Some winter anime thoughts and boring stuff

I had another post prepared for last week but it was shit so I deleted it. I guess I'll talk about current anime that just finished.

Let's start with Nisemonogatari. It was great and enjoyable even though it wasn't as good as the first series. It felt like it was going nowhere and there was MUCH more fanservice throughout. But of course, the journey is much more interesting than the destination. If you liked the first series then you'll appreciate this as a fun ride with little substance.

Black Rock Shooter was pretty bad and I always went in with the "let's get this over with" mentality. The story content was so uninteresting to me. I've seen a lot of people enjoy this, which makes me feel like I'm not getting something here. If anybody else watched it, please tell me what you thought of it. I really want to like this even if it's just a little bit more.

Alright, I know some people want to hear what I thought about Guilty Crown. Short answer: it's SHIT. I won't talk too much about this since I'm pretty sure you've heard it all. Cliches turned up to maximum, scenes that were cheesier than cheese, and plot holes the size of my shoe. To be honest, it was enjoyable sometimes. The first half was probably the worst since a lot of scenes made me cringe but at least there was some character development. Even if it was bad. It makes me wonder how this even exists and why the creators didn't look at this and say "Whoa, this is shit!" There is one good use for this series though. I highly recommend this to anybody that is involved in storytelling (writer, director, etc.). This show is a good guidebook on how NOT to make a story.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou was a great comedy. This is probably my favorite show this season. I'll admit that the earlier episodes were a bit weaker but I always came out with a smile every time. I even went as far as to watch some episodes twice. A bit sad to see it go since it really brightened my day. The series isn't for everyone since the comedy is rather love it or hate it. You'll know whether you like it or not by watching it. There was an announcement of a season two but the idea sounds too good to be true. Apparently, we'll have more info on this in April.

Now we come to Another pie. The show had problems with characterization and focused too much on the "curse". Because of this, the characters felt a bit flat. Despite its flaws I still enjoyed it a lot, especially the ending. There several questions raised but I'm fine with it. It was enjoyable and that's all I could've asked for.

There are more series that I'm watching but haven't ended yet. I'll write my thoughts on those later.

Why did you guys choose twintails?

I've been trying to fix my sleep schedule for the past two weeks. It's hard to stay up when you don't want to. I don't like this. FUCK!

I've been playing Armored Core For Answer. It's fucking awesome holy shit. A much more face paced game than its predecessors. The mechs look more anime-styled and prioritizes the laser sword. I love it. I bought the Japanese version so it's even better with my orders voiced in Japanese. Just like my Japanese anime.

 

Winter Anime Season

With having watched most of the stuff that I was planning on watching this season, I thought it'd be nice to talk about it.

Amagami SS+ plus

I went into this not knowing anything other than it was a sequel. I watched the original so I knew what I was getting myself in to. A nice batch of wish fulfillment. Before watching it I wondered, "Hmm, where can the story go? I guess the only thing they can do now is to show what happens after the MC gets the girl." As expected, it's exactly what happened and I'm not complaining. I like that they're expanding on the relationships, it just adds more to the wish fulfillment aspect of the series. No complaints here, just another good ride.

Another

Having been spoiled to a major plot point, I was a bit hesitant to start this series. The main reason I wanted to watch it in the first place was because PA Works is handling it. I really enjoy the production value or "look" of their work. So far, the atmosphere established felt very relaxing even though they were going for a creepy mood. I didn't like the OP but I can deal with it.

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou

I knew going in that this was going to be a funny series. What I didn't expect is how funny it really was. Hilarious from the first scene and it doesn't let go until it's over. I was in disbelief when the episode finished. It went by too quickly, which shows how good it was. I know that some people like to bring the show down and say it isn't that good. I'd somewhat agree but let me explain. I do believe it's a great series and deserve a lot of the praise it gets. But I wouldn't call it the epitome of an anime classic, still too early for that. I'd say that it's the epitome of anime done well, where a lot of people end up enjoying the final product.

Inu x Boku SS

This was an impulse pick up. I had no interest in this at the start of the season but then I saw the character design of the MC. Needless to say I caved in and watched it. It was ok, not bad but I'm kind of confused as to where the plot is going. What kept me hooked was Ririchiyo, I find her adorable.

It seems that the studio behind it is David Production, which handled Ben-To. I hope they don't skip on the budget like they did for that show. But from I what I saw, it seems that Inu x Boku is doing good in that department. We'll see though.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed HD Remaster

I haven't seen Gundam Seed before. It's one of those shows that you keep putting off for some reason. I was surprised when I heard that a HD remaster was being broadcast. Such an interesting tactic by Bandai. Well, there's not much to say other than it's Gundam. The HD remaster is just a widescreen crop, upscaled, with some redrawn scenes. The redrawn scenes look fantastic but the upscale looks pretty bad, as expected. In some parts, the upscale is so bad that the entire scene is just a blurry mess. But I'm still going to keep up with it.

Tantei Opera Milky Holmes 2

More Milky Holmes goodness for the soul. A direct continuation from the first series. It still has the "over the top-ness" from the previous series but I felt a little underwhelmed. Despite that, I'm still looking forward to what happens next.

There are two shows from this season that I haven't watched yet but plan on watching/picking up soon. Nisemonogatari and Black Rock Shooter. I'm still following shows from last season, which are: Bakuman S2, Guilty Crown, Mirai Nikki, and Persona 4.

Keep in mind, these are just opinions so feel free to share yours. What shows are you guys watching this season?

Talking about Katawa Shoujo

I'm pretty sure a lot of people know that Katawa Shoujo was released. Frankly, I don't feel like talking about it too much since I've been doing so already with quite a few people so it's a bit tiring.

What I will say is that I played through Hanako's and Lilly's route without any distractions. I was mostly curious about Hanako's route since she was the most appealing to me. Needless to say, I was underwhelmed. BUT, I found her character very relatable. Then I went for Lilly since it was a reload a way. I found this one much more well-written but don't go in expecting a literary masterpiece. 

After finishing those two routes, I didn't have the stamina nor the curiosity to pursue the rest. I became tired of the VN and didn't want to be forced to do something I didn't want to do. So I said, "Fuck it, bring on the spoilers". For people that don't know, I HATE spoilers and it really DOES affect my experience of things. This one time would be the exception. The VN itself is a good attempt but I'm sure the team could've done better. I know that they disbanded right after, which is a shame.

KS felt very mediocre, a little above average at best. It felt like it was a patchwork of several different things. In which case, I heard Shizune's route was more apparent in that regard. I also feel that people shouldn't take negative opinions seriously and counter with, "what did you expect?" I expected nothing and I got something average. It isn't bad since there are worse VNs out there. However, I did find the amount of technical polish to be really nice. Little things like menus, non-clipping music, sounds, etc. I can see that someone who doesn't play a lot of VNs would be blown away by it but it didn't do much for me.

I could've gone in greater detail but I feel that I've talked enough. Remember that it's just an opinion and if you enjoyed going through the VN, then that's awesome. I wish I enjoyed it that much. But I didn't.