Japanese Cartoons

[Theblackdog]

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Hopefully Inaho will be revealed to have a sword arm at some point. And pry open the Tharsis' cockpit after Slaine destroys his Kataphrakt.

Maybe Slaine thought she needed Martian medical tech to survive? And nobody would believe him on his own if he accused Saazebaum of treason. My real problem is that he clearly doesn't care what Asseylum would think about him colluding with Saazebaum and exterminating the Terrans just so he can keep her alive. At first I was going to chalk it up to him hiding his emotions really well so he wouldn't tip Saazebaum off, but he doesn't seem conflicted when he's alone with her at the end of this episode. Maybe that was what he intended to do at first, but I think getting his own super robot and knighthood went to his head. That would be consistent with how easily Saazebaum was able to manipulate him in the last season.

EDIT: Apparently this is the "wind" they were referring to. Again it could have been explained better... or at all... but maybe Inaho will deliver the relevant exposition for us when he finally into space.

Why is colette not watching this? Say what you will about the story and characters, but the action is top notch and they do an impressive amount of research. Inaho would be perfect as a Trattorian mech pilot too.

[Silverdream]

The bears' buttholes represent love, and how out of reach it is, even though it's always in site.

[Insert_blank]

Aldonoah

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Fuck this dumb show.

Death Parade. Good ep, bad next ep translation. It's clearly Death and Rebirth, not Death and Reverse. How would that make any sense?

[Natalya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJnureuZ6Ts

Spoiler Alert: Snape Kills Dumbledore

[Silverdream]

http://animatorexpo.com/gridman/

Trigger did a short based on Gridman.

Inb4 Insert_Blank calls it a ripoff of Gridman.

[Silverdream]

TTGL Spoilers

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This gif made me tear up.

[Theblackdog]

Aldnoah

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I feel like I'm watching a different show, because there were some actually good character moments this episode -- maybe the best this series has ever given us, not that that's saying much -- but the action was just dumb. I guess the "wind" that keeps pushing their shots off course is really the gravitational fields from all the asteroids, which makes some sense. But if this is such a big deal in space combat, and the computer in Inaho's eye can predict the trajectory of his rounds and compensate for it, why isn't there a computer like that in every Kataphrakt sent into space? And why did those Martian space fighter things need to combine just to fly a few kilometers to the battle and split up again? Leeron would not be impressed.

I think they're doing a good job of developing Slaine and the new princess. We do get to see him feel conflicted about whether Asseylum would approve of his actions, and the show even seemed to acknowledge that he's being selfish in keeping her alive by betraying her ideals. Saazebaum is still dumb though. Here's an idea: If you want Earth to help terraform Mars, why don't you offer them some of your alien super technology in exchange instead of trying to invade them? I expect this kind of decision making out of the kids, but you are a fucking adult. Speaking of the kids - I like how Inaho keeping the orange color scheme on his mech was basically just an elaborate plot to troll Slaine. That was pretty funny.

Also, after giving Orange a cyborg eye in the last episode, they just had to go ahead and give Slaine's mech Bismarck powers.

[Silverdream]

Aldnoah

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Weird, the only part I really enjoyed was the space battle. It was ridiculous, but Inaho is my favourite part of the show.

What I also liked is that Inaho is opening up more emotionally. Last season his emotions were really subtle, but now he seems more chill than the cold calculator he used to be. It seems consistent with his character, but I'm not really sure what prompted this change. Last season he was stoic because he knew that he couldn't be emotional or lose his head.

The opening was a little disappointing to me, but I really liked the ED.

[Theblackdog]

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I enjoy seeing Inaho kick ass because I like the plans he comes up with, and it's badass when he calmly narrates them in the middle of a fight. Here, he didn't have a plan beyond using his targeting computer that nobody else had for some reason - he was just a better pilot than all of the Martians. The action was entertaining, but it wasn't as cool as some of the other fights in season 1, and it actually pushes suspension of disbelief a whole lot farther. I can buy Inaho winning a one-on-one with guile and intelligence, but wouldn't the adult pilots with more experience in space be better in a massive dogfight? And I still don't get how he was able to dodge all of Slaine's shots, even at close range, despite the Tharsis' Bismarck powers.

Also, how did Inaho know that the pilot of the Tharsis was the same guy who he met back in Saazebaum's landing castle? There was literally no justification for that.

As for the music, I liked the OP but not as much as season 1's, and the ED was just great. But I am getting kind of sick of the way the show spams insert songs. Breathless was good but the other two... meh.

EDIT: This sums up my feelings on the show perfectly.

[Insert_blank]

I watched all 51 eps of chihayafuru. I work two full time jobs. Get on my level, plebs.

[Vami IV]

I watched all 51 eps of chihayafuru. I work two full time jobs. Get on my level, plebs.

But you live in a communist country. So yeah.

[Silverdream]

Finally finished Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.

Didn't live up to expectations and was really disappointing.

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On one hand, the characterization wasn't bad. The main characters were pretty well developed, even if they were boring. Plus, Drei got a lot of development in the timeskip .

In addition to what Insert_Blank said, they all have these unexplained supernatural powers for some reason. This includes superspeed, teleportation, and the ability to change their iris colour. The action was pretty forgettable, so it's not really worth watching as a popcorn anime.

If I have to say one thing, the last arc was better than the first two, but not enough to make this anime worth watching, in my opinion.

Also, Cal has terrible taste in clothes. A pink shirt and dress with a black skull and crossbones on it? And she couldn't decide between that and the equally ugly clothes in that store?

My last gripe is the ending. He got shot? What? By who? Why? It was all good up until that, and I didn't even get sad when he died (and I cried during Kill la Kill).

So I forgive overwatch, Vami and Natalya for skipping this one, and commend Insert_Blank for watching it.

[Insert_blank]

@Vami, The 1950s called they want your political opinions back.

@Silva

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The point is it doesn't matter who shot him, it's just another guy working for phantom like he was before. Still a dumb ending. Also didn't someone tell you that it was deep in symbolism? It totally wasn't.

[Silverdream]

No one told me it was deep in symbolism, you're thinking of Utena.

Also, finished the first season of Chaika in only three days. 8/10.

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It was cliché, but it was a really enjoyable anime. It reminded me of other things (like the older Final Fantasy games on the SNES), but not so much that I felt it was unoriginal. It was predictable sometimes, but other times it did the unexpected.

Also, Fredrica reminded me of characters Vami plays in Fabletop.

Now even though you've all seen Chaika before the month was overv, you never discussed it. Here are a few questions:

Best girl?

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Best guy?

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Favourite part?

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When Tooru is hallucinating and then Gilette comes to steal Chaika from him and give her her Dad's rotting arm. Then she waves goodbye with it, and then Fredrica beats the shit out of him.

Other comments/criticism/lame jokes?

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I thought the villains were really well done, although sometimes I thought the mooks were too easy for the heroes to beat up, even if they did occasionally impale or injure someone.

[Vami IV]

Disclaimer: I know some of you simply don't care, but I'm ill, very ill, at the time of this post, so I'm not keen on fixing my Blitzen mistakes.
I think I'm going to Vami Silvy's rating system there.
@IB I lol'd

Hitsugi no Chaika
8/10

Overall Review

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It was cliché, yes, but the show was so great it wiped that under tha table. At times, at least in the early parts of the series, I could easily predict plot points (I even feared that Chaika would commit the sins of so many anime before it with the copy and pasted arcs, like Fairy Tale, Dragon Ball (excused slightly for the timeless memes it provides us, and Naruto), I found the anime very enjoyable and the characters interesting (except for the cult dude or the kid with green hair).

Ah, yes, I did copy Fredrica for Fabletop, but only for a single character (Treval- something. I copied the name from Dragon Age Inquistion. Not sure if correctly).

Best Girl

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I'm torn between Tooru and Chaika, but I'm going to agree on Chaika for the laughs and quirkyness she proides viewers.

Best Guy

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I'm sorry, Silver.

Favorite Oart

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"Shocking Truth!"

Other comments

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When I finished the anime, I honestly thought I would be criticsed harshly for my enjoyment of the enaime. It truly is a great anime. See you in Season Two.