.
it's  somewhat amusing  but  they are a bit too short to be all that funny.  presumably adapted from a 4-koma


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*Natsume Yuujinchou shi*
The fourth series of what i once described as nostalgia and demons.  I really really like this series. it takes the almost weaponised small town nostalgia and mixes it with a touch other the other world.  it's kinda like what ghibli does in films like totoro and ponyo but with a slightly mnore modern style.  don't start on this series  but i do recomend people  taking a look at this show.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*Kill me baby*
....
The fuck?



ok so normal girl has a best freind who is an assassin.  there is also a ninja.  it's wierd comedy.  it's also done in a cutsy chibi style.

well i'm loving it.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*Amagami SS +*
Those of you who have been following these threads may remember the first season of this one.  It's straight up romance comedy.  with more of a leaning to the  romance side of things.  the USP of this series is it is  5 different love stories  happening to the same guy over the same period  but with different girls.  this looks to be 13 episodes rather than last seasons 26  so each girl is only getting two episodes.   they also seem to be doing things in a different order.  it's actually  a really nice show  and although i initially though that each different love story might  impinge on the others   they don't.  they don't play out like  love triangles  but  like alternative realities.
each girl is diffrent enough that each story has a unique feel to it  and  although  you will probably end up with a favorite or two  none of the stories is a let down.
also miya is awesome imouto


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*High School DxD*
Demons and tits.
It's basically a fighting show. odinary guy finds out he has some special power and end up fighting agaist some other group or groups. In this one he get killed by the the bad guys to prevent hios power awakening but he ends up basically selling his soul to a demon. the demon being the pretty girl from school.
so far this is been mixed. the first episode is kinda not that good but the second episode picks it up a bit. the fighting may turn out to be ok and to be honest i don't mind a bit of echiness. take the ending credits for example.

plus i quite like evil girls.
third episode isn't too bad for fighting  i'll probably  watch this one to the end


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 22, 2012)

*Senki Zesshou Symphogear *
Power armour: The musical!
Aka swan song of the Valkyries.  Girls use singing to energise power armour.  they fight mysterious beings  from a underground base that  looks like it it was built by the more arty of NERV contractors.
also heavy implied lesbianism.
it's actually not bad.  i like some things like the cutesy main character is actually a sadistic berserker  when fighting.  i'm not sure if we might get hit  by weird plot soon though.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Zero no Tsukaima F *
The F stands for "Fuck me, more Zero no Tsukaima?". No actually it stands for final, not supprising given this is the fourth instament in the series. basic premise is useless wizard  Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière aka Zero summons a familiar (tsukaima) the only thing is she summons saito from this world. it turns out louise isn't a regular zero she is infact super poiwered hence normal magic doesn't work for her the only downside is her magic takes ages to cast so she needs a powerful knight to defend her. saito is given the power to use any weapon.
the real story is that louise is a full powered tsunderekko* and the main girl in saitos ever enlarging harem.
the problem is after the first season i havn't cared for the plot all that much. this show goes from ok to kinda poor in places but the cast manage to hold it together. i'm not sure how much i will like this season but i'm giving it a go. the world this is set on is notearth and this time after getting involved in a battle between notengland and notfrance they go to notrome to meet the notpope.

episode two is a trip to notvenice

also in this series louise will be cosplaying as index

*if you don't know what tsundere is don't worry


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Nisemonogatari*
Second season to the awesome bakemonogatari. this one is supposed to focus on araragi's two little sisters  and indeed  they do appear more but so far each episode has been  more focused on the starts of the previous stories  not that i'm complaining  it means i got to see more of the fantastic banter they had going previously. i especially like hachikuji but kanbaru is fun too.  plus the whole show starts with a scene where  senjogahara chains down araragi the does sadistic play and quotes evangelion.
plus this show has  really distinctive animation.
this is a must watch  but  watch the first season before.  that one is a must watch too.


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## lizzieloo (Jan 23, 2012)

I just thought I'd post on your thread cos nobody else has.

It's like a mercy post.

(((Shippy)))


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Mouretsu Pirates *
School girl space pirates!
this one is very fun. the first two episodes  have me totally.  this is a core of serious sci fi anime  with 20% silliness mixed in. i'm already hooked!  seriously just give this one a try, i was iffy about it  to start but  it has really grabbed me with it's fun drama.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

these threads normally get one or two posts....

and lots of views....


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## lizzieloo (Jan 23, 2012)

Mercy views


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Brave 10*
warring states period fighting show.  OK i saw the OP to this and was kinda meh  but after watching two episodes i'm kinda enjoying it's ninjary goodness.
mind you having seen so many variations on the same historical figures it starts to get weird.  i can't get the loli version of  sanada yukimura out of my head each time they say his name
why can't we have an animation about the war of the roses where richard and henery are played by busty (or possibly loli) girls with giant weapons who can  throw fire balls.
a mecha! a mecha!  my kingdom for a mecha!

also the main female in this looks a lot like a cross between the two main females from full metal panic


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki*
2.5 min comedy shorts about a very round cat.  that is all.  just watch one to find out


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## skyscraper101 (Jan 23, 2012)

Do you have to be stoned or something to understand these?


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Aquarion EVOL*
Sorta sequal to aquarion.
this one is about fusing mecha.  it also has a massive backstory type thing  but that is almost impenetrable.
i think this one is set thousands of years after the last aquarion but to be honest i have no idea  it might be an alternative universe show.
i don't think you need to have seen the original because that one  acted like it had a huge backstory you were kinda supposed to know as well.
basically if you like robots that hit each other you will like this one.   this one continues to be kinda lighthearted  but seems to have upped the cpomedy levels.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Rinne no Lagrange*
the tries her best tomboy pilots a mecha
it's another mecha show!  but as much as i normally am bored by these shows this one i'm enjoying. it's really not taking itself too seriously and i like that.
favourite moment so far is when the evil alien mecha pulls out an energy sword instead of getting into a sword battle she up and suplexes the other robot.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai*
Uni student ends up having to be dad  to three girls after his sister and her husband go missing.
kinda amusing so far. but  slightly less of a comedy than i thought. i thought  the parents going missing would be played for laughs  but   it looks like they have actually really died.
i'm not sure how this will transition between  comedy and drama  but so far it's not been so bad.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Thermae Romae *
time traveling roman bath architect discovers the wonders of modern japanese bathing.
very funny. though perhaps knowing a tiny bit about japanese bath houses helps.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Daily Lives of High School Boys*
think something like azumanga  or a toned down nichijou   but set in a boys school.
This one is ok. not exceptional so far but a good few laughs  each episode. nothing much special to sayt about it  except it is made by sunrise and square  so  there are  possibly  more  game/mecha references than normal


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Another *
Horror. full of dark hospitals, old school buildings, small towns full of secrets and a mysterious girl with an eyepatch.
only two episodes in so can't tell much about this one so far but i'm going to keep watching.
also it is set in 1998. i'm not sure why but they deffo point it out.   i guess part of it is to do  with the isolation aspect   having only a shitty mobile phone and  no internet


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 23, 2012)

*Ano Natsu de Matteru*
I saw the first few min of this and thought "this is onegai teacher" i continued to watch it then a charactor who is obviously based on morino ichigo turns up. the same morino ichigo who is on my favorite dakimakura. i wiki it. turns out the story and art are basically by the same two guys who did onegai teacher.
this isn't a bad thing as such as i do like onegai teacher but it's going to be a bit wierds watching this. it basically feels like an alternative universe of the first show.

a comparison.

ano natsu


onegai teacher


ok... so in OT ichigo wore jumper and shirt while the other girls wore sailor fuku in this show remon (strawberry and lemon....) wears a sailor fuku while all the other wear the shirt and jumper type thing

ah  i forgot to say what the plot is.

space alien girl comes to live on our planet and ends up living with boy. hijinks ensue.
this time round the boy is trying to make a film and she is trying to find a special place.
soft feeling love comedy.


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## Epona (Jan 25, 2012)

Nate says that Another is the one to watch this season. And that Ano Natsu is extremely formulaic.

We have the first couple of episodes of Thermae Romae which I am interested in but we haven't seen it yet - I have good knowledge of Roman baths/spas and I think I know enough about Japanese bath/spa customs and culture that it should be interesting.

Oh and to lizzieloo: there is no need for "mercy replies/views" - there are several of us here who are interested in anime, I was badgering Shippy just recently about when he was going to post up his reviews for this season, and I like to read his reviews and talk about what I am watching. Shippy does do a lot of reviews so there sometimes appears to be an imbalance in the thread-starter:reply ratio, but I've found a number of good things to watch thanks to his review threads.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Jan 26, 2012)

I'm not sure you can call Ano Natsu formulaic unless you are referring to the onegai teacher formular but then they have hung a huge hat on that one... it was their top priority*. it's probably better to describe it as a alternative universe re-boot than anything else. you kinda know the pattern but it's what they do with it that counts.

*they actually do reference this in the second episode next week preview


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 14, 2012)

i have to say  no matter what you think of the show aquarion  keeps on having  epic music



the ending vid for this is great too  has  all the characters done in a really over the top elaborate style  (as each charactor is intruduced  their image turns from a simple  object representing them to a full on  picture of them deck out in elaborate coustume)


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## Quartz (Feb 16, 2012)

You might find chizumatic.me.nu (NSFW) of interest.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

?

doesn't load properly for me


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

.mee.nu it seems


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

well Mouretsu Pirates does seem to be this  seasons unexpected hit

and it is bloody well worth  checking out.

it takes  a certain elements of space sci-fi and mixes it up a bit.   it looks like it should be totally goofy  with  young girl  captain     a  shcool space piloting club  etc.    but they play it really seriously  during  battle stuff. there are comedic  bits  but  generally  it's   a proper drama.  the comedy comes from stuff like  one of the  pirate raides  being  mainly  a show  for    the  rich cruise passengers


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## Epona (Feb 16, 2012)

That sounds interesting Shippy!

At the OH's behest, I have started watching Another and have now more or less caught up with it (seen episode 5) - I'm really enjoying it, it ticks the right horror boxes for me in terms of suspenseful build up and atmospheric settings (the doll place is just flipping creepy, and the school itself is portrayed well - nothing that you can really put your finger on, but just a general aura of "something not quite right" about it, visually I mean).


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

another isn't bad.  it doesn't feel like  something  particularly  stand out  for me as  it's  only been doing  standard japanese horrorisms (empty hospital,  old school building, small town  with  possible secret, dolls)  but  depending where they take it it might be ok.  the umbrella  scene  did  answer some questions about the tone of the series  (that's how far i have gotten) 

i guess i'm just not that into horror    or at least  that kind of horror.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

also nisemonogatari is just as good as i expected it to be.    it makes me want  to  go back and watch bakemonogatari again.   great art  and even better dialogue.   

it's almost  set up more like an audio drama  in terms of being mainly  set pieces of two people talking   the scenery is often    more like background art  

if anyone didn't see the first season i would highly recommend it  even to non anime people.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai  is  one that  i'm looking forward to each episode as well  however  this is  much more  anime for anime fans.  

this is basically very simular to   the previos seasons  usagi drop  but  where as   usagi drop  kinda went for the wistful dramatic   edge   this has  gone more for the cute girls and comedy edge

in related news  it's  sound track has made it onto my walk to work playlist


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> i have to say no matter what you think of the show aquarion keeps on having epic music




this show i find hard to comment on because  it  really  does  ossilate between the sublime and the ridiculous.  it  could  so easily be done as a proper darkly beautiful  mecha  series  but  it does  love  to fill the show with  stock riduculous charactors  and make them do   silly stuff. 

the first  series (which to be honest you don't reeeealy need to have seen)   was genrally a lot darker  and  just  had  overthe top moments.  this series has swung into  proper comedy.

however i do kinda like the  new feel.  i like the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

Amagami SS +  just isn't as good as the first series.   it's still alright  about  i'll watch it to the  end  but  most of the love stories  kinda   ran their course  in the first series.  so far only the Rihoko  arc  has added anything  to the  story.   
i'm most looking forward to the haruka arc  as i felt  their comedic antics  are probably still worth watching.   kinda think sae's arc  might also  be ok for  similar reasons.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 16, 2012)

High School DxD  is basically crap.  but  mildly watchable crap.    it's tits and fighting  with  some comedy thrown in on top.  i'll keep watching  but this isn't a recomendation   except   for those who  like that kind of thing.


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## Epona (Feb 18, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> another isn't bad. it doesn't feel like something particularly stand out for me as it's only been doing standard japanese horrorisms (empty hospital, old school building, small town with possible secret, dolls) but depending where they take it it might be ok. the umbrella scene did answer some questions about the tone of the series (that's how far i have gotten)
> 
> i guess i'm just not that into horror or at least that kind of horror.


 
Ah now you see I LOVE Japanese horror movies, so these slightly clichéd things make me rub my hands together in glee - I'm on familiar territory and enjoying playing the waiting game of the slow horrific reveal.  The umbrella scene reminded me of why not to run when holding a pointy object, that was fairly bloody horrible (and fairly bloody)


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 18, 2012)

it was intresting that they name dropped king  as  the small town japanese horror  does resonate  somewhat with small town american horror


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## Epona (Feb 18, 2012)

Shippou-Sensei said:


> it was intresting that they name dropped king as the small town japanese horror does resonate somewhat with small town american horror


 
Oh absolutely, I'm a King fan too - really the only genre of horror that I am _not_ so keen on, is slasher-movies type stuff (I prefer suspense over gore!). As far as King references in anime go, have you watched Shiki? It is so totally Salem's Lot set in Japan. I'm not sure how that series pans out because I only watched a few eps and then got distracted by other things (Too Much Stuff To Watch!!!!) but I am keen to get back to it when I have time.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 18, 2012)

i theoretically understand the appeal of the format  but for some reason it  doesn't really  grab me.  but then i'mn not really into being scared.  the better it is the less i like it! 

there are exceptions of course  but  for me  i generally end up   not finishing   stuff

i skipped shiki  arfter the first ep   but to the horror tone

the  last horror  i got a lot of the way  through was ghost hound.  

actually a quick search of  my past thread basically  turns up not much horror.   ocationally   horror/comedy or horror/action  but  not  straight horror.


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## Epona (Feb 18, 2012)

Yeah I think it's just not your thing Shippy - I rate both Another and Shiki, but if you don't like horror then you're not going to get the same enjoyment from them that I do! Oh and Monster was another awesome crime/horror type thing (older show mind you, not this season) that I have watched quite a lot of, but not found time to plough through all of it yet (and there is a lot of it!).

Although we have a crossover of interests, I'm definitely much more into horror and sci-fi type stuff.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 18, 2012)

monster was the german doctor one right?

i must say  this season  all sci-fi fans should check out Mouretsu Pirates.  It is basically proper sci-fi.  it's not science fantasy  but instead  real space battle   in sub light situations    involving hacking systems and  predicting orbital paths  etc.   

it's got a  lot of hard sci-fi clout.  it really reminds me of starship operators.  that one took it  to the real extreme  with  using projectile weapons  that take  4 hours to travel the distance between  ships  and lasers  that   actually  work by overheating the hull   not  like death rays. 

this one  has  a few death ray lasers   but  all the situations are really  quite down to earth.   the juxtaposition of over the top characters with  an underlying core of hard scifi really works

even the pirate think is explained as  being a letter of marque from a colony planet  which was breaking away from it's home planet.  (the war is long over  but the  historical licences  stick around)   therfore it's basically  just standard  mercenary stuff.  the pirate motif is  sorta  just  a form of PR


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## Epona (Feb 18, 2012)

Yeah Monster was set in Germany (the main protagonist is a young Japanese doctor working overseas in Germany), so yeah that's the series you're thinking of.

I will check out Mouretsu Pirates. I kind of have an issue with sci fi at the moment, in that any sci fi I watch is not Steins;Gate - It Was That Fucking Good, that nothing quite matches up to it.  Everything is measured against it and found  lacking


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 18, 2012)

man i have a couple of series on my need to get round to list.


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## Epona (Feb 24, 2012)

Just watched the Steins;Gate OVA which was released yesterday. At 25 minutes it was nowhere near long enough, it was a bit like meeting up with old friends and then them having to leave straight away after saying hello. The animation was not as good quality as the series, it was not really noticeable most of the time but Kurisu was certainly not drawn as well as in the original series - and she was a lot shorter and blushed more than the brash opinionated scientist that she was in the series! We also didn't see nearly enough of Daru and Mayuri. Overall though it was a good catchup, set just after the series ended (and in the same timeline as the series end) and I was glad to see it, but it just left me wanting more - especially as there are still some loose ends!

Shippy, if you haven't watched it yet you _need_ to watch Steins;Gate - it doesn't matter whether you are into sci-fi or time-travel as a genre, and the fact it is based on a game is irrelevant, the characters are so well developed and likeable (or otherwise!) that it will keep you interested, regardless of whether you are into the genre or not. Start with the series though, the OVA is set afterwards!


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 24, 2012)

ok i'll  try to do a catch up weekend

what i do have to talk about  though (when i get home) is the epic series i watched last weekend  (another catch up weekend)


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 24, 2012)

downloading steins;gate now

my  latest recomendation is this 



princess jellyfish.   It's a wonderful show.  as in i've just watched it and i feel like watching it again.

seriously  here is a torrent link.  watch the first two episodes

http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=torrentinfo&tid=232366


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 26, 2012)

Steins:gate

getting up to the half way point


first comment

normally  when i watch an anime in which a catgirl maid  "destroys" akiba  it's under different circumstances


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 26, 2012)

slight annoyance.  got only the first 13 eps  in high quality...  now getting the rest

of course righ at the point that the drama steps up a notch


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 26, 2012)

on episode 21 now

the one thing that kinda bugs me when watching anime based on games is  i know  this isn't the only story

i guess in a way that kinda works  in a multi worlds  set time travel story   but  it  does  kinda  make  this story feel diffrent

and this  show  has  so many possibilities  for  bad ends

also  by now  kenny's death is starting to lose impact.


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## Shippou-Sensei (Feb 26, 2012)

i can see what you mean about the OVA

the colour scheme was different, the rest of the show  used paler tones so the blushing stood out more in this episode.  and she did seem shorter. although  they did   make a thing of her shortness in the rest of the  show (not being able to reach the top shelf in the supermarket) so i guess it is supposed to be  a character trait.

also i take back  what i said somewhat.   the  anime  did manage to  sell the idea that  this was the one true path. the steins;gate.   i'm probably  just  a bit bitter  after watching the  fate stay night movie  in which  one of my favorite charactors  gets brutally murdered  just  after she  turns up   because  the movie shows  a diffrent   game route. 

the one thing  that surprised me is how much this is  based on the real John Titor  stuff.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Titor


all in all a worthwhile show to watch

El Psy Congroo


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

Finished up  symphogear and  papa kiki today
symphogear  was very over the top but in an enjoyable way   papa kiki  was  fun  but  i felt it didn't  really go anywhere   i'm giving it a pass for cuteness  but  fans of  plot might be disapointed.

natsume was great this season too  in fact  i was slightly disapointed as  in looks like this was the last season .


i finally watched  Busou Shinki Moon Angel.  this was a series of  short episodes 2 or so min long.  they compiule in to a nice 40min  story about  a  type  of  fighting dool.   it's  really  short  so  the action scenes  are  well made.   it  does   lack any real depth  but  it's certianly not bad  and the short lenght   makes it a nice into into power armour  type  anime


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## Shippou-Sensei (Apr 6, 2012)

just finished  Rinne no Lagrange

now i enjoyed it   but it's basically just small town nostalgia carefully  disguised as  giant robots fighting each other.

all the episodes are good  but  the plot is a bit  undeciferable.

which is  possibly  due to the fact that at the end of the series  they  did an advert  for a second series  an ova  and a bloody movie


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