So, Vira and I have been watching shows together for quite a while now and we've compiled a lot of thoughts on the many shows we've seen through Discord and figured we might as well share them here, if for nothing else than to get flamed by other weebs.

This past run we tried watching Baccano and Erased.

Baccano, for me, holds the dubious distinction of being the only anime worse than Death Note, and only the second show I've ever dropped. The nonlinear storytelling never quite hit the mark for me, and I disliked spending every episode trying to figure out which timeline I was in and which plotline it was. For someone who liked epics, Baccano was everything an epic shouldn't be, with way too many forgettable characters, an incoherent plotline, and some of the worst side arcs I've ever seen.

3.5/10

Erased was a good mystery show that didn't know what to do outside of the mystery genre. It had a good hook, and I genuinely enjoyed trying to solve the mystery.

Unfortunately, when the show became "solved" was also when the show became trash tier, because apparently, Your Lie in April notwithstanding, A1 can't write an ending to save their lives. Episodes 11 and 12 were a goddamn disappointment, and in the end I can only mourn that the best character in the show (Airi) only got two episodes of screentime.

6/10

 

These couple months, Miner and I watched Erased and Baccano. I’ve already watched both, so this was a re-watch for me.

Erased.

Erased is a show with problems. I feel sympathy for it.

Spoiler

To those not in the know, the Erased manga is split into two and a half sections:

Part One: Satoru trying to save Kayo and the killer’s other victims.
Interlude: the killer’s backstory.
Part Two: Satoru in the new timeline/future.

The anime got twelve episodes, so they had to make a decision. Should they try to adapt the whole manga, only part one and hope for a second season, or adapt as much as they could and do an original ending? They chose option three, and it’s baaaaaad. Like, comical bad.

Unfortunately, that’s not the say the manga doesn’t have problems, and that corrodes that whole story in the manga and anime. That’s because the start of the story and what it becomes don’t correctly follow each other.

The premise of the show is Satoru goes back in time to save Kayo (and the other victims). Much of the anime is dedicated to this, but eventually it becomes about the relationship between Satoru and the killer. In other stories, these could occur side-by-side, but with Erased, it seems unable to do both at the same time. So, as soon as Kayo is saved and her plot ends, her importance to the narrative is dropped and she comes a tertiary character. It’s fine that she moved on with her life as an adult, but it feels disjointed and incomplete that the premise of the story (saving Kayo) is basically swapped for a different story. And no matter how interesting that second story is, it still doesn't feel right.

But I’m fond of it. The animation of the anime is much better than the manga’s, and the opening and ending songs are both killer. I just wish it was more cohesive, and maybe didn’t bother with an original ending if that’s what they came up with.

Sad!

Show: 7/10.
OP: 8/10.
ED: 8.5/10.

Baccano.

We dropped Baccano. It has NOT aged well at all. Every character was annoying. If I hadn't watched it before and knew the timeline, I'd be lost as shit. Eventually, after weeks of my increasingly blatant hints that it would be okay if we didn’t watch it anymore, Miner followed his heart and we got rid of it.

Fuck man.

Not good.

Show: 3.5/10.
OP: 4/10. (look, I know people like it, but I’m not into that type of music).
ED: N/A. (never stuck around to listen).


Next round: Paranoia Agent and the Promised Neverland.
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My old review shorties: A Place Further Than the Universe / Mob Psycho 100 (S1), and Bakemonogatari / Made in Abyss.

 

Do me a favor and get back to me after the first season of Higurashi no naku koro ni.

 

These miner and Vira reviews are everything I hoped/wanted them to be.

What's the eta for Promised Neverland?

 

I dunno, feels like there should be Quick Topics with notes made while watching to me...

That said, I blame DLP for getting me into anime at all. All of these threads just make it sound too fun/interesting to pass up. (Although maybe not Baccano so much.)

 

Slooooooooooow. We're on episode 3 because Vira insists on taking a couple days in-between episodes. <_<

That being said, we'll probably be done in a couple weeks.

So far, Vira likes it far more than I do, but that's only because

Spoiler

Holy fuck god why are the eyeballs designed like that?!?!

It's actually a pretty good watch so far.

 

We're actually on episode two of both Neverland and Paranoia.

I've already seen Neverland, and it's just as good as my first watch. EVERYTHING about it (aside from two things) are top level. It's the adaption the world deserves.

Paranoia is lol. I've been spoiler-ed about it, so I know where it's going and what it's trying to do, but all these characters are hilarious. I'll write more about as we go along.

 

I believe my exact quote on Paranoia was:

its literally a poor man's erased that's also been laced with some sort of hallucinogen

 

I remember watching Paranoia Agent on Adult Swim over a dozen years ago. Not much else to say, but yeah, thanks for the nostalgia.

 

Yeh I couldn't get past the third episode of baccano, had zero characters that I liked. Pretty dull for such a frenetic show.

Erased was everything that was said on the tin. Neat time travel conceit, an obvious and forgettable villain, nostalgia for a youthful existence. It was fun to watch week by week but I can't imagine watching it again.

 

Jarizok's Anime Coaching QT hahaha. I actually wouldn't be that upset about that being a thing.
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Agreed. I was on episode 7 or 8 before I took a break for a bit, I'll have to finish it off soon.

Spoiler

I think its partially to show the kids are more mixed descent/nationality and partly as a contrast between the kids and the adults, open expressive eyes versus smaller colder ones. And to be distinctive.

 

Errr.

I was talking about the other eyeballs. The ones on the monsters....

 

Paranoia Agent Episode 3 update:

Interesting episode. Miner's constant WTFs were entertaining.

Spoiler

Also an interesting scenario! Can't remember the woman's name, might have been Harumi, so let's go with that. What do you do when you have a split personality who acts in deviant, humiliating ways?

You don't do what Harumi does, that's for damn sure.

A lack of communication or empathy on Harumi's part escalated the situation to the point Maria turned against her. Maria was shown several times communicating with Harumi (whether through the answering machine or the therapist), but Harumi took it for granted and she wasn't shown communicating as often. It should be a rule: if you have a split personality, don't touch their shit. It doesn't matter what they're doing, as long as they're not hurting anyone, respect their boundaries. This is not to be nice, but their ability to fuck up your life (like pretending to be you) is greater than any other person, aside from what you can do to yourself.

Harumi didn't get that, so she jumped the gun and packed away Maria's things when she wasn't gone yet. I don't blame Harumi for feeling awful about the things Maria was doing in her time, but I blame her for not being able to communicate with Maria. With the lack of communication, they turned completely against each other, and it was a situation that could've been avoided.

I'm enjoying Paranoia Agent so far. Can't wait for the drug trip next time.

 

I would just like to point out that I have watched twenty-seven shows thus far.

Only four of them could rightfully be classified as ecchi. A fifth, Made in Abyss, could be considered really fucking weird.

Why the fuck is it that the three times I happen to be watching anime in a semi-public setting also be the three anime that actually have NSFW content?

Spoiler

Opening up episode 3 and just having the very first scene be a hooker sex scene was not something I wanted to do at my living room table GDI

 

Did one of you fucks slip me some acid or does Paranoia Agent really be like that?

 

Thoughts on Paranoia Agent episode five:

Spoiler

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Current Paranoia Agent thoughts:

That was a dark as shit episode.

Current Promised Neverland thoughts:

Miner is banned from the internet until he STOPS LOOKING STUFF UP I SAID TO NOT LOOK UP

You did this to yourself.

 

We've finished our current run of Paranoia Agent and The Promised Neverland.

Paranoia Agent was actually the dullest show I've seen in quite a while. The worst part of it all was that there were very little redeeming qualities throughout the show. The animation quality suffered from (according to Vira) a lack of an animation budget, the characters were wholly uninteresting and difficult to relate to, and overall, I found myself completely distracted by other things even when the biggest reveals were being shown on screen. Like, fuck man, I was reading Domekano with one eye while the last episode was playing. Jesus.

3/10

Thankfully, we had the complete opposite side of the coin with The Promised Neverland. Ostensibly a horror anime, the show checks a lot of boxes of what I think a good anime should be, which is surprising considering that I'm really not into the horror and mystery genre. Looking back, there's so much that I missed during my watch-through but later on made so much sense.

Spoiler

The relationship between Isabella and Ray. The characters playing with the bottle rockets in the background. The Sister Krone meeting. You can tell that everything was planned, everything had a purpose. Nothing was there just to be filler, and it was an absolute pleasure to watch.

The music was fucking amazing, I haven't been this hyped about an OST since Violet Evergarden. Co shu Nie is an absolute genius and I'm sticking both endings onto my playlist for the foreseeable future.

9/10

Tl;dr Avoid Paranoia Agent like the plague and watch Promised Neverland if it's the last thing you do.

 

I didn't mean literally, I was just saying the animation was crap. D8

Anyways, yeah.

Drugs aka Paranoia Agent was pretty boring. I read up on the show afterwards and learned the show was about escapism and the dangers of ignoring reality, but damn if the show couldn't execute its ideas in an interesting and competent manner. There were background details that added to the story that I missed, but I hold so little interest, I don't care. All the characters were unlikable, and while the ending was more enjoyable because the show went completely bananas, it doesn't at all save the show.

OP: 5.5/10. Visuals pretty good, but I didn't like the song.
ED: 5/10.
Show: 3.5/10.

Promised Neverland was great. I recommend. Read the manga. I also recommend.

OP: 8/10.
ED1: 8/10.
ED2: 7/10.
Show: 9/10.

For our next anime cycle, Miner and I each chose an anime without the other's input. My choices were between two shows, a third dark horse show, and a 100% spite option depending on what Miner chose.

Miner chose Oregairu. I allowed mercy and chose my dark horse, Gankutsuou.

We'll see how this goes.

Miner said all I wanted to say on Promised Neverland. ;_;

 

I swear every show Vira wants to watch is a drug trip.

There's also always a COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY sex scene. (But only when I'm watching in public.)

Thanks Vira <3.