General Anime Thread

Dr. Stone: Eps 1-2
 
I did not expect this show to be amazing. And I’m glad I was wrong.
 
I loved Senku. He’s just like me, but also a bit of a jerk. He’s smart, cocky, and obsessed with his passion. The pop culture references threw me off for a minute, but it still made me chuckle.
 
Taiju’s a bit of an idiot, but a lovable one at that.
 
I’ll save my thoughts on Tsukasa for next time, as I’m pretty sure they’re not done with his establishing character moments yet.

Thank you Netflix for releasing the filler half of Naruto even though you’re a month late and I’m already at Shippuden. How about giving us more Bleach arcs next time?

What’s with Toonami giving out all these TV-MA ratings recently? First SAO, then Promised Neverland, and now Dr Stone, Fire Force, and freakin’ BORUTO. Is the department becoming a bunch of SJW puritans? Or is there something I’m missing?

Stayed at a friend’s place over the past 3 days, where I finished OPM S2 at a friend’s place. Pacing issues were helped by having friends around to distract me. Garou’s story was good, totally gets why some people would sympathize with the monsters in stories they’re not supposed to. King was a decent foil to Saitama, although wasn’t that interesting by himself. And I appreciate the show framing video games as a way to level the competitive playing field.
 
Gonna try to catch up on seasonal shit before I have to back to work. Probably going to skip my quarter post, but it’s not like people read it anyway.

@dt  
Do you think One Punch Man season 2 would have been better if it had better animation? Or do you feel the writing made up for the animation?

@Holofan4life  
I think it’s a mistake to completely separate those two elements in this case.
 
The animation was fine, carried hard by Kenichiro Aoki. My issues were the cinematography, choreography, compositing, design. Maybe it’s a matter of taste, but in a year with quite a lot of good anime action, I would not put OPM S2’s action close to the top.
 
As for the writing, it still has a number of good ideas. Saitama and Garou’s stories are good, and represents ideas that every character in the show and most of the audience still need to learn. But taking a step back in its aesthetic execution makes its writing flaws (comedy, world-building) more apparent.
 
The franchise’s strongest themes aren’t particularly original, but they are typically seen in dramas and slice-of-life. Those ideas being in a high-profile, sakuga-laden action title give them more punch. So the action taking a step back in S2 makes its ideas less impactful.
 
imo.

@Holofan4life
 
Okay, that’s actually kinda funny.

 
Karen wielding Gungnir actually works pretty well.

Touhou Cannonball OP sure is nice as hell.
 
Actual Touhou tv show never.

@dt  

 
Reminds me of an old favorite, _The Memories of Phantasm

@Penguin Lagann  

 
Are we not gonna talk about this?

@Penguin Lagann  
I don’t care about ratings.

@dt  
I don’t think the general populace cares about ratings. Those things only exist so that parents and consumers can’t sue them when the stuff is viewed by their kids.

@dt  
I was talking about content ratings. It essentially means Boruto is as graphic as KILL LA FREAKING KILL.

@Penguin Lagann  
Toonami is on Adult Swim now.

Has there ever been a single anime series rated TV-Y7 that is purely slice-of-life?

@igotnopicks  
But what in Boruto could warrant that rating?
 
 
@Lord Arceus  
Hamtaro maybe?

@Penguin Lagann  
Nah.

@Penguin Lagann  
I know what you meant.
 
@Lord Arceus  
You know anime exists outside of Toonami, right?

Symphogear XV ep 9. I liked the way Maria brought back Tsubasa, fighting against the presumption that the powerful need to pursue more power because they have the right to. I liked the message that people don’t need protecting because they’re weak, but because they’re worth protecting. I liked Genjuro stopping Tsubasa when he did, it’s nice when shows take their own advice. And I might be stereotyping, but I love any time anime goes against the idea of unconditional filial piety. Maybe Tsubasa’s arc was done too quick, but it was good.
 
Felt kinda bad for Vanessa and co. They were always going to be betrayed, but for them to get cut down in such an undignified way was too abrupt. It’d be one thing if the show didn’t try to make them sympathetic, but they did. Even the Autoscorers had more of a send off this season. (Optimistically, I think they’ll be back. Cynically, I’d say they just didn’t know how to end their story.)
 
 

 
Re:Stage ep 9. As someone who had never had dreams of his own, this ep hurt a lot.
 
Sayu running away from home and opening up to Mana was good. Loved how the group got Sayu’s confidence back up. Much like Mana’s story, the cast reminded Sayu what she had convinced them, that theirs is a dream worth chasing.
 
The performance was good. The calm song, the slow choreography, the art, Sayu’s inner monologue about how Mana supports her and inspires her to grow. This show has been a pleasant surprise.
 
 

 
Aikatsu Friends ep 72. I liked Mirai admitting that she still has things to learn, and I enjoyed Karen’s newfound determination. Really liked Mirai insisting that Karen share her failures with her, along with her successes. This show has always handled its depictions of friendship well. And it’s always nice to see shows like this admit, even for a little bit, that it’s not that easy to change the world.
 
They performed Pride once more, and it’s such a good illustration of how LMT is greater than the sum of its parts. 1+1 = ∞.

 
Astra ep 10. The start felt pretty iffy, but the payoff was good. I have no doubts that they’re going to drag Charce back with them. I don’t mind that, but I do hope that the parents get their comeuppance, at least.

 
Mostly out of context panel from current Hero Academia chapters, little spoiler, but cute Eri