Really liking the anime adaptation of Mirai Nikki. Nothing really else from this season is all that good though. Boku wa Tomodachi is amusing, but it's a guilty pleasure watch.

Next season looks like shit also. *sadface*

edit: still following Mawaru Penguindrum. It's easily one of my favorite series of the year.

 

I agree that Mirai Nikki is a really well done adaption but I'm actually enjoying a lot of shows this season. Shana III is pretty good, Guilty Crown is good, Persona 4 is pretty good, Fate/Zero is awesome, Ben To is stupid fun, Boku wa Tomodachi is stupid fun and Mashiro Iro Symphony turned out better than expected.

I do agree that nothing looks all that great next season. Really the two shows I'm looking forward to most next season are just continuing to watch two shows from this season, Shana and Guilty Crown. Well Mirai Nikki is also continuing next season, so there is that. I think we're also getting another season of Zero no Tsukaima, which may end up being pretty good if they decide to follow the Light Novel more closely like Shana III has been doing this season.

 

From this season:

Fate Zero: Rider. Archer. No more words need to be said.

Mirai Nikki: It's good. Very unique, and quite well executed. The story seems to move around a lot from subplot to subplot. Keeps it interesting, but also feels like it lacks cohesion - and because of that, it probably isn't the type of anime I'd be recommending to people years from now.

Nurarihyon no Mago: Sennen Makyou: Season is coming to an end. Despite the fact it had a big overarching plot for the whole season, I think it lost a lot of what made the first season more interesting. Rikuo has gone from some badass, to just another kiddy shounen hero. That's largely what made the plot in the first season. Not only that, but Nurarihyon himself *should* be more badass and wtf happened to all his school friends who featured so much in the first season? They pushed that aspect a lot harder. Very average.

Guilty Crown: Failed to live up to its potential, but is still pretty fun. I think the main thing that annoys me about this anime is how convenient everything ends up for the good guys and how retarded the bad guys are. Even seeing a chick with a handgun take down like 5 trained soldiers with rifles, who for some reason are just standing there staring is somewhat bearable. But seeing how a dystopian government seems to just fail at tracking a school kid, who continues to go to school after having being shown as a 'terrorist' several times is just painful. For the moment I'd still say GC is worth watching somewhat - especially given the last 2 episodes which renewed my interest in it.

Boku Ha Tomodachi: First few eps were pretty fun. It was yet another one of these moe harem type anime, but it did have a few minor changes that made it more interesting. Characters were decent, and I think the biggest thing was that unlike most anime in this genre, the main character doesn't get beaten up every 5 seconds (rather, the girls seem to be beating each other up instead) - and he's kinda cool in some instances. The jokes were funny and all. But since around ep 5 it turned more into a straight up stereotypical moe anime of this type and has gotten rather dull.

Hmm, might have to give it a go. The description didn't particularly seem interesting though.

 

Do it. It's a mindfuck, in an awesome way of course. It's directed by the same guy who did Revolutionary Girl Utena, if that helps at all.

 

Just finished watching Mashiro-Iro Symphony. It's good. It's got a self-contained story with a beginning, middle, and end (unlike most of the slice-of-life crap out there). It's cute, and though there's definitely a harem vibe to it early on, that quickly fades. The end pairing was atypical of the genre, which was a refreshing change.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'm really enjoying Guilty Crown as well, though I have to wonder why Marylin Monroe is a virus in this anime (shame on you if you don't get that). I agree with Jarik about how convenient things seem to end up for the good-guys and how incompetent and just blatantly fucking evil the villains are.

Also, the disease that turned them all to stone: anyone get GRRM SoIaF vibes?

Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai is good, and I like the fact that Sena's able to twist a knife in Yozora's side at least once an episode. Dunno, Yozora's just not that likeable a character and I'm still not seeing much in the way of redeeming features in her. The Kobato/Maria dynamic is pretty funny to me, though.

Maken-Ki is . . . fan-service and entirely predictable. Even the main character's power was obvious.

Spoiler

Japan, you need to end your fixation with negation. You have show about a bunch of people with cool-ass powers, and you basically render them all moot. Quit that shit because it's boring; and, it's been done to death before and better.

 

Mawaru Penguindrum is pretty crazy confusing. But awesome stuff happens every episode.

Mashiro-Iro was better than expected. It's surprising in that the girls who lose out on the guy get a lot of development.

Fate/Zero is very awesome if you know about FSN already heh.

 

I can wholeheartedly recommend the reboot anime of HunterXHunter.

 

I have a quick question as I have never watched Fate/stay night or Fate/zero. Which should I watch first?

 

Well, if you want coherent chronology, watch Fate/Zero first and then Stay Night. Otherwise, it doesn't really matter.

 

So I actually watched this like, a year ago, but thought I'd recommend it here:

RideBack (2009)

I post this because it is one of the most underrated anime I've ever seen. I've never talked to any anime fan who's even heard of it, and yet it's so good. Highly recommend.

The basic setting is a world in which a major world power (insinuated to be USA) was overthrown by a revolutionary force called the GGP, who took up their place as an authoritarian militant government.

Now forget about that for a second.

Enter Ogata Rin. A former ballet prodigy who ended up tearing a ligament in a performance and had to quit. Now she's heading to college instead. On a rainy day she comes across the Mechanical Engineering's RideBack club. A RideBack is essentially a motorbike type thing which can move into a bipedal mode (like a small mech essentially).

So the anime is a typical short season - 13 eps. The first half is largely based around Rin learning about RideBacks, competing in racing events and hanging out with the club. The second half has her being pulled into the world of terrorists, government conspiracies and battles.

Some people liken it to Air Gear: being an anime about a weird urban type activity that then descends into that being related to violence and conspiracies. But really, the similarities end there. The main thing that changes it is the style and the main character.

Ogata Rin isn't the typical type of character you see in an anime like this. You normally either get some spaced out, but super genius like Takumi from Initial D, or some loud, and somewhat idiotic character like Itsuki from Air Gear. In RideBack you instead get a quiet (not shy!), very introspective girl. And I think that's what makes it so great to watch. Rin is always thinking about herself, her actions and why she is doing things.

Spoiler

One particular scene I love is when she thinks about herself getting drawn into various violent conflicts and is disgusted when she realizes that a part of her is simply loving the thrill.

The other thing is the pacing and mood. It comes across more like an anime movie. The side characters aren't over exaggerated (well except for annoying bitch side character), it maintains a lighthearted mood to start off with without trying to make it comical. And somehow the whole progression of the 13 episodes reminds me of an anime movie more than a series. Its pacing is just perfect. Never feels rushed, but never feels like its dragging on.

CGI and Art are in line with what you'd expect from a 2009 anime. Fluid graphics are obviously, quite necessary for an action series like this - though at the same time it's nothing super special.

 

I just watched the first three episodes of this, and I'm now equal parts confused, amused, and disturbed.

 

That's pretty much every episode haha

 

Guilty Crown

- From ANN.com

You know, at first glance this looks like a Code Geass knock-of. And it does share many things with CG, at least superficially. But truly, this is a series that easily stands on its own. It's not OMGWTFBBQ!awesome, but it's a good, solid series that sometimes has you on the edge of your seat and going 'WTF?!.

 

My question to you : is there anything redeeming about Shu? Or is he a generic shonen hero?

 

he's gone a bit crazy last episode

 

Tiger and Bunny is very, very awesome. It's got:

a) Great premise (superheroes being commercialised; come on, you gotta love that.)
a) Likable main character
b) Well executed fight scenes
c) Top notch production values
d) Deep and engaging set of characters (well, generally speaking - Barnaby is annoying. But still, he's necessary)
e) Character development
f) Surprising emotional depth

And so on. Go and watch.

 

Tiger is the such a great dad. So awesome.

 

Another - A horror mystery based on a Japanese novel.

Sakakibara Kouichi transfers to class 3/3 of a highschool in Yomiyama, a class surrounded by mystery. 26 years ago a popular student of that class died in an accident, and now there seems to be a girl only Kouichi is able to see.

The audience follows Kouichi who is trying to clear up the mystery surrounding the class. He seems to be at the center of the events happening and soon questions his own role. In between major events the story is kind of slow paced, slowly building up tension.

Plot, animation, character design and soundtrack are good if not great, and the combination does it for me. A few drastic scenes are well done and not just splatter for splatter's sake.

It's not brilliant, but all in all worth a shot, especially if you are into the genre.

 

Bit late to the party here, but what did you think of the end there Minion? Personally I would've liked it if more secondary characters had gotten axed. That said, I really didn't see the "twist," if you can call it that, close to the end.

I think the sound design was especially great. Good headphones with noise cancelling and a dark room had me at the edge of my seat for a while there. As for the animation...well it wasn't excellent but I felt that the doll-like character designs added an element of creepiness that wouldn't have otherwise been there.

Puppet with its string cut and all that.

 

In the end I was like wtf. It was like the deliberately underrated secondary or third-rated character who suddenly and out of nowhere is revealed to be the murderer in some crime novels. Afterwards I actually wanted to rewatch a few episodes to check if I missed something early on.

Heavy Spoiler:

Spoiler

I never realised that the deputy teacher was Kouichi's aunt - and I am almost sure they never mentioned it before. It would have been great if they had simply revealed that the deputy teacher was the dead one, as I am sure no one had her on the list. To add the line that she is also Kouichi's aunt was overdone and kind of ruined it.

And, yeah, the soundtrack was great. It was one of these animes where a lot of things match each other - thus making it worth my time.